Joanna Pidcock - Class Of 2011

Joanna Pidcock arrived at Loreto Toorak in the middleof 2000, after moving from New York City. It was a bigadjustment, but she felt very warmly welcomed and quicklybecame involved in Music and Theatre Studies. In 2011 shewas School Music Captain, and helped lead Mornane to PAFvictory as House Drama Captain. Joanna remembers feelinginspired by Dr Schroor and Ms Thompson, who motivated herto study English Literature at degree level.

 

Joanna completed a Bachelors Degree at the Universityof Melbourne with Majors in Creative Writing and EnglishLiterature, a Diploma of Languages in French, and thenan Honours thesis in English Literature. She also did anexchange programme at the University of Edinburgh in 2014and, in 2015, worked on a ranch in Wyoming.

 

Joanna’s career break came in 2017 when she worked withesteemed British theatre director Katie Mitchell. Shortly after,she moved to the United Kingdom to continue her career as atheatre director, dramaturg and writer, and has been based inLondon ever since.

 

For the last two years Joanna has been more focused onwriting. A Chamber opera for which she has written theLibretto is performancing in Tokyo in May, and she has anessay published in TOLKA, an Irish literary journal. From Juneonwards Joanna will be the assistant director on I, Joan, amajor new production at Shakespeare’s Globe in Londonabout Joan of Arc.

 

Working with Katie Mitchell and Alice Birch is a careerhighlight for Joanna; their mentorship and support has beeninstrumental for her development as an artist. In 2019, sherepresented the UK as Young Artist Delegate to the Séminaireen Avignon, a prestigious international residency at theAvignon Festival. She was shortlisted for the 2021 FitzcarraldoEditions Essay Prize, a major non-fiction award forunpublished authors, and has signed with Anna Webber fromUnited Agents. Her most significant achievement is building awonderful life in the UK, and forging fulfilling friendships.

In her spare time Joanna swims at the Ladies Pond onHampstead Heath. She volunteers at an agroecological urbanfarm, and this summer will be running gardening workshopsin East London.

 

A Loreto Toorak education developed a resilience and anintellectual ambition that contributes to her self-confidence.The School also taught Joanna to be a strong, kind, joyful,just, and driven woman, and for that she is very grateful.