FORGE

Andrew Sutherland (he/they) is a Queer Poz (PLHIV) writer and performance-maker between Boorloo and Singapore. His work draws upon Queer and intercultural ways of being, filtering autobiographical practices through pop-cultural, ecological and viral dramaturgies. His debut poetry collection Paradise (point of transmission) was published by Fremantle Press in 2022, and his poetry, fiction and nonfiction publication is extensive. As a performance-maker, recent works include Mother of Compost, Salome delta, and a line could be crossed and you would slowly cease to be. He has been a teaching artist and educator across arts organisations in Boorloo, including for the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Black Swan State Theatre Company, WA Youth Theatre Company, and the Centre for Stories. Andrew is grateful to reside on Whadjuk Noongar boodja.

Dr Chelinay Gates, aka Malardy Mulardy is a Karajarri (Indigenous)/ Kurdish woman, artist, author, poet, playwright and Doctor in Traditional Chinese Medicine. As a mixed race child living Australia, PNG, India and Singapore she experienced firsthand how the marginalised suffer. Later she had the privilege of working with her father, Sir Ronald Wilson, Justice Kennedy and Toohey, Sir Frances Burt, Ken Colbung, Burnum Burnum, Aunty Hazel Brown and many other great souls. Her work is influenced by the dream-state and the journey of the soul in its revolt against illusions.

Laura Liu is a Christian Chinese-Australian emerging performance maker, playwright, and figuring-it-out director. Graduating with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making) from WAAPA in 2019, she went back in 2022 to complete her Honours degree, focusing on the possibilities of formatting and (omitting) translation in a new multi-lingual play text. Laura has this terrible habit of collecting drinks in her fridge, followed by two stressful days of downing said drinks when she needs to move houses. She says she’ll stop, but there are currently five miscellaneous cans, four UP&GOs, two juices, and a 1.25L bottle in the fridge. Yummy.

Rachel McMurray is a director, theatre maker, writer and applied theatre practitioner who recently emigrated to Boorloo/Perth from the UK. She has a BA in Performing Arts from The University of Salford and an MA in Applied Theatre from The University of Manchester. In the UK, Rachel worked The Lowry Theatre, The Royal Exchange Theatre, Theatre in Prison and Probation, Oldham Coliseum Theatre and more. She was co-founder and Artistic Director of Fine Comb Theatre, a UK based new writing company, from 2013-2022. Rachel is passionate about socially engaged practice having delivered arts programs with a variety of communities including within prisons, hard-to-reach young people and adults, schools, theatres, community venues and more. Website: www.rachelmcmurray.com

Sam Nerida (they/them) is a playwright, director and producer, occasionally a performer, and is often working in arts x disability and arts x education spaces; for 8 months a year they are also Associate Producer: Creative Learning for Perth Festival. Most recently they were an ally artist for PLWA’s Kolyang Diversity Lab, and wrote a short work for WA Youth Theatre Company’s Growing Voices. They have been a Perth Festival Lab Artist and KISS Club Artist, and directed The Jellyman for which they were nominated for Best Director (PAWA 2020). Plays include Tissue and See You Next Tuesday (Best New Work and Best Independent Production, PAWA 2019), and in 2020 they were commissioned to contribute to APT’s Dear Australia monologue project.