Mia Boonen is a writer, theatre maker, educator and performer currently studying at the Victorian College of the Arts. A founder of The Penny Mint, she engages the power of the matriarch in her work.
Jake magically summons an audio clip, Ella makes a film in the dark, and Mia re-announces something we're working on over the summer. Welcome to The Penny Mint Podcast: now with the gang back in a room together!
Mia dispels the myth of the impoverished artist, Ella is busier than ever amidst a pandemic, and Jake tries his best to be profound in this episode of The Penny Mint Podcast.
There is nothing like the bond that lives between kids and old people, and while I'm sure Bill would actively contest the idea that he ever reached "old age", the sentiment remains true. I couldn't put a name to it, but something special happens whenever memory and imagination meet.
After years of being told that women shouldn't be angry—that we shouldn't be loud and disgruntled and ugly in public—I've found myself like a kid banned from drawing on the walls: all the more willing to do it.
Ella, Mia and Jake put on their journalism hats and analyse how current events have impacted the arts sector in Australia. They explore university funding changes, JobKeeper and the culture industry's wider value.
All covered up in a brown nest I learned to call a “chrysalis” / And I could spell it too: C.H.R.Y.S.A.L.I.S. / And she told me that patience had power, That the caterpillar in the chrysalis would turn to goo and then into a butterfly. And all I had to do was wait.
Mia, Ella and Jake are joined this month by Melissa Longo, a freelance writer and publisher of InkCloud, a blog championing positivity and creativity in the western suburbs of Melbourne
Moving out for the first time, it is easy to forget how much the notion of home and community revolves around food. Nor do you stop running long enough to pause and reflect on how quickly your diet has degraded to two minute noodles.
Ella, Mia and Jake discuss the pros and cons of going live in isolation, highlight their TV guilty pleasures, and share some pieces first performed at Stay In, Speak Out, The Penny Mint's fortnightly Instagram live stream.
More and more, I find myself wondering if it’s been a smart idea to be so public with what a friend of mine calls “lion feminism”: the loud and proud statements against sexism that put my anger in the public eye.
Jake, Mia and Ella come to you from their bedrooms with a big announcement, but first: as we continue to self-isolate, how are we structuring our days? How do we find purpose?