What's Your Story Melbourne

"I believe everybody is up to something, some just don't know what it is yet they just need to have the conversation about it"In Episode Five of What's Your Story Melbourne producer Jess Fairfax and writer Enza Gandolfo chat passion. What is it about humans that enable us to delve into a love for something? How do we find it and what keeps us from discovering it?Enza Gandolfo is the author of the novel, The Bridge (Scribe 2018) and Swimming (Vanark Press 2009). She is also the co-author of several non-fiction books including: Inventory: On Op Shops with Sue Dodd and It Keeps Me Sane: Women Craft Wellbeing with Marty Grace. Her short stories, essays, autobiographical pieces, reviews and articles have been published in a range of literary journals, magazines and newspapers.​Enza is an Honorary Professor in Creative Writing at Victoria University. https://www.vu.edu.au/contact-us/enza-gandolfo

In Episode Four of What's Your Story Melbourne producer Jess Fairfax and writer Anne Harris chat safe spaces and belonging. How and where we find them and/or create them and why they are so important.Featuring original composition by Jess Fairfax alongside:The Orbweavers - MerriHakki Obadia (oud and vocals) - Take Me To My Beloved CountryMUNA - I Know a PlaceAnne M. Harris is a research fellow and the Director of Creative Agency, a creative research lab, at RMIT University. Harris is a native New Yorker and professional playwright and dramaturg.For more, see www.creativeresearchhub.com

What's Your Story Melbourne Episode Three features a conversation with writer Stacy Holman Jones interwoven with collected audio, interviews and poetry discussing love in it's many forms.Stacy Holman Jones is a writer, director, scholar and teacher in the Centre for Theatre and Performance at Monash University. Her research focuses broadly on how performance as socially, culturally, and politically resistive and transformative activity. Her writing, directing and performance work has been featured at international events including FEAST Festival in Adelaide, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry in the US, and in performance and conference venues in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Scotland. In addition, she has published more than 75 articles, book chapters, reviews, and editorials and has authored, co-authored and edited 11 books.

Episode Two of What's Your Story Melbourne features writer and poet Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa alongside producer Jess Fairfax discussing family - all that it is, isn't, could be and should be.All original compositions by Jess Fairfax except for:1. Neha Bhasin - Madhaniya2. Blood Orange - Family ft. Janet MockSpoken word pieces by:1. Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa2. Jesse ChrisanSukhjit Kaur Khalsa is a first generation Australian Sikh spoken word artist, educator, performer & human rights reformer.Sukhjit is passionate about diversity and the importance of visibility in the performing arts and inherently merges her advocacy background with the arts. Her work predominantly provokes conversations around Australian identity, feminism, cultural confusions, and the power of uncomfortable conversations.Within a short period, Sukhjit has gone from performing at the Opera House for the Australian Poetry Slam Competition in 2014 to performing on national television for Australia’s Got Talent, and most recently she was a speaker at TedxUWA. She has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Missy Higgins and L-FRESH the Lion and her performances and workshops have led her to tour USA, Canada, UK and South East Asia, as well as across our very own nation.Sukhjit is currently co-commissioned to write and perform 'Fully Sikh' with Barking Gecko Theatre Company and Black Swan State Theatre Company in Western Australia for their 2019 season.​https://www.facebook.com/sookjeet/

Episode One of What's Your Story Melbourne features writer Tobias Mccorkell alongside producer Jess Fairfax discussing writing Melbourne and it's suburbs.All original compositions by Jess Fairfax. Except for:Frank Sinatra - New York New YorkKlezmeritis - Araber TanzMikelangelo - Streets ft. TaliFeatures excerpts, read by Rick Howe, from:Cairo - Chris WomersleyCafe Scheherazade - Arnold ZableLoaded - Christos TsiolkasTobias McCorkell is a writer and academic whose fiction and non-fiction interrogate the class, gender and generational divides of Australian culture.Tobias holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne and has been teaching creative writing at the tertiary level since 2012. His reviews of Australian literary theory have appeared in The Journal of Postcolonial Writing.As a freelance author, he also writes light non-fiction, humour and gift books for Smith Street Books, under the name Tobias Anthony.The manuscript for his first novel, Barely Anything, won the University of Melbourne/Affirm Press Prize for Creative Writing.