INTERSECTION 2018: CHYRYSALIS

$26.99

‘I loved the idea of being grown up, you know? And I’m not. To anybody. Not to parents, not to kids. All the burden and none of the respect. That middle ground is really hurting me… I think I killed Benny. ’

—from The Witch in the Window, by Alexander Lee-Rekers

In a small town, a young woman applies make-up like layers of defence, preparing to go into battle. On top of the town tip, two friends stand guard as some home truths emerge. At the local arcade, a grotesque ritual sacrifice is taking place. And a young woman obsessed with Stevie Nicks thinks she’s solved the mystery about the blood on the silo just out of town…

Intersection 2018: Chrysalis is a collection of short plays written by some of the most exciting emerging playwrights in the country. At the meeting point of young lives travelling very different routes, Intersection offers a unique snapshot of modern Australia.

Each year ATYP brings together 20 young writers from across the country and challenges them to create stories that speak to the experience of being seventeen years old in Australia, here and now, creating a compelling, complex mosaic of modern life. Critically acclaimed in its first incarnation, it returns to explore the excitement, terror and electricity of being seventeen.

The plays featured in this volume are for one and two characters.

Author
MADISON BEHRINGER is a Sydney-based writer, director, actor and theatremaker. While completing her Performance degree at the University of Wollongong, Madison directed several short plays for local independent theatre companies, including devising and producing a political theatre piece investigating the media coverage of the 2014 Sydney Siege (OUW’s SIP Program). In 2014 she wrote and directed the full-length play Happily Ever After at the Lighthouse Theatre. Madison seeks to explore real-life experiences in the theatre, and enjoys writing realistic characters into her work. Outside of writing, her interests include two-minute noodles, her dog, and looking on realestate.com at houses she can’t afford.


JOSEPH BROWN is a theatremaker who grew up in Armidale, NSW. After completing his Bachelor degree in performing arts at Monash University in 2012, Joseph moved on to a MFA in Writing for Performance at NIDA. While there, he wrote two screenplays: The End of Hawke Street and 86’d. Joseph’s other writing and directing credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Monash Shakespeare Company), You Walk Away (Melbourne Fringe), Tuck in the Corners (MUST, La Mama) and Tensions: Curated Works (MUST).


PIPPA ELLAMS is a writer and performer from Western Sydney. Her first play The Carousel was shortlisted for the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award in 2015. During 2017 the play was produced at Shopfront Arts Co-op while Pippa was a Resident Artist there, followed by a remount at Belvoir St Theatre (downstairs) in June 2017. The Carousel is set to tour in 2018, beginning with Merrigong Theatre Company. Pippa participated in the Propel Initiative, created by Q Theatre and ATYP to support young Western Sydney writers. She is also a participant in National Theatre of Parramatta’s Playwrights of Parramatta group.


HARRY GOODLET is an emerging writer, director and performer from Perth. He has been involved in numerous amateur productions within the Perth independent scene with a strong emphasis on writing and directing comedy. He completed Blue Room Theatre’s Sustained Playwriting program in 2017 before moving into the field of screenwriting. As of 2018, he will reside in Melbourne, studying at the Victorian College of the Arts.


LIZ HOBART is a Sydney-based writer for both stage and screen. After completing her Bachelor of Arts (Writing) at Macquarie University, she went on to undertake an MFA in Writing for Performance at NIDA. While there, Liz wrote the feature film screenplay ( The Trove), a TV pilot (‘Mercy’), three short films ( The Picnic, Muddied Matter and Spent Alone) and a musical adaptation of Dot and the Kangaroo. In 2017 Liz participated in the National Studio at ATYP. Her play Snap Season was also staged as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival. In 2018, Liz’s productions include Intersection: Chrysalis (ATYP) and Lie With Me at (Old 505 Theatre).


ALEXANDER LEE-REKERS is a writer, director and composer. Setting aside a career path as a classical violinist, he left the orchestra pit to study at AFTRS, where he completed the inaugural year of the Foundation Diploma before transitioning into theatre via a two-year tenure as AV Director of the University of Sydney Arts Revue. Alexander completed his MFA in Writing for Performance at NIDA. Towards the end of his studies, he began to consult on shows as a dramaturg; since graduating he has worked in this capacity for productions at Bondi Feast, Sydney Fringe, the Old 505 and the Old Fitz Theatre. Alexander continues his work as a playwright and splits his time between theatre, television (for which he writes the Disney Channel program ‘Hanging With’) and teaching (for both NIDA and ATYP).


MADELAINE NUNN graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre Practice) from the VCA in 2015. Since graduating she has been nominated for two Green Room Awards for Best Ensemble, and has co-founded the female-led theatre company Three Birds Theatre. Madelaine has written for and performed in Poppy Seed Theatre Festival, CRACK Theatre Festival, Metanoia and the Adelaide and the Melbourne Fringe, and has toured with Regional Arts Victoria. In 2016, Madelaine was part of ATYP’s Fresh Ink mentorship program.


JULIA RORKE’s theatre credits include her acclaimed solo theatre comedy show, Don’t Be a Cunt This is How, which she wrote, directed and performed (Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe) and her newest show Not Another Fucked Bitch In India (Sydney Fringe Comedy, Tandanya Arts, The Malthouse). She is currently in development with the ABC to adapt these for screen. Julia’s film credits include her web series ‘Loose Bitch’, ‘Tony Fitzgerald’s Cult Following’ (Felicity Pickering, Flickrfest) and ‘Anti-Adult’ (Jason Kos). In 2014 she directed Adam Cass’s Bock Kills Her Father at 107 Projects. Other theatre acting credits include Tell It Like It Isn’t, The One Sure Thing, Animal Farm and Bite Me (AYTP), Vernon God Little (New Theatre), 80 Minutes No Interval (Red Line Productions/Old Fitz), Festival of New Writing (Griffin Theatre) Harvest Festival (Harvest Presents/ATYP).


DAVID STEWART is a Brisbane-based writer and performer, and co-creator of the electro-musical comedy trio The Architects of Sound (Brisbane Festival, Fringe World, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Melbourne Fringe). Recent playwriting credits include Numb (Playlab), Non-Vegan Hoagies and Other Signs of the Impending Apocalypse (ATYP National Studio), An Intimate Evening with the Architects of Sound (Wonderland, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Woodford Folk Festival), Slug (Rock Surfers Theatre Company) and The Art of Conversation (Short + Sweet, winner: best comedy). David graduated from the NIDA Writing for Performance MFA in 2015.


PHOEBE SULLIVAN is a Perth-based artist, writer, and theatremaker. Graduating in 2016 from the Performance Making course at WAAPA, Phoebe seeks to make new work that is an exploration of language and the body, the innate desire to belong, and the private, often unappealing, sides to ourselves that prevent this from happening. Her practice extends locally and nationally, working and undertaking residencies with companies such as ATYP, Queensland Theatre, Metro Arts, Black Swan State Theatre Company, PICA, pvi collective, Playwriting Australia and Blue Room Theatre. Phoebe aims to making new Australian work that explores themes and issues relevant to contemporary culture; recovering lost sensations, our bodies, empathy, and placing it at the heart of it all.


GRETEL VELLA is a Sydney-based writer and director, and a current graduate of NIDA’s MFA in Writing for Performance. She was selected for ATYP’s National Studio and Fresh Ink Mentoring programs during 2017, and has recently been awarded an ATYP co-commission for her play Bathory Begins. Gretel’s screenplays, ‘Carking It’ (TV) and Elsie Shrew (feature) were longlisted for the Australian Writers’ Guild Primetime and Insite writing competitions in 2017. She currently writes for Channel Nine’s medical drama, ‘Doctor Doctor’, and is co-artistic director of The Louise Frequency with Emme Hoy. She is also an associate artist with Glitterbomb, Sydney.

APT