Featured speaker
She Is AphroditeClare Bowditch
You can be very good at one thing. And a complete beginner at another.
RARA founder Bridget Wood got to ask Clare a handful of questions for our speaker series. Her answers were far too good to cut down, so here they are in full.
What's your most niche obsession right now?
I always have a few rolling at once (for example, inventor Colin Austin's wicking-bed design for our garden, milk kefir, how to build a batten fence), but my ongoing niche obsession (and I realise this will sound odd) is internal lighting, and why it is that some colours or hues or positions or globes or shades or combinations make me feel so very welcome and capable, and why others make me feel a little scared and skittish.
For context, I'm rebuilding my home office... and I want far more of the former feeling (low, amber, orange), but at the same time, I do also need to be able to see (bright light white!) so... playing around with lighting is my current niche obsession. Any others out there into this stuff? If so, can we please talk more about this when I see you in person? xoox
What's your pre-stage non-negotiable?
Pineapple juice, soda water and lime, with my non-negotiable same-old prayer to dear Lord and all the muses to put me to good use today for the benefit of whoever out there needs it.
What are you surprisingly bad at?
Building a fence. I guess it's not that surprising... I just thought I was going to be a natural....
When have you been completely starstruck?
Many times. I have had the pleasure of either working with or interviewing many of my heroes, so if it's famous people we're talking about, today the person who comes to mind is the seminal singer-songwriter Linda Ronstadt. It was back in 2017 when I had an ABC radio show, and of the many thousands of wonderful conversations I was able to host, this one remains a standout.
Due to a medical condition that affects her movement, Linda can no longer sing, but she can still very much talk and boy, can she tell a story! She has a witty sense of humour. After all those decades working crowds, I'm not surprised. She also has an incredible sense of the time (and place: Laurel Canyon) when herself and Joni Mitchell and the Eagles and so many others were just kids, writing songs in their living rooms we still hear on our radios now, every day...
But I think what it was that impressed itself upon me so deeply was her honesty but sheer grace / point-blank refusal to sound bitter despite a core pillar of her identity, that unbelievable singing voice of hers, being so cruelly taken from her. Bloody impressive.
Clare on interviewing Linda Ronstadt
Bloody impressive.
At RARA, we're all about women supporting women. Who should we know about right now?
- TrioWell while we're on the subject, have you ever heard the albums Linda made with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris? They called their band "Trio". SO COOL!!!
- Liz HicklinAnd a couple of locals, where do I start, ah... Ooh, ooh! Liz Hicklin, a 95-year-old comedian whose theatre production "Sylvia Plath Stole My Boyfriend" looks like it might become the smash hit of the Melbourne Fringe Festival! At the very least, it's just about sold out, so LUCKY I bought eight tickets when I did!(Clare wrote this mid-Fringe. The season has since finished, so follow Liz to catch what she does next.)
- Ruby DattnerI know this is pushing the friendship but one more, one more: young Melbourne musician Ruby Dattner, who I know very well as a family friend, but speaking of starstruck, when you put them up on a stage, these kids can surprise you! Her first single (recorded by my hubby Marty in our backyard studio) came out last month, I think it's called "Take My Heart With You", and quite sincerely, it is one of the most STUNNING testimonials of the beauty and power of folk music I've heard in a long time. You gotta hear those harmonies!
- Gretta RayAnd to conclude, if you like that sorta thing, Gretta Ray has a new album out soon too. SO GOOOOD!
What are you telling everyone to watch?
"Matrescence". Filmmaker Libby Chow and musician and producer Claire Tonti's first documentary, "Matrescence" (rhymes with "adolescence"), is one that I reckon will change our understanding of birthing mothers and in doing so, change lives for the better. If you don't know the word, it's not your fault. It's not in the dictionary. It SHOULD be, it needs to be, and I hope this work makes a difference to that...
Do you have a go-to meal that's a crowd pleaser every time?
Absolutely. My mother's Dutch apple tart recipe, as inherited from hers before her. I make it dozens of times a year and it has never once disappointed. The recipe is free on my website, so I often get letters from people who've tried it (all with their own unique twist) and they all say the same! It takes a little bit of time but it's not hard to do.
See Clare in person
Hear Clare open RARA, live.
She opens Tuesday with a live performance and a conversation about voice, visibility and creative courage. (Bring your lighting opinions.)
Then it's two days with women who will make you braver about what you actually want.
Get your ticketCan't make it in the end? Your ticket can go to another woman, free, up to 14 days out.
- The Aperitivo by the pool on Monday night
- Two full summit days, with up to two creative workshops
- Long lunches, barista coffee, morning and afternoon tea
- A small group to meet before you arrive, so you've got people to find on the first night