Saving Kate Kelly, a music theatre work-in-progress

merrill findlay writer ABN 50 187 552 579


HOME ABOUT MERRILL FINDLAY NON-FICTION FICTION CCD PROJECTS SITE MAP CONTACT	Saving Kate Kelly The Kate Kelly Project (KKP), a community music-theatre work-in-progress by writer Merrill Findlay, NZ composer Ross Carey and project partners Introduction >> A project in six stages >> Putting flesh on her bones: KK Stage 1 >> Proposed live event: KK Stage 6 >> Project Partners >> First grant received >> Acknowledgements >> Project leaflet >> [pdf 67kb] NEW! Press coverage of the KK Project >> Image:Marony, Patrick William, 1858-1939 Portrait of Kate Kelly, 1894. Oil on canvas ; 107.1 x 61 cm. http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2263673 Introduction Catherine 'Ada' Foster aka Kate Kelly: daughter of Ellen and John, sister of bushranger Ned, wife of 'Bricky' Foster, and a young mother, whose decomposing body was found floating in the Forbes lagoon in October 1898. A warrior woman, a battler, a legend and a national icon who was haunted by too many ghosts, some of which will re-emerge in this drama as the people of Forbes raise Kate Kelly from the dead ... Writer Merrill Findlay and composer Ross Carey at Forbes Lagoon near where Kate Kelly's body was recovered on 14 October 1898, eight days after she was reported missing. Photo by Kerry Neaylon, 21 June 2008. The Kate Kelly Project will be completed in six stages over the next 3-5 years, as funding /sponsorship and community support permits. Stage 1: research phase (Feb-June 2008) More >> Stage 2: concept development and script treatment, with practical support from Sydney playwright Noëlle Janaczewska as dramaturg. Stage 3: script development and lyrics Stage 4: music research and composition Stage 5: production work, community involvement, participant workshops, rehearsals, promotion and merchandising Stage 6: Public performances of Saving Kate Kelly and possible tours. More >> KKP Stage 1: Putting flesh on her bones Time frame: February-June 2008 Tasks: Documentary research and folklore interviews on KK’s life and death, for an essay to be used in the development of the script, lyrics and music for Saving Kate Kelly (see Stages 2-6). The essay will be published in a scholarly journal to fill some of the many gaps in our knowledge about Kate's life and death in Forbes. All interviewees and other contributors, project partners and sponsors will be fully acknowledged, and research material will be available through the Forbes Museum. Participants: writer Merrill Findlay and community contributors/ interviewees, in consultation with composer Ross Carey. Funding: Forbes & District Historical Society through a small grant from the Royal Australian Historical Society’s Local History Research and Publication Program (August 2007). Stage 1 leaflet >>[pdf 67kb] The KKP live event The first performance of Saving Kate Kelly is expected to take place in and around the lagoon in which Kate drowned and will be followed by a community 'corroboree', bush dance and ‘sacred fire’ under the stars. The production may then tour Victoria’s Kelly Country and possibly even travel to Ireland to link Forbes with other points on the Kelly Songline, and China. Saving Kate Kelly is expected to include 3-5 professional singers, around the same number of professional musicians, hundreds of local performers, as many horses as possible, several piglets and some camels. Project partners Project partners currently include Mitchell Conservatorium of Music, Forbes Shire Council, Forbes & District Historical Society and Museum, Forbes Arts & Culture Working Group, NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (Forbes Branch), On The Stone, Forbes Urban Landcare Inc (for carbon off-setting), and the Royal Australian Historical Society. First grant received for KKP (2007) August 2007: The Royal Australian Historical Society, through its 2007 cultural heritage funding program, awarded the Forbes Historical Society a small grant for Stage I of the Kate Kelly Project. These funds will enable the writer Merrill Findlay to collect KK folklore and undertake further documentary research on Kate's life in and around Forbes and her death in the Forbes lagoon. Our thanks to the RAHS for their support. Acknowledgements We thank the following people and organisations who have contributed or are contributing to this project in an on-going way, and we gratefully acknowledge their support Royal Australian Historical Society, Sydney (for our first grant) Forbes & District Historical Society Forbes Shire Council Marg Willmott and the Mitchell Conservatorium, Lachlan Campus The Forbes Advocate Kerry Neaylon (who is researching Kate Kelly for the project through the Kelly on-line forum and her other bushranger networks) Wendy Gross, Forbes Carissa Bywater, Forbes Hannah Semler & Arts OutWest, Bathurst Jane Bennie, Warroo Rob Willis, Forbes Joy Russell and the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, Forbes Sue Riley, Wagga Peter C Smith, Illawong, NSW Librarian Bronwyn Clark & Forbes Library Forbes Arts & Culture Working Group Norm Wilkinson, Orange Nancy Gordon, Orange Gillian Whitehead, New Zealand Catherine McGrath, Sydney Carol Dukes, Forbes Forbes Family History Group Robert Read, Forbes Bill McFeeters, Forbes Elders, Forbes Branch Karen Purnell, Queenland Ellen Hollow, Victoria Louise and Tom Dwyer, Court Press, Forbes Helen Herbert, Forbes Heritage Committee David Scobie, Forbes Heritage Consultant Page created 18 July 2007, last revised 3 July, 2008.	NEW!Inaugural Kate Kelly Walking Tour 21 June 2008 >> More than twenty shivering locals from Forbes, Parkes, Warroo, and Bedgerebong braved the cold and damp on Saturday afternoon to explore Forbes’ links with Kate Kelly... More [pdf 15kb] >> More press coverage of the Kate Kelly Project >> Putting flesh on her bones February 2008: Merrill Findlay is now soliciting family folklore and other stories to fill some of the many gaps in our knowledge about Kate Kelly's life and death in central western NSW. Project leaflet >>[pdf 67kb] Final Chapter in Kelly's Life: Forbes Advocate, 16 February 2008 >> NEWS FLASH! August 2007 The Royal Australian Historical Society, through its Local History Research and Publication Program, has awarded a small grant to the Forbes & District Historical Society for the Kate Kelly Project. The RAHS funding will enable writer Merrill Findlay to undertake oral history and documentary research in 2008 for a draft script treatment and an essay on Kate Kelly's life in Forbes.