Since graduating with honours in Performance Studies from the University of Sydney in 2001, Augusta has worked in theatre as a playwright, director, producer, carpenter, performer, dramaturge, stage manager and musician. In 2004 she moved to Canada to work as Assistant Director on The Gifts of Time a large scale a co-production with Britain’s Claque Theatre and Canada’s Everybody’s Theatre Company. During her time in Canada, she founded the Guelph Youth Theatre, worked as a dramaturge/AD on the critically acclaimed mental health community theatre project Two Steps and A Glass of Water, wrote/directed 12 children’s plays and musicals and worked as a consultant for The Hillside Music Festival and Guelph Youth Music Centre.
Since returning to Australia in 2006 her directing credits include: Barren for Unhinged Short Play Festival (IPAC 2006), Sexual Perversity in Prague” (People’s choice winner: Short & Sweet 2007), Cold Feet (Metamor/phases 2007), Unspoken for Art is a Weapon Season (New Theatre 2007), An Illustrated Talk (Short & Sweet 2008) Naomi in the Living Room (Mardi Gras Festival/ Hotseat Theatre 2008), Airsick for the New Directions Season (New Theatre 2008), Wolf Lullaby (Four Storeys Productions 2008), assistant director for Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (New Theatre 2009), The Return and The Bermuda Love Triangle (Brand Spanking New 2009).
Augusta regularly writes feature articles, commentary and reviews for www.sparkonline.com.au (2009) and www.australianstage.com.au (2007-2009) and has written regular columns for www.aussietheatre.com.au (2007) and www.artshub.com.au (2007). Her playwriting credits include: A Party (Fresh Cuts 2002), Recipe (Fresh Cuts 2003), The Question (PACT 2003), Healing All Wounds (Vacant Room 2002), The Comfort of Old Slippers (TINA 2003 and published by Affirm Press 2008), Between the Nest and the Sky (Metamor/phases 2007), Difference of Opinion (Metamor/phases 2007), Interrupting Grace (Brand Spanking New 2008) , A Letter to the Man I’ll Never Kiss (The Imagine Festival 2009). Since 2005 she is annually commissioned to write a new children’s musical for Season Singers: a theatrical choir for children based in Canada.
In the past 4 years Augusta has created programs, panels and festivals to nurture, develop and celebrate new Australian performance writing. She is the Season Artistic Director for Brand Spanking New: a celebration of Australian Writing, a festival which she developed and implemented for New Theatre in 2008 & 2009 for which she commissioned 39 emerging and award-winning established writers from across Australia. In 2009 she implemented and developed Off The Shelf a hothouse for new plays at Fraser Studio Projects, managed by Queen Street Studio.
Augusta is the Creative Producer of Stories From the 428 a multi-playwright project which celebrates bus travel in the inner west of Sydney, for which she is also one of the directors.
(For more details see CV)