Joanna Erskine Member
Joanna Erskine is an award-winning playwright, producer, speaker, teacher and arts education specialist. She is the Head of Education at Bell Shakespeare, where she has worked in education for 16+ years. As both artist and arts manager, Joanna was supported and inspired by youth arts as her career developed, and she is thrilled to join the Canberra Youth Theatre Board. A graduate of the NIDA Playwright’s Studio, Joanna’s writing career was kickstarted when she won the Sydney Theatre Company Young Playwrights Award at the age of 18. Joanna is a two-time winner of the Silver Gull Play Award, Lysicrates Prize finalist, and founder and director of Storytellers Festival, a showcase and celebration of unproduced Australian writing, held annually at Kings Cross Theatre (KXT). Joanna’s plays have been staged at the Old Fitzroy Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Pier 2/3, KXT, ATYP, NIDA, Old 505 Theatre, Legs on The Wall, Slide Bar, Bondi Pavilion, and in hundreds of schools around Australia. A former high school teacher, Joanna is passionate about writing for, and working with, young audiences and has written extensively for Bell Shakespeare, Camp Quality and Poetry In Action. Her popular monologue BOOT is performed by Year 12 students each year. It was originally produced by ATYP, published by Currency Press and commissioned for film, screening at film festivals internationally.
