Fresh Ink National Mentoring Program

Australia’s most respected professional development programs for emerging writers.

Our celebrated Fresh Ink National Mentoring Program for emerging writers runs annually from April–December in selected states across Australia. The initiative has been running for 16 years in varying forms and engages industry professionals to mentor our young writers. To date, the program has supported 151 writers in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

In 2024 there will be four emerging writers for performance (aged 18-26) from each participating state. Throughout the year they will produce two short works for the stage as well as attend regular meetings with their mentor to hone their skills and build their writing community.

Our program in Brisbane is co-presented with Backbone, our program in Tasmania is co-presented with Archipelago Productions and our program in Perth is co-presented with Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA. We warmly acknowledge the Jibb Foundation for their generous support of ATYP’s Fresh Ink program since 2019.

APPLICATIONS FOR FRESH INK 2024 HAVE NOW CLOSED.

2024 Places & Mentors

Cairns, QLD

co-presented with JUTE THEATRE COMPANY

Mentor: KATHRYN ASH

Brisbane, QLD

co-presented with BACKBONE

Mentor: LEWIS TRESTON

Hobart, TAS

co-presented with ARCHIPELAGO PRODUCTIONS

Mentor: BELINDA BRADLEY

Perth, WA

co-presented with BLACK SWAN STATE THEATRE COMPANY OF WA

Mentor: CHRIS ISAACS

Sydney, NSW

Mentor: JANE FITZGERALD

2024 Program

Throughout the program participants will:

  • Attend a pre-arranged workshop session at least once a month between April and December with their mentor for 6 hours (or equivalent) to develop craft and skills.
  • Deliver a 15-minute play in July that will be rehearsed and performed by a professional director and actors for an invited audience.
  • Deliver a 30-minute play in November that will be rehearsed and performed by a professional director and actors for an invited audience.

To be eligible for the program:

  • Writers must be aged 18–26 years old at the time of application.
  • Writers should have some experience in the past with writing for performance (may include work for stage and/or screen, poetry, audio work, devised work, etc.).
  • Writers must be available to meet the time commitments (briefly outlined above) between April and December 2024, including both attending meetings (in-person) and having the capacity to write material between meetings.
  • We strongly encourage applications from First Nations people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people from Disabled and d/Deaf communities, and people from LGBTQIA+ communities.

HOW TO APPLY: 

Applications are to be submitted through the linked application form. To complete this, you will need:

  • CV/Resume (maximum 2 pages) as a PDF file, detailing any writing, theatre or creative arts experience, including any study. 
  • A writing sample (maximum 3 pages) as a PDF file. This can be from an existing script and can be an excerpt or whole scene, or if you are new to theatre writing you can provide a sample of other writing (screen, poetry, audio work etc).

COST:

The Fresh Ink program costs $450 for successful participants. Thanks to support from the Jibb Foundation, every person successfully selected for Fresh Ink receives a scholarship subsidy of $2,600 from the full cost of the program. Please note that thanks to the support of Backbone and Black Swan State Theatre Company, all Brisbane and Perth participants will have their participation fee of $450 paid for.  

Payment plans and scholarships can be negotiated for successful applicants in other cities who could not otherwise participate. Please contact ATYP at [email protected] to discuss prior to submitting your application.

DATES:

Mon 11 March 2024 – Applications due by 12pm (midday)
Thurs 28 March 2024 – Applicants notified of outcome
April – December 2024 – Fresh Ink meetings and readings (exact dates times and dates TBC)

APPLICATIONS FOR FRESH INK 2024 HAVE NOW CLOSED.

Participant & Mentor biographies from past years

CAIRNS

HOBART

  • Delia Bartle

    ” alt=”” width=”212″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:212/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/4.jpg” />Delia Bartle is a multi-disciplinary creative based in nipaluna/Hobart, with experience ranging from music journalism through to live sound performance and keyboard programming for musical theatre. She graduated from the University of Tasmania in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English Literature, where she was awarded the Sir Philip Fysh Prize and the James McAuley Memorial Prize for greatest proficiency in second and third year English units. Delia was the 2015 Symphony Services International and Sydney Symphony Music Presentation Fellow, during which she produced digital and broadcast content for ABC Radio National, ABC Classic, Limelight Magazine and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. She is new to writing for the stage, and is delighted to have the opportunity to develop her playwriting skills as part of Fresh Ink in 2023.
  • Nicola Ingram

    ” alt=”” width=”212″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:212/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Nicola-Ingram-headshot.jpg” />

    Nicola Ingram (she/her) is a proud palawa and Wiradjuri woman based in nipaluna (Hobart). She is a recent graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) graduating in 2021 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting). Being passionate about live theatre, she has appeared in roles such as Joni in Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill (Dir. John Kachoyan) and J in promiscuous/cities (Dir. Alyson Campbell). In 2021 Nicola received the Emerging Tasmanian Aboriginal Writers Award and has continued to develop original works as part of Theatre Works First Stories program, ILBIJERRI’s 10 in 10 emerging artists festival and Melbourne Theatre Company’s emerging writers’ program First Stage. She is currently looking forward to being a part of the Fresh Ink National Mentoring Program for 2023 where she can further develop her writing practice alongside other emerging writers. 

     

  • Adrian Reddish

    ” alt=”” width=”212″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:212/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Adrian-Reddish-headshot.jpg” />Adrian Reddish’s love of theatre began from a young age, taking acting classes with O’Grady Drama Academy between 2009 and 2019. Recent acting credits include the childrens’ pantomimes Snow White (2018), Something Fishy (2019) and The Tale of the Nutcracker (2020) with Hobart Repertory Theatre, Salome (2020) and The Rise (2022) with PLoT, and Maybe Today with Lost Theatre Company (2023), and is currently rehearsing for Hobart Repertory Theatre’s production of The Winslow Boy. Adrian recently graduated from UTAS with a Bachelor of Media majoring in Screen, and has experience writing screenplays and producing short films. Adrian is excited to develop his skills in writing for a live audience.
  • Bella Young

    ” alt=”” width=”212″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:212/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Bella-Young-Headshot.jpg” />Bella Young is a 26yr old early career artist based in nipaluna [Hobart] passionate about performance as a theatre-maker, puppeteer and director. She is Youth Advisory Officer on the board of RANT Arts and works as a puppeteer with Terrapin Puppet Theatre, and theatre-maker with Second Echo Ensemble (SEE). Bella is currently completing an international diploma in puppet therapy and touring a therapeutic creative aged care program with Terrapin – exploring the positive impact of puppetry with elderly people. Bella’s practice centres around ensemble-based theatre and creating applied theatre projects that engage communities in cross-discipline performance experiences. In 2020-22, she co-created/facilitated Youth Compendium – a collaborative professional development program that paid 50 young people mentored by 9 professional artists to publish 750 zines statewide. Recently, she independently directed a youth work for Circus Studio Kingston and co-directed/choreographed DRILL youth dance companies’ performance for TasDance Illuminate Festival. Bella has also produced regional playwriting workshops for Blue Cow Theatre and underwent an internship with Performing Lines Tas to assistant produce ‘takara nipaluna’, a First Nations walking tour.

PERTH

  • Lily Baitup

    ” alt=”” width=”200″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:200/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Fresh-Ink-Perth-headshot-Lily-Baitup.jpg” />Lily Baitup is a Boorloo-based writer, actor, and performance maker and an alumni of the Bachelor of Performing Arts at WA Academy of Performing Arts. She recently collaborated as a writer and performer on WA Youth Theatre Company’s production of Seven Sisters, which was presented at Perth Festival 2023 and toured to Karratha in May as part of the Red Earth Arts Festival. She wrote for 24 Hour Play Generator at Subiaco Arts Centre in 2021 and 2022, her 2021 piece, Anemone being expanded into a one-act play last year and performed as part of WAYTCo’s Growing Voices program. In April 2022, she received a grant from Propel to co-write an original web-series, Meat Cute currently in pre-production. She also wrote for two pieces as part of the 2020 program of TILT; Ask Again Tomorrow and Son, which she also performed in. Her first full length play, We’ll Always Have Bali will have its premier at The Blue Room Theatre in July 2023.
  • Arthur Brown

    ” alt=”” width=”225″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:225/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Fresh-Ink-Perth-headshot-Arthur-Brown.jpeg” />Arthur Brown (they/them) is a writer, performer, and theatre maker operating on Whadjuk Noongar land. They are currently studying Theatre Arts at Curtin University, and are an active participant in the on-campus Hayman Theatre Company both onstage and behind the scenes. Their Hayman credits include Dance of the Fantail (assistant stage manager) and One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy (Sisyphus). Their poetry and playwriting has been published in Pulch Magazine, Year of the Water Tiger Zine (Red Pocket Press), and Voiceworks (as a winner of the Books That Made Us prize). They’re honestly drawing a blank to think of anything else that they’ve done. They are passionate about multidisciplinary theatre, musical theatre, and incorporating new media into theatrical spaces. They are fuelled by bubble tea, songs with titles that begin with “The Ballad Of,” and the power of friendship. 
  • Alicia Lori

    ” alt=”” width=”214″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:214/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Fresh-Ink-Perth-headshot-Alicia-Lori.jpeg” />Alicia Lori is a multi-disciplinary writer and performer based in Boorloo (Perth). They are a soon to be graduate from the Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making) at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and have a strong passion for creating and supporting new Australian works of theatre. During her studies, Alicia has taken every opportunity to broaden their skills and experiences as a theatre maker. She has collaborated with other Western Australian artists to write and develop original musicals and comedy based shows, some of which were recently performed for Fringe World Festival. Alicia aims to tell stories through a variety of artistic mediums that bring joy to audience members and she is excited for the opportunity to develop the skills to do so in Fresh Ink 2023.
  • Gabrielle Wilson

    ” alt=”” width=”200″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:200/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Fresh-Ink-Perth-headshot-Gabrielle-Wilson.jpeg” />Gabrielle Wilson is an emerging artist from Auckland, New Zealand. Born with a flair for the dramatic, her parents begrudgingly indulged her forays into music, dance, and theatre. After meandering abroad, she set her sights on the Bachelor of Arts (Acting) at WAAPA from which she graduated in 2022. Wilson thrives in comedy and heightened text, and was a finalist for the Peter Hurford Award for Excellence in her final year. However acting never fully scratched her artistic itch, and she found herself increasingly immersed in making alongside her training; working on a number of Fringe projects, stand-up comedy, and ultimately writing her graduation pieces. Gabrielle’s work is largely influenced by her experience as a neurodivergent queer woman with a dynamic disability, on a relentless quest to use humour and joy as a tool for agency in a body and world that does its best to take it from her. Currently working as part of comedy duo The Gaza Strippers, and as a performer and producer of The Blue Room’s upcoming Much Stuff in October, she eagerly anticipates a multi-faceted career as a maker, writer, performer, and professional butt (of the joke).

SYDNEY

  • Melody Chen

    ” alt=”Headshot of Melody Chen” width=”212″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:212/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Melody-Chen-headshot.jpg” />Melody Chen is a Chinese-Australian writer/director based in Sydney. Her work combines offbeat humour with vulnerability to tell stories about queer identity, family, girlhood and the Chinese diaspora. Melody’s short film, Posthumous Forgiveness, screened at the Short + Sweet Illawarra Film Festival in 2021 and caught the attention of award-winning filmmakers worldwide. In 2022, she was one of 12 screenwriters in NSW selected by the Australian Writer’s Guild for their inaugural First Break program. She has since worked as a notetaker on a diverse slate of projects for Goalpost Pictures, See-Saw Films, Aquarius Films and Screen Australia. Melody has also cut her teeth on shows in production with SBS, ABC Me and Stan Originals, set for release in late 2023. Melody strives to tell stories with heart and humour across all mediums. She is very excited to be part of Fresh Ink 2023 and continue honing her skills writing for the screen and stage.
  • Michele Gould

    ” alt=”Michele Gould headshot” width=”212″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:212/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Michele-Gould-headshot.jpg” />Michele Gould is a Thai Australian writer, composer and performer who creates art inspired by the diverse heroes of today. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science and has trained in Musical Theatre at WAAPA and Principal Academy of Dance. She professionally debuted as a Swing in We Will Rock You at the Crown Theatre with Platinum Entertainment in her final year of study. Michele debuted her first original musical Passing at Fringe World Perth 2021 which premiered to sold out shows and rave reviews. Michele has since developed their next musical 107 with Antipodes Theatre Company as part of their 2021 Winter Lab. In 2022 they were part of ATYP’s National Studio and will be a published playwright as part of the Intersection Festival. She also attended the first ever APRA AMCOS Musical Theatre SongHubs 2022 as well as mounting 107 at The Blue Room Theatre for their Summer Nights program and subsequent Main Season; another production with sold out shows and critical acclaim. Michele was recently a creative associate on TLGHs D*ck Pics and a swing for ATYPs The Resistance. When not busy trying to take on the world, Michele is happiest playing Dungeons and Dragons.
  • Lachlan Parry

    ” alt=”Lachlan Parry Headshot” width=”200″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:200/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Fresh-Ink-Sydney-headshot-Lachlan-Parry.jpg” />Lachlan Parry is an emerging writer who is interested in authentic and inclusive queer storytelling with an MFA in Writing for Performance from the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Lachlan also studied scripted television at Regent’s University in London. While in London he wrote and co-directed a new work titled Three Sisters, which played at the Marylebone Theatre. His second play, How to Win a Plebiscite (and Tennis) featured at the end of 2022 in NIDA’s Festival of Emerging Artists. Lachlan has written two short films, notably Tonight’s the Night and Coffee, which have both featured in local and international film festivals. Lachlan was recently shortlisted for the Born Writers Award for his short film script This House is Mine Now which wrapped production in early 2023. He was a member of ATYP’s 2022 National Studio and looks forward to being part of the Intersection Festival in 2023 with his piece, Violet. He was also a featured writer for the 2019 anthology Infinite Threads. Lachlan pays his respects to the Gadigal people as the traditional owners and storytellers of the land on which he lives and works.
  • Bokkie Robertson

    ” alt=”Bokkie Robertson” width=”212″ height=”300″ data-opt-src=”https://ml3vsad5w2i8.i.optimole.com/w:212/h:300/q:mauto/f:best/https://atyp.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Bokkie-Robertson-headshot.jpg” />Bokkie “Too Poor For a Pro Headshot” Robertson is a stage and screen writer-director living and working on unceded Gadigal land. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Screen Production from AFTRS, a Certificate III in Live Production, Theatre and Events, and a Doctorate of How Not to Hate Yourself While Writing Your Bio in Third Person. She’s directed a bunch of cool theatre (immersive Much Ado About Nothing, high school dramedy The Other End of the Afternoon, so on and so forth), and won the Silver Gull Play Award in 2021 for The Other End of the Afternoon, which she also wrote (and whose godawfully lengthy title she is in a constant state of regretting). She’s worked on some cool Aussie films (Long Story Short, June Again, Ellie and Abbie and Ellie’s Dead Aunt) and made a couple of shorts, which she refuses to name because they’re not very good and she doesn’t want you going and watching them. She’s run out of space to talk about her web series, music videos, involvement in ATYP’s 2021 National Studio, or the really silly feature film she’s writing, so it looks like we’ll just have to take her word for it that she’s more or less completely spectacular, and cross our fingers that she doesn’t let us down.

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