Michael Cove Michael Cove i(A411 works by)
Born: Established: 1946 ;
Gender: Male
Heritage: English
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BiographyHistory

Michael Cove started out his writing career in the theatre in the early 1970s. His play Jesters was one of the last productions at Nimrod Street Theatre and Kookaburra was one of the first plays at Belvoir Street. Both were directed by Richard Wherrett.

In 1974 Cove turned to fulltime scriptwriting. His work for television has since been recognised with a Penguin Award for best episode script, and the 1980 Logie for best script for his original series A Place in the World, broadcast on the ABC in 1979. Other awards include Gold and Silver AWGIEs for radio drama, a Screenwriter’s Fellowship from the Australian Film Commission and three fellowships from the Literature Board of The Australia Council (most recently in 2012).

Cove started out writing for television in the early 1970s, contributing material and/or scripts to such series as The Aunty Jack Show (1973), The Sullivans (1976) and The Oracle (1979). He later scripted episodes for such shows as Sweet and Sour (1984), Dancing Days (1986), A Country Practice (1989), E Street (1989), Heartbreak High (1994) and State Coroner (1998). Cove's feature film writing includes: Deathcheaters (1976), Fighting Back (1982), and Rainbow's End (1995). He also wrote the 2009 television movie For Valour.

Cove joined media production company Bearcage in 1998 and has since scripted all its corporate, government and broadcast material. In 2011 he received the artsACT Creative Arts Fellowship.

In 2007 Cove return to theatre after a 25 year absence. His play, Troupers, was given its world premiere by the Sydney Theatre Company, and starred veteran actor Barry Otto.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Cove has also written radio adaptations of popular works for the ABC.

Personal Awards

2011 Australia Council Literature Board Grants Grants for Established Writers $50,000 for fiction writing.
2011 recipient ACT Creative Arts Fellowship To research and complete three screenplays.

Awards for Works

form The Habit 1992 single work radio play

'An Australian priest returns from Central America where he has been imprisoned by a dictatorial government. A gripping story of torture, politics and religion.'

Source: Green Left ('Radio Highlights', 2 September 1992).

1992 winner AWGIE Awards Major Award
form y separately published work icon E Street ( dir. Rod Hardy et. al. )agent Network Ten Westside Film & Television , 1989-1993 7210561 1989 series - publisher film/TV

A one-hour soap opera focusing on life in a gritty inner-city suburb.

1992 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Series
form y separately published work icon A Country Practice ( dir. Igor Auzins et. al. )agent Sydney Australia : JNP Films Seven Network , 1981-1993 Z1699739 1981-1994 series - publisher film/TV

Set in a small, fictional, New South Wales country town called Wandin Valley, A Country Practice focused on the staffs of the town's medical practice and local hospital and on the families of the doctors, nurses, and patients. Many of the episodes also featured guest characters (frequently patients served by the practice) through whom various social and medical problems were explored. Although often considered a soap opera, the series was not built around an open-ended narrative; instead, the two one-hour episodes screened per week formed a self-contained narrative block, though many of the storylines were developed as sub-plots for several episodes before becoming the focus of a particular week's storyline. While the focus was on topical issues such as youth unemployment, suicide, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, and terminal illness, the program did sometimes explore culturally sensitive issues, including, for example, the Aboriginal community and their place in modern Australian society.

Among the show's principal characters were Dr Terence Elliott, local policeman Sergeant Frank Gilroy, Esme Watson, Shirley Dean Gilroy, Bob Hatfield, Vernon 'Cookie' Locke, and Matron Margaret 'Maggie' Sloan. In addition to its regularly rotating cast of characters, A Country Practice also had a cast of semi-regulars who would make appearances as the storylines permitted. Interestingly, while the series initially targeted the adult and older youth demographic, it became increasingly popular with children over the years.

1984 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1985 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1986 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1992 nominated Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
Last amended 19 Dec 2014 12:32:14
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