The voices of women in Dubbo
VOICES of Women is a not-forprofit organisation that aims to encourage Australian women to share their stories in a short monologue.
Creator and artistic director Lliane Clarke established the program in 2018 with a focus of transitioning the first-person story to a film or play.
Lliane says through the program writers get the opportunity to see their stories presented from the professional actor’s eyes. She says “writers get inspired seeing their monologue told by someone else and develop stories even more” and shares an anecdote of a writer who made her character obsessed with her phone, but seeing it performed she reinvented the character and established her in a phone rehabilitation centre for her next edition.
“Writers continue to develop their stories and progress to write books and they see their characters come alive throughout the performance,” she says, confirming there is a lot of variety in the stories.
Lliane tells Dubbo Photo News it is vital for women to express their story with no limitations to celebrate “who we are and what we become”.
“Through storytelling, women have the power to show resilience, courage and can captivate an audience through their sense of humour and belief,” she expresses, acknowledging that women have been denied top share their story, but she hopes to encourage every woman to come forward with a piece as it might have happened to someone else or has the potential to change outlooks.
There are no limitations to submissions. According to Liiane, women have shared powerful stories about harassment, lack of equal opportunity and feeling valued as a person in personal roles such as a mother, a sister or a lover.
She laughed when suggesting women are even encouraged to share dreams of being a princess in a castle, adding that every woman wanted that at one stage in their lives and some still do.
“We definitely have heard women expressing themselves and stories that have come from that, but not enough in my opinion,” she continues saying “the female perspective
is not heard enough”.
Voices of Women is coming to Dubbo as part of the Amplify tour and Lliane is excited to discover how the women of Dubbo express their stories.
Voices of Women artist in residence Kalina Davis will feature in the event capturing the audience with her storytelling.
“I’m very excited to connect people with my work and have them perceive the pieces in their own way,” Kalina says, sharing that she has written three monologues encapsulating three diverse stories.
“The topics carry power and feeling empowered through a women’s lens that almost provide an unsettling feeling to the audience,” she admits.
Kalina says this project has been her first time writing a monologue and she is looking forward to having it performed through actors.
Voices of Women ensemble performer Georgie Saunders is confident she will do the monologues justice with her performance.
“During the process we get a lot of chance for communication so we go back and forth and provide each other feedback on how we want the piece to feel,” Georgie says.
Lliane confirms the event is to encourage women to speak about the roles rural and regional women pertain.
Enchanting women across the nation, Lliane says she has strong connections to First Nations and diverse women from Australia who currently reside in the United States to share their storytelling.
“We want to demonstrate our international collaboration with women, so they have a chance to publish their work to an Australian audience,” she says.
“The world is a connected place, so we want to express that,” Lliane
says Voice of Women has a podcast to share the stories.
“As women we already have so much in common with how we identify ourselves, but through the power of storytelling it is important how you see yourself living through someone else’s shoes,” she explains.
Lliane mentions that audience can feel power through listening and really hearing what someone else has to say, she continues by stating people feel empowered understanding the essence of a story.
“The power of losing yourself and coming back to reality when someone else shares a moment is magical and that is what I want to reflect,” she claims.
The Amplify Tour will be coming to Dubbo Friday, March 4, at 6.30pm at Studio 138.
For more information and to book tickets for the event head to www.voiceswomen.com