PRODUCER // AUSTRALIAN THEATRE FESTIVAL

In 2020, Jillian began her role as the Co-Artistic Director of the inaugural Australian Theatre Festival in New York City.

The event is an annual celebration of Australian stories and artists and aims to create opportunities for an exchange of culture through the presentation of diverse theatrical content. By showcasing Australian artists, the festival will connect Australians living in New York and cultivate their development on a global stage. One highlight of the program is the New Play Award, which in 2020 was awarded to Richard Jordan for his play The Tiniest Thing. The award is valued at USD $5000.00 and included a staged-reading of the play at the 2021 in-person festival. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 festival pivoted to an online format which included five commissioned new plays filmed for streaming, a cabaret and an industry panel premiering in early December 2020. Over 50 artists were employed and the work was viewed by over 2000 audience members globally. The ATF were proud to produce and support the work of artists during this extraordinary time.

Now in its second year, the ATF NYC co-artistic directors Mark Barford, Connor Delves and Jillian Geurts are excitedly working towards an in-person festival at the end of 2021.  The program is still being finalised, but included in it will be this years’ New Play Award winner, Hubris & Humiliation, by Lewis Treston. Lewis will be awarded USD $5000.00 in prize money, and runner up Yvette Walker (Seven Deadly Gins) will receive USD $2500.00 in prize money (as will finalist Raymond Harding for his play Kangawomb). 

The festival team are working to bring a diverse array of Australian voices and artists to the stage this year, and are actively building corporate and artistic partnerships.

For more information, please visit www.australiantheatrefestival.com.

To donate, please visit our Fractured Atlas page.