Queerstories

Teddy Dunn recalls suits from his life, and explores what hindsight (and coming out as trans) does to those memories. Teddy performed this story in Sydney at Giant Dwarf, in Melbourne at Howler and at Adelaide Writer's Week in 2019. Teddy Dunn is an independent director, theatre maker and dramaturg who graduated from Flinders Drama Centre in 2015 with First Class Honours and a University Medal. Si...

Everyone knows bisexual people aren't real and don't exist, so for someone who isn't real and whose existence is a myth, Elaine has nevertheless seen some bullshit. Elaine Castillo was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Comparative Literature. She is a Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation Fellow, and her writing...

Clementine reflects on flying, pregnancy and ways to trick one's brain into managing anxiety. Clementine Ford is a freelance writer, broadcaster and public speaker based in Melbourne. She is the bestselling author of the feminist manifesto Fight Like A Girl. Her most recent book is Boys Will Be Boys. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events aro...

Via possums, renos and Bridget Jones' Baby, Rick outlines his these for why his mother, Deb Morton, is a queer icon. Rick performed this piece at Sydney Writer's Festival and Adelaide Writer's Week. Rick Morton is an award-winning journalist with The Australian and is the author of One Hundred Years of Dirt. It explores intergenerational trauma, poverty, addiction and mental health and the role of...

Teresa shares her story, spanning decades, of life, love, family and climbing the ladder in a male dominated industry. Teresa Avila is cofounder of the Red Rattler Theatre and was founding chair and treasurer for 10 years before stepping down last year. She has worked in engineering and heavy construction for over 20 years and is one of the industry's few operational facing senior women. She is a...

Yen tells a story of moving to Canberra as a bright eyed undergraduate, seeking love, identity and shoes. Yen Eriksen is an advocate, writer and digital storyteller based in Canberra, interested in exploring the intersections between identity, race, gender and queerness. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstorie...

Kate shares a story about having a very gay year in 2009 - living in queer share houses, discovering mooncups and enjoying lesbian blogs. Kate Duffy is a community lawyer and educator. She established the Safe Relationships Project a domestic violence court assistance scheme for the LGBTIQ community whilst working at the Inner City Legal Centre, and the domestic violence resource Ask LOIS whilst w...

Jonny reflects on his history, on family, and on how he grew up to be exactly who he is. Jonny Hawkins is an actor, writer and big time DJ. He was the recipient of the 2016 Sydney Theatre Critic's Best Newcomer Award and you may have seen him in the TV Mini series PETER ALLEN: NOT THE BOY NEXT DOOR or the ABC film RIOT. In 2017 he made a short film called Joy Boy, which won best film at the Melbou...

For years, Maeve and DeAnne have planned to host an event called Super Lesbo FunTime. This story has nothing to do with that, I am just trying to manifest the event by including it in this description. Enjoy! DeAnne Smith, a Canadian Comedy Award winner, has performed at Just for Laughs, JFL42, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the New Zealand International Com...

From Ani DiFranco to the Spice Girls, via Sophie B. Hawkins and Gia, Jess McGuire celebrates the inexplicable magnificence that is your QUEERFORCE. Jess McGuire is a DJ, writer, broadcaster, MC, and trivia host based in Melbourne. She appears regularly on ABC Local Radio and Double J as a reviewer and cultural commentator, and for many years she was the editor of pop culture website Defamer Austra...

An excerpt from a piece written for Archer Magazine, Julian Dahne Molony shares their journey to wholly embodying their gender. Julian Dahne Molony is an interdisciplinary artist who works with painting, video, performance and fibre art. They also operate an Artist Run Initiative named ‘Intersect Space' based in Marrickville. This piece is adapted from a story they wrote for Archer Magazine,...

A collection of tales from Ro's journey to becoming the Victorian Commissioner for Gender and Sexuality. Ro Allen is the Victorian Commissioner for Gender and Sexuality, has been a member of three Victorian Government LGBTI ministerial advisory groups. As founding CEO of UnitingCare Cutting Edge, Ro established Victoria's first rural support group for young LGBTI people. In 2003 Ro received a Cent...

Tilly Lawless describes four momentous bookings that either taught her something about herself or allowed her to process the personal through the professional. Tilly Lawless is a queer, Sydney-based sex worker who uses her Instagram to analyse her relationships, romances and motivations. Growing up in rural NSW her writing is often a bucolic love letter to the countryside she grew up in, whilst al...

Four scenes from a journey to parenthood: the terrors, tensions and tenderness of falling into parenthood from the margins. Gala Vanting works to create nuanced, compassionate, justice driven dialogue about sexual culture, sex education, gender and power, and access to embodiment and wellbeing for our gendered and sexual selves.  They have spent 15 years working in this field – which ha...

Susie explores the ways that Aboriginal people, especially women, continue to be Othered by white-colonial ways of seeing. Susie Anderson is a Koori writer from western Victoria who lives and works in Sydney. Her writing typically focuses on erasure of Indigenous narratives throughout Victoria and Australia, and attempts to reconnect within this fragmentation. She has been published in publication...

How going into battle in live action role-play battle unlocked Scout's hidden gender quest. Scout Boxall is a non-binary comedian, clown and low-fi misandrist based in Naarm (Melbourne). After bursting onto the comedy scene in 2018 and making it to the Raw Comedy National Finals, they trained at the Philippe Gaulier clown school and performed in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival under the Tessa Waters...

Declan shares an un-inspirational coming of age story. Declan Greene is an award winning theatre-maker and Resident Artist at Malthouse Theatre . As a playwright, his work includes Moth, Pompeii, L.A., Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography, I Am a Miracle, and The Homosexuals, or ‘Faggots', which have been produced across Australia, Europe, the US, and the UK. Alongside Ash Flanders, Decla...

Dibs speaks about unexpected challenges they encountered after starting hormone replacement therapy. Dibs Barisic Sprem is an energetic and avid queer rights enthusiast who identifies as non binary. Since their early teens Dibs has advocated solidly for the sex and gender diverse community. They have volunteered for LGBTIQA not for profits Wear It Purple , ACON and the Pinnacle Foundation , where...

Brandon reflects on his changing relationship with his father - influenced by webcams, men in uniform and bad jokes about Les Mis. Brandon Bear was born in Penang, Malaysia but moved to Western Sydney as a nine-month-old baby. After growing up and spreading his wings he began a career working with marginalised community members including managing a sexual health project for homeless and at-risk yo...

Charles O'Grady broke his ankle doing something very masculine. Charles O'Grady is a queer transgender theatremaker, poet, and journalist, who lives between Sydney and Melbourne. As a playwright he has written multiple works focused on intersectional queer and trans storytelling, including Kaleidoscope, Telescope, and Are We Awake? He has worked on productions with such mainstage companies as Grif...

A coming-of-age story about struggling with frizzy hair and a frenemy. Raveena Grover is a multidisciplinary creative who has written for Sweatshop Western Sydney , UTS Vertigo and Hijacked. She has also performed poetry with Bankstown Poetry Slam and Between Two Worlds. She is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of how South Asian culture and queerness intersect as a diasporic Punjabi. Queerstori...

A reflection on growing older and the perils of dating - when you've tried chicken pecking and playing dead is it time to just give up? Laura Hart has been performing for over ten years, focusing on improvisation, comedy & drag. She performs regularly around Sydney, and has trained at Impro Australia , Improv Theatre Sydney & UCB . She has worked creatively with not for profit organisation...

A story of ongoing connection to Country of Indigenous LGBTIQ peoples through the eyes of a terrible fisherman. Steven Ross is Wamba Wamba man from Deniliquin in southern NSW and has cultural and familial connections to the Wiradjuri, Mutthi Mutthi and Gunditjmara peoples. Throughout his life, Steven has been a dancer, singer, actor and storyteller, and has designed and delivered cultural events a...

Krishna is trying their hand at stand up comedy. At Queerstories, they performed an excerpt from their first hour long comedy show, Beast. Krishna Istha is a performer, live artist and theatre maker. They have performed across the UK, Australia, USA and Germany. Currently, they are working on their new show 'Beast', an Arts House (Melbourne) commission, supported by public funding from Arts Counci...

Nath meets one of his heroes. Nath Valvo tours Australia and the world as a comedian, and has an impressive list of TV appearances under his belt having hosted ABC's Comedy Up Late and recorded an hour long stand up special as part of ABC's Comedy Next Gen . He's also been on The Project, Dirty Laundry Live and Just For Laughs Sydney. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed b...