Cirrus@Austlit

(Publication abstract)

'A deep dive into iconic 1980s Australian women-in-prison TV drama Prisoner (aka Cell Block H), its contemporary reimagining as Wentworth, and its broader, global industry significance and influence, this book brings together a range of scholarly and industry perspectives, including an interview with actor Shareena Clanton (Wentworth’s Doreen Anderson). Its chapters draw on talks with producers, screenwriters and casting; fan voices from the Wentworth twitterverse; comparisons with Netflix’s Orange is the New Black; queer and LGBTQ approaches; and international production histories and contexts. By charting a path from Prisoner to Wentworth, the book offers a new mapping of TV shifts and transformations through the lens of female transgression, ruminating on the history, currency, industry position and cultural value of women-in-prison series.'

Source: Abstract.

'Comedy writers use their practice to raise questions and create awareness about social, political and cultural issues, but can these practitioners be considered academics? With creative modalities of enquiry now commonplace in universities – where research is used to shape one’s practice, resulting in creative work that embodies that research – when does comedy writing start to take on a different function? In this article, we discuss comedy screenwriting in an academic setting, arguing that it has potential as a rigorous mode of research that can sit happily alongside art, design, creative writing and media practice. Much has been written about creative practice research, yet not so much has been written about the form this type of research takes; specifically, why one might choose comedy to express, embody or otherwise perform the findings of research. Here, then, we draw on our experiences of undertaking screenwriting projects using comedy to discuss the ways in which researchers might use the comic mode to present their findings in imaginative, innovative and fun ways that can expand understanding and, potentially, garner impact.' (Publication abstract)

This article argues that, for Australian comedy series creators, the web platform has opened a new space in which the 'rules' of script development are being expanded, enhanced or othenoise refashioned through having direct connection  with and input from their audience. With the audience's potential as a 'comedy gatekeeper, the web series audience becomes integral to the ways in which these texts are developed, namely skipping the erstwhile second-guessing of demographic tastes by more traditional broadcast development executives and commissioners. Referring to a range of well-known Australian comedy web series, such as Bondi Hipsters (2011-2017) and The Katering Show (2015-2017) — including what their creators, writers and audiences have said about them — we investigate the processes behind the success of these series...'  (Publication abstract)

'This short screenplay casts the screenwriter as investigator of screenplay formatting, through the writing of a script within which she performs this practice. That is to say, the writer uses a creative practice methodology to critique and examine screenplay formatting conventions through screenwriting practice itself. Specifically, she explores the role of the slugline (or scene heading) and the creative possibilities of this element of ‘scene text’ (Sternberg 1997), beyond its practical function in screenwriting and screen production. The writer drinks with authors, theorists and the fabled typing monkeys in her exploration of the slugline as punctuation; asking how it might contribute to rhythm and transitions in screenplays. She considers the slugline in its capacity as ‘extrafictional voice’ (Ingelstrom, 2014) and asks: can sluglines guide editing and mise-en-scene, as Claudia Sternberg suggests of the impersonal narrative voice? Can sluglines be used repetitively (as in songwriting) to reinforce imagery and rhythm? The work critically engages with the traditional INT. and EXT. and also floats a broader question: what might the language of online abbreviations have to offer screenwriting conventions? A subplot sees a cast and crew meet for a table read, putting voice to an industry potentially suspicious of such an endeavour, and providing a playful commentary on the different ways in which the roles within screen production engage with the traditional screenplay.'

'This article explores ‘the exegesis now’ from the perspective of the screenwriting practice PhD. Using as a playful homage to traditional screenplay structure, the archetypal Hero’s Journey, it maps the landscape and offers examples of how the screenwriting exegesis/dissertation is occurring at RMIT University. This includes a comedy feature film about gender and perspective; a multiple-protagonist feature film set in the world of avid Doctor Who fans; and a hybrid form, the screen novel, set in the politically corrupt world of contemporary Melbourne transport infrastructure. Guided by their supervisor ‘mentor’, two candidates and one recent graduate embark on a collaborative journey that probes, prods, prises open and proposes what the screenwriting practice PhD can do and look like, and by doing so raise important points about the purpose and form of the dissertation. Collectively, the authors assume the simultaneous roles of the candidate who is doing, completing and has completed; the experienced supervisor; and the in-training supervisor.' (Publication abstract)