LAUREN BURKE AND DR LYDIA CRAIG

BEFORE BRIDGERTON: REPRESENTATIONS OF RACE IN GEORGIAN FICTION 10.30am - LAUNDRY and ONLINE

Lauren Burke is the host of the podcast Bonnets at Dawn, which is about the lives and works of 18th, 19th, and 20th-century women writers. She loves travel, history, and can often be found in a museum archive looking at old books. Lauren lives in Chicago and is the author of Her Story: Rosa Parks,Why She Wrote, and contributor to the upcoming Austen After 200: Reading After the Bicentenaries.

Twitter/Instagram -@BonnetsatDawn
Facebook -Bonnets at Dawn

Location: Bristol, UK

Dr Lydia Craig received a PhD in English from Loyola University Chicago's Nineteenth Century Studies Program, and also holds a Master's Degree in English from LUC with a concentration in Early Modern Drama and a BA in English and History from the University of Georgia. In 2016 Dr Craig co-founded The Loyola University Chicago Victorian Society and writing about all things Dickens, Brontë and more can be found at https://www.lydiacraig.com/

Location: Chicago, IL, USA

ZAN CAMMACK AND DIANE NEU

A NETWORK OF SPIES AND SCANDAL: PAMPHLETS IN REGENCY ENGLAND 10.30am - INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL and ONLINE

Zan Cammack (she/her) has been a Janeite since she was 15 when she skipped basketball camp to read Austen in the park. Her favourite Austen novel is Persuasion. Zan has a PhD in Irish literature and has published on material culture, Austen, and Irish Modernism.

Diane Neu (she/her) has been a Janeite since she was 13 and was drawn to the fancy dresses on Austen's novel covers. Her favourite Austen novel is Emma.Diane has an MA in English literature and her research focused specifically on Jane Austen's works

Location: USA

SAM HIRST

BEHIND THE BLACK VEIL 9.30am - LAUNDRY and ONLINE

Sam Hirst is a Teaching Fellow at Liverpool University and works on Theology and the Early Gothic. They also run the 'Romancing the Gothic' project with free classes and resources on all things Gothic and horror from experts around the world

romancingthegothic.wordpress.com

Location: Todmorden, England

KELLY LOCK

SEWING WITH KELLY LOCK 12.30PM - 2PM - INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL
LETTERS WITH KELLY LOCK 9.30AM - INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL

Kelly has enjoyed sewing since she was a child, and began her costuming adventures in her 20s. She has since delved into the historical costuming of many eras, from medieval through to the 1960s. Since her first Regency experience - going to the Jane Austen Festival in Canberra - the Regency era holds a special place in her heart and in her wardrobe. She has taught sewing workshops there for the past 7 years.

Location: Melbourne, Australia

KELLY GARDINER AND SHARMINI KUMAR

THE EAST INDIA COMPANY 1.00pm - LAUNDRY and ONLINE

Kelly Gardiner writes historical fiction for all ages. Her latest series is The Firewatcher Chronicles. Her other books include Goddess, based on the life of Mademoiselle de Maupin;1917: Australia’s Great War, shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Young People’s History Prize and Asher Award; the Swashbuckler pirate trilogy; and a picture book, Billabong Bill’s Bushfire Christmas. Her young adult novels Act of Faith and The Sultan’s Eyes, were both shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, while Act of Faith was shortlisted for the ASA’s Barbara Jefferis Award.

A former journalist and editor, Kelly now teaches creative writing at La Trobe University.

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Sharmini has written, directed and produced many performance pieces and short films, and is the founder and Artistic Director of 24 Carrot Productions. Sharmini loves Austen’s humour and wit, and particularly likes to explore issues that are not often highlighted in adaptations of Austen’s work.

Location: Melbourne, Australia

A_TISTIC

READING NEURODIVERGENCE IN PRIDE & PREJUDICE 11.30am - LAUNDRY

Hannah and James are two of the co-directors of A_tistic, a team of multidisciplinary neurodiverse artists, consultants and educators. Using their style of Spectrum Theatre, they aim to bring autistic lives, insights and experiences to the stage.

In her arts life, Hannah Aroni is a writer, director, dramaturge and illustrator. In her civilian life, she's a social worker with occasional forays into academia and a strong focus on disability advocacy. She is one of the token non-autistic members of A_tistic’s arts core, co-directed Helping Hands (2019), and contributes workshop development, design, dramaturgy and website/social media management to A_tistic. She is endlessly fascinated by the complexities of interpersonal communication and the challenges of developing a utopian imagination.

James Matthews is an autistic self-advocate and theatre maker. He became part of A_tistic as a devising performer in Them Aspies (2014, 2015) and has since contributed to the company as a co-director of Helping Hands (2019), as a workshop designer/presenter, and as a dramaturge for Pinocchio (2016) and Alexithymia (2017).  He draws on collaborative negotiation and world-building techniques used in table-top roleplaying games to inform his approach to storytelling. In conclusion, ABA must be destroyed.

Location: Melbourne, Australia.

https://www.a-tistic.com.au/ 

GEORGE ANSELL AND JENNY PATRONE

DANCING 2.00pm to 4pm - INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL

George had a re-awakening of interest in dance under the guidance of several of England’s folk dance luminaries in the 1980s, and a move to Melbourne with an introduction to several of the folk dance groups here. George has run the English dance group in Melbourne since 2001, and runs The Well Hall Dancers team who perform at festivals and celebrations. The team has been selected several times for the National Folk Festival in Canberra.

Location: Melbourne, Australia.

Jenny (she/her) is a Historical Dance specialist and worked at RADA, London with Darren Royston (UNESCO ambassador for historical dance). She has taught Regency dance, and is interested in merging contemporary work with regency styles. She founded CBS Dance in London, dance training for actor/singers and Director of The Gatsby Girls, Vintage Entertainment Company, London

Jenny is the movement director for 24 Carrot’s production of Sense and Sensibility The Musical in 2022.

Location: Melbourne, Australia

DANI SILLER

ESCAPE ROOM 10.30am onwards - MEZZANINE

Dani is a writer and podcaster with a passion for puzzles and mysteries of all kinds. She and her husband Bill are the team behind the shows Escape This Podcast (writing and playing audio escape rooms) and Solve This Murder (writing and solving interactive murder mysteries). She has been writing stories since she was seven and was only too happy to leave the regular workforce behind in 2014 to pursue it full-time. Since then she has been published by the Lane Cove Literary Awards and has written escape rooms for everyone from reality show stars to podcasting royalty to A-list movie stars. When she's not writing, she's following her other goal of becoming a trivia grandmaster, and will brag to anyone about having been on the shows Pointless, Mastermind Australia, and Beat the Chasers -even though that last one was a crushing defeat.

Location: Sydney, Australia

https://www.consumethismedia.com/

BRADLEY STORER

CABARET 2.00pm to 3.30pm - LAUNDRY

Bradley Storer is a Melbourne-based musical theatre performer and cabaret artist. Having completed a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Drama/Literature) at Deakin University and obtained a Diploma of Musical Theatre from Patrick Studios Australia under the tutelage of Andrew Hallsworth, Bradley has most recently been seen in new Australian musical Post and as the villainous Chadbury in Queer Lady Magician.

His critically acclaimed dark cabaret,Trickster, has also enjoyed multiple Melbourne seasons and toured to Adelaide Fringe.

CAROLINE ELLIS

CABARET 2.00pm to 3.30pm - LAUNDRY

Caroline completed her BFA (Hons) in Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2019.During her time at VCA she worked with renowned choreographers including Giedeon Obarzanek, Sandra Parker, Lee Searleand Phoebe Robinson, and in 2020 she had the pleasure of performing Gulsen Ozer’s sight specific work If Only They Could Talk on Mt Dandenong.

Caroline has been cultivating a Contact Improvisation practice since 2016, with a focus on the interplay of social and spatial relationships between dancers. In 2017 Caroline was invited to participate in the University’s Global Atelier program, dancing in Singapore and Hong Kong, and in 2019 joined other Fine Arts students in a cultural sharing program in the Cook Islands. As well as extensive dance training, Caroline has begun studying Dramatic Combat, completing her SADFi Fundamentals certificate in 2018.

Lizzie Bennet is her favourite Austen character, but she finds a kindred spirit in Jane

LAUREN CORRINE RUI

CABARET 2.00pm to 3.30pm - LAUNDRY

Lauren started learning piano casually when she was 5, and began making her way through the AMEB exams during high-school. Having not played much since then, lockdown inspired her to get reacquainted with the instrument. Having also studied Jane Austen's works in year 12, she noticed pianos would often make an appearance throughout Austen's stories and Jane herself was a very accomplished pianist.

Lauren is pleased to have the honour of presenting several pieces from composers who were active during Austen's life-time (as well as a couple from either side). Please sit back, relax, and imagine a parlour setting where Emma, Jane or Elizabeth would have played a similar instrument to entertain their family and friends

MYKAYLA VAN DER WILDE

CABARET 2.00pm to 3.30pm - LAUNDRY

The smooth vocals of Mykayla Van der Wilde have been enjoyed by audiences around the world. Macedon Ranges based singer/songwriter studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston and has recorded and written music in Nashville and all over the US. Her distinctive vocals have been inspired by strong female singers of the past. Whether she’s belting out a banger or crooning a ballad, her soulful voice is guaranteed to make you feel all the feels. She is currently working in duo ‘Of The Wild’ and has music coming out later this year.

LILIANA BRAUMBERGER

CABARET 2.00pm to 3.30pm - LAUNDRY

Liliana is an actor, photographer and video artist based in Melbourne with a personality that seems to lend itself to period pieces. Some Austen performances include Emma (Introduction to Emma), Kitty (Pride and Prejudice and Five Years), Charlotte (Impressions of Pride and Prejudice) and next year is thrilled to perform as Elinor in Sense and Sensibility: The Musical.

Other performances include the singing Princess Alexandra of Bavaria (The Regina Monologues), Dottore (A Servant of Two Masters), shorts with Northern Theatre Company and other credits include a variety of stints behind the camera and backstage, including video artist on Bruce Beresford’s opera Othello in 2018.

NON CANONICAL PAIRINGS - PANEL DISCUSSION 3.30PM LAUNDRY AND ONLINE

ZOË HODGE

Zoë is a New York based writer and screenwriter who strives to center black people, particularly black women and queer black people in her work. Her current focus is on an adaptation of Persuasion that centers a dark skinned black woman in the role of Anne, enhancing the themes of the work about gaining confidence, finding true camaraderie, and belonging.

KAITLYN BLYTHE

Kaitlyn Blythe (née Plyley)(she/her) is a Melbourne-based writer and host of Just A Spoonful podcast. Kaitlyn’s writing has been published by The Lifted Brow, VICE, Daily Life, Seizure, Junkee and The Sydney Morning Herald. Kaitlyn has trained in storytelling under teachers from LA’s The Moth and NYC’s Upright Citizens Brigade. A founding member of Perth’s popular Barefaced Stories, she has performed true stories from her life at festivals around Australia, and created a workshop series for Brisbane’s Yarn Storytelling.

JUNE YU

June Yu is the author of Miscreation?, a young adult science fiction book that explores a fully integrated genetically engineered world.June’s writing career has spanned journalism, PR, marcomms and IT. Her day job involves writing tens of thousands of words each year in charity fundraising copy through her business. She hopes to eventually make that tens of thousands of words each year on sci fi and fantasy novels.

DL TURNBULL

DL Turnbull is a Melbourne based mental health support worker and theatre practitioner. They recently established Misift Toys productions; a theatrical collective dedicated to presenting new and existing works from the perspectives of the broken, bitter, disillusioned and hopeful. Their inaugural production Early Days and Dad Jeans written Turnbull recently enjoyed a sold out season and enthusiastic audience reception. Directing credits include A Missionary’s Position and Nailed it for 24 Carrot productions, with whom they frequently collaborate.