It is no surprise that the showbiz world has been captivated by the new generation of performers, including Caitlin Moran, who has been nominated for the best actor award at the Golden Globes and will next be recognised as an Australian of the Year.
Ms Moran has been dubbed the “new Jane Austen” for her bold and provocative take on the story of the life of a young woman.
But she is not alone.
Ms Treadwell is one of the rising stars of Australian theatre, as is Kate Beckinsale, who won the best actress award at this year’s Tony Awards.
What is the difference between a performer and a writer?
The difference is the writers and the performers share one of those defining characteristics: the ability to change the course of a story.
It is this ability to shape the narrative of a film, television, theatre or television series that has led to the emergence of “musical theatre”.
And it is a trait that has played out on stage as well as in the pages of theatre and literature.
The musicals are the storytellers, while the plays are the performers, writes theatre critic Richard Harlow in his book On Stage: The Art of Being a Musical.
But is this a new genre?
In recent years, there have been dramatic changes to the way we see theatre.
From the emergence in the 1960s of theatre festivals, such as The Festival of Arts in Melbourne, to the creation of the National Theatre in Brisbane in the 1990s, the arts are increasingly seen as part of a broader cultural and social conversation.
A lot of this is about finding new ways to engage with the audience, says Ms Treshwell, who studied theatre at the University of Sydney and was a theatre student at the time of the festival.
In this sense, the emergence and development of theatre in the 1970s was a great time to develop the ability and the capacity to write the story in a different way.
What makes a story a story?
When you look at a story, you are looking at the way the story relates to something else, she says.
For instance, you may find yourself listening to a piece of music that is telling a story in your head, or seeing a film with the intention of interpreting it, rather than having it be the only thing you are thinking about.
“Theatre has always been about bringing people together,” Ms Teshwell says.
“It has always taken place in front of people.
You cannot be a performer on the stage and not be a storyteller.”
In the 1960, there were very few theatre festivals in Australia, and theatre was a very rare commodity.
But theatre as a form of art began to become more popular in the mid-1970s and there were performances of Shakespeare at every theatre in Australia.
A number of plays were staged at the Sydney Opera House, including The Tempest by George Bernard Shaw, which was filmed by director George Lucas.
In the late 1960s, there was a huge shift in attitudes to theatre.
A new generation was emerging and the notion of theatre as art and story was starting to take hold.
Theatre festivals became more prominent, with shows staged in cities and communities, like Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
The theatre became more inclusive and included women and people of colour.
As a result, theatre became a way of telling stories, and a storytelling culture emerged.
A culture of storytelling was also beginning to take root in Australian culture.
It was in the late 1970s and early 1980s that the rise of television began.
In 1988, the ABC launched its first television series, The Next Generation, which ran from 1985 to 1988.
In 1989, the first musical drama series, Les Misérables, was released.
This was followed by The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which premiered in 1995.
In 1997, a number of musicals were released, including Romeo and Juliet and Les Misélie, and the likes of Les Misette, The Nutcracker and Fantasia.
In 2004, The Musicals of Australia, the country’s first musical theatre festival, was launched.
Ms Beckinsales nomination for the award was announced on February 8, 2016.
“We are incredibly proud of the work we have done, and hope the audience will take a moment to reflect on it,” she says in her acceptance speech.
The winner, Ms Tshwell, has been described by the audience as a performer who “has taken a lot of risks, but she’s also very talented.”
In her acceptance address, she thanked the audience for supporting her “on this journey of discovery and achievement”.
The musical’s star was also the actress Sarah Millican, who also won the award.
The show will be broadcast on ABC2 on Sunday, March 4.
“I think that’s a great show for the audience to see,” Ms Beckers says.
The winning play is The Nut Cracker, by George Burns, published in 1903. It tells