Blog
Witty and wise words from the view of an ageing feminist…
Theatre and Performance
Jennie has written and composed for theatre, radio and interactive screen. Many of her works have been commissioned by and written for communities, such as Deakin University School of Nursing (Routines, Ritual, Rhythm) or special events, such as the centenary of the Ararat Town Hall (Musical Chairs) and Mallacoota Arts Festival (Never Trust a Lyrebird and Poets Will be Prosecuted.)
Underworld, an interactive, musical, detective investigation into the female reproductive system, won Best Health, AIMIA Awards, 2005, Best Multimedia, ATOM Awards, 2004 and also a UN World Summit Award, 2005. A glimpse of Underworld
Other awards include the Ian Reed Foundation Prize for Radio Drama (ABC) for There Goes the Neighbourhood, an ATOM Secondary Student Jury Award, 1997 for If It wasn’t For The Rubber.
For ABC Radio National she has written and performed Jen the Generic Housewife, for Livewire, and songs and skits for The Health Report and The Coming Out Show.
Jennie has had writing residencies in Ararat, Victoria and Wagga Wagga, NSW. She has always had an interest in health (Pills, I Love ‘Em To Death), cultural exchange and giving voice to individuals and communities.
Learning Design
Jennie has taught voice, theatre, multimedia, animation and research to adults at various institutions including Swinburne University (National Institute of Circus Arts), Victoria University and Northern Metropolitan College of TAFE. She was part of a team developing one of RMIT’s earliest online courses in multimedia. She has also worked with primary school kids as an artist in residence, facilitating discussions about cultural empathy, developing language and literacy skills as songwriters.
She put theory to her practice in her Masters (Creative Media) studying Adult Learning Theory and won a Vice-Chancellor’s award for her exegesis “How Using Narrative Can Improve Learner Engagement, Motivation and Comprehension in Instructional Design.” Using narrative can involve case studies, scenarios, characters, settings and flow.
Since 2014 she has written assessments, learning and training resources for corporates and registered training organisations (RTOs). Usually working with subject matter experts, she has created resources for face to face and online delivery in a wide variety of subject areas including Leadership and Management, Health, Warehousing, Sustainability, Hospitality, Stress, Alcohol and Other Drugs, Trauma, Family Violence and Primary Prevention.
She has worked for Circulus, Learner Friendly, The Elatum Group, The Learning Hook, Ashley Institute, Cutting Edge Group, AusPost, CoHealth, Odyssey House Victoria and Safe and Equal.
In addition to writing and developing training material, her work with CoHealth involved facilitation, training and presentation and seeded the CLAP process (Collaborative Learning And Performance – a method of skill and knowledge development through discussion and structured role-play).
Publications:
Routine Ritual Rhythm
School of Nursing, Deakin University, Geelong, 1994
Underworld
Dataworks, Melbourne, 2004
Using Stories In Instructional Design
Training & Development, October 2014 pp.10-13
Care Factor
The Big Issue, 27 July – 9 August 2018, No 567 pp. 20-21
The Gathering of Kindness Anthology, Hambone Publishing, 2024
Leave Your Dignity at the Door, pp. 21, Young James the Brave pp. 168
Jennie Swain Words and Music 