Free Range Writing

It's the 'no rules' approach to writing.

How can we write for pleasure? Self-fulfillment? Self-expression? Cherishing writing for its own sake, join esteemed writer and theatre maker Kim Ho for a series of workshops to expand your writing practice and discover new approaches to storytelling — without being weighed down by the burdens of 'success' or 'excellence'. 

The workshop runs over five sessions, with a different topic for each session — you can book for all five, or attend one or two sessions. It's up to you!

Dates: Wednesdays, 11am - 1pm
30 July - 27 August

Venue: Rehearsal Room 317, Level 3, Arts and Cultural Building

What will happen across the five workshops? PLAY(FUL) WRITING!

After cutting their teeth at both UHT and the VCA, Kim Ho reached a point where they were making a living as a freelance playwright and screenwriter. They’d also never been more burnt out. So many factors in the creative industries – not least the capitalist hellscape we live in – make it difficult to hold onto the playfulness and joy that made us fall in love with writing in the first place. Kim is on a quest to reconnect with that joy, and they want you to join them. These workshops are designed to help you build a meaningful, nourishing and sustainable creative practice – regardless of whether you wish to pursue writing as a career.

What is each workshop about?

#1 Story 101 (is a lie): 30 July
This intro session is less a recap of classical Western story structure than a ritual disembowelment. Over its gory remains, we’ll explore unconventional and non-Western approaches to narrative design, including kishōtenketsu. What happens when we allow a story to misbehave?

#2 Writing from the Gut: 6 August
When we challenge conventional notions of artistic “quality”, when we defy them, strange beasts awaken. For two hours, shake off the expectations of what constitutes “good” writing and tap into what’s been lying dormant inside you. Write as badly as you can. I dare you.

#3 Writing People: 13 August
A deep-dive on craft. Explore different approaches on how to create characters, and how to gift them dialogue that sparkles. We’ll draw on our experiences and observations to crack open idiolect, subtext, “muscularity”, rhythm—how to wield language in a way unique to you, or at least how not to write Marvel jokes.

#4 Writing Curiously: 20 August
Art is about meaning-making, but you don’t need to “have something important to say” to embark on a creative project. This workshop is about trialling unorthodox methods of generating ideas, finding new ways into topics that interest you, and stoking curiosity in topics that don’t.

#5 Writing as Resistance: 27 August
Writing? In this economy?! This final session is a forum on how to build an ethical, meaningful, sustainable relationship to your art. What does it mean to tell stories when the world is so frightening? What’s the relationship between art and activism? How do we confront the threat of AI? We're gonna solve it all. For those interested in pursuing writing professionally, Kim will also speak to what it’s like working as a freelance writer.

Remember you can book one or two sessions, or book all five!

About Kim Ho

Kim Ho (they/them) is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter based on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. Through a subversive approach to genre, Kim’s work often explores themes of cross-cultural encounter, our relationship to landscape, and the weight of history in the present. 

Kim co-wrote an episode of Season One of the ABC series The Newsreader, which won an AWGIE Award, and wrote an episode of Season Two. The series itself was nominated for an International Emmy. Kim also co-wrote an episode of NCIS: Sydney for Paramount+/CBS, which became the first ever Australian series to air in US primetime. Their 2013 short film The Language of Love screened at over thirty film festivals worldwide, including the Sundance Film Festival. Kim's play Mirror's Edge, first performed at Union House Theatre in 2017, won Sydney Theatre Company's Patrick White Award. They have a number of television and theatre projects in development, including a commission with STC.

Kim is a proud member of the Board of La Mama Theatre, and is passionate about creating industry pathways for artists from marginalised backgrounds.