Caleb Lewis Caleb Lewis i(A89110 works by)
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Caleb Lewis studied writing at the Flinders University Drama Centre under playwright Verity Laughton. In 2002 he began a yearlong mentorship with Nick Enright and began writing Nailed. In 2003 Lewis won the IAF Literature Scholarship to research the play Krissy Pho in Vietnam. He also won Naked Theatre Company's Write Now competition for his play RocketBaby. In 2004 Lewis's play Songs for the Deaf was produced by FreshTrack Productions for the Adelaide Fringe Festival and he began a two-year residency with Griffin Theatre Company. This culminated in the world premiere of Nailed, which was short-listed for the Phillip Parsons Playwrights' Award.

Lewis has completed two commissions: Clown Empire for Jigsaw Theatre Company (ACT) and Crystal for Riverland Youth Theatre Company (SA). After receiving funding from the Australia Council Theatre Board and Literature Board, his play The Sea Bride won the Theatrelab Emerging Playwright Award, earning a two-week workshop with playwright Edward Albee.

Source: Australian Script Centre website, www.ozscript.org/

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Prior to the Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award 2009 announcement, Caleb Lewis withdrew from the 2009 shortlist in protest against the absence of women in Company B Belvoir's 2010 program. When Lewis was annouced as a joint winner of the Philip Parsons award, Belvoir director Neil Armfield told the Sydney Morning Herald that the award would be kept for Lewis.

    Sources: AustralianPlays website, AustralianPlays.org website, and the Sydney Morning Herald, 07/12/2009
    Sighted: 07/12/2009

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Cathedral 2022 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2022 23362468 2022 single work drama

'A man kneels by his dive gear. It’s late afternoon on the Limestone Coast. He has a story to tell. It starts in the water.

'A powerful, visceral and form-busting new work by award-winning South Australian born playwright Caleb Lewis, Cathedral is a thriller, a family drama and an epic journey of self-discovery.

'From Mount Gambier to Thailand to the North Sea, from soaring first love to shattering loss to ultimate hope, this powerful story ponders a diver’s life shaped by the ocean, and its power to both upend and heal.'

Source: State Theatre Company of South Australia.

2023 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting
y separately published work icon The River at the End of the Road 2018 13961221 2018 single work drama

'Inspired by the majestic Murray River, The River at the End of the Road is the culmination of a two- year collaboration between HotHouse and Australia’s finest indoor/outdoor theatre company, Sport for Jove. Written by Caleb Lewis and directed by Damien Ryan, The River is an epic ‘Huck Finn-style’ adventure ... with a twist.

'Flo and her dad live alone on the edge of the river. With Mum gone and Dad busy operating the ferry, Flo dreams of adventure, little dreaming how close it lies. Every twenty years when the river is at its lowest, a huge festival is held in the dry riverbed for a night and a day. Absent pets return home and families reunite, as the living and the lost come together for one last time.

'But when Flo fails to find her mother and the river starts to rise, she and a newfound friend strike out for the opposite shore, looking for answers - as her desperate father searches for a way to bring her safely home.'

Source: Sport for Jove 2018 season program.

2019 nominated AWGIE Awards Stage Award Community and Youth Theatre
y separately published work icon Six Million Hits 2014 8954518 2014 single work drama

'Welcome to Online.

'A modern colosseum where stars are made and lives ruined in the blink of an eye. A ravenous beast, ever-hungry for the latest scandal or sensation. Plus there’s cat videos too!

'Here you can be anyone. Anonymous or Infamous. Famous or a fan. Everyone gets their fifteen seconds of fame. But how do you survive when suddenly you’ve got six million hits and the entire world starts watching?

'When footage taken on a school camp is uploaded online, soon after the feeding frenzy begins. As the situation spins out of control, those involved must navigate their way out of a maze of their own making, meeting the lost souls of others who have unwittingly achieved fame or infamy online.

'Working alongside playwright, Caleb Lewis, students from John Curtin College of the Arts reflect on their own online experience while trawling the net for its heroes and villains in a bid to hear their side of the story and to pose the question: What if it happened to you?'

Source: Playwright's website (http://www.caleb-lewis.com/6-million-hits/). Sighted: 9/10/2015

2015 nominated AWGIE Awards Stage Award Community Theatre
Last amended 9 Oct 2015 14:35:38
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