First Nations Writers Retreat

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Do you have a story to tell? Could you see your story adapted for the stage?

If you have a story to tell and are looking for a career in script writing, then the Narrung Writers Retreat can help you on that journey.

Join award-winning Indigenous Playwright Nathan Maynard and multi-talented performer, writer and theatre-maker Alexis West for this free writer’s retreat on traditional Ngarrindjeri land on the picturesque shores of Lake Alexandrina, South Australia.

The 3-day retreat will create a culturally safe space for emerging SA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers to hone their craft and develop new skills whilst offering feedback and advice on previous work. Nathan and Alexis will lead writing exercises on story structure and insights into the development of your characters. In addition to the workshop, participants will be treated to a cultural tour of Raukkan with local Elder Uncle Clyde Rigney; delicious food for body and soul as well as an opportunity to meet and share with other South Australian storytellers.

Nathan Maynard and Alexis West are very excited to return to Ngarrindjeri country and be involved in your journey of getting the story in your head onto the page to then be manifested onto the stage.

Accommodation and catering will be provided for all participants at Narrung. Participation is free
of charge and travel assistance may be available.

The retreat will run from 4pm on Friday 5 June to 2pm on Monday 8 June. Narrung is an approximate 2 hr drive from Adelaide.

Apply below for First Nations Writers’ Retreat 2020 in Narrung.

If you have any questions or require assistance with the form, please contact Pippa Stroud on 8444 0400 or email [email protected].

Applications close COB April 30, 2020.

Numbers are limited.

ABOUT ALEXIS & NATHAN

Nathan Maynard
Country Arts SA was honoured to tour Nathan’s award-winning production, The Season, in 2018 and he is offering a unique opportunity for emerging writers to develop and share their own stories. Nathan Maynard is a descendant of the chief of the Trawlwoolway Clan and of the whole of the North East Tasmanian Indigenous peoples. The Season is a loving portrait of a Tasmanian Aboriginal family who return each year to Dog Island in the Bass Strait for Mutton Bird Season, a tradition that endures and thrives despite two centuries of colonisation. Nathan is eager to share his experience and knowledge from his 17 years’ experience as a dancer, performer and writer. He was the recipient of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist of the Year Award in 2006 and 2013, and recently won the Green Room Award for Best New Writing for The Season, his first full-length play.

Alexis West
Alexis West has worked as a dancer, choreographer, performer, writer, theatre­maker and filmmaker over the past 20 years. As a Birri Gubba, Wakka Wakka South Sea Islander and Caucasian woman, Alexis is passionate about First Nation people’s voices as well as the stories of people with disability and people from diverse backgrounds. She has worked as an artistic director, writer, and facilitator for organisations including the Karrikarrinya Theatre Collective, SA Writers Centre, Spirit Festival, Our Mob, Art Gallery SA, and Adelaide Fringe. Alexis has devised and directed new works for No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability since 2008, and worked as AD, co­-writer and performer for State Theatre Company SA. She was Co­-Curator of the 2017 Australian Theatre Forum, with colleague Steve Mayhew. Worked with ActNow Theatre and been the artist in residence at Vitalstatistix. Most recently Alexis worked as an actor in BUKAL the story of Aunty Henrietta Fourmile-Marrie written and developed by Andrea James and Henrietta which toured remote communities in Far North Queensland.

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