Jo randerson
Author of ‘What Is Ugly?’
I live in Poneke with my husband and two sons. I love dancing, singing, and dressing up. I like thinking about difficult topics that don’t have an easy answer. I like hearing what other people have to say about these questions, too.
I run a theatre company called Barbarian Productions, which creates large and small crazy-fun performance events. I am very happy that we are our own boss. I write plays that have been published and have won awards like the Bruce Mason Playwrighting Award. I also write stories and was once the Robert Burns Fellow in Dunedin.
Sometimes I work with artists overseas on projects in art galleries – I like mixing different mediums together. The thing I am most proud of recently was ‘Sing It To My Face’, a show in which we asked young, old and medium-aged people what they thought of each other, then the different ages sang the answers in front of an audience. I believe that everyone is unique, everyone’s voice should be heard, and in Aotearoa we have the chance to make an equal society that values and celebrates difference. I also like playing jokes on my children, but they don’t always laugh.
Some fave resources:
A hand made version of the three robbers