Arts Express

Actor/Writer/Directors Jessica Stanley & Phoebe Anne Taylor discuss a new satirical comedic play 'Strata Inc' about 'entitlement' with a new take on Aristophanes' work and Alisha Brooks brings a Turkish color to the 21st Melbourne Women's International Jazz Festival with 'Bashka'.

Dancer extraordinaire Rauf Yasit (aka Rubberlegs) 'bends over backwards' to move Arts Express Listeners to the International Arts Festivals performance of  "A Quiet Evening of Dance" A new work by William Forsythe performed from the 17th to 21st October. Also Val and Trish chat on the show with writer/actor and director Lisa Brickell and Ruth Dudding director of  "Mockingbird" about a black comedy at the Butterfly Club. An exploration into motherhood and mental health.

Musican comedian Ashleigh Clarke sings from Dumbo on uke in the studio from her new cabaret comedy 'Creepy Songs From My Childhood Cartoons' at Bar Ampere while 2018 Orlando Fringe award winner (USA) 'F*ckboys the Musical' written and directed by Savannah Cassidy Pedersen, looks at dating modern creeps in solidarity with the sisterhood at Melbourne Fringe Festival.

 Comedian Annie Lee (Kransky Sisters) chats about her new one-woman show 'Pawn Again Christian' at the Butterfly Club, political wit and mimic Helen Child camps up the politicians for her Melbourne Fringe show 'A Comedy of Terrors' at Loop Project Space and Bar and actor Christina McLachlan discusses her role as Maude Mix on the American comedic play "A coupla white chicks sitting around talking".

Award winning playwright Rebecca Lister looks at the impact of suicide on '2.20am' while writer/director Gabby Pearson presents a modern  black comedy on hospitality 'Waiting on You' with associate producer Christy Fanning.

Notable Melbourne jazz musician Steve Sedergreen chatted about his cooperative style in readiness for MIJF and talented cabaret artist Michaela Burger sang one of her songs from her show "A Migrant's Son' devoted to her colorful Greek father.

Multi instrumentalist James Mustafa shows his broad jazz vision for MIJF show at Dizzy's and actor/producer Renee Palmer describes 'A Comical Walking Performance' event across the lanes and dark alleys of Fitzroy.

Chatting on the show with jazz organist Jake Mason where he will perform at The Stonnington Jazz Music Festival Gala Night with fellow musicians. All this on the eve of the launch of his latest Album "The Stranger in the Mirror"  We will also be speaking with Carol Whitfield beyond jazz, motown and her historical performance on Amy Winegousee "Beyond the Beehive" at the Butterfly Club 

Arts Express hosts Val and Trish are truly blessed with the company of Nadia Collins who chats about her own written and performed speechless MICF performance  Virgin Bloody Mary at the Butterfly Club.Assuring comedy aficionados will have a hell of a time.Also enlightening the audience with some 'good news' about some extra's in the Arts expressing themselves in and outa town-all heavenly bliss!

Comedian/storyteller Rama Nicholas talks about her spaghetti western musical 'Death Rides a Horse' for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and activist/organiser Cathy Brigden chats about saving the stories of female unionists overlooked in the recorded history of the Australian union movement.

Melbourne International Jazz Festival artistic director Michael Tortoni blows in with some hot jazz talk about the exciting upcoming festival and comedian/director Janelle De Silva chats about her  hilarious  multi-media show 'Frankghanistan' for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Arts Express hosts- Val and Trish, are right on track for this year's IWD with Glitta Supernova, as she navigates us around her current Butterfly show 'Body Map'  from the 4th-11th March at 8:30pm. Then there is more at the International station as musician Kathleen Hollaran intoxicates us with her guitar strings. Kathleen is part  of a collaboration by Brunswick Music Festival music programmer Chelsea Wilson The group  Wild Fearless and Free  also includes Stella Angelico, Sophie Koh, The Black Sistaz and Jessica Hitchcock . This one off performance for International Women's Day is at the Mechanic's Hall on tonight, Thursday the 8th March at 7:30pm. 

Graham Coffeey, manager, Small Town Transformations talks about what funding from Regional Arts Victoria has enabled small towns to achieve through creative projects that transform their communities. Fashion artist Adele Varcoe has created the 'Wowzzeee'  - a glittering 'onesie' that participants can also create for themselves in a participatory sweatshop through a unique Arts House project.

Arts hosts Val and Trish will be speaking with Nela Trifkovic on her performance with Band SARAY Iluminado  about new interpretations of Sevdah (traditional folk music) from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Jewish Sephardic music from the Balkans on 28th February at 45 Downstairs. Also chatting with both Samantha Byrne deputy Mayor of Moonee Valley City Council on the upcoming Festival at Queens Park on Sunday, 25 February along with  Music Programmer Chelsea Wilson from the Brunswick Music Festival from the 4th to 18th March 

Writer and arts patron Eva Dejong Duldig talks about her new book Driftwood which features her famous father sculptor Karl Duldig, her mother Slawa, an artist and inventor and herself as tennis champion and how she developed the Duldig Studio museum and sculpture garden. Acting Arts Director of Arts House, Josh Wright discusses the upcoming Festival of Live Art.

'Bent Bollywood' artistic directors Govind Pillai and Raina Peterson present 'an eclectic and libidinous dance show that combines the technical rigour of classical Indian dance with the camp theatrics of Bollywood at the 2018 Midsumma Festival. Rock Legend vocalist, song-writer and guitarist Kaliopi will also feature at the festival.

Australian Shakespeare Company theatre director Glenn Elston enchanted listeners with tales about his new children's production 'Tinkerbell & the Dream Fairies' at Geelong's Botanic Gardens (29 December) and Athenaeum Theatre 2 (2-28 January 2018). Valerie & Trish discussed exciting developments for Victorian women in music with the announcement of Music Victoria's new Women's Advisory Panel.

Jeannie Marsh, artistic director of the community street opera "Serenading Adela" featured on Arts Express to talk about the January 7, 2018 event to mark the 1917 'serenading' of antiwar activist Adela Pankhurst at Pentridge Gaol. She was interviewed by Valerie Farfalla and Trish Posterino

Melbourne Women's International Jazz Festival (Nov 24-Dec 10) convenor Sonja Horbelt discussed the brilliant festival talent and Melbourne Jewish Comedy Festival (Dec. 5,6,7) creative director Justine Sless told listeners about her exciting upcoming festival.

Themes of revolution and surveillance are common in two productions Kate Hunter's Earshot (29th Nov-3rd Dec) at 45 Downstairs and William Henderson's production at the Eleventh Hour theatre (23rd Nov-16th December) in  Waiting for Godot also with John Jacobs.    

Trish engages with Actor and vocalist Nisha Joseph as she embraces her latest role in  "Romeo is not the Only Fruit" as part of the The Poppyseed Festival at the Butterfly Club from 14th to 24th November. Also Carmel Schute encourages us to kick up our heals at the Sisters in Crime killer awards night "Scarlet Stiletto" at Swinburne University on the 18th November.

La Mama Production 'Serving Coffee@ Simms Supermarket' created by Writer/Performer Dr Scott Welsh; Actor/Writer/Director Tom Middleditch in a Poppyseed festival production 'Alexithymia' at the Meat Market, Stables and Fleur Elise Noble, Arts/Performer and creator of 'Rooman' at Arts House, North Melbourne.

Writer Spescha Barakat presents Bipolar Karaoke at La Mama and Theatre maker Sara Kriegler talks about a collaborative youth production    'Chamber Made and The Venny' involving local youth from a communal backyard and drop-in centre at Kensington. 

"Sisters in Crime"  author Emma Viskic chats about her new crime novel "And Fire Came Down"  also treating Arts Express listeners to a beautiful Clarinet rendition of Summertime 

Actor and dancer/choreographer James Elmer leads Memphis  the Musical at Chapel off Chapel, also Balkan sax player Dusan Mitrovic chats and performs ahead of his Balkan Jam and Opa Bato & Opa Seko for Darebin Music Feast   

Accordionist Sofia Chapman and violinist Alana Hunt from gypsy trio Vardos perform live in 3CR studio from new 5th album 'Palazzo Party'. Offtopics frontman Polash Larsen says his band is releasing time travel song 'Sunrise in Richmond' in 7" vinyl as part of Back To The Zine series with comic strip.   

Fringe shows:Elly D'Arcy and Cody Baldwin from Death Match & Courtney Ammenhauser and Lakia Pattinson  from Quarter Life Crisis 

Canadian Gillian English on Fringe show SHE WOLF  at the Butterfly Club & Ez Eldin Deng with AMKA Theatre ProjectAlso Theatrical clowns Ezel Doruk & Shannan Lim in The Yonder 

Had fun appropriately chatting with Louise Howlett Artistic Director of 'Appropriate Kissing For All Occasions'  and Christina McLachlan Actor of the said Melbourne Fringe piece at Club Volatire that we discover will be far more than double 'lip service' performances!https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/event/appropriate-kissing-for-all-occasions/Also adding to ARTS is the delicious, delectable and daring 'Sophiedelightful' -Burlesque and Cabaret performer, flexing her entertaining muscle on her fabulous Fringe performance  'Diary of a Pussy Power' https://sophiedelightful.com/events/       

Today Arts Express were on board with Helen Cassidy speaking about her upcoming fringe show Erotic Intelligence For Dummies and also Jasper Foley from Completely Improvised Potter

This week we speak with Dorian Jones, CEO of the Melbourne Youth Orchestra and Nancy Black and Alison Richards about The Book of Revelations.

Melbourne Jazz and Latin drummer John Perri tells some terrific stories about life on the road as a multi-skilled drummer and teacher in Melbourne.