Joanna Erskine is an emerging Sydney-based playwright, a graduate of the NIDA Playwrights Studio, Australian delegate at World Interplay 2009 and resident playwright for CRY HAVOC. Her writing career began after winning the 2002 Sydney Theatre Company Young Playwrights Award for her first play Waiting for the 9.07, directed by Geordie Brookman and starring Geoff Morrell and Rebecca Massey. While at NIDA, Joanna’s play Clippings received dramaturgy from Nick Marchand and was directed by Shannon Murphy (NIDA Parade Space).

Plays include Little Mouse (New Theatre 2008, Brand Spanking New), A Man’s Not a Fruit (Brighton Fringe Festival 2008, finalist in the Bite Size International Play Festival, Short and Sweet 2009), Waiting for the 9.07, The Tomato Soliloquies and Leave a Message (Lighthouse Theatre) and Bye Bye Baby.  

In July 2008 Joanna was selected for Playwriting Australia’s National Script Workshop in Canberra for her first full-length play, K.I.J.E. Following this she undertook a residency with La Mama NYC in Umbria, Italy with thirteen international playwrights, to continue work on K.I.J.E.  For this play she was shortlisted for a 2009 Inscription Award and reached the longlist (top 15) for the 2008 Patrick White Playwright’s Award. Most recently Joanna wrote the short play Foot for Griffin Theatre Company’s 24-hour Play Generator.

Joanna undertook a Bundanon Trust residency with CRY HAVOC for on her play Any Other Name, a new response to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Most recently she has been accepted into atyp’s Fresh Ink core writers ensemble for 2010, is writing for Stories for the 428 at Sidetrack Theatre, and has completed a YAK residency at Shoprfront Theatre. In March 2010 she will be undertaking a residency with Bambina Borracha in Sydney.