National Black Playwrights Conference

Lydia Miller and Justine Saunders, both actors, organise the first National Black Playwrights Conference. ‘We were in the company of Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Brian Syron, Bob Maza, Justine Saunders, Jack Davis, Maureen Watson, Jimmy Everett and They wanted a national Aboriginal theatre company and they wanted all the young people to organize it. Our generation was the Rhoda Roberts’, the Vivian Walkers' the Michael Johnson’s and the Suzanne Ingrams’, I can still see us now, sitting down with the lawyers: we’re these twenty-somethings and we’re going ‘Now what? OKay, so we’re writing a constitution! It was fantastic. This was the moment that I started assuming responsibility.” (Karbara [videorecording]: ‘The First Born: the First National Black Playwrights Conference/director/producer, Richard Guthrie.)