theatre anywhere!

Between 10 – 19 May you’ll find new plays in alleys, puppets in bars, cabaret in warehouses, comedy in your home and office and performances you can be a part of online from Texas to London, Hamilton to Toowoomba.

Anywhere Theatre Festival is the brainchild of husband and wife power couple Paul Osuch and Alexandra McTavish. They’re pretty humble about conceptualising, developing and continuing to run the whole thing so when you see them around – anywhere but in a theatre for the ten days between the 10th and the 19th of May – please congratulate them and give them big hugs and a whole heap of love!

N.B. Some shows are already SOLD OUT!

What will you be seeing anywhere but in a theatre???

In the tradition of murder-balladeer Nick Cave, the femme fatales of Babushka invite you into their bloody nightmare to indulge in dark tales of murderous passion, sinister sirens and the infinite beauty of death in the debut season of Where the Wild Roses Grow.
Late night Cabaret at its finest.
DATES: Thu 10th & Sat 12th @ 9:30pm
PLACE: 275 Macarthur Avenue, Hamilton Reach

A family of Gremlins has taken residence in Brisbane. Roxoff, Mofball & Botolf Gromlot are trying to launch their new budget airline and fulfill their dream of flying. Tickets sales are going well, and their maiden voyage is due to take off shortly. There is only one problem….they haven’t built the plane yet.
DATES: Thu 10th to Sat 12th @ 7:00pm & Thu 17th to Sat 19th @ 7:00pm
PLACE: Reverse Garbage, 20 Burke St, Woolloongabba

As a collective the cast and the directors have come up with a collage of 5 scenes exploring life on the brink; public transport, romance, hospital drama and misadventure. 3 Windows will be an excellent opportunity to see Cinematic Theatre for and by Young People at it’s most vivid and vibrant… don’t miss it.
DATES: Fri 11th & Sat 12th @ 7:30pm
PLACE: 37 Manilla St, East Brisbane

Set in the heart of Fortitude Valley, four playwrights turn a dirty alleyway into the legends of nights out – where drunken youth roam free and the pavement becomes a stained and silent tapestry of history.
DATES: Mon 14th & Tues 15th @ 7:00pm ONLY
PLACE: Winn Lane, Fortitude Valley, 4005

 

10 Really Fast Festival Facts

 

1. Brisbane does it first
The 2012 Anywhere Theatre Festival is the only fringe festival in the world for performance anywhere but a theatre.

2. Already the biggest performance festival in Brisbane
The 2012 Anywhere Theatre Festival has over 50 productions and 200 performances already confirmed meaning it has more productions and performances than Brisbane Festival.

3. Attracting interstate and international
The 2012 Anywhere Theatre Festival features 6 companies from the U.K., Two from the U.S., one from New Zealand, Tunisia and France.

4. Brisbane proves it has a depth of untapped talent
Recognised companies such as Queensland Theatre Company and Circa Presents mix with independent and up and coming companies.

5. A theatre festival with performances on Twitter
A mix of international and local performances from streamed international performances to interactive augmented realities.

6. A Brisbane festival from the Sunshine Coast to Perth
Performance locations range from the Sunshine Coast down to the Gold Coast and across to Perth.

7. A two person volunteer team producing the biggest festival in Brisbane 
The festival is organised by a core husband and wife team over evenings and weekends with financial contribution from Arts Queensland.

8. Theatre Anywhere – even in your house
This year theatre anywhere will be taken to the extreme with performances you can book to come to your home or office! Other performances happening in elevators, parks, city cats (tbc).

9. A Brisbane idea to the world
The purpose is to bring fringe festival to everyone, especially to places with a lack of theatres. We are already discussing how the festival can move to regional centres and other states.

10. International institutions want to know how we do it!
Since the 2011 festival we have been asked to advise on how to do theatre anywhere and have an invitation from the Milan Commissioner of Culture to talk as they prepare for their 2015 Universal Expo.

believe

You know there are some things you keep meaning to do and life gets in the way of you doing them? I’m not talking about putting on a show or applying for funding or writing a play or changing your career. I’m talking about the little things. Baking cupcakes and decorating them, reading a book (that’s not a text book), walking on the beach (barefoot), getting to that yoga class or meditation session…the things the Choccy Chicks tell us are not the luxuries but the self-nurturing necessities of life. Appropriately, they grace the cover of Holistic Bliss this month. Well, tonight I did the meditation session. Raelene Byrne, of medicineforyourspirit.com is leading her groovy, guided meditation each week in the middle of nowhere bushland in Diddilibah. As the weather cools down, she is promising hot chai, so I’ll definitely be going back!

Tonight though, let me tell you, I didn’t want to go. I was so tired, I’d left some things unfinished, the house was a mess, I wanted to sleep, I was hating on Diddilibah for being so far away from me and I thought perhaps I should stay home instead, especially since Poppy wasn’t happy to see me go out again and Sam is off to Sydney tomorrow for Short + Sweet (sorry, Augusta Supple, the boys won’t boycott; they want to win it, regardless). Also, I got lost. I know where the place is – I have a friend who lives near there – and I once handed out to the punters there, How to Vote cards, so I KNOW where it is. Just not how to get there. And Diddilibah Road is long. And dark. I drove for fifteen minutes (just along Diddilibah Road!) and turned right instead of left and, you know, knew that was wrong because I was headed up Kiels Mountain, turned around and found the place but not before I’d gotten lost. I hate that I had to get lost to find the place I was supposed to be in. You know? Yeah, you know. How profound.

So when I got there I was half relieved (Candles! Light! Incense!) and half sick of being out without a glass of bubbly in hand. Oh well. Lemon and ginger tea would have to suffice. Looking forward to that chai, let me tell you. I love finding new little pockets of Woodfordia right throughout the year. The first was David Berthold’s production for La Boite of As You Like It. The second, Raelene’s meditation tonight.

Fairy cards were offered at the door and the card that was peeking out at me was:

RISE ABOVE PROBLEMS

Perfect. Yes. Got it in one. Lots of problems this week. Lots. On several different levels. Clearly, I shall rise above them.

I meditated on being a writer (BE THE WRITER) and afterwards, introduced myself to Cheryl, with whom I’d connected, as an acting and vocal coach. Shit! Well, of course I am, sure, but you see, one of the problems this week has been a minor identity crisis. And by minor, of course I mean major.

Another problem has been that my five year old has started behaving like a teenager. She doesn’t take “no” for an answer and she’s staying up late. She goes through phases that are akin to my own guilt trips, apologises for failing to live up to my expectations, “feels bad” (she wails, “Mama, I feel BAAAD!”) and throws herself across the lounge, her bed, my bed (whatever is nearest), like a Hollywood starlet with her own reality TV show. One can only hope that all this rehearsal will lead to a lucrative contract.

“This meditation is very guided…” Okay, although I was interested to notice that Cheryl commented to Raelene later, “I didn’t hear a lot of your stuff. I just didn’t hear it.” I guess you take in whatever you take in at the time. Like an audition, or a show, you’ve got whatever you bring to it and that’s it. Get what you can. Give everything you have in that moment. And that’s your audition. Or performance. Or meditation.

I liked “very guided” because, as I said, I was so tired and I’m crap at meditation on my own. I don’t have the self-discipline to stop life for long enough to enjoy that quiet part of my life. That seems ridiculous, doesn’t it? On the other hand, I’m willing to go and be guided. And it was a pretty confronting little trip tonight (and by trip I don’t mean the getting lost to get there part or that there were drugs involved, though perhaps, for some, that would certainly help conjure those chakra colours. Just saying)…

I BELIEVE

I BELIEVE IN ME

How many artists (how many people) can honestly say, “I believe in me”?

I’m coaching a girl at the moment, who told me today that what we’re doing for her as an actor is changing her as a person. In a good way! The relaxed, easy approach to the story behind the text, as if its her own story, and the strong choices we’re making with regard to character and objectives, are helping her to relax in real life and become a more confident person, in her relationships with others and in the way she goes about her day. Fantastic! That’s what I like to hear! Well, what if we all started to approach the real life part in the same relaxed, easy manner as rehearsal (LIFE IS NOT A REHEARSAL) and made strong, clear choices about what our next word or action will be? We’d all be much better at selling ourselves on opening nights and Industry nights, wouldn’t we?!

Anyway, apparently there was awesome energy in the room – auras, blue orbs and…all that stuff, lots of healing emerald green; an Aurora Borealis installation art piece. Whatever. I don’t see it but the vibrations from the crystal bowls certainly make me tingly all over and feel kinda floaty, like when I used to practice astral projection so I could travel the world at night when my parents thought I was fast asleep. True. I visited all the continents when I was twelve.

So after we had focused on BELIEVE and I BELIEVE IN ME, I came away with a monstrous headache. Core message being that if we would only believe in ourselves as much as those around us do, we could accomplish anything.

Significance of headache? Hmmm…

Might need to mediate on that.

la boite’s shakespeare: as you like it

As You Like It 

La Boite Theatre Company

The Roundhouse

18.02.12 – 24.03.12

“La Boite’s theatre is perfect for Shakespeare: it’s open and alive and allows actors and audiences to come together to share the joy.”

La Boite Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, David Berthold.

Have you ever been a part of Woodford Folk Festival’s shared joy? For the first show of La Boite’s 2012 season, David Berthold has brought a little bit of Woodford to The Roundhouse Theatre and it’s truly wonderful. The Forest of Arden IS Woodfordia and Berthold’s As You Like It is full to overflowing with the same joy, love and good karma. Bill Hauritz will be pleased.

Boasting exceptional performances and containing the best bit of fight choreography we’ve seen at La Boite, indeed; the best we’ve seen in Brisbane in a good while, by (Lead Fight Director this time) Justin Palazzo-Orr, this is a show for everybody. It’s funny and witty and heaps of fun. We are reminded by this play, that Shakespeare’s writing is so good, not only does it stand the test of time but also, it continues to appeal to all sorts.

Probably the most convoluted of the comedies, with a massive cast – in terms of programming, it often loses out to the more popular Twelfth Night – the plot of As You Like It may be unfamiliar. In simplest terms, the love story is central: girl meets boy, they fall instantly in love, girl disguises herself as boy, boy meets girl disguised as boy and they hang out in the forest together, become mates and wed, the girl’s true identity revealed on their nuptial day. Duke Senior and his merry men also inhabit the forest – their commitment is more permanent, their lifestyle a good deal greener and they provide much of the perspective of the play.

Director, David Berthold and Designer, Renee Mulder, have created, with suits and city skirts and jeans and flannel shirts, the look and feel of last year’s Woodford. Woodford has changed since its humble beginnings in the Maleny show grounds and the new mood has been perfectly captured. Rosalind (the remarkable Helen Howard) and Celia (Helen Cassidy) wear black, Cue-style suits and the latest season’s chunky suede shoes, which is just as well, because in narrower heels it’s a challenge to tread the shredded playground rubber that covers the floor of the theatre. As the god, Hymen, in his glittering, high-heeled disco diva boots, Alec Snow is a standout amongst student interns and puts to shame with his confident strut, many of the women in the audience (no offence, no-less-confident women in the audience. It’s just that Snow got to rehearse and as such, he looks to be a contender for the next run of Priscilla)!

Centre stage is a circular dais, which suddenly rises, in a simple, beautiful and breathtaking reveal, earning surprised applause from the opening night audience. Colourful lanterns, indie folk music (props to vocalist Lucy-Ann Langkilde, ready for a Chai Tent chalkboard gig), Tony O’Connor style forest sounds by Composer and Sound Designer Guy Webster and pretty, dreamy lighting, all amber and blue and pink, thanks to David Walters’ trek-out-to-the-Amphitheatre-after-the-Lantern-Parade-passes-by inspired lighting design, all combine to bring the magic of Arden Forest to our midst.

It’s not just the design that is stunning. The performances are superb. We can see the company at work on the next generation of actors, with a stronger focus on training and mentorship this year (there are eight interns in this production), doing their bit to close the gap between accomplished performers and the new, eager actors. Holding their own, in that middle ground where the graduates dwell, are Luke Cadden and Dominic Nimo, in their La Boite debuts.

Bryan Probets, as the jester Touchstone, manages to steal the show early on and later, whips up the audience in a riotous chorus; an old-fashioned, call and answer, effortlessly interactive theatre moment. His comedy is cleverly marked and he appears completely relaxed – delighted in fact – to be entertaining us. How lucky are we? The other exquisite moment in this piece belongs to Trevor Stuart, as Jaques. His delivery of the famed “All the world’s a stage” seven ages of man monologue is magnificent. If it has never stayed with you before, it will linger with you now.

All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.

Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like a snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like a furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lined,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Kate Wilson and Hayden Spencer, play their parts beautifully; the first, kind and wise and generous as Duke Senior, as comfortable in the forest digs here as if it were home, high on the Range, and the second, the mincing miss shepherdess, Audrey, in his hippie mountain chic attire, posing and pouting to make us laugh ‘til we cry. Kathryn Marquet brings Phoebe to life.

Helen Cassidy is a lovely Celia and she is well paired with Helen Howard as Rosalind. These two are a celebration of the sisterhood! Howard is a striking woman and it’s easy to watch her every move. That being said, it’s just as easy to be completely distracted by the Adonis good looks of the Bard Boy of Brisbane, Thomas Larkin, in the role of Orlando. We’ve seen his naked torso for some time now, in an image for his upcoming role (Romeo) in QTC’s Romeo and Juliet. But you know this. You’ve seen the poster and you’ve had your say on Twitter too, I’ll warrant. For those who have been living under a tree at Woodford, Larkin’s co-star, Melanie Zanetti, looking extremely young (just as Shakespeare intended… half her luck) has been the subject of some controversy, stirred by a single complaint from a woman on the Gold Coast. While I look forward to seeing him in Romeo and Juliet, as Orlando, we see Larkin in his best role to date.

As You Like It is a show of superlatives. Whether or not ideas are borrowed, this is a brilliant interpretation; it doesn’t miss a beat. If you’re feeling like a bit of a lift, this is the best show you can see in Brisbane this month. It’s gorgeous, guaranteed to please. It’s what the world needs now; love, sweet love, and pure, unadulterated Woodford-all-year-round shared joy. Do yourself a favour and see this one. It’s guaranteed to reinvigorate your soul and warm the cockles of your heart.

The Mystery Bus 2011-2012

The Mystery Bus. 

You know as much as you’re supposed to. It’s a bus. And it’s a mystery.

If you’ve experienced the Mystery Bus, it’s quite likely that you’ve returned on more than one occasion and, on return visits, dragged friends and family members along with you. Sadly (luckily?) the Mystery Bus is not for children.

The MIB are not all bad

Despite the fact that we station scary Russian security guards out front (the infamous Men In Black – MIB –  the antithesis of the Woodford spirit and some of the most entertaining street theatre you’ll see) every year we get children aboard. Quite often they’ll claim to be with random hippie pseudo-parents or guardians in the queue and the adults often cooperate. When asked to confirm the relationship, they’ll LIE. I feel certain there are damaged children out there! Little kids in boardies and t-shirts and flip flops; wannabe Woodfordians who get up to all sorts of mischief because they’ve outgrown the Children’s Festival and haven’t yet grown into anything else. For these kids, there are Dippin’ Dots, Spaghetti Junction, Circadia, illegal busking after they’ve visited Circadia and the challenge of getting a seat on the Mystery Bus.

Dippin' Dots. Ice cream. Dots. Into which you dip.

I don’t mind telling you that the bus is stationary. It doesn’t go anywhere. You would have to be a magic mushroom munching hippie to assume otherwise. Oh, wait. Right. So the bus is stationary (except it’s moved each year, to a new, exciting spot, to be kept out of the way during the months of the year that the site is unused. We usually plan a special expedition to trek and find it before Boxing Day). On the bus, you are privy to an intimate live, acoustic set by a headline act from the festival line-up. The talent is unreal and artists of the likes of Mr Percival, Adem Scriven and Jesca Hoop return again and again. Amongst artist circles it’s one of the best gigs of the festival.It’s brief, it’s fun, it’s original and it’s in air conditioning!

Pre-show, there’s a show; this year it was an obscure all-female interpretive dance group (the Leggy Lesbians from Lithuania)

LACTATE

Okay, yeah, you got me. So it was a great backstory. It certainly got the punters in the door.

It’s gotta be one of the FUNNEST gigs of the festival. Every year the pre-show is different and we’ve got a doozy planned for next year!

There is just no stopping the evil genius of SRT’s Artistic Director, Simon Denver!

Bustles by kelseyscreations.net

Swamp Thing

Nathan Kaye

See you on the bus next year, suckers!

Woodford Folk Festival 2011-2012

So many wonderful moments (and interestingly, some not-so-wonderful moments too) to describe! I’m not quite back into writing…was I ever fully immersed in it? No. Too many things. This year I will make a concerted effort to write more often. I might even try to be A Writer. In the meantime, Poppy and I are off to Mary Poppins tonight and James and the Giant Peach tomorrow night, both of which I’ll write about. I’ll leave you for now with some beautiful images from Woodfordia, put together by browndog with music by Tibet2Timbuk2

 

Woodford 2011-12 from browndog on Vimeo.

 

If you missed the magic of Woodford this year – its music, its Mystery Bus, its amazing food, its incredible people and its beautiful weather – make sure you book early to go in 2012-2013. It truly is one of those life-changing experiences and you will LOVE it.

Next post: The Mystery Bus

 

 

Woodford Folk Festival 2011

We’ve had a big year!

We’ve had a lovely Christmas and we hope you have had too!

Next?

We’re off to Woodfordia!

You’ll find us on The Mystery Bus in the Hope Island Precinct.

I’m not at liberty to tell you more but it’s safe to say that this gig is a Woodford Folk Festival institution.

This year, for the first time, you can catch LACTATE‘s show!

It’s crazy. It’s fun. It’s a bus. And it’s a mystery. Make sure you don’t miss it!

I’ll try to blog in between gigs! In the meantime, you can follow our updates on Twitter

Are We Done With January Already?!

Wow, do I have some catching up to do! Here is the year so far:

• Woodford Folk Festival was the wettest ever and this made it…different fun.
• The devastating impact on friends and fellow artists of the most recent rains prompted us to help clean up at Drift and in Dayboro, as well as to collect from Sunshine Coast peeps, donations of basic items and treats to send to those who had lost everything in the floods. We ended up packing and delivering over 500 Happy Packs, which went to communities in places such as Murphy’s Creek, Bundaberg, the Bremer River, Withcott and Grantham.
• I started reviewing Brisbane’s shows for briztix.com (and have received no hate mail yet) #WIN
• I accepted the role of Carmela, in Influence, David Williamson’s highest grossing play, which will run for 3 weeks in April at Noosa Arts Theatre
• I planned two entirely different courses for actors on the Sunshine Coast and scrapped them both because I felt I was missing something.
• In the meantime, I will run Wednesday evenings from 7pm-8pm at Dance Edge Studios, for adult actors and non-actors who need SOMETHING. Or, perhaps that should be SOMETHING ELSE. Let’s call it The Soup Kitchen and I’ll provide metaphorical soup for the actors’ souls and basic skills for your survival. When I move – and I’ll let you know when that is – I’ll provide actual soup. Stone Soup. On Sundays. At home. In the kitchen. Y’all bring something to go into the soup, now.
• I’m teaching acting and vocal classes at Dance Edge Studios and coaching aspiring young actors and singers in the lead up to the eisteddfod season and in preparation for exams, auditions, school productions, community theatre and the like. If you feel anything like I feel about the eisteddfods especially, you will understand the need for a bit of efficient, gentle coaching from Day 1.
• My daughter started at Montessori last week. She is most impressed that she gets to cut her own fruit for morning tea and that she may have morning tea whenever she is hungry. This has let her get away in the mornings without having Proper Breakfast. This is about to change. She also likes having tiny hot pink foot stickers, with her name printed on them, inside her shoes.
• The same daughter (there’s only one, for pretty obvious scheduling reasons) starts hip hop, acro, jazz and ballet this week (swimming lessons have already been re-scheduled). It will be hard for me to be just the mama waiting for her to do classes sooo…I guess I just gained 2 extra hours a week for your private lessons, kids!
• In the interests of my own life-long learning, I’m up for some Practical Aesthetics, Impulse Training and a whole lot more Chubbuck this year.
• And last but not least – for now – I’m gathering some brave people and some horrific stories this year, for a verbatim theatre project that we’ll keep calling Suicide Stories, even though I’ve already received warnings to lay off this topic. Is suicide the last taboo then? Good. We’re going there. If you’re interested in coming on this journey – and it’s going to be a tough one – let me know. We’ve got the ball rolling and the tears flowing freely. It’s all good…in a sort of terrifying, confronting, heart-wrenching way.

It’s gonna be a big year. But then every year is a big year! Bring it!

The New Dead: Medea Material

I saw 3 shows on the weekend so I’ll tell you a bit about each one, over two posts. If I tell you a lot about any one of them, I will come across as being completely impossible to please. Wait. Too late?!

The truth is I am more easily pleased than you would think.

If a production delivers all it has promised to deliver, I’m a happy camper (and by “promised” I mean promised by the media too, inclusive of press releases and the early/out-of-town reviews. And by “camper” I mean theatre-goer, except when, once annually, I actually mean “camper”; the Woodford Folk Festival variety). If not, that is if it doesn’t deliver, I have to wonder why not.

For example, the show I saw on Friday night at La Boite – the last show of their Indie season this year – failed to deliver, despite being touted as one of the must see shows of 2010. In Brisbane, at least. And it should be noted that The New Dead: Medea Material came to Brisbane after seasons at NIDA (2009) and the Adelaide Fringe Festival (2010).

Kat Henry, Director and Artistic Director of Stella Electrika, has an impressive body of work behind her and a whole host of exciting projects ahead of her. I had (very) high expectations of her show.

Heiner Muller‘s text is extraordinary. I wanted to hear it more clearly and react to it more extremely. I wanted to be shocked and horrified and, well…SHOCKED. But there was all this stuff that got in the way of me feeling anything much besides a kind of fascination in the result of the creative process.

We know the story. The story is shocking. It was entirely appropriate to tell the story through a combination of electro-rock-pop-or-something, theatre and dance. It felt like there were many tricks tried and many attempts made to shock –  in fact, just about every device known to theatrical mankind was used, though rarely to great effect. The anime porn, for example, flickering across the screen, was a distraction and what’s more, it was completely superfluous. Guy Webster and Kimie Tsukakoshi had already demonstrated their ability to morph into dancers and I was baffled as to why, as opposed to sitting still and posing, locking eyes only, while the anime figures onscreen made a mockery of their passionate gaze, they did not use their bodies in some Matrix-cum-Karma Sutra inspired porn piece! Was that just me?

For Lucinda Shaw, despite her apparent energy, the show seemed to start half way through it, with the commencement of her stand-up routine. Even then, she took a moment to settle into the accent and never seemed to quite settle into the routine. It was a clever device that didn’t quite work because she appeared to be uncomfortable in it. In fact, she appeared to me, to be uncomfortable from the beginning of the show, with her anxious, frustrated scratching and scoffing of corn chips. In class, I refer to this style as “anxious, frustrated acting” (Julia Roberts’ name often comes up at this point) and I challenge actors to find a more organic, interesting state of being. Interestingly, this role was played originally by Emma Dean.

I loved that Kimmie’s role required her to skate (though, for what purpose, across the space to start? To show us that she could skate?) and dance around a pole a bit BUT – and it’s the same point – why include it if it can’t be convincingly used? USE the pole! The routine was lackluster, underestimating (I’m betting) Kimmie’s ability. Regardless, if Jason were the man I thought him to be (no, not Bernie from Powderfinger, though you would be forgiven for thinking so), he would have left the drum kit for dust and fucked her right then and there on the floor. I’m sorry but there it is. Or was…not. SHOCK VALUE.

The device that really worked for me was the video footage (captured by Alex Duffy) during the final moments of the show, it’s an oldie but a goodie; it made the final horror all the more horrifying. Truly chilling, as it ought to be. Now, THAT is the kind of challenging theatre I had been expecting to see – and feel – all night.  That reminds me…watching Guy watching the screen at this point and earlier, watching him watching Kimmie across the space, we saw his best work; he was focused, connected and he was real and vulnerable.

In short, I didn’t feel that the characters were completely developed, nor that they had any real or lasting connection with each other. Having said that, all three actors are clearly multi-talented and did well to wade through all of the excess, all of the tricks…I’ve even thought of Barnum since.

The clever ideas in this production were like red weed, growing and spreading uncontrollably over everything that was good underneath. I wanted to see more of the good, organic stuff. I wanted to see a selection of the devices used to enhance the text, rather than distract from it.

The Dreaming Festival

It was our first time at The Dreaming Festival. In previous years, we have been curious about what happens there but each time it has come around we have been otherwise occupied. The Dreaming is a relatively new festival and we are long-time Woodford Folk Festival supporters so this year, with no prior commitments, we were determined to go for just a day to check it out.

Now, any die-hard festival goer will tell you that one day is never enough (this one ran for 3 days and four nights). And they are right. Next year I would love to stay and do the whole thing properly. Also, was it not ironic, that we attended our nation’s largest indigenous cultural celebration on the Queen’s birthday holiday? Hmmm. The first of a few contradictions.

I didn’t look at the program, I didn’t look at ticket prices; I trusted that anything happening on sacred Woodford Folk Festival site soil (the land of the Jinibara people) would be fantastic. We dressed warmly, stopped for coffee, chai and hot chocolate and took off up the highway to the tune of the four year old’s latest version of “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” (“Lizards are a girl’s best friend” and yes, I have tried to convince her otherwise but she is stuck on lizards at the moment)!

Unlike Woodford (I refer to the folk festival), there was ample parking, very little dust and no wait time at the gate. Unlike Woodford, I didn’t know exactly what we were paying to see (usually I pour over the folk festival program for months, working out how to not miss anything…much) so the sharp intake of breath at the ticket price was swallowed quickly and replaced with a smile. Perhaps the cost to camp for the duration of the festival better reflects my value for money, especially with regard to experiencing the festival and that tricky festival programming thing they do, with one thing you love on one day and the next thing you can’t leave without seeing on the next…as the website suggests,

The Dreaming Festival 2010 programme booklet is essential for maximum enjoyment of the festival.

Yes, well. Look, sometimes I don’t mind wandering around, soaking up the atmosphere and stumbling across new and amazing acts. But lesson learned today. There were a few things that, had we planned our day around them, would have been terrific to see. What we did see was wonderful, particularly for Poppy, though typically, she was just as happy to climb the bleachers to eat her Byron Bay Organic Donut

or play in the hay at the place-where-the-chai-tent-should-have-been

(no, not the same place as during Woodford, but by the Dancestry venue, which appeared to us to be just about the centre of the world).

In the Dancestry space, we enjoyed people watching as well as the traditional dances, stories and songs from Aboriginal mobs from Mornington Island and Doomadgee (the first time they’d danced together in 32 years), from Vanuatu and from Canada’s Kehewin Native Dance Theatre.

There was something fun and carefree and bold and inviting about the Vanuatu performance

There was something colourful,

magical,

mystical,

well rehearsed, proud, generous and celebratory about the Kehewin clan’s performance.

And something very grounded, tough, strong and yet slightly insecure and a little self-indulgent about the Doomadgee and Mornington Island performances. I enjoyed them but just saying.

One little girl – four years old – was truly celebrated, as she “shook her booty” for a rather long display of booty-shaking, even in my humble opinion, which involved: “the girls put a big, loud music box in somebody’s uncle’s front yard and shake their arses…or, as we say, their booty.” Sure you do. Thanks for sharing that aspect of the culture. It was fun and cute to begin with and then it felt like a cheap trick at the end of the show. Gotta have a gimmick, right?

She even made an encore appearance at the end of Busby Marou‘s gig. The crowd went wild!

But seriously, all they need in Doomadgee and Mornington Island are a couple of artistic directors. And somebody else to find the funds to get them here. That way, the talent can spend less time fund raising and more time rehearsing. They had good material, they did. See the guy in the dress? Well, speaking of gimmicks, they had a great story, which evolved organically, about a bloke who had actually visited from far away and he had 8 wives and 12 children and…I can’t remember the actual point of the story but it seems he was a cool guy and so the young boys had learnt the story as it was told and re-told and they could all play the role and…as I said, a director may be what’s needed.

And speaking of blokes in dresses (and the need for some direction), this bloke did a whole act, singing and dancing and yarning…and I was bemused and then irritated because IT SEEMS IT IS ENOUGH FOR A BLOKE TO PUT ON A DRESS. It was an ordinary unpolished show. The fact that his ensemble appeared incomplete (stockings and sky-high heels, gentlemen, when wearing a dress, please; thanks) and that I have seen and fallen about on the floor laughing at Miranda Sings’ Single Ladies meant that I was not as impressed as some, by this brave, bold, out-there, whatever, whatever performance…

An empowering performance, okay, sure.

By singling out and celebrating indigenous cultures at yet another festival (one they can call their very own), are we doing them a disservice?

Bill Hauritz, the “folk festival fixer” and the true brains, heart and soul behind both festivals, touches briefly on this notion in a wonderful interview that I’m quite sure, it having appeared in The Hinterland Times, hardly anybody has read. Read it here.

The energy, the workshops on offer, the friendly atmosphere, the groovy market stalls and the great selection of food, from a cross-section of cultures…look, it was all awesome. It made this festival, to me, seem like a Little Woodford; just like the Woodford Folk Festival was once. And by once, I mean once it moved to the new site (that’s right, kids, once upon a time we only had to trek up the hill to Maleny and it was a quaint, tiny thing where everyone knew everyone and during which we just drank chai and jammed and celebrated peace and the trees and the special plants; and some celebrated more than others, the very special plants that could be cut up, rolled up and smoked)…

The Dreaming Festival is young, very young. It’s a baby. Clearly, we need to nurture it, support it and help it to grow. And it will grow. I hope it does so under those watchful eyes of both the creative friends and the business friends; those who have the talent and the time to build it slowly and carefully, just as they have done with the Woodford Folk Festival, so we can continue to share and celebrate our indigenous cultures by embracing (and learning from), over several generations, their extraordinary traditions and talents and stories.

There must be a very fine line between keeping the traditional ways sacred and special and up-selling just enough to make a good show great…