Katherine Phelps

I have been a director for live theatre, stage, and film. It still surprises me how easy and how difficult it is auditioning people: easy in that I can easily say “no” to a great many, and difficult in finding good usable comic actors. I don’t feel the situation needs to be this way. Here [...]

Well! It looks like Frank Woodley and I are sisters. I hope you laugh as hard as I did when I noticed the similarity in these photos. Perhaps we’re using the same photographer.

Yes, I know it has been awhile since my last post. I’m in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival! I’ve been madly writing, producing, and practising my show. You’ll be hearing from me soon as I start to post the details. In the meantime I’m having some difficulty with this site because I am receiving a [...]

I have listened to many panels concerning selling your ideas for books, screenplays, and computer games. I have also worked in the publishing, film/tv, and game industries in various capacities. What the gatekeepers often tell creators and what the truth is about selling your stories can often vary widely. You will be told- observe market [...]

I recently found this comment in a movie review “A surfeit of the kind of crude, sexually graphic jokes that work in darkly lit stand up comedy stores…drag(s) the film down.” I have been concerned for some time that many of the comedy venues rely heavily on dark humour. Worse the audiences come specifically looking [...]

Last night I had the pleasure of not only listening to the music and humour of The Bedroom Philosopher (aka Justin Heazlewood) on his Brown & Orange Album Launch Tour, I also worked as a volunteer selling merchandise for the show. Justin seems to be getting into the swing of turning his whimsical outlook on [...]

We live in a society that speaks of valuing free expression. For the most part as a comedian you are free to make jokes on any subject you like when performing at a live venue. You must also remember that the audience is free to choose whether or not they wish to spend money for [...]

I am a great fan of Jim Henson and his chief writer Jerry Juhl. Together they made a profound difference to the world. Through Sesame Street they brough literacy, numeracy, and a message of inter-racial harmony to the children of the world. This is no small feat when in our information age an education means [...]

Some declaim that story is about conflict and suffering. You will hear this being aphoristically spoken of by filmmakers. Our current culture has made an idol of violence. Conflict seems to inevitably lead to it, even though that is seldom our experience in every day life. Violence makes films, novels, computer games, etc thrilling and [...]

For those of you not living in Australia a comedy sketch show The Chaser’s War on Everything has once more made the news for one of their sketches. For some reason our media loves waggling its finger at controversial comedy coming out of our public television channel the ABC. You will not find the same [...]