Author
Helen Chebatte
I am an author and an actor. And I love both my jobs! They’re similar in many ways. The characters I play, for example, need the same consideration as the characters I write. And the scenes I write need objectives just like the scenes I perform. When I was young, I loved to act. I performed in school plays and community theatre productions. The creative buzz was so intoxicating that I decided to take my artistic desires more seriously. I enrolled in acting courses and studied my craft diligently for years until I began working professionally in film, television and theatre. Some of my parts include roles on All Saints, Crownies, the acclaimed feature film Cedar Boys and the romantic comedy Alex and Eve. I also taught drama for a while – which was a lot of fun. At the same time I was acting, I began writing! Once I started, I couldn’t stop. Like acting, I needed to take this creative desire more seriously too. I attended writing workshops, joined various writing organisations and co-founded a writers’ group. Before long my work was being short-listed in writing competitions. The turning point was when I won the CBCA Aspiring Writers’ Mentorship and received the inaugural Charlotte Waring Barton Award – a huge confidence booster! My debut YA novel, Bro was inspired by the multicultural Western Sydney suburb I grew up in called Granville – a buzzing mix of cultures and people, it offered me endless story ideas.