Melbourne, Australia
"Theater's been important to me all my life. Initially my passion was acting, and then I began directing, and then the writing. Creativity's definitely linked to my sanity...."Playwright, director, actor, teacher, Sandra Shotlander's plays have been performed in Australia and the United States. She has been commissioned to write and stage productions for a number of schools and arts centers in Melbourne and nearby areas. She was playwright in residence at James Cook University in 1992.
Her scripts include
Angels of Power;
Gaia's Nightmare;
St. Kilda;
Chronicles of the French Revolution; and others.
Shotlander founded and directed several theater groups and is currently working with high school groups to write and produce plays in the school. She also continues to lead writing workshops for the Victorian Writers.
Framework (1983)
Two Australian women, Lee Price, ex-patriot Australian in the process of divorce, and Iris Blakely, meet in a corner of the Metropolitan Museum containing Picasso's "Portrait of Gertrude Stein" and Georgia O'Keefe's "Black Iris".
A full-length drama exploring identity, art, language and love between women.
Blind Salome (1985)
Four Australians are holidaying in Assisi, Italy: Christopher, a psychiatrist with duodenal problems, Bernice and Phillip whose marriage faces mid-life crisis, and Della, Bernice's worldly sister. They are confronted by the presence of another guest at their pension.
A sharp satirical look at Jungian theory, religion, and relationships.
"Is that you Nancy?" -- Collected Phone Calls of Gertrude Stein and Others (1991)
Fledgling writer Patsy O'Brien tries to get through to Gertrude Stein for advice. Since Stein has been dead for over 45 years it is not surprising that the call is difficult to make. Besides, Stein is "busy, busy, busy" arranging a dinner party.
A series of telephone conversations and answer machine messages create a humorous portrait of lesbian lives.
Angels of Power (1991)
A play about new reproductive technology and bio-ethics set in the corridors of power in Australian parliament.
Its impulse comic, it weaves mythology, Christianity and environmental politics into an imaginative satire on uses and abuses of authority.
"I think I have been in a state of anxiety ever since
I called myself a writer."
