The Trustees of the Robert Juniper Award for the Arts are thrilled to announce the winner of the Robert Juniper Award for the Arts 2021. The Award Recipient for 2021 is Darlington actor/writer/director/producer/artist Haylee Whisson. Haylee received her award at the annual RJAFTA Award Soiree on 10 December, at the Mundaring Arts Centre.

After receiving her $10,000 scholarship award cheque from Trust Patron Richard Woldendorp, Whisson explained to Friends of the Trust and invited guests, including Shire of Mundaring Councillors, how her work has evolved in the past few years. Whisson described how she would use the scholarship funds to extend and develop her craft by creating a one woman play that she intends to stage at the Perth Fringe Festival in 2023 (more details below). Whisson said she was aware the Shire of Mundaring were no longer in a position to fund the scholarship, but she expressed her thanks in the Shire’s outstanding long-running support of the Award over the past years. Whisson also acknowledged the other finalists and felt privileged to be considered among peers whose work she admired and respected.

A former Duke of Edinburgh award recipient, and a graduate from the United World College program (India), Haylee Whisson completed a Bachelor of Performing Arts at WAAPA in 2019. Whisson followed this by undertaking a Graduate Certificate of Digital Marketing at Curtin University, which she is presently still studying. Whisson explains “I am a writer, actor and emerging theatre maker from the Perth Hills who is fascinated with creating original, inventive theatre that pushes the possibilities of form and what can happen when different artistic disciplines collide onstage to tell insightful, relevant stories. I have skills in producing works from their conceptualization to completion; collaborating with a wide-range of creatives and technicians to facilitate the merging of disciplines and ideas.” Whisson has written, performed and produced several plays since 2015, and collaborated as either a performer or writer (or both) on many more. She has studied play-writing, directing, acting, and has worked both on stage and off-stage on many projects. This year saw Whisson as writer/devisor/performer for the production Hair at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia. At aged 19, Whisson founded Onset Theatre Company to create a show for the 2017 Perth Fringeworld Season. She wrote and produced Onset, which explored themes of mental health in adolescence. Today Whisson’s company produces shows for Perth stages. In 2020 Whisson co-founded theatre company Lady Business Productions , an unapologetic female-focused theatre company. “I am drawn to work that responds to repercussions that socio-political events have on our mental health. I strive to make work that responds to current themes and issues with a sarcastic sense of Australian humour, authenticity and a lot of heart” says Whisson. “I want to put stories on stage that are the catalyst for important conversations about the world we live in; stories that make people laugh, then make them think. I seek to create the kind of theatre that has the power to cultivate a sense of community, to open hearts and to spark minds.” Whisson is currently Artist in Residence at Midland Junction Arts Centre.

Whisson’s proposed project for RJAFTA is to develop a play titled Menswear, which she will write, workshop, and stage at the 2023 Fringe World Festival in Perth. The project is in response to a combination of workplace harassment Whisson witnessed whilst working in a menswear store, as well as being constantly surprised and often moved by the stories she encountered as to why a customer needed to buy their suit. Whisson explains “These rich snapshots of people’s lives that they shared with me during our 30 minute styling sessions were often surprising, raw, hilarious, occasionally very insightful, and very suited to being material for a play.”

Haylee Whisson was recently interviewed by Rebecca Peppiatt for The Echo. You can read the article HERE. Find out more about Haylee Whisson on her website .

#hayleewhisson #emergingartist #robertjuniperawards #artsaward #scholarshipaward #emergingactor #emergingdirector #emergingproducer