In-Conversation: Bridie McKim + Roz Hammond

Two of the stars of inclusive ABC TV drama The Heights will discuss the ups and downs of performance, representation and disability at this FREE online Q&A event.

Bridie McKim, a young actor with cerebral palsy, will be the focus of the first edition of Accessible Arts’ In-Conversation series for 2020. Accessible Arts is NSW’s peak arts and disability organisation and the In-Conversation program profiles arts practitioners with disability.

Bridie will be interviewed by her co-star and on-screen mother from The Heights Roz Hammond, an accomplished writer and performer with credits across theatre, film and TV (Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, Secret Bridesmaids’ Business, Jack Irish, The Dish, Muriel’s Wedding).

Bridie, who recently graduated from NIDA, was cast in first season of The Heights in 2019 in the lead role of Sabine, one of the first characters with a disability ever given a lead role on Australian screens. Bridie is reprising the character of Sabine in the second season of the ground-breaking TV drama which started screening on ABC TV in mid-March.

Bridie will discuss her development as a performer, her experiences acting in The Heights, what it’s like being an actor with disability and how Australia’s screen industry is responding to the need for diversity and authentic representation both on screen and behind the scenes.

ABOUT BRIDIE McKIM

Bridie graduated from NIDA in 2018 and at the same time became the first disabled actor to play a lead role on Australian television as Sabine in the drama The Heights, produced by Matchbox Pictures for the ABC. Bridie just finished shooting season two of The Heights. Bridie’s other screen credits include the comedy web series All We Have Is Now, Laura Nagy & Daniel Monks’ short film Bodies, and the multi-award winning short film Gimpsey, directed by Sofya Gollan, for which Bridie won the Award of Merit for a Lead Actress in the Best Shorts Competition as well as a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the Madrid International Film Festival. Last year Bridie starred in Fat Salmon Production's short film, Cinderella, for which she won Best Australian Actor at the Focus On Ability Short Film Festival. In May of 2020 Bridie will perform in The Cherry Orchard with Black Swan State Theatre Company. Bridie’s other theatre credits include This Hollow Crown, Face it, Not Our Story and Saison de L’amour for the Queensland Theatre Youth Ensemble; The Country Wife, Salem and Stay Happy Keep Smiling whilst studying at NIDA. Bridie also performed as The School Girl in 2019 for Downstairs Belvoir’s 25A production Tuesday.

ABOUT ROZ HAMMOND

Roz Hammond is a highly accomplished theatre, film and television actor. Her numerous television appearances include sixty episodes of ABC drama The Heights, ten series of Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, Five Bedrooms and Jack Irish. Other long running roles include three series of The Librarians, three series of The Micallef Programme, three series of Skithouse and Thank God You’re Here together with guest roles in everything from Blue Heelers, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, The Let Down, Please Like Me, It’s a Date, Offspring, Mr and Mrs Murder, Outland, Slide, The King, Curtin, Harrow and Newstopia. She has performed leading roles for the Melbourne Theatre Company, Black Swan Theatre Company and Playbox Theatre. Her own solo shows have toured internationally and she has been nominated for Best Show at Perth Fringe Festival, the Golden Gibbo at Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Best Female Performance at the Dublin Fringe Festival. Her film roles include Cheryl in Australian classic Muriel’s Wedding and The Dish. As a writer, her credits include Home and Away, It’s a Date, Little Lunch, Skithouse, Eric, Small Tales and True as well as her solo theatre shows.

PARTICIPATION

This event will be delivered using the Zoom online conferencing platform (Zoom links are provided following booking)

About Zoom

• Zoom is an easy to use, reliable and FREE cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat, and webinars across mobile devices, desktops and telephones.
• If you haven’t used Zoom before you can find out more here: https://zoom.us/
• After signing up for this event, you’ll receive an email from us inviting you to a Zoom webinar.
• On the day of the event, all you have to do is click on the relevant link in the invitation, follow the prompts and you’ll be part of the event.

ACCESS

This event will have live closed captioning and Auslan interpretation. Please advise any access requirements, including Auslan interpretation, during the registration process.

ENQUIRIES

Please email info@aarts.net.au or call (02) 9251 6499 if you have any questions.

Presented by:

• Accessible Arts

Supported by:

• Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Matchbox Pictures