Author: Kate Foy

Posted on

In Your Own Words: working in the industry (Survey Response Part 1)

Back in February Greenroom ran a survey Working in the Industry. You may have taken part. If you did, many thanks once again.

We asked a particular set of questions not only to get a snapshot of our readership but also to elicit a sense of how the local theatre community was thinking about some topical issues especially as they relate to ‘independent theatre’ for those survey respondents identifying themselves as professional theatre workers.

Greenroom hasn’t published the results of the survey until now but, given recent discussions in some social media sites which, among other things, are looking deeper into the relationship between what is being called by some respondents and in talk around town the ‘main stage’ and the ‘independent’ sector, I thought it useful to do so. From a personal point of view, I am keen to clarify my thinking on the terms we use to define the activity in the sector and to track the evolving relationship between the ‘main stage’ companies and the ‘independents.’

For the readership of Greenroom it gives some data to feed further discussion. Indeed the results that have emerged from what is a small but reasonable sample of respondents (50 in number) are fodder for further questions. A couple spring to mind: ‘Why are so few professional theatre workers not members of a union or guild?’ and, given the number of respondents who are either trained or continue their training, ‘Are professional development opportunities appropriate and of sufficient quality?’ I’m sure there are other implied questions and inferences from these results.

So, firstly, here are the survey results crunched into percentages. The responses to the two open questions will be in a separate post – Part 2 – to be published tomorrow. Continue reading “In Your Own Words: working in the industry (Survey Response Part 1)”

Posted on

On the Occasion of Mr Shakespeare’s Birthday – or – Me and Will

“To me, fair friend, you never can be old.” (Sonnet 104)

We go back a bit, Will and I. It’s his 448th birthday today but my knowledge of him only goes back about 50 of those years.

I first met him as a child in the Queensland Primary School Readers. Little extracts or quotes from the plays littered the pages as my 8 years of elementary school tripped by. Back then the word ‘Shakespeare’ meant very little to me, although I came to recognise this quite exotic name in time.

I do recall loving poetry as a kid. Along with the person whom I came to learn was called ‘The Bard’ I loved Coleridge, Tennyson, Wordsworth … all the great English poets. They appeared in our readers along with Australian bush balladeers and romantics. These were a great introduction to literature, I must say. But, back to Will …

I really got to know him in high school. I think I studied … and I mean, studied … and learned how to learn lines in at least four of the plays. It’s a skill that has stood me in great stead. They were Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Henry IV (I) and King Lear, although I could be wrong on this last one. The good Sisters of Mercy made us read the plays out loud – hooray – and learn great chunks of the speeches. I remember the thrill of standing behind my desk or in front of the room reciting away madly to the bemused faces of my classmates. I can still trot out huge passages of … Caesar. Needless to say, I adored these classes and learned to love language even more because of Will. During high school we were taken to the theatre to see productions of the plays or the Young Elizabethans visited the school with their travelling shows. I would get the tingles sitting in the audience for even the dreadful stuff. I was falling in love, you see.

By the time I got to Teachers’ College in the mid-60s, I was pretty much hooked on theatre and had decided that was where my life should be. I just had to save the money to run away to London, as most of us did back then, in order to study acting. I did, eventually, but not before working on a couple of the plays for the amateur Brisbane Arts Theatre: Julius Caesar (Portia) and backstage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Shakespeare’s plays are windows onto other worlds – to those long gone in history and to those private worlds that still reside deep within men and women.

During my actor-training in London I played Helena in a rather hippie version of MND – lots of purple as I recall – and saw lots and lots and lots of Shakespeare: in the West End at the National Theatre (still at the Old Vic in the late 1960s-early 70s) and up at Stratford Upon Avon. I recall queueing from dawn and eating breakfast in the line to get standing-only tickets to that day’s performance of Peter Brook’s seminal … Dream.  I’ve been back to Stratford a couple of times since. Touristy it may be, but it’s still magical, especially when the crowds are gone. Just walking in the Warwickshire countryside through harvested wheat fields under the wide, blue skies is sheer bliss. There are skylarks … Continue reading “On the Occasion of Mr Shakespeare’s Birthday – or – Me and Will”

Posted on

World Theatre Day 2012

About an hour ago I got a tweet from a far-distant theatre mate, Travis Bedard in Austin, Texas. The 50th annual celebration of World Theatre Day is rolling round the globe as I tap away, and the North Americans and the Brits are starting to celebrate. Australia and New Zealand have marked the day in various ways today but, varying time zones being what they are, it means we get to go on enjoying the good wishes and thoughts about theatre for quite a while longer.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/travisbedard/status/184538873177714688″]

Like me, the other tweeters will understand what Travis means by ‘Happy Anniversary.’ This little band got together back in 2009 to kick off interest locally in what was, at the time, a fairly moribund day – as far as wider awareness was concerned – which had been set up by the International Theatre Institute back in the 1960s. All of us on the list are theatre-lovers and makers and geeks. We also live in Australia and Canada and the US.  At the time we had well and truly got the whole point of social media, and thought it was worth trying to spread the word about the day using platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. And so, dear reader, we did.

Much to our delight back then, the whole thing got picked up by groups, individuals, and even the Mayor of Chicago that year, all of whom came to a big theatre party on March 27th. The day was marked in various ways, but almost always included a reading of the World Theatre Day address which, each year, is produced by a theatre luminary. This year it’s John Malkovich’s turn, and you can read it and lots more about WTD on the ITI website.

Since 2009 social media have gone into overdrive, so it wasn’t surprising this morning to find so many references to it across all of the platforms.

Earlier today I flipped back to the original post I wrote back then as reflection on how we did it all. Ah, memories …

And here’s the little video I made as the clock turned over to midnight on 27th March, 2009. We were celebrating at the after party for That Face which had opened for QTC that evening.

As I woke this morning to so many well wishes in the Twitter stream and on Facebook it occurred to me that maybe we happy little band had actually done something to raise awareness of a day that’s worth celebrating.

So, wherever you are in the world today, if you have been touched by theatre in some way, take a moment to reflect on the difference it has made to your life.

Posted on

The Matilda Awards: the next day and an idea …

Update the day after the next day: Here’s an example of the kind of generosity that this community engenders. A few hours after the post was published yesterday, Greenroom received this from the talented guys at Markwell Presents.I passed on the news this morning to Rosemary Walker, the Matilda Awards’ publicist. She was delighted to hear it! Thanks Markwell!

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/markwelltweets/status/179531518706860032″]

Last night was my first-ever attendance at Brisbane’s annual Matilda Awards, and what a splendid night it was in a full-house at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in the Valley. ‘Full as a lovebird’s egg’ with warmth, respect, and love for the work and for the people in the local industry who make it. The evening was all rather classy and fun, and delightfully done.

So, sterling silver kudos to the Matilda committee for their work on behalf of Brisbane’s theatre industry. 25 years and going strong!

I’ve had a thought since about something that the Matilda’s team of superb volunteers might consider for next year – yes, we are all critics, but this is constructive stuff. Whilst a guest speaker is a nice idea (and, last night, the lovely John Batchelor did a splendid job of it), I’d love to see a presentation-review of the year past – perhaps introduced by a special guest – one that showed highlights and which keyed some things worth remembering. More than one person I spoke to last night confirmed how wonderful the annual gathering afforded by the Matildas is to all of us, and how valuable. It really is the only time in the year we come together in celebration of our work.

Now the night rightly focusses on particular people and productions, but no less important things like new artistic appointments or world-beating innovations are worth mentioning, recalling, and celebrating. Brisbane had these in 2011. Do you know what I’m referring to? There would also be the opportunity to remember the work and the legacy of those we have lost during the year.

There’s a ton of visual material to call on, and the talent to script and media-produce. That big screen is just dying for it – 10 minutes absolute tops. What do you think? Let the committee know via their page if you have ideas. I got the distinct impression talking to several of the committee last night that they would be wide open to suggestions. I have no doubt they would also welcome some help.

And, of course, congratulations once again to all the nominees and the winners. Oh, and it was good to see the Matildas doing such a good job live-tweeting the ceremony (complete with hashtags) last night!

Posted on

Guest Post: Directing Theatre with Young People – Matthew Church

Matthew Church notes the limitations that many young people face when working in a rehearsal environment. In particular, he notes their seeming inability to ‘trust their instincts’ and places the blame squarely on the lack of attention paid to this part of their learning in the current drama curriculum. What do you think? Drama teachers, TYP people … ?

A Professional Environment

It is always interesting working with school students who have a keen interest in taking up professional theatre as a career. They show up to the first rehearsal of a production extremely excited for the journey ahead.

The problem with drama school curricula or school musical rehearsals is that acting intuition is lost from the working equation.

How can we train a new generation of actors when we are teaching them at school level to ignore their instincts?

We get started working around the table, breaking down the text, asking questions and they get extremely excited when they find out new information about their character. We play with a few improvisations, and end week one on a high.

As we begin week two I start to block the play. This is where the lack of attention in school drama curricula to rehearsing and rehearsal environments becomes apparent. Students expect to be told where to go; they wait for me to tell them “two steps to stage left”, or “look shocked on the word ‘Mum’.”  As a director, it so very saddens me when students work like this.

My work is primarily focussed on encouraging – pushing – young people to work as if they are in a professional environment. I assume the role of a professional director and I expect them to work accordingly. When a senior secondary student joins my cast, I ask of them what any director might do: make offers and play with the text. Students are challenged by this, but what astounds me continually are the types of offers that are made by young people. Their limited but very different life experience allows them to inform work in a very different way.

Theatre for Young People (TYP) is a powerful medium. It is an incredible sounding board for the next generation of actors who are being encouraged to work in a professional environment but it is also a wonderful medium for informing young people. That is what we can provide for them, not simply a stage, but a whole learning experience.

In my opinion, the role of a TYP artist is to encourage young people, and to prepare them for a career in professional theatre: NOT to take advantage of one’s own experience to get the best production.

Matthew Church is the young Artistic Director of Half Life Theatre. He is living the life in Trinity Beach, FNQ. You can find (and like) Half Life Theatre on Facebook