City trader Libby Trainor Parker is 'extra' in the 2023 Adelaide Fringe
Accumulating professional development hours for teachers is as easy as coming to an Adelaide Fringe show at Gluttony thanks to a Pirie Street business.
Expressions Media owner Libby Trainor Parker is among the many city traders either participating or hosting shows around town, with her show Extra Curricular among the many she plays a part in either on or off stage.
Extra Curricular, a collaboration between husband-wife team Matthew Trainor and Libby Trainor Parker, is a comedic take on the lives of teachers, their love of learning and the day-to-day challenges they face.
“We have set the show up to be like a professional development session where audience members even get a certificate afterwards because we've even put in the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Learning (AITSL) standards,” Ms Trainor Parker says.
“It’s just a hoot — there's even a sports day in the middle of it. We had about 100 teachers on Saturday night, and it was wild.”
Expressions Media operates out of Ms Trainor Parker’s other business Prompt Creative Centre on Pirie Street
The Centre is home to a group of creative entrepreneurs who teach, mentor and support creatives and small businesses to develop the tools and knowledge to maintain a successful, sustainable trade.
Ms Trainor Parker, who says she was once a "sensible teacher", runs workshops where she taps into areas including how to write for business and marketing skills, however, she will also run it as an Adelaide Fringe venue this year.
Shows include Dropped In it, Jacob Jackman – Soup of the Day (Fool For a Lifetime) and Jennifer Wong Has No Peripheral Vision.
“We have introduced a lot more local artists to Fringe audiences, which has been magnificent, especially for us as artists,” Ms Trainor Parker says.
“It’s also been nice to have everybody back again in general; to have that exciting vibe where you have people from all corners of the country, and globe, back in Adelaide again.”
Ms Trainor Parker will also be putting on Endo Days at Gluttony where she explains her journey with endometriosis, a condition that affects one in nine people that menstruate.
The show returns after three sold out seasons and “poke(s) fun at pain and being fully sick”.
“I put together this cabaret together after working with the Pelvic Pain Foundation to develop a program to put in a school (which has since become a national initiative),” she says.
“I wanted to educate people about endometriosis, so that we can try and close that gap.
“And because I'm an entertainer, I wanted to also make it a comedy and laugh through it, but also give a bit more community.”
Previously, she was part of the Renew Adelaide program and based on Hutt Street but has since become a "graduate" following her successful stint.
Renew Adelaide is funded by the Adelaide Economic Development Agency, the City of Adelaide and State Government of South Australia.
She says the support from Renew Adelaide has been second to none, with the not-for-profit helping her set up the performance space even after graduating from the program.
“Even now I know that I could call them and say ‘Okay, I've got this problem. I don't know what I'm doing here. Can you help?’ and they would just stay with you through your whole journey.
"They've been really good with referring artists to us as well, which has been great, because we run workshops.”
Extra Curricular - Extra Curricular | Adelaide Fringe
Endo Days - Endo Days | Adelaide Fringe
Find out about how AEDA and Renew Adelaide work together.