Starting a theatre venture is no mean feat... You need to have broad shoulders and a happy heart... a touch of madness and a huge dose of self-belief... especially when you have travelled far from your thespian origins in NSW... to the land of "no convicts here" - South Australia. Hot off the end of Festival Fleurieu, with a touch of warmth still in my belly, I am leaping at the chance to begin again, creatively speaking, and launch this adventure... So far ' the gods and goddesses' are with me.
To date, there is interest from writers, actors, a dramaturg, an illustrator, a video producer, musicians, two sound-scape producers, singers, set designers, a former stage manager, visual artists, children, middle-aged people, teenagers, oldies, male and female... How lucky I am that technology can assist so readily, though word of mouth is still a well-worn tool for communicating with others... and then, there's the unconditional love of a husband and close friends... invaluable!
Let's hope that the rhythm of the sea will be continuously running through my synapses as I write the first draft of the play-script. Certainly, with the moon still close to full last night, the muse was insistent and I was forced to rise from my bed and jot down some notes... Characters don't wait! They start making their presence felt when you least expect it. Now I have to be prepared to live again the double-life of a writer... Here in the flesh only partially whilst another part of the brain works away overtime on the object of one's desires - in this case, my baby: Songs of the Sea.
It's certainly been a 'long time in between drinks' as they say, since I have written for the stage, though a radio play of mine was produced in the '90s... Since then, I have been whittling away mostly at scholarly pursuits, though I have also been critiquing the arts and blogging at other times... Writing for the stage has its own particular challenges and I am banking on the fact that I have not forgotten how to ride this particular wave.
My physical location is a big part of the inspiration for taking this journey. Living where the land meets the sea, I am responding to the 'energetic' dimensions of my immediate environment, as well as to the creative folk who have inspired me recently during Festival Fleurieu. Perhaps I am also fuelled by the sense of time passing so quickly... and I want to grab onto that internal creative flow, shaping it into something tangible before the energy to do such a labour-intensive past-time as theatre, runs out.
Throughout the last few years whilst completing my PhD, I've missed the feelings that theatre sparks in me. Going and seeing other people's work is not enough, though there are moments when I feel totally overcome by the beauty of creativity in all its forms. Today, for instance, I listened again to Crow - a song by Coops and The Bird, aka Jake Cooper and Bianca Feo. What a sensitive and haunting piece of original creativity... Perhaps its the magic of starting with nothing and making something special, something both personal and relational to share with others, is what so captivates me. Indeed, music will be integral to this new show, though by no means am I writing a musical...
For the years before I had children, (and in some years after), I worked in the theatre in various roles - and its power to keep me involved came through the intense communication, creativity and learning that took place within its darkened spaces. It's impossible to explain why one would spend the many days and nights of one's youth so immersed in various fantasy worlds, but those who have 'trod the boards' or even worked behind the scenes will understand the power of those experiences - which spring partly from the relationships one develops with one's fellow thespians. Finally, I guess, if 'love is a drug', then creativity is surely a magic potion with the power to reconnect us to our souls.
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All interested folk are welcome to attend the Sealand Theatre Company fundraiser and entertainment, to be held at Soldiers Memorial Institute in Second Valley on Saturday 1 August, 6-8pm. Entry $10 per adult goes to the theatre's first production fund. BYO food + drinks.
To date, there is interest from writers, actors, a dramaturg, an illustrator, a video producer, musicians, two sound-scape producers, singers, set designers, a former stage manager, visual artists, children, middle-aged people, teenagers, oldies, male and female... How lucky I am that technology can assist so readily, though word of mouth is still a well-worn tool for communicating with others... and then, there's the unconditional love of a husband and close friends... invaluable!
Let's hope that the rhythm of the sea will be continuously running through my synapses as I write the first draft of the play-script. Certainly, with the moon still close to full last night, the muse was insistent and I was forced to rise from my bed and jot down some notes... Characters don't wait! They start making their presence felt when you least expect it. Now I have to be prepared to live again the double-life of a writer... Here in the flesh only partially whilst another part of the brain works away overtime on the object of one's desires - in this case, my baby: Songs of the Sea.
It's certainly been a 'long time in between drinks' as they say, since I have written for the stage, though a radio play of mine was produced in the '90s... Since then, I have been whittling away mostly at scholarly pursuits, though I have also been critiquing the arts and blogging at other times... Writing for the stage has its own particular challenges and I am banking on the fact that I have not forgotten how to ride this particular wave.
My physical location is a big part of the inspiration for taking this journey. Living where the land meets the sea, I am responding to the 'energetic' dimensions of my immediate environment, as well as to the creative folk who have inspired me recently during Festival Fleurieu. Perhaps I am also fuelled by the sense of time passing so quickly... and I want to grab onto that internal creative flow, shaping it into something tangible before the energy to do such a labour-intensive past-time as theatre, runs out.
Throughout the last few years whilst completing my PhD, I've missed the feelings that theatre sparks in me. Going and seeing other people's work is not enough, though there are moments when I feel totally overcome by the beauty of creativity in all its forms. Today, for instance, I listened again to Crow - a song by Coops and The Bird, aka Jake Cooper and Bianca Feo. What a sensitive and haunting piece of original creativity... Perhaps its the magic of starting with nothing and making something special, something both personal and relational to share with others, is what so captivates me. Indeed, music will be integral to this new show, though by no means am I writing a musical...
For the years before I had children, (and in some years after), I worked in the theatre in various roles - and its power to keep me involved came through the intense communication, creativity and learning that took place within its darkened spaces. It's impossible to explain why one would spend the many days and nights of one's youth so immersed in various fantasy worlds, but those who have 'trod the boards' or even worked behind the scenes will understand the power of those experiences - which spring partly from the relationships one develops with one's fellow thespians. Finally, I guess, if 'love is a drug', then creativity is surely a magic potion with the power to reconnect us to our souls.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
All interested folk are welcome to attend the Sealand Theatre Company fundraiser and entertainment, to be held at Soldiers Memorial Institute in Second Valley on Saturday 1 August, 6-8pm. Entry $10 per adult goes to the theatre's first production fund. BYO food + drinks.
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