What do you do? Broadcaster, producer, author, playwright, procrastinator.
When did you get into it? I’ve been scribbling dreams since I could hold a pencil. One of my scribbled dreams became a play called The Vegemite Tales, which played in London for seven years and made me legit.
Who or what influences you as an artist? Heartbreak and the music that goes with it. Mostly. I seem to be someone who’s most creative when things are a bit shit. Plus a slew of great writers who make me want to up the ante: Truman Capote, Margaret Atwood, Tony Kushner, Caryl Churchill, Gwen Harwood, Geraldine Brooks, EL Doctorrow, Sarah Jones, Nora Ephron, Caleb Lewis.
What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far? I don’t imagine I’ll ever be able to get over how audiences connected with The Vegemite Tales, but outside that Now Hear This!, a storytelling night I’ve conceived and curated with the ABC and The Street Theatre makes my heart beat a little faster and my lips curve upward every time I think about it.
What are your plans for the future? To extend the reach Now Hear This! has further than Canberra. To conjure up a mesmerising play. To pen a cracker book. To write a screenplay provoking as much grinning and heart clutching as Hannah and Her Sisters. To keep chugging out ABC CanberrArts. To convince my friends to stop f’n changing their surnames when they get married.
What makes you laugh? I’m not being accentist but… West Country, Essex and Welsh accents. And Midwestern American accents. And Bowral accents.
What pisses you off? Sexism and the language around it makes me CRAZY. Except, curiously, when it’s coming from the mouth of a 23-year-old Eddie Murphy in Delirious.
What’s your opinion of the local scene? I think Canberra is an incredibly safe space for an artist. It’s a place to try new things without a huge amount of pressure. I dig its colour and eccentricity. Still, I’d like to see some of my favourite theatremakers step outside their comfort zones and get more ambitious, serious and committed to expanding their work.
What are your upcoming projects? I’m a resident playwright at The Street Theatre, so when I’m not working on Now Hear This! and ABC CanberrArts, I’m busting my gut trying to finish my play In The Park.
Contact info: tait.melanie@abc.net.au
