After an overwhelming response, Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) and our international ambassadors Rose Byrne and Rebel Wilson are delighted to announce the winners of the 2019 Rose Byrne Scholarship and the Rebel Wilson Comedy Commission.
With an abundance of talented young women pitching incredibly exciting projects, Rose Byrne had a difficult job narrowing down the list for the ‘Rose Byrne Scholarship for Emerging Female Leader in the Arts’. However, after careful consideration Rose has chosen NSW artist Hannah Goodwin as her winner.
Hannah is absolutely delighted with the news calling it “a rare and beautiful opportunity. It is a vote of confidence in me, my voice and my work and I cannot begin to thank Rose and ATYP enough. It’s through this amazing scholarship and the resources it affords that I will be able to take a new, big step forward in my career. I’m excited and humbled to have been given such an extraordinary opportunity, to grow as an emerging artist and leader.“
In 2019, ATYP ambassador Rebel Wilson decided to offer a Comedy Commission for young female writers in place of her previous scholarship. The response was fantastic and the process to narrow down the applicants to the final five was a huge challenge. After reading each one several times she has awarded the inaugural Rebel Wilson Comedy Commission to Sydney based writer, director, performer, and broadcaster Hannah Reilly.
Hannah is the very excited to be the winner of this commission. “I’m thrilled to have my work hand selected by Rebel, who I hugely admire as someone who’s managed to build an incredible international career as a truly individual comedic voice. When this idea first popped into my head, being a comedy musical set in Australia, Rebel immediately came to mind as my #1 dream collaborator. So if I was a believer I’d say this was divine intervention. It’s really an honour to have the support of Rebel and ATYP to develop this work and my skills as a writer. I can’t wait to make something wonderful together.”
The two recipients will spend the next 12 months working with ATYP to realise their respective goals. Both artists will be in contact with the ambassadors throughout the year to update them on their progress. The 12-month scholarship will culminate with both recipients presenting a showcase to key members of the arts industry in Australia.