Jada Alberts is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

actor,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, director, artist and poet.

Early life and education

Alberts is from the

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

of Australia, of Larrakia, Yanuwa, Bardi and Wardaman descent. Their mother is Franchesca Cubillo. They attended Mary MacKillop College in the

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

suburb of

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

from 1996 to 2001, and graduated from Adelaide Centre for the Arts in 2006.

Career

Alberts works in many mediums: they are an actor, musician, painter, poet, and playwright. They have also written for the screen.

Stage

Alberts has regularly acted on stage since at least 2005, when they performed in two productions as a third-year student at the Adelaide Centre for the Arts. One of these was ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

''. In 2013–2014, Alberts took the role of

Goneril Goneril is a character in William Shakespeare's tragic play ''King Lear'' (1605). She is the eldest of King Lear's three daughters. Along with her sister Regan, Goneril is considered a villain, obsessed with power and overthrowing her elderly fa ...

in a touring production of ''The Shadow King'', which "rework dShakespeare’s timeless tragedy King Lear as a sprawling, blood-soaked tale of two Indigenous families in Australia's north". Alberts performed in '' Frost/Nixon'' and ''The Birthday Party'' for

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...

; ''Second to None'', for Vitalstatistix and Kurruru Performing Arts; Cat (

Windmill Theatre The Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, was a variety and revue theatre best known for its nude ''tableaux vivants'', which began in 1932 and lasted until its reversion to a cinema in 1964. Many prominent British comedians of t ...

); ''Yibiyung'' ( Company B /

Malthouse Theatre Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD. ...

); ''Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui'' (

Darwin Festival The Darwin Festival, founded as the Bougainvillea Festival in 1979 and named Festival of Darwin from 1996 to 2002, is an annual arts festival in Darwin, Northern Territory. It celebrates the multicultural aspects of the Northern Territory lifest ...

); ''The Green Sheep'' (

Cate Fowler Cate Fowler (born 13 June 1949 in Tumut, New South Wales, Australia) is a theatre producer and director specialising in work for children and families and an educationalist engaged in research in the areas of children's performance and creative li ...

); and several tours, both within Australia and overseas, of ''Saltbush'' (Insight Arts). In 2013 they were in ''This Heaven'' (Company B); and ''Hipbone Sticking Out'' (YijilaYala/

Big hART Big ''h''ART is an Australian arts and social-justice company based in Tasmania. History Big ''h''ART was founded in 1992 by playwright and director Scott Rankin and John Bakes in Burnie, north-western Tasmania, with the aim of countering disa ...

). Alberts was assistant director of ''Windmill Baby'' for Company B in 2011. They have been involved in various projects for

Melbourne Workers Theatre Melbourne Workers Theatre (MWT) was an Australian theatre company based in Melbourne, Australia. The company was founded in 1987 by Patricia Cornelius, Steve Payne and Michael White. It specialised in producing work from a left-wing stance, se ...

Arena Theatre Company Arena Theatre Company is an Australian theatre company and a long-running producers of Theatre for Young Audiences, Theatre For Young Audiences. It was established as a professional company in 1968 as the Children's Arena Theatre and focused pri ...

, RealTV and

State Theatre Company South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

(STCSA). They have also written for the stage, including the play '' Brothers Wreck'', first performed in 2014 by Company B at the

Belvoir Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat D ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, directed by

Leah Purcell Leah Maree Purcell (born 14 August 1970) is an Aboriginal Australian stage and film actress, playwright, film director, and novelist. She made her film debut in 1999, appearing in Paul Fenech's ''Somewhere in the Darkness'', which led to role ...

, to critical acclaim. She then became associate artist at Belvoir. They wrote this play out of a desire after realising that there were few

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

represented on TV and even fewer on the stage, and that

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

s in the community were not being talked about. In 2018 Alberts directed the play for a collaborative production by Malthouse and STCSA, in her directorial debut, which was again well-received. Many elements of the production were different, but

Lisa Flanagan Lisa Flanagan is an Aboriginal Australian actress, known for her roles on stage and in television and film. Film roles include her debut movie '' Australian Rules'' and '' Look Both Ways'', while on stage she performed in Wesley Enoch's ''The Sa ...

reprised her role as Petra.

Screen

Alberts was a regular on ''

Cleverman A cleverman is a traditional healer and keeper of culture in many Aboriginal cultures of Australia. The roles, terms for, and abilities of a cleverman vary between different Aboriginal nations. Some clevermen heal bodily injuries and illnesse ...

'' and a co-winner of the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Series in a Drama Series at the 2018

Equity Ensemble Awards The Equity Ensemble Awards (or Equity Awards) are an Australian awards system, that is an accolade presented by The Equity Foundation, the performers branch of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). The awards have been presented annu ...

. They also wrote for the series.

Personal life

Alberts is in a relationship with actress

Kate Box Kate Box is an Australian stage, film and television actress. She is known for her roles as Nicole Vargas in ''Rake'' and as Lou Kelly in '' Wentworth''. Career In 2003, Box graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) Her firs ...

, and they have three children together. They both appeared in prison drama series ''

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

''. Alberts is

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and has stated a preference for using

they/them pronouns Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentence ...

Recognition and awards

* 2007: Winner, Adelaide Critics Circle Award for Best Emerging Artist, for ''What I Heard About Iraq'' (

Holden Street Theatres Holden Street Theatres (HST) is a South Australian performing arts theatre complex in Hindmarsh, an inner-western suburb of Adelaide. It is housed in the heritage-listed All Saints' Anglican Church (also known as All Saints' Church) complex. T ...

) * 2013: Recipient of the

Balnaves Award Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat D ...

, a fellowship to support an emerging First Nations playwright to create a new work at the Belvoir * 2014: Nomination,

Sydney Theatre Awards The Sydney Theatre Awards are annual awards to recognise the strength, quality and diversity of professional theatre in Sydney, Australia. They were established in 2005 by a group of major Sydney theatre critics. The awards recognise mainstage and ...

for Best New Australian Work, for ''Brothers Wreck'' * 2015: Nomination for the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the

NSW Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

, for ''Brothers Wreck'' * 2015: Nomination,

AWGIE Awards The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...

, Best Stage Play, for ''Brothers Wreck'' * 2016: Winner, Early Career Writing Award in the inaugural

Mona Brand Awards Mona Brand (22 October 1915 – 1 August 2007) was a twentieth-century Australian playwright, poet and freelance writer. She also wrote under the name Alexis Fox. Whilst living, Brand was more well known in Europe than in Australia, so much so ...

at the

State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...

(worth )

Filmography

Film and television appearances as an actor include: ; Television *'' Mystery Road'' (2020) TV series — Fran (6 episodes) *''

Wake in Fright ''Wake in Fright'' (initially released as ''Outback'' outside Australia) is a 1971 psychological thriller film directed by Ted Kotcheff, written by Evan Jones, and starring Gary Bond, Donald Pleasence, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay and Jack Thomps ...

'' (2017) TV mini series — Sandy Fanshawe (2 episodes) *''

'' (2016–17) TV series — Nerida West (12 episodes) *''

'', s1–2 (2013–14) TV series — Toni Goodes (5 episodes) *''

Redfern Now ''Redfern Now'' is an Australian drama television series, that first aired on ABC1 in 2012. The program follows the lives of 6 Aboriginal Australian families living in the urban hub of Redfern, Sydney. The series provides insight into contempo ...

'' (2012) TV series — Marcia (1 episode) *''

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

'' (2010) TV series, S3 — Private Leanne Daly (1 episode) ; Film * '' The Stranger'' (2022) — Detective Kate Rylett *'' Red Hill'' (2010) — Ellin Conway

References

External links

*
Jada Alberts
on ''

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Alberts, Jada Australian television actors Australian stage actors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Australian LGBT actors Australian LGBT screenwriters Australian LGBT dramatists and playwrights Non-binary dramatists and playwrights Non-binary screenwriters Australian non-binary actors