Category: Guest Posts

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Review: At Sea, Staring Up – JUTE at JUTE Theatre (Cairns)

Brett Walsh and Christiaan Westerveld

Main Image: Natalie Taylor

JUTE Theatre Company‘s twentieth year has been marked by the production of a beautiful piece filled with young, talented, regional actors, a meticulous design, and spectacular technical elements. At Sea, Staring Up, which opened late last week in Cairns, really has set a benchmark for the regional theatre company.

Commissioned at the beginning of 2011, At Sea, Staring Up is written by prolific (Irish) Australian playwright Finegan Krukemeyer. Krukemeyer’s script is stunningly poetic; the actors clearly embrace the language, as do the audience. The play tells the story of five distinct and diverse characters. Set over three continents and one vast ocean, the play weaves their stories together resulting in an innovative and thought-provoking production.

Noah (Brett Walsh) is in search of his wife who flew off a bridge and was never seen again. Elise (Ella Watson-Russell) drives each night through the German darkness to lull her baby to sleep but, with dragons snapping at her heels, what secrets does she keep? Caleb (Christiaan Westerveld) is a curious misfit who will swim vast oceans for Sylvia Wist (Laura Pegrum) a young lady who can climb waterfalls and jump through time and space – always a useful skill, in my opinion! The opening night’s performance, however, was stolen by Emma the Greek (Natalie Taylor) who sails the seas forever in fear of her curse.

Ms Taylor has crafted a beautiful character that the audience fell in love with from first laugh to final tear

These five young, very talented actors work beautifully together as an ensemble.

At Sea, Staring Up is directed by Suellen Maunder (JUTE’s Artistic Director/CEO) whose wealth of experience has crafted and woven together the story of five characters scattered across five locations. My initial concerns about the potential clarity of such a diverse piece were overcome, and the specificity of each actor shone through the performance.

The production is remarkable for the work of its creative team. Designer Luke Ede, Lighting Designer Jason Glenwright and Sound Designer Quincy Grant have worked as a dream-team to create the world of At Sea, Staring Up. The set, whilst simple, is stunningly beautiful, and Ms Maunder’s direction enables its multi-levels to become five different worlds. The set is lit beautifully by Mr Glenwright; these two aspects work hand-in-glove. However, it is the work of Quincy Grant which is remarkable. His composition and score for At Sea, Staring Up told its own sweet tale. It’s so subtle that the listener hardly notices it, though the sounds work on the subconscious – like all good soundtracks – reflecting the characters’ pain and love for one another, and engaging the audience on a deep level.

At Sea, Staring Up is remarkable for the work of its creative team.

Opening Night ran so smoothly that we all felt like Sylvia Wist – being whisked around the worlds as easily as she and feeling, as one audience member put it, “transported on a magical journey yet feeling so at home”. With only a couple of moments of confusion, the play comes together beautifully. However, the resolution is sold short by the lack of a solid ending. It feels abrupt, almost an anti-climax. However, this is handled well by the actors who take you into their world and keep you tight in their grip right until the final second.

JUTE has certainly started off its twentieth season with a beautiful piece, and it is one that is not to be missed.

At Sea, Staring Up by Finegan Krukemeyer plays at the JUTE Theatre for its March season (9-24 March). More details – including dates, times and behind the scenes videos, can be found on the JUTE website.

With thanks to JUTE Gallery for the images.

Matthew Church is the artistic director of Half Life Theatre based in Cairns, in FNQ. Greenroom is delighted to welcome Matthew as a contributor.

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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

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Letters from a voluntary exile: The Bellman’s Map

I have just spent the last two weekends exploring using the Bellman’s Map. The Bellman’s Map is from Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark, where the Bellman, the captain of the group, presents them with a map that is “A perfect and absolute blank!” which his crew is delighted with, as it’s one they can immediately understand. Except for the bit about immediate understanding, I felt like a member of the crew being presented with a blank map by Scott Williams at a workshop on Meisner Technique, presented by Melbourne Acting Academy.

Scott is a teacher and director, originally from California, and trained with Sanford Meisner himself. He has been directing since he was 17, and has perused many activities both on and backstage, but directing and teaching has been his major focus. Since 1996, he has been based in London where he established the Impulse Company where he is currently Artistic Director.

I knew almost nothing about the Meisner Technique. I bought Sanford Meisner’s book  On Acting some years ago, but stopped reading it when I thought I really needed to do some of the exercises described before I could understand it. A friend of mine tried to explain Meisner to me just before I commenced the workshop, and succeeded in making me think, “Oh god, I don’t want to do that for four days.” Turns out she didn’t know what she was talking about. Didn’t stop her talking though. But I digress. Continue reading “Letters from a voluntary exile: The Bellman’s Map”

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Review: Waiting for Godot – Queensland Theatre Company

Originally published 30 April, 2010

My theatre companion and I are currently trying to get through burgers the size of our heads before we attend this evening’s performance of Waiting for Godot. It’s been a long week, and we’ve spent the last half an hour whinging at each other about work. There’s a pause in the conversation and a thought rises to the surface: ‘I’m not sure if I really want to sit through Beckett tonight,’ I proclaim with a sigh.

This is nothing against the Queensland Theatre Company production team. Joe Mitchell, the director, has already proven he’s a deft hand with Beckett in the past. The line-up of the cast is tremendous, and I’ve heard nothing but good things. But I’m slightly hesitant because I’ve fallen victim to the most common misconception held around Beckett: that I’ll leave the theatre wanting to kill myself. A synopsis of Waiting for Godot reads like a guaranteed boring night out. Most beautifully described as the play where ‘nothing happens, twice’, the play concerns itself with two men waiting for the mysterious Godot to show up. And that’s it. Continue reading “Review: Waiting for Godot – Queensland Theatre Company”

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Review: Hamlet in the box ‘Ugly-beautiful’ La Boite Theatre

Originally published 15 February, 2010

Toby Schmitz as Hamlet Photo: Amelia Dowd

Let it be known, nothing sums this show up better than its poster: a soaking wet Toby Schmitz (very Trainspotting) arms raised as he pulls his hair back … with just a fine whisper of pubic hair on show. Whilst grabbing my tickets from the box office to see this not-so-subtle erotic piece of marketing on sale for three dollars a throw, I could understand how (if I were a Year 11 school girl) I’d have begun hungrily digging through the bottom of my school bag, gathering change from my tuckshop visit in order to pick up a copy. You get this feeling throughout the show: it’s sexy, cutting, and brutal, and it’s made for the 21st Century Twilight obsessed kid.

Ophelia is seen texting on her mobile phone, the Gravedigger grabs a quick digital pic with Hamlet, letters and messages are sent over an odd Star Trek-like video system. In addition (and I promise I’ll get to the finer points of the actual performances in a moment) it would be hard to find a group of more beautiful actors without resorting to Photoshop. Berthold has assembled a sexy cast, and he knows it. Skin (and on one occasion, full frontal nudity) is shown without hesitation, often in pairing with the four or five rock-opera style contemporary songs.

Hamlet’s play, in particular, makes you feel like you’re at some kind of incestuous drunk dance concert, and I’m not totally certain that this isn’t exactly how Shakespeare would have liked it.

You can’t begin to truly look at the show without placing it in its larger context. Continue reading “Review: Hamlet in the box ‘Ugly-beautiful’ La Boite Theatre”