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R Johns

R JOHNS

  (1957 - )
Nationality:    Australian
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    melbourne@nowactors.com.au

R. (Rosemary) Johns works as a writer, actor and director. She has a First Class Honours degree in Drama from Manchester University UK, an MFA in Theatre from UCR, California and an Ma from La Trobe Australia. Her plays include at the Centre of Light, Carrying Shoes into the Unknown (La Mama 2005 & 2006) selected for VCe Theatre Studies 2006 and VCe Monologue Studies in 2008. the monologue was published in 'Contemporary Monologues for Young Men and Women Pt 2' (Oberon Press UK 2007). Other plays include the elephants Tusk (La Mama); Luck of the Draw (MRPG/ Playbox, published Currency Press); Cant Help Myself (Royal Womens Hospital/45 Downstairs); the Opportunity Shop (La Mama, supported by the City of Yarra Arts Fund). Co-writing credits include the Girl Who Wanted To Be God, invited for a staged performance at the 5th International Womens Playwrights Conference athens 2000 (subsequently produced at La Mama/Theatreworks and Playbox: Theatre In the Raw); Micky (supported by the Australia Council Literature Board);Quilting the armour, a play commissioned to give voice to the women of the Kelly clan. She has also published short stories, including Salman you send me, the Married Man and the Wings Of a Butterfly was a prize winning entry in a Community aid abroad short story competition and published by Hi-Mark Press (1999).

Research:    http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/231947

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below is a list of R Johns's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         as told by the boys who fed me apples         At the Centre Of Light         Black Box 149         Bring On the Talent         Can't Help Myself         Carrying Shoes Into the Unknown         Elephant's Tusk         Girl Who Wanted To Be God, The         Islands Of The Good And Bad         Luck Of the Draw         Micky         Opportunity Shop         Quilting the Armour

as told by the boys who fed me apples

as told by the boys who fed me apples
Sandy was the only Australian War Horse to return home from World War I. This is his poignant and fragmented war story. Through Sandy we experience the lives of three men who fought in the war. Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges is mortally wounded at Gallipoli, and Sandy is his charger. A veterinary officer is caught with Sandy behind the lines on the Western Front in a gas shell barrage. A 'permanently unfit' soldier becomes a groom and brings Sandy home. Each is affected by their symbiotic relationship with the horse. This unique, poetic piece of theatre captures the brutality of war and the heroism of the soldiers and horses who served. Sandy is the horse full of wattle who drank the waters of the Murray in bucketloads, and who danced with bogong moths. He is our connection to all those left behind.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Beanland Theatre, Victoria University College of the Arts, Footscray     24 Nov 2015

Organisations:
Big West Festival

1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia (2017) >>>    978-1-76062-052-3

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  with doubling

Further Reference:
-

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At the Centre Of Light

Synopsis:
AT the CENTRE OF LIGHT addresses issues of faith in Australian life and the values we hold important. Mary MacKillop had a generosity of spirit and a compassionate heart; she had friends across creeds and believed in equality for we are but travellers here. It explores what these values hold for us today and how isolation, poverty and struggle ignite faith. Mary MacKills journey highlights the plight of women in rural and urban environments. Mary stands for all the pioneer women whose courage and contribution has gone unsung. Mary MacKillop stood her ground against male patriarchy and parochialism. She went alone to Rome to plead with the Pope that the Josephite sisters should have central control over their order rather than it being carved up to serve the interests of local Bishops. Her travels are an odyssey - mapping an interior landscape of belief and aspiration in a world of dark places. as 19th century Australia is being mapped, explored and carved up for minerals and land grabs, Mary discovers another landscape made of faith and dreams. Her original and authentic voice challenges a colonial society dominated by men and asks, what is this land to which we all belong?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
La Mama Explorations Season 2007

1st Published:
http://Australianplays.org/   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
100 min Drama, Historical

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/75442

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Black Box 149

Black Box 149
a fictionalised account of a true incident - the grounding of British airways Flight 149 at Kuwait International airport during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 - Black Box 149 explores the impact of war and terror on the lives of civilians. Written as an intense psychological and emotional journey, the play explores secrets, betrayal and guilt, and how the personal is impacted by the political.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/73191

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Bring On the Talent

Synopsis:
Self-proclaimed guru, Flynn Fitzpatrick, holds high-priced acting classes and attempts to victimise his students with unexpected consequences. the play is a study about the cult of personality. How unstable people who seek power attract vulnerable people to them and infuse them with their own madness.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Carlton Courthouse, Carlton, VIC     12 Aug 1998

Organisations:
Melbourne Writers' Theatre

1st Published:
http://Australianplays.org/   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
90 minscomedy Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/60509

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Can't Help Myself

Synopsis:
A chilling exposure of just how far a woman will go to achieve her fantasy of romantic love.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Yvonne Bowden Auditorium, Carlton, VIC     07 Mar 2001

Organisations:
Women Working In Theatre

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
one person show

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/14867

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Carrying Shoes Into the Unknown

Carrying Shoes Into the Unknown
a fictionalised account of a true story of a Western family living in Iran during the last days of the Shah and the rise of ayotollah Khomeini.

Notes:
selected for VCe theatre Studies 2006 And VCe Monologue Studies in 2008

1st Produced:

Organisations:
La Mama

1st Published:
http://Australianplays.org/script/ASC-1595   978-08681978-76

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  15            Female:  6            Other:  doubling possible

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/69169

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Elephant's Tusk

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
La Mama Theatre @ the Carlton Courthouse

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Girl Who Wanted To Be God, The

Synopsis:
The Girl Who Wanted To Be God is a witty and poignant journey through the life of American poet Sylvia Plath.

Notes:
written by Karen Corbett, Rosemary Johns and Brenda Palmer. invited for A staged performance At the 5th International Women's Playwrights Conference Athens 2000 (subsequently produced At La Mama/theatreworks And Playbox: theatre In the Raw)

1st Produced:
Carlton Courthouse, Carlton, VIC     30 Jul 2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
biographical play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/19094

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Islands Of The Good And Bad

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Fairfax Studio, Melbourne, VIC     13 Dec 2006

Organisations:
Short and Sweet 2006 Week 3

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/76054

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Luck Of the Draw

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Albury-Wodonga, NSW     03 Jul 1985

Organisations:
Murray River Performing Group

1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/102503

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Micky

Synopsis:
Micky Ashton of The Seven Ashtons, Risley and Tumbling Acrobats was born in Australia November 16, 1922. . .Micky's last years were spent training the Flying Fruit Fly Circus of Albury, where he died in 1985...this monologue begins with Micky's irritation at the newest aspect of circus in Australia, the Chinese acrobats who coached the Fruit Flies, and who, according to him, often forgot the prime reason for acrobatics - to entertain - in their single-minded concentration on skill. This introduces Micky's iconoclastic take on life.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
La Mama, Carlton, VIC     25 Sep 2002

Organisations:
Melbourne Fringe Festival 2002

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
one person show

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/20355

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Opportunity Shop

Synopsis:
This play takes you on a journey of strange twists and turns in the weird and wonderful world of the opportunity shop.

Notes:
aka The Op Shop

1st Produced:
La Mama, Carlton, VIC     08 Oct 2003

Organisations:
La Mama

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/32298

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Quilting the Armour

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Written by Brensa Addie, Jeannie Haughton and Rosemary Johns. A play commissioned to give voice to the women of the Kelly clan. 125th Ned Kelly Siege Commemoration

1st Produced:
Glenrowan and District Soldiers Memorial Hall, Glenrowan, VIC     07 Jul 2005

Organisations:
Rural City of Wangaratta

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/124698

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