About Ellen

It all started when…

I’m Ellen - and I rebuilt this website of reviews, features, writings about arts and culture, interviews and musings, after I finished my masters paper on the business of new musicals - how new musicals are made and financed around the world, the path of getting them to the stage, what the role of advocacy and public funding was in this space, and what learnings we could gather from markets around the world that regularly see new musicals.

I’ve been an arts and cultural journalist since around 2015, mainly with Theatre People in Australia and independently across the world, and wanted to collate all of my work in one spot - welcome to the opinions and words of me.

why ‘writing notes in the dark’?

Entering my 30th lap around the sun, I realised that my previous brand, ‘The Awkward Corner’ no longer represented me - I made it when I was 18 and after 12 years writing under it, I no longer felt like that awkward kid without her place in the world.

All my best ideas come to me at night, as well as my brain is hard wired to be a night owl. I spend more time than I should writing notes in dark theatres, reviewing shows and scribbling my thoughts.