Hi, my name is Jason De Santis, I am 26 and live on Melville Island which is 80km north of Darwin, part of the Tiwi Islands. Over the past 18 months I have been working on a new play called Walamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanuas. It was proving quite difficult though as I did not have a computer and have been writing my play by hand, into a pile of well-loved notebooks. During the development period Darwin Festival have been assisting me to navigate the world of arts funding and proving mentorship and training opportunities. The Festival staff put me in touch with Info –exchange and on my behalf arranged for a new HP Netbook to be sent all the way from Melbourne to the Tiwi Islands! This generous support means I can write my play on country, surrounded by the land, family and stories that I am trying to capture in the play. It also means I am now very portable and can go and write anywhere on the island. My favorite place to write is Rocky Point on neighboring Bathurst Island. This is the location where all of the magic and mystery of my play occurs.
My plan is to have a first draft of the script completed by May. Here is a small section of the opening prologue which is spoken by the narrator: the Moon Man:
Awi Mamanta!! Welcome all,
To new-time story that is a call,
A call believe me when I say, comes from a country far, far away.
For through these lines we weave a song,
That tells of spirits and lore, right and wrong.
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| Jason_head_shot_002.jpg | 1.48 MB |
| Rocky_Point.jpg | 23.64 KB |
