Michelanne Forster


Michelanne Forster is a New Zealand playwright and scriptwriter who was born in California, US. Her writing career began in the 1980s at Television New Zealand where she worked on the popular pre-school programme Play School. Her plays have been performed both nationally and internationally and are often based on historical accounts. In 2011 Forster was the writer-in-residence at the Michael King Writer's Centre.

Education

Forster graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts and also holds a Diploma in Teaching from the Auckland Secondary Teachers College. In 2014 she completed her honours in Drama through the University of Auckland.

Plays

  • Always My Sister
  • Don't Mention Casablanca
  • Tic Tac
  • The Great Storm of 1868
  • My Heart is Bathed in Blood
  • This Other Eden
  • The Rosenberg Sisters
  • Larnach – Castle of Lies
  • Songs My mother Taught Me
  • Daughters of Heaven
  • A Dream Romance

Plays for children

  • Sapai and the Yam Snatchers
  • The Butcher and The Bear of kirstyn
  • The Secret of Dongting Lake
  • In the Deep End
  • Mean Jean the Pirate Queen
  • The Bungling Burglars
  • Rodney Rat and the Sneaky WeaselGang
  • Rivals and Idols
  • Arabella and the Amazing Wardrobe
  • Musical Beasts

Awards

  • 2011 Writer-in-Residence Michael King Writer's Centre, University of Auckland
  • 1997 Best Radio New Zealand Drama, The Rosenberg Sisters
  • 1996 Best Radio New Zealand Drama, Larnach – Castle of Lies
  • 1994 Buckland Memorial Award for Literature, Daughters of Heaven
  • 1993 Writer-in-Residence University of Canterbury

Publications

  • Daughters of Heaven in Dwa Oceany
  • When Its Over: New Zealanders Talk about Their Experiences of Separation and Divorce
  • The Rosenberg Sisters in Playlunch: Five Short New Zealand Plays
  • Daughters of Heaven
  • Rodney Rat and the Space Creatures
  • Rodney Rat and the Sneaky Weasel Gang
  • The Four-Legged Prince
  • Rodney Rat and the Sunken Treasure