About
Story Playscapes
Discover the Story
Story Playscapes is an Australian, heritage trade publishing business, that produces the authentic written works of Susan L. Marshall in professional and bespoke publications. The business aims to publish a range of books, inspired by Susan’s story playscapes, which encourage a love for reading and discovering the story.
The Australian registered business was founded by professional author, Susan L. Marshall on 7 July 2020. Her passion for writing poetry, plays and fiction has led to her development of the business brand. Susan’s works are written for a wide ranging, global audience.
Story Playscapes is dedicated to promoting positive approaches to global literacy and theatrical development. It nurtures a global readership by actively sharing Susan L. Marshall’s diverse range of written works through its long-standing My Story Meadow program. Many of Susan’s professional poems and stories unravelled their beginnings through the program, with Susan sharing her writing etudes and techniques with a dedicated global readership.
Currently, Story Playscapes has published five of Susan’s major publications: Fleur of Yesterday, All the Hope We Carry, Adira and the Dark Horse, Bare Spirit: The Selected Poems of Susan Marshall (an Amazon best-seller) and Wild Soul: Contemporary Classical Winter Poetry (an Amazon best-seller). Her publications are professionally distributed to and available at book retailers in more than 200 countries and territories around the world.
About
Susan L. Marshall
A Romantic Wanderer
“In my wanders, through wake or sleep,
I have witnessed worlds that, when given breath,
do slowly unfurl.
Breathtaking, are the sparks of life that arise,
absorbing and alighting my spirit with their precious moments.”
– Susan L. Marshall
Susan L. Marshall is a professional novelist, fiction writer, dramatist, poet and theatre practitioner, renown for her unique attunement to the energetic motions of her lifeworlds (her playscapes). A Romantic wanderer by nature, she nurtures a global readership with her special abilities to distil and transcend precious moments and alighting the Romantic spirit on its continued journey. Susan combines her special interests in Romanticism and Metaphysical philosophy, (along with other classical and contemporary styles), in the development of her own original, contemporary written works. Readers around the globe fondly connect with her works as Romantic Academia and Metaphysical poetry / fiction. Susan’s professional publications and their beloved, mindful journeys of the Romantic Spirit, are available in more than 200 countries and territories around the globe.
Susan was born in Richmond in Melbourne, Australia, as the oldest of three children. At a young age, she was drawn to the solace she discovered outdoors, particularly when she attuned herself to the natural energetic motions that surrounded her.
“I learned at a young age that we can choose how we engage with life. To be able to witness precious, energetic motions, such as the kinetic whispering of wind against leaves, a bird spanning its wings or the budding of a flower, was soothing. It took me away from the grind of the everyday and fuelled my imagination. In places such as my own backyard, on outdoor treks or even at one of my favourite places: the Royal Botanic Gardens, I connected with my own spirit. I was able to attune myself to precious, energetic moments and give flight
to their stories.
“I spent a lot of time with my father as a child. He nurtured my love for nature and homegrown herbs, fruits and vegetables. Although we lived close to the busy city, my father helped me to learn how to ground myself and to take care of my health and wellbeing. He also taught me how to embrace my wandering nature by taking me on long walks into Melbourne city, where he taught me how to navigate my way around it confidently. I have fond memories of our family road trips out to Beechworth, where I would trek up the cliffs with my father courageously and view the vista with all its beauty. My father is a visual artist himself and I was always blessed to be able to watch him translate his passions into amazing paintings. It gave me confidence to continue to develop as an artist and writer myself.”
As a young child, Susan gravitated towards theatre, where she was able to flourish even further artistically. At Richmond Primary School, she was excited to be in her first stage production: Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, guided by her teachers: Kim Young and Stu Cooper. She also performed the King in the French production of Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince.
Later, as a student at Melbourne Girls’ College, Susan was privileged to learn from the professional Australian stage director and theatre critic: Di Gagen. As her mentor, Di was instrumental in helping Susan to further harness her artistic focus and skills, by providing her with many theatrical opportunities. In senior years, Susan became the first Arts Captain at her school and was mentored by her principal, Jan Parkes, in community and leadership skills. Susan directed the school stage productions: Just Equal by Dennis Betts and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. She was also privileged to perform the roles of a Field Mouse (photo on right) and Pheobe, in Hartwell Players’ stage production of the pantomime: Toad of Toad Hall, directed by Di and Steve Gagen.
Di Gagen also introduced Susan to the world of St Martin’s Youth Arts Centre, which Susan embraced whole-heartedly. She spent many years there, under the tuition of some of Australia’s great theatre practitioners, including: the Artistic Director, Brett Adam, James Wardlaw and Geoff Wallis. Susan was honoured to work with Brett Adam to devise, script and perform in the postmodern stage production: Orb.IT for the Melbourne International Arts Festival.
Susan’s passions for theatre and writing remained with her, leading to her enrolling in a Bachelor of Arts at La Trobe University. It was there that she performed in the productions: As You Like It by William Shakespeare, directed by Meredith Rogers and What Time is this House? by Virginia Baxter, for the Melbourne Fringe Festival. She also performed the lead role of Phrygenia in the production of Spartacus and Phrygenia, (written and directed by Peter and Corinne at Créations Barquette Gitane), for the Banyule Festival in Melbourne.
Later, Susan was privileged to further develop her skills in stage direction by observing Richard Keown’s stage direction of the Australian Premiere of Joanne Harris’ Holidays for Peridot Theatre in Melbourne. Susan was very honoured to stage direct the Australian premiere of Timothy Daly’s Beach: A Theatrical Fantasia, with a young adult cast.
“The wanderer in me continued to flourish, wanting to learn as much as I could about the worlds of theatre and literature, to help me grow. I immersed myself in styles from classical to post-modern, loving the senses of character spirit and embodiment that unravelled their journeys in books and plays. I felt I had found the arts where I fitted naturally, with my own connections to life energies. I will always be grateful to my lecturers: Richard Freadman (literature); Geoffrey Milne, Julian Meyrick, Meredith Rogers and Peta Tait (theatre), for their expertise and helping me to grow.
“My theatre mentor, the wonderful, late Geoffrey Milne, once asked me what I wanted my discipline to be in the theatre world. At the time, I wanted to be a theatre practitioner, as I had been awe-inspired by many professional theatre practitioners before me. I loved learning about the ways that Artaud, Brooke and others, went about journaling and sharing their own techniques and practice. There is something so alive and progressive about theatre, an energy that is inexplicable and I wanted to help make a contribution, initiate innovation and new, lively discussion. Geoffrey’s advice stayed with me as I continued to develop and harness my skills. Later, I realised that my forte was creating theatre for young adults, after working with them for many years in theatre, community and educational settings. That’s when I began developing the Theatre Playscapes style, so that I could make a contribution to theatre and its progressive development and discussion for young people through time.”
In 2023, Susan touched the hearts of the globe with her metaphysical magic when Story Playscapes released her monumental, first two plays in the Theatre Playscapes series: Fleur of Yesterday and All the Hope We Carry, both developed for young adult performers around the world.
Susan has a passion for heritage and culture, having grown up as a member of a large, multicultural family.
“My ethnicity is Maltese, Turkish, Portugese and English. I can also speak French fluently. I grew up with an appreciation for the diverse ways that people live and the wonderful contributions that cultures make to life itself.
“My mother’s second language is English and she dedicated herself to teaching me how to read at a very young age. She helped me to discover my love for the Romantic focus of literature. I was reading novels such as: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnet; Heidi by Johanna Spyri and The Enchanted Wood series by Enid Blyton. As I grew older, I adored the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Each of these stories were a feast of spirit and humanity, accompanied by nature and desire, even fantastical at times. They instilled a sense of courage in me, to continue to explore the world with open eyes and to unravel my continued spiritual journey, away from the daily grind.
“My mother also taught me the importance of family and community and helped me to build strong relationships. When I would visit my Nanna (my mother’s mother), I would relish my Nanna’s presence and cherish her stories at her table, which was dressed with her beautiful lace table cloth, all the way from her native country, Gozo. As a war survivor, the lace was a precious belonging to my Nanna. The heritage lace trade is significant for the people of Gozo.
“My father’s mother, my Nanna, also had a very strong influence on my spiritual presence and growth. She taught me how to connect with the simple joys of life and to find comfort and peace. I will always be grateful for the guidance and wisdom of my mother and grandmothers.”
Susan became an active member of the Richmond community. She volunteered at the Berry Street Opportunity Shop and assisted the Richmond City Council with providing opportunities for young people. This led to her work on the Richmond Youth Work Project and Richmond Youth Council. Her outstanding work with young people led to her being granted the prestigious Award for Special Civic Service by the Mayor of Richmond.
Later, after completing a Postgraduate Bachelor of Teaching: Primary and Secondary at Deakin University, guided by the expertise of her mentors Dr Jo Omara and Dr Jo Raphael, Susan taught young adults English and Drama in educational settings for more than a decade. She also continued to work with young adults in community and theatrical settings as a theatre practitioner. Susan launched her first professional play: Broken World, at the AATE/ALEA National Conference in Brisbane, in 2013, beginning her career as a professional author.
In 2020, during the COVID pandemic, Susan began sharing her poetic and fictional writing études on her My Story Meadow blog. It rapidly attracted a global readership who were interested in Susan’s story telling and techniques shared. Susan committed herself to providing global literacy development opportunities to readers, leading to her founding her business, named after her passion for life’s energies and her Romantic wanders: Story Playscapes.
On New Year’s Eve in 2022, Susan was met with overwhelming global support when she announced that Story Playscapes was classified as a heritage trade publisher. Susan was joined by many readers when she lit a candle of hope for the future of heritage trade across the world. A heartfelt passion that she continues to support today.
