As offices empty and sunscreen sales soar – the festive summer season has arrived with a seemingly endless carousel of parties and social engagements. Now the theatre’s have closed – there are a few of the industry who have a list of 2011 projects lined up… and the rest of us face family Christmas lunch/dinner gently quizzed by family “so how is your drama stuff going?” and “have you thought about an apprenticeship?” and other such brutal questions asked by well-meaning members of your gene pool.
Normal folk – the ones with contented lives filled with relaxing weekends, 9-5 work hours, paid holidays, a structured career path and regular pay cheques – look forward to the end of the year as a time of snooze and booze and lavish materialistic rewards for their year of hard work. For theatre folk it’s a little different. more…
Stories from the 428 launched last night- with the help from our friends at the Coopers Hotel in Newtown, Marrickville Council, ACTT and Queen Street Studio- writers, directors, designers, crew came together to have a few drinks, to meet the people who they will be working with in the next 3-4 weeks. This launch was for the participants… United by a love of theatre, new Australian Playwriting and buses- nearly 100 local artists are starting rehearsals this week.
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The view from the 428- it's a sign
It was May last year when I starting thinking about Sidetrack Theatre. I took a half day off from my day job to meet with Don Mamouney and to ask him about the theatre. A couple of weeks prior I had gone to the theatre with Jonathan Wald to see Wayne Tunks’ latest production. Sidetrack had remained a “venue for hire” after it’s funding was cut- and seemed to have occasional shows on- but nothing that splashed loudly in the print media or on the web. It is the theatre which I am geographically closest to. If Belvoir is Mr Waites’ “local”, then “Sidetrack” is certainly mine.
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