Essential Stories
Presented by NORPA and Southern Cross University
Essential Stories: creativity, community, and collective identity
What happens when artists, storytellers, and big thinkers get together with community to talk about what really matters — creativity, connection, and cohesion?
Join us for Essential Stories, conversation brimming with ideas, reflection and heart, exploring how art, storytelling, and shared experience shape who we are and how we live together.
Hosted by Professor David Heilpern (Southern Cross University), the panel features celebrated playwright Suzie Miller (Prima Facie), arts leader and award-winning director Julian Louis (NORPA), storycatcher Jeanti St Clair, and First Nations theatre director and actor Fred Copperwaite.
Expect insight, imagination, and a few surprises — from live readings to revelations on the transformative power of art. It’s a celebration of storytelling in all its power and possibility.
“Art has a unique ability to help us make sense of the world, and of each other, and this event is a chance to reflect on the role of story in an increasingly busy and chaotic life.” Julian Louis
DETAILS
Thursday 27 November
6.30pm – 7.45pm
Northern Rivers Conservatorium
152 Keen St, Lismore
TICKETS
$20 / $15 (concession)
No transaction fees
ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Professor David Heilpern
Professor David Heilpern was appointed as Australia’s youngest magistrate in 1998, serving across criminal, family, industrial, and coronial jurisdictions until 2020. A former Senior Civil Magistrate, he was also the principal educator for new magistrates across Australia and the Pacific. Founding Dean of Law at Southern Cross University, David has authored several books and award-winning stories. His current research focuses on victims’ rights, drug law reform, Aboriginal overrepresentation in the justice system, and environmental activism.
Suzie Miller
Suzie Miller is an internationally acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and novelist with degrees in law and science, and is drawn to complex human stories. Her works have been produced globally and earned major awards. Suzie’s breakthrough play Prima Facie won Olivier and Tony awards and has been staged in London, Broadway and across the world. She is currently developing new theatre, film and TV projects across Australia, the UK and the US.
Julian Louis
Julian (he/him) is the Artistic Director of NORPA and the creative force behind its distinctive artistic program. With a practice grounded in performing, devising, artist development and community engagement, Julian has led the company for over a decade, shaping its identity as an adventurous and popular theatre company. As a theatre maker he creates work that often blends physical theatre, community research and place-based theatre processes, and he is deeply committed to developing new Australian works that speak to regional audiences while resonating nationally.
Jeanti St Clair
Jeanti (she/her) is a storycatcher who crafts and shares stories through text and audio. Her recent projects focus on the impact on communities of floods in the Northern Rivers, including Lismore Flood Stories (2021); Rescue: Stories and Portraits of Civilian Rescuers from the February 2022 Flood (2023) with Raimond de Weerdt, and Dear River (2023), with Rose Turtle Ertler. Jeanti is NORPA’s inaugural research artist, contributing to the development of Dinner Party at the End of the World. She is also a digital media and journalism lecturer at Southern Cross University, a PhD candidate at the University of Wollongong, and an associate producer with Soundtrails. She lives on Widjabul-Wyabul lands in the Bundjalung Nation.
Fred Copperwaite
Fred (he/him) is a Bunuba man from the Kimberley WA, whose career as an actor, director, dramaturg and acting teacher spans more than 45 years in Australia and abroad. He is the founder and former Artistic Director of Moogahlin Performing Arts, NSW’s leading First Nations performing arts company.