Manny Aston

File:Spyglass Guest Sydney.jpg

A graduate of Macquarie University, Aston spent his early career with ATN Channel 7, on the production team for iconic Australian shows such as A Country Practice, Sons and Daughters, and Romper Room. This was followed by an eclectic range of activities including production work with government film unit, Health Media Productions, freelance camerawork, and two years as drummer for 80's pub-rock band, Spyglass Guest.

Aston wrote his first full-length play, Déjà Vu in 1986, followed by a series of successful one-act plays: Three Blind Mice (performed at Sydney's Bay Street Theatre in 1988); Lady Lazarus (a short play based on the poetry of Sylvia Plath), and Take Five (performed in 1989 at the Festival of Human Values in Malaysia). His one-act plays have been extensively performed, with many winning awards in Australian and international drama festivals. In 1988 and 1989 respectively, Aston wrote two Theatre in Education plays, Learn Not To Burn (skin cancer awareness) and How On Earth, a play focusing on environmental issues. He also wrote a short film commissioned by Sydney Water (Brads Rad Adventure).

After Aston received some notice as a playwright for Clay Soldiers{{Cite book|url=http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1392726|title=Clay soldiers / by Manuel Aston|last=Aston|first=Manuel|publisher=Big Hand Theatre Company|isbn=0646044710|location=Epping, N.S.W}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.printsandprintmaking.gov.au/works/6401/|title=Big Hand Theatre Co. presents Clay Soldiers a new play by Manuel Aston directed by Peter Snow ... Stables Theatre|last=Printmaking|first=Prints and|website=printsandprintmaking.gov.au|access-date=15 April 2017}} in 1991, his second major work, When the Bough Breaks,{{Cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/34953918?selectedversion=NBD9182336|title=When the bough breaks-- / by Manuel Aston. – Version details|website=Trove|access-date=15 April 2017}} performed in Sydney and Melbourne, established his reputation as a well known writer within Sydney's fringe theatre scene. Other writing credits followed, including numerous corporate videos, radio and television commercials, and episodes of the Australian sitcom, Hey Dad. Aston's play, The Method, was one of the inaugural plays which opened the newly refurbished Independent Theatre; and he was later commissioned to write plays for Canberra's Jigsaw Theatre on the role of media (Mercury,{{Cite web|url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/27844|title=AusStage|website=ausstage.edu.au|access-date=15 April 2017}} 1996), and on Federation, (Post & Rail,{{Cite web|url=https://frankmckone2.blogspot.com.au/2001/02/2001-jigsaw-and-free-rain-2001-season.html|title=Theatre Reviews by Frank McKone: 2001: Jigsaw and Free Rain 2001 Season launches. Feature article.|last=McKone|first=Frank|date=15 February 2001|website=Theatre Reviews by Frank McKone|access-date=15 April 2017}} 2001).

A graduate of the NIDA Playwrights Studio, Aston was writer-in residence and founding member of the prominent Sydney fringe theatre company, Big Hand Theatre Co in the early 1990s; and was also playwright-in-residence for Theatre South (Wollongong) and Self Raising Theatre (Bathurst).

Aston is best known for his award-winning teenage play, Fossils – published by Currency Press in 1995, and still in print today. The play has had international seasons in Berlin{{Cite web|url=http://www.platypus-theater.de/en/plays/fossils|title=Fossils {{!}} PLATYPUS THEATER|website=www.platypus-theater.de|access-date=15 April 2017}} and Yokohama, and has been toured and performed at the Sydney Opera House, many major regional centres and hundreds of schools throughout the country. Fossils was on the HSC Drama syllabus for many years, and is still a popular workshop choice for performance and drama classes.

Having completed his Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Mass Communication and Philosophy) at Macquarie University, Aston gained his Master of Creative Arts, and Doctor of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong. In 2002 he gained his Graduate Diploma of Education from Charles Sturt University, and qualified for a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) degree in 2007. He completed his postgraduate studies in Advanced Psychology at the University of New England.

Aston began teaching in 1990 and subsequently taught in secondary schools, universities, TAFE and private colleges. He was a long time contributor to magazines such as Australian Video Camera and the prestigious, Australian Cinematographer. Manny has written academic articles on fields as diverse as psychology, cybercrime, and education. He is a keen advocate of positive education, and is the author of Study Right, which has become one of Australia's best selling ‘How to Study’ guides. Aston is currently an Adjunct Professor at The Fashion Institute (TFI), Sydney.

• Clay Soldiers (Big Hand Theatre 1991)
• When the Bough Breaks (Big Hand Theatre 1992)
• Fossils (Currency Press 1995){{Cite book|url=http://www.currency.com.au/product_detail.aspx?productid=215|title=Fossils {{!}} Manuel Aston|isbn=9780868193991}}
• Study Smart: A Guide to Successful Study at TAFE (Reedy Books 2005)
• Study Right: A simple guide to effective study (Reedy Books 2006)

{{reflist}}

• [http://australianplays.org/playwright/CP-astepp 'Australianplays]
• [http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsA/aston-manuel.html "Manuel Aston", doollee]
• {{LinkedIn URL|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/mannyaston/}}

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Category:1961 births

Category:Living people

Category:Australian male dramatists and playwrights

Category:20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights

Category:21st-century Australian dramatists and playwrights