Lead by Story

06/03/2025

In a few weeks we'll be taking 'This is How We Survive' on the road between the Central Coast and New England (also working on a Newcastle date, watch this space!)

Will Small will be joined by powerful wordsmith and 2023 Australian Poetry Slam Champion Rob Waters for these shows.

A blend of immersive live storytelling, spoken word poetry, and cinematic short films, the whole experience is designed to remind you of your inner strength and our interconnectedness. All the below performances are FREE. You can book in at thisishowwesurvive.com.au/experience

This project has received funding from the Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network

A performance that weaves together spoken word poetry, short cinematic films, immersive soundscapes and live storytelling to help people experience a deep sense of connectedness.

16/10/2024

'This is How We Survive' begins showing in schools across the Central Coast next week! (with a Hunter and New England tour happening in 2025).

In the meantime as October is Mental Health Month, we've just launched this beautiful website — which includes a range of simple, practical tools for building positive mental health: journal worksheets, breathing tools and more to come. Shout-out to Tameka Waldron from The Branding Book for helping bring this to life in such a stunning way.

Subscribe to the mailing list to stay in the loop about upcoming performances and digital resources — and you'll get sent one of my poems you can put somewhere with some gentle reminders on 'how to be human'.

This activity has been made possible through the support of Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network.

A performance that weaves together spoken word poetry, short cinematic films, immersive soundscapes and live storytelling to help people experience a deep sense of interconnectedness and collective strength. Booking now for schools, workplaces, theatres and events.

14/08/2024

Do you work with or have family members who are young people on the Central Coast?

Last year we launched 'Coastwell' - an online 'well' of digital resources to help young people develop mental wellness!

This was the culmination of several projects we produced for Headspace Gosford, Lake Haven and Wyong integrated into one powerful platform. All the content on this site is co-produced with young people, free for the community to use and created by our team of passionate, socially geared creatives!

Waiting to see someone about your mental health? This 5-episode series helps give you the foundational tools to get started on building a healthy headspace.

17/07/2024

Earlier this year we launched 'This is How We Survive' at The Art House, Wyong - a creative and poetic exploration of human resilience. Now, thanks to funding from Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network we're bringing this work to as many people as possible!

Do you work in a school in the Central Coast, Hunter or New England region? If so, we'd love to talk about coming to share this work with your community (fully funded by the PHN)! Comment or send us a message for more information.

04/06/2024

Fending off some of the winter morning chill today with these awesome socks I was given by the crew at Top Blokes Foundation earlier this year.

In January I had the privilege of delivering a tailored half-day of training as part of their national team gathering. We explored what it looks like to use the power of story in dignifying, impactful and transformative ways. I had such a great day with this team of legends doing vital work to help nurture a generation of respectful, considerate and confident young men.

I was also so stoked to hear how the training was received:

"Your training was, by far, the most impactful we have had at Top Blokes and the feedback from the team has been resoundingly positive...Saying thank you is not near enough gratitude to show you our appreciation for your conversation with the team. This workshop has embedded a yearning in our frontline workers to share dignified and respectful stories in a way they have never done so before."

"Everyone came away with something and loved hearing your poems too. It was very impactful. I think we are "your people" or maybe you are ours - either way, we loved it! It's hard to build trust so quickly with our team as we are very protective of the people that we work with but you did this straight away. Bravo!"

Shout-out to all the Top Blokes crew today! May you keep showing up and finding powerful ways to share vulnerable and authentic stories that create change.

23/05/2024

About last night at Sydney Town Hall..

About 6 months ago I got a call from Veronika Peters at Anglicare, asking if I would help produce a unique creative moment for their winter fundraiser dinner at Sydney Town Hall, raising vital funds to create more safe and permanent housing for women and children escaping domestic violence.

I was both grateful to be asked and also aware of the weight and gravity of the subject matter.

The process involved me spending time with the real story of a mother and son separated through circumstances involving domestic violence, coercive control and homelessness. I was inspired to write a series of poetic letters back and forth between the two, seeking to highlight the multi-faceted harms of abuse, as well as the often unseen strength and resilience of survivors.

I then asked a few friends to help make it a deeply immersive experience. Jon Reichardtichardt produced original scoring, Imke Bester performed the poetry with me, Melisa Bester (AKA E^ST/headaches) brought her stunning voice in for a familiar and powerful chorus, and Ben Procter and Jamie Day created visual imagery that played on screens throughout our performance.

We produced 3 X 4 minute acts that told a story of harm, risk, courage, and the possibility of change, and performed these in front of 500 people in Sydney Town Hall last night.

I started working on this at the beginning of the year, without knowing how horrendous this year would be for Australia’s real and ongoing problems with gendered violence.

Embodying a teenage character, I spoke words that I think I and all of my fellow men would do well to repeat often:

“I sometimes wonder how much this body I’m in,
Carries the same stuff that can make a man violent
But my promise to you Mum, is not to be silent
I’m going to use my voice, I’m going to try to be different
I don’t want to just become another male statistic
I want to be the kind of man who loves others enough
To look in the mirror and face my own stuff”

The performance was filmed and will be released in different mediums soon, so you can engage with the work if you weren’t in the room last night.