Gretchen Minton, professor of English at Montana State University. Photo: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez.
From the mountainous Yellowstone country of regional Montana to tropical North Queensland seems something of a startling relocation for this passionate and engaging Shakespeare scholar and dramaturg.
‘What was interesting was that those early settlers had in their saddlebags the King James Bible and a copy of the works of Shakespeare. There were mountain men and explorers who expressed their interest in Shakespeare, and the Bard’s plays were performed in remote regional areas of Montana,’ she says.
Trevor Keeling has been involved in the arts and creative industries for 40 years in Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. He has been an actor, theatre director, journalist and critic, publisher, broadcaster, music festival director, event manager and arts administrator. Since coming to Australia in 1991, he appeared in numerous productions in Adelaide, and was Festival Director of the Glenelg Jazz Festival for six years. He was General Manager of Dancenorth in Townsville (2005-2006 and 2011-2014) and for three years was CEO of Mirndiyan Gunana Aboriginal Corporation, which included managing the world-renowned Indigenous Mornington Island Dancers. He has worked in urban, regional and remote environments in Australia and has a particular focus on regional arts and the connection to community.
