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2011 June: Masters Event in Melbourne

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Masters' Series Workshop in Melbourne


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Another very successful Masters' Series event was held in Melbourne on 30 June, 2011. 

Learn how to craft stories that inspire audiences

Hear from skilled communicators and discover creative strategies for crafting and presenting stories that inspire and engage audiences.

The workshop helped attendees to:

  • Use stories to build simple yet powerful message-based presentations
  • Craft content that engages your audience
  • Use visual imagery to convey messages
  • Ignite your creativity
  • Integrate a songwriter’s rhythm and wordsmithing in writing and presentations
  • Understand the role of storytelling in Indigenous culture
  • Build directorial skills in telling stories through cinematography

The workshop was designed for those working in the interpretive field – including guides, interpretation officers, education officers, curators, interpretive managers, planners and designers.

Feedback from attendees about the event overall

"First IA event I've attended. Great value for day. Look forward to future events".
"Thanks for all your hard work - job well done!"
"Thank you I'm refreshed and inspired!"
"Informative and fantastic, like d the variety and different styles."
"Very Useful thank you!"
"Great day thanks."
"Well done, couldn't have been better."

 

What did people find useful at the workshop?

"It was great to hear form other people how they write their stories. Can use ideas from each person."
"Gaining insights to storytelling from different perspectives."
"Quality speakers, opportunities for networking."
"Presentations that made me think differently."
"Practical tips and creative people giving real examples of their work with room to reflect."
"The variety of perspectives that were presented."
"Learning from people skilled in their craft."
"Seeing different perspectives on interps to aid development of my interps methods."
"All speakers were great. They provided many different perspectives and the combination was great."
"The diversity of skills of the speakers and how they converged. There were some wonderful common threads."
"Great range of perspectives from the speakers"
"Getting a variety of skills from each presenter that I can use in my presentations"
"The variety of speakers and their styles. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and the journey. Thank you"
"Every speaker gave so much. We all learnt so much"
"Good communication demonstrated by speakers who were experts in their own fields"
"I thought the different crafts / background of each speaker made for a great breadth / width of cope of different styles and interpretive delivery"

 

Feedback from attendees on the speakers

Bill and Judy Nicholson:

"The best interpreter of Indigenous culture I've experienced."
"Sincere and informative. Easy to listen to."
"The best interpreter of Indigenous culture I've experienced."
"Sensitive insight and connection to very important topic. Engaging and honest. Bill and Judy opened minds."

David Smith

"Good"
"Brilliant"
"Informative"
"Inspiring creative process."

Nigel Sutton

"Entertaining, useful and valuable insights. Lots of good advice."
"Brilliant, He had a strong point and purpose."
"Great."
"Excellent."
"Engaging, interactive. Some of the most useful advice I've ever had as an interpreter."
"Brilliant, thank you."
"Learnt so much".

Shane Howard

"Fascinating and thought provoking."
"Shane holds us in the palm of his hand right from the start. This presentation in itself was an example of the storytelling art."
"Provocative and valuable."
"Was worth coming just to hear his storytelling and singing. Loved it!"

Lawrence Mooney

"Hilarious, relevant and cool."
"Great way to end the day, Lawrence seems to have an authentic appreciation for what we do, and what skills he might add to it."
"Had a very entertaining presentation and liked to hear about his process of writing."
"Strong finish to the day."
"Totally immersed. Excellent."
"Fabulous."

 

The speakers also loved the day...

"Thank you so much for inviting me to contribute to the Masters Series. It was a refreshing and stimulating day and I was honoured to be among such talented presenters."

"Thank you very much for including me in the Melbourne Masters program.  I thoroughly enjoyed  myself and the other speakers as well.
The audience were really receptive and that alone is a pleasure.  May I also commend you on your choice of biscuit, delicious."

 

 

The workshop speakers were:

Lawrence Mooney - a critically acclaimed stand-up comedian.  He has starred in many television shows (Winners and Losers, Agony Uncles, Woodley, The White Room, Out of the Question, and The Einstein Factor) and is a regular at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.  In 2011 he was awarded Best of the Fest by crikey.com, and in 2009 he won The Piece of Wood (Comedians Choice Award). He’s also been twice nominated for the Barry Award  (Best Show of The Festival 2001, 2002).  In 2011 he had a sell out success with An Indecisive Bag of Donuts.

Nigel Sutton - a professional performer, writer and creative consultant for over twenty years in corporate entertainment, film, television and stage. His extensivework includes preformance and creative consulting for over 50 major museum exhibitions and arts festivals.  Nigel runs specialised training workshops for guides, educators and interpretation staff in museums, art galleries, historic sites, cultural centres, zoos and conservation parks.  He is recognised as an innovator in the field of thematic and cultural interpretation and is currently delivering skills-based master class workshops to cultural institutions across Australia.

Dr David Smith BSc (Hons) PhD FRSA is a director, cameraman and producer specializing in broadcast television documentaries, radio broadcasts, books and articles on science, medicine, social issues and the environment.  He has worked on more than twenty broadcast documentaries and hosted his own weekly national television series, David Smith's Earthwatch, on ABC TV.  He has written six books, including two critically acclaimed thrillers.  He recently worked as Associate Producer and Animation Supervisor on the large-format (IMAX) documentary Australia: land beyond time.  David established imaginACTION in 1987 as a company dedicated to taking imaginative ideas and converting them into reality.

Bill and Mandy Nicholson provided an Indigenous perspective of storytelling.

Mandy Nicholson is a multifaceted artist from the heartland of Melbourne. Born in 1975, she was raised in Healesville and belongs to the Wurundjeri-willam (Woiwurrung language) clan of the Kulin Nation. Mandy has practised visual art since 1994 and studied Koorie art and design at RMIT University in Bundoora and Monash University.

Although primarily a painter, Mandy also produces ceramics, carvings, murals, prints, designs and children's clothing. In addition to creating her own works, Mandy has also been a contributor to large-scale public artworks including the Manchester and Melbourne Commonwealth Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Common Ground at Birrarung Marr and Kirrip Wurrung Biik through the Wyndham City Council.

The stories behind Mandy's designs revolve around nature, animals, stories of her people, personal experience and her two daughters, executed using the traditional motifs of her people blended with contemporary interpretation.

Shane Howard is a singer/songwriter. His songs champion the cause of the underdog, provide meaningful insights into the human spirit and interpret the Australian landscape in a way that has helped to build a bridge between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal peoples.

In 1982, Shane Howard's anthem Solid Rock, recorded with his band Goanna, reverberated across the airwaves and still does today.  It was one of the first songs of its idiom to broach the subject of Aboriginal rights in Australia and impacted powerfully on a whole new generation of writers and musicians that followed. The album was released in 35 territories worldwide.

Shane has spent many years working, writing, performing, touring with and producing Australian musicians, many of them Aboriginal artists, as well as journeying frequently to his own ancestral homelands in Ireland. He has been outspoken on environmental issues since the song Let The Franklin Flow, written in 1983, protesting the building of a dam on the Franklin River in Tasmania's wild south-west.

Shane continues to pay homage to the culture of his Irish ancestors and the culture of the Aboriginal people whose land he lives on. He combines a deep understanding of poetic and musical folk traditions and captures something essential of the spirit of Australia in words and music. Nevertheless, his songs also have a global reach.  A quiet but passionate rebel, he continues to provide a local, national and international view of Australia and Australians through his songs and stories. He has lived and worked in Australia's cities and remote communities and felt the pulse of the country from within the landscape. A treasured Australian songwriter speaking with first hand knowledge of his subject matter.

John Pastorelli – author of several books and learning resources including ‘Enriching the Experience’. John will be the MC for the day and  provide a wrap-up summary of the day at the end.

Event details:

Where: St Peter's Eastern Hill Hall, Cnr Gisborne & Albert Sts, East Melbourne
When: Thursday 30th June 2011 – 9:45 am to 5:30 pm, followed by networking drinks
Cost: $180 (IA members $160)
Included lunch, morning and afternoon tea. Join IA for membership discount.

Further information: Lynne Furness - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / 0416 278 620
or Scott Killeen - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / 03 9285 9398