First published www.artshub.com.au April 2007
There are a few moments in time when I have walked into a foyer, into an industry do with my only pair of high heels on (I usually am seem in Blundstones or scuffed mary-jane’s: to the point where a friend of mine is convinced I have been the foot/shoe model for City rail’s “mind the gap before boarding” poster) feeling like I am ready to pounce into sparkling action, dazzling all in my path with my razor sharp wit. Other times I feel I have as much charisma as a beige plaid sofa left in an alley way, waiting to be marked by stray cats or claimed by desperate students. more…
First Published www.artshub.com.au March 2007
Being in the business of the theatre is not just a job, it’s a lifestyle choice. The choice results in a certain self-righteous smile when paying your rent at the bank and the clerk asks you if you want to consider a mortgage. “No,” you think to yourself… “I am not of the 2.4 kids/car/mortgage/$100 haircut every second Wednesday variety of person, ” and as you confidently stride out of the bank, your shoulders start to slope, your head bows and your heart feels a heavy dullness as you realize that, that in itself, shows something of the transience of what you do. more…
First published www.artshub.com.au in Feb 2007
Arriving back in Australia is an amazing thing. Firstly, there’s the realisation with how much your accent sounds like a cartoon bushman with a mouth full of flies and how much the Australian lingo is a vernacular of similes (i.e. dry as a dead dingo’s etc.) Secondly there’s a hyper sensitivity to all things from the country you have just experienced. For me there is nothing as bright as a red maple leaf emblazoned on a backpack and nothing inflates my R’s like hanging out with North Americans. (Yes sirrrr!) And then there’s the curse of comparison. more…
First published www.artshub.com.au Jan 2007
My name is Augusta Supple. Known to most as Gus. I returned from living and working in Canada as a full time theatre director and playwright: all my successes (and not-so successes) are unheard of in my native land of Oz. This column is about coming home. Returning or should I say re-starting? Reintegrating and re-inventing oneself into the Australian Arts industry after being in self-imposed exile in another country’s arts industry. I will start off writing about me… about trials tribulations and then other perspective from friends and colleagues who have returned home and have struggled to find their feet or voice in a new version of their old country. more…
Organised by YAK events (a collective of emerging artists based at Shopfron Contemporary arts Centre), the Yak Summer Residency is a new two week intensive residency based at Shopfront Contemporary Arts Centre for Under 25’s in which time and space equal freedom. Freedom to explore and uncover and investigate any idea or concept and which resulted in a showcase of some of the findings. I am a little late reporting on this as my own project is gearing up and I have had to prioritize my writing for the Sydney Festival shows I have seen.I know … excuses… excuses… more…
A notoriously difficult time of year, January is a tricky time for independent theatre in Sydney- the post glow of Christmas gluttony has left everyone feeling a little less generous with their money- the razzle dazzle of the Sydney Festival’s international acts descend upon the city with a budget quadruple (at least) than most independent theatre’s see in a year- and then there is the hydra-headed short play festival which gulps up time and talent feeding itself on guilt and competition- and then the rival of all theatre: wonderful weather with it’s cricket season and beckoning beach adventures… so its a tough time to be on… more…
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After a hugely hot day, supposedly the hottest day in Sydney in four years, it was a welcome relief to walk through the streets of Parramatta as a fine mist of rain started to fall. James Waites and I had caught a train after a brief sprint (I was later than anticipated due to unanticipated trackwork)- and within half an hour had found ourself in “The geographical centre of Sydney.” Shaun Parker’s latest creation started its Sydney Festival leg of a wider tour at 2.30pm, 23rd Jan at Parramatta Riverside Theatre- we caught the later session and it was really fascinating. more…
A very brief note about my experience of Six Characters in Search of An Author which has been programmed as a part of The 2010 Sydney Festival. Luigi Pirandello’s play written in 1921- arguably one of the great classic texts in the Western Canon- is a self-reflexive examination on the creation of theatre, character and life and a comment on the shifting sands of reality. In this version, by Rupert Goold and Ben Power- the framing of the production has shifted to that of a TV station which produces documentaries- and is under deadline to find an ending to a documentary on a child who is about to euthenased. It has been delivered to us with a string of raving snippets from UK reviews- in one of the trickiest of venues- The York Theatre at The Seymour Centre. more…
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The 2010 Sydney Festival has afforded me many first experiences- and The Arrival is another- my first experience of New Zealand theatre AND the first theatre production I have seen at Carriageworks. In the past three weeks I have been experiencing a range of Children’s theatre- ranging from local Australian adaptations to large scale adaptations of foreign stories- now an adaptation of a graphic novel by Shaun Tan – “The Arrival”. more…
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Last Thursday night was my first adventure into the world of Urban Theatre Projects, a company I had long heard about but never experienced their work… why? Perhaps I was frightened off site-specific work during my performance studies degree… perhaps because I am a die-hard L-plater/public transport advocate who feared the late train ride and obscure locations in the Western suburbs of Sydney? I don’t know. more…