Advisory Board

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ADVISORY BOARD
Linda Bathur
Bob Carr
Deborah Franco
Wayne Harrison
David Hill
Roy Masters
Aarne Neeme
George Newhouse
Alana Valentine
John Ward
Barbara Warren
David Williamson

LINDA BATHUR is the Manager of Waverley Library, and has been working in public, metropolitan, and university libraries for 35 years. Linda’s extensive experience in NSW libraries has resulted in a strong desire for wider recognition of Australian writers – such as Alex Buzo – who carved a niche in our culture with his distinctive voice. She believes clearer markers throughout our literary history, would serve as inspiration for today’s playwrights. Linda is Chair of the Committee for the Westfield Waverley Library Award for Literature and an Associate of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA).

BOB CARR, the state’s longest continuously serving Premier and Minister for the Arts, retired in 1995 after ten years and three election wins. Born in 1947, he was educated at Matraville High School and the University of New South Wales. He is Chair of the Board of the Asbestos Diseases Research Foundation, a member of the Board of the Dymocks Group of Companies, a member of the advisory board of the Centre for Australian Studies at Georgetown University, Washington and a member of the India Council for Sustainable Development. His books include THOUGHTLINES:REFLECTIONS OF A PUBLIC MAN (2002) and MY READING LIFE (2008).

DEBORAH FRANCO is the Sales/Marketing Director at Currency Press - Australia's performing arts publisher. Currency Press have published many Buzo plays. Their first publication was Buzo's play MACQUARIE in 1971. Currency Press have also hosted a number of events in recent years to celebrate the work of Alex Buzo.

WAYNE HARRISON was the Creative Director of Sydney's New Years Eve event from 2005-7. In 2007 he was the director of the Helpmann Awards for Live Performance Australia, as well as the circus/cabaret sensation ABSINTHE which played in New York. In 2006 he was the director of the Closing Ceremony for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, as well as the director of the touring production of TWO WEEKS WITH THE QUEEN for Adelaide's Windmill Theatre Arts and END OF THE RAINBOW in Sydney, Melbourne and the Edinburgh Festival. In 2002 he directed ALONE IT STANDS for Mollison Productions. From 1999 to 2001, he was the Creative Director of SFX/Back Row and Clear Channel Entertainment (Europe). From 1990 to 1999 he was the Director/CEO of Sydney Theatre Company.

DAVID HILL
During his remarkable career, David Hill has been Chairman, then Managing Director of the ABC, Chairman of the Australian Football Association, Chief Executive and Director of the State Rail Authority NSW, Chairman of Sydney Water Corporation, Director of the Australian National Airlines Commission and Chairman of CREATE - a national organisation responsible for representing the interests of young people and children in institutional care. He is the author of the bestselling book THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN published by Random House in 2007.

GEORGE NEWHOUSE is an internationally recognised lawyer and leader in the field of human rights law and has been involved in legal representation and advocacy for many vulnerable groups in Australia. He is best known for representing Vivian Alvarez Solon, an Australian citizen illegally deported to the Philippines and Cornelia Rau, an Australian citizen wrongfully detained in a refugee detention centre. George Newhouse is a Councillor and former mayor of Waverley in Sydney. Most recently, he was the Labour candidate for the seat of Sydney's Wentworth in the 2007 Australian federal election.

AARNE NEEME has directed over 200 professional theatre productions since 1962 and worked for most of the major theatre companies in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. He was Head of Drama at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts for many years. He was also Artistic Director for The Actors Centre (Sydney), Hole in the Wall (Perth), Hunter Valley Theatre Company (Newcastle), and National Theatre Company (Perth). More recently, he has added television to his long list of credits, directing Neighbours, All Saints, MDA and Blue Heelers. Aarne became friends with Alex Buzo nearly 40 years ago and has had the privilege of directing 14 of his plays including ROOTED, CORALIE LANDSDOWNE SAYS NO, MARTELLO TOWERS, BIG RIVER, MACQUARIE, PACIFIC UNION and SHELLCOVE ROAD and the premieres of MAKASSAR REEF, THE MARGINAL FARM and STINGRAY.

ROY MASTERS is one of Australia's best known sports journalists and most highly regarded rugby league coaches. He coached the Western Suburbs Rugby League Football Club (The Magpies) from 1978 and famously and controversially termed Wests the "fibros" and Manly the "silvertails." In 1982 began coaching St George, reaching the grand final in 1985. He has written for The Sydney Morning Herald for 20 years and covered nine Olympics. He is currently a panellist on ABC TV's sports show OFFSIDERS.

ALANA VALENTINE’S writing has been awarded the 2004 Queensland Premier's Award for Best Drama Script, 2003 NSW Writer's Fellowship, 2002 Rodney Seaborn Playwright's Award and an International Writing Fellowship at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. She also received a 2001 commendation for the Louis Esson Prize, a 1999 AWGIE Award, a residency at the Banff Playwrights' Conference in Canada, the ANPC/New Dramatists Award in NYC and A Churchill Fellowship for England and Ireland and a NSW Premier's Award. Alana is well known for her excellent use of research within the community she is writing about. This is evident in her popular 2004 play RUN RABBIT RUN about South Sydney League's Club's fight for survival and 2007's sell out season of PARRAMATTA GIRLS at Belvoir Street Theatre about the infamous Girls Training School, Parramatta.

JOHN WARD was the General Manager of the NSW Office of the Board of Studies from 1995 to 2003 and is presently an Education Consultant. During this time with the Board of Studies, the office set up new systems to produce over 90 new syllabuses for years Kindergarten to Year 12, developed one of Australia's top educational websites and achieved new levels of openness and responsiveness in the way the Board of Studies did business. He is presently an Education Consultant.

BARBARA WARREN is the Head of NIDA Corporate Performance and consults in the private and public sector to an extensive range of Australian and international companies. Prior to establishing NIDA Corporate Performance as a separate department, Barbara was Head of NIDA's Open Program. In this role she was responsible for steering the Open Program towards becoming a successful and respected business unit. Whilst the financial gains for NIDA were immense perhaps the greatest gains came in the form of providing valuable employment opportunities for NIDA graduates and leveraging the NIDA brand in both the national and international marketplace. She has also worked for Cameron Mackintosh Productions and as a drama teacher, consultant for Gifted and Talented workshops in Dance and Drama and an HSC Marker.

DAVID WILLIAMSON is Australia's best known and most prolific playwright whose plays have been produced all over the world. He has written over 30 plays including THE REMOVALISTS, DON'S PARTY, THE CLUB, EMERALD CITY, MONEY AND FRIENDS, DEAD WHITE MALES, UP FOR GRABS, CHARITABLE INTENT, SOULMATES, LOTTE'S GIFT and the upcoming SCARLETT O'HARA AT THE CRIMSON PARROT for the Melbourne Theatre Company this year. His films include GALLIPOLI, THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, PHAR LAP, TRAVELLING NORTH and BRILLIANT LIES.

The Alex Buzo Company

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