Podcasts about griffin theatre

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Best podcasts about griffin theatre

Latest podcast episodes about griffin theatre

Hudson Mohawk Magazine
Talking With Poets: Ryan Smithson at Poetic License

Hudson Mohawk Magazine

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2024 10:00


Thom Francis introduces us to writer and artist Ryan Smithson, one of the readers who participated in the Poetic License Poetry Reading and Open Mic at the First Market in Troy on November 13, 2023. --- Since 2022, the Hudson Valley Writers Guild and Upstate Artist Guild have worked together to present Poetic License - an exhibition celebrating visual art inspired by poetry. This annual project has been instrumental in bringing artists and writers together in a collaborative environment. For the 2023 edition of Poetic License, Mary Panza hosted a poetry reading and open mic featuring the poets whose work was selected for the exhibit. The final poet to take the stage that night was writer and artist Ryan Smithson. Ryan submitted a visual work inspired by Margaret McDermott's poem, "Lungs of the Universe." After discussing his use of butterfly wings in his piece he shared two of his own poems, “The Serpent & the Apple” and “An Ode to Powdered Donuts.” Ryan Smithson joined the Army Corps of Engineers following 9/11 and was deployed to Iraq in 2004. Upon returning home, he began writing his memoir, Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI (HarperCollins, 2009), which was nominated as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. It is required reading in high schools and colleges across the country and was adapted for the stage by the Griffin Theatre in Chicago. The 2024 edition of Poetic License, showcasing the work of dozens of local writers and artists, will open on Friday, October 4, at the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany and run through November 10. Throughout the exhibit, there will be opportunities to view and purchase the artwork and participate in collage workshops and the poetry open mic. You can find out more about this year's poets, artists, and events, and check out Ryan's work from last year at poeticlicensealbany.com

Musical Theatre Radio presents
Be Our Guest with Jerrell L. Henderson

Musical Theatre Radio presents "Be Our Guest"

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2024 45:43


Jerrell L. Henderson is a Theatre Director, Puppeteer, and African American Theatre Historian and Archivist. Through the mediums of theatre and/or puppetry and film, Jerrell seeks to disrupt generational curses of self-hate (i.e. racism, homophobia, religious intolerance, etc.). Intellectually curious and emotionally dexterous, Jerrell is at home in a number of wide-ranging genres including, but not limited to, American Realism, Magical Realism, Traditional and Contemporary Musical Theatre, Poetic Black-Queer Narratives, and Live Spectacle Events. Upcoming projects include directing Ragtime at Metropolis Arts Center this Spring. A recipient of a 2023 Henson Foundation Workshop Grant and the 2022 League of Chicago Theatre's Samuel G. Roberson Fellowship, Jerrell will present an original shadow play titled, AmericanMYTH: Crossroads with Free Street Theatre this Fall. Recent projects include directing Reverie by James Ijames (2022 Pulitzer Prize recipient for Fat Ham) with Azuka Theatre in Philadelphia, co-directing Marys Seacole by Jackie Sibblies Drury with Griffin Theatre in Chicago, and collaborating with The Classical Theatre of Harlem and St. Ann's Warehouse on: When The World Sounds Like A Prayer (https://www.cthnyc.org, walkwithamal.org) in Bryant Park in NYC. Other credits include Mlima's Tale with Griffin Theatre (Jeff Award nomination for Direction and Best Play), The River with BoHo Theatre, and Untitled with Inis Nua (Barrymore Award nomination for Outstanding Direction of a Play). Puppet short films include a filmed version of his signature puppetry piece, I Am The Bear with The Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival. Other puppet short films include, Hamlin: La Revue Sombre with Heather Henson's Handmade Puppet Dreams and Diamond's Dream with Chicago Children's Theatre. His Juneteenth Puppet Protest: The Welcome Table was featured in the New York Times (June 2020) and his Fall 2020 puppetry celebration of the lives of John Lewis and C.T. Vivian titled, Black Butterfly was later expanded into an educational performance piece with Tria Smith of Guild Row and a student collective working with Urban Growers Collective on Chicago's South Side. He received his MFA in Theatre Directing from Northwestern University (2015), is an artistic associate with Black Lives, Black Words, is a member of Lincoln Center's Directors Lab (2012), and was a Henson Foundation sponsored participant at the Eugene O'Neill National Puppetry Conference (2020). He is on the board of Directors Gathering. (DG) is a national organization based in Philadelphia, PA which offers theatre directors consistent community, resources, and elevation.  As a theatre historian and archivist, Jerrell contributed to Fifty Key Musicals (Routledge Press). He authored the chapter on Shuffle Along (1921) and co-authored the chapter on The Wiz (1975). He also serves as the creator and curator of black_theatre_vinyl_archive on Instagram. black_theatre_vinyl_archive is an extensive collection of vinyl albums which highlight the contributions of members of the African Diaspora in Theatre/Musical Theatre History.  

Backstage
Sarah Giles

Backstage

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2024 33:29


Sarah joins Regina to talk about how she has paved her way in as a director and the things that interest her. As well as her latert production No Pay? No Way! on at Sydney Theatre Company.      Sarah Giles is an award-winning opera and theatre director. Described by Limelight Magazine as one of Australia's most thoughtful theatre-makers, she has a passion for comedy and opera and has directed over 25 productions for companies including Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, State Theatre of South Australia, Malthouse Theatre, Griffin Theatre, The Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Chamber Opera, Opera Queensland, State Opera of South Australia and West Australian Opera.  Sarah is a freelance artist, who works as a director, dramaturg and adaptor. She works across Australia and is based in Naarm / Melbourne where she lives with her family. Sarah received Helpmann Award and Green Room Award nominations for Best Direction of an Opera for her world premiere Victorian Opera production of Lorelei which won Best New Australian work and Best Design at the Green Room Awards where it was nominated in five categories.

Spoken Word
Spoken Word - Nikki Viveca

Spoken Word

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2023


In this episode of Spoken Word, Nikki Viveca performs her poem, "Welcome to Womanhood" (aka the "Thou shalt..." poem!) and chats about her art and memories in Melbourne, before heading up to Sydney to perform at the famous Griffin Theatre. We also hear her collaborative work with musicians Meta Cohen, Coady Green, and the Divisi Chamber Singers.

STAGES with Peter Eyers
‘Queens of the Night' - Opera Collaborators; Kate Gaul and Andy Dexterity

STAGES with Peter Eyers

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2023 43:56


Mozart's The Magic Flute will be presented by Opera Australia during their Summer season in early 2024. At the helm of the production is Director Kate Gaul. An artist of tremendous invention and imagination. The production she conjures will thrill and seduce, as this opera favourite is brought to vivid life. Assisting Kate as Movement Director is frequent collaborator, Andy Dexterity. His eclectic style and command of the physical always delights and sheds enlightening perspective. Both were guests in early seasons of the STAGES podcast. It was a treat to catch up with them once again to hear what's been happening in their worlds and what we can look forward to in the world of The Magic Flute. Kate has been directing full-time since completing the NIDA Director's course in 1996 and has established herself as a distinctive and inventive director, with productions for such companies as Pinchgut Opera, Belvoir St Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, Griffin Theatre and Melbourne Theatre Company. Kate's productions include The End of Winter, Camp!, Good With Maps, The Trouble with Harry, The Ham Funeral, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Britten), Misterman, Invisible Circus, Il Matrimonio Segreto (Conservatorium of Music), Castor et Pollux (Pinchgut Opera), The New Electric Ballroom and Carmen (OzOpera). Andy Dexterity is a Green Room Award-nominated performance maker primarily recognised for his unique brand of movement, fusing dance, physical theatre and physical languages. Andy is fascinated by the way we communicate and interact as a species and Andy creates playful work with the intention to empower, connect and transcend linguistic boundaries. The Magic Flute plays the Sydney Opera House February 1st to March 16th, 2024The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

In Ya Face
Nikki Viveca Interview

In Ya Face

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2023


Actress, comedienne, writer, poet Nikki Viveca chats with James McKenzie in the studio before she heads to Sydney to perform in The Lewis Trilogy at the Griffin Theatre.  Nikki Viveca | Facebook  3CR broadcasts from the stolen lands of the Kulin Nation.

Queering The Air
Twin Flame / Dead Spit | My Queer Spiritual Entropy | Aza - Melbourne Fringe Festival 2023

Queering The Air

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2023


MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL 2023 Holly and Sasja came together to discuss Holly's event at the Melbourne Fringe Festival: MY QUEER SPIRITUAL ENTROP HOLLY ROWAN - MY QUEER SPIRITUAL ENTROPY TICKETDates 05 - 13 OctTime 7:30pm, 6:30pm (60 minutes)Venue TIC: SwanstonA spiritual antidote to dogma; for people who just want to be themselves.Sick of people telling you there's one way to live your life? Yeah, Holly too. Come and heal your soul and reclaim your right to be whoever you want to be with My Queer Spiritual Entropy. Full of originality, chaos and colour, this fresh-out-the-womb solo show from British non-binary performer Holly Rowan is a vibrant and daring mash-up of clown, Butoh, spoken word, physical theatre, dance and song... available as an in-person performance.About the artist: Instagram- @hollyrowanarts Holly is an emerging non-binary, multidisciplinary artist and performer whose work sits on the bridge of comedy and personal tragedy. Through a quirky combination of movement and voice, they share vulnerable and personal stories as a means to create conversation about difficult topics and connect people with the core of their humanity. This is their first Melbourne Fringe and debut performance in Australia. They have previously co-directed and performed in London Butoh Dance Company's ‘IRREVERSE' for Wandsworth Arts Fringe in 2022 and was Stage manager and Choreographer for Lancaster Offshoots productions at Edinburgh Fringe ‘Peter Rabbit & Other Tales' 2015 & ‘Hunchback' 2016. Holly is also a facilitator for Queer Space Youth at Drummond Street Services.  ------------------------------- Sasja joined by Sophie Strykowski & Haz Lugsdin, another artists from the Melbourne Fringe Festival, who shared a discussion of their live performance titled "TWIN FLAME/ DEAD SPIT".  TWIN FLAME/ DEAD SPIT TICKETDates 05 - 13 OctTime 7:00pm (60 minutes)Venue Mycelium StudiosTWIN FLAME/ DEAD SPIT is a live performance work investigating the ways in which we look at another to look at ourselves. With ten years of deep friendship and chosen kinship, performance makers Haz Lugsdin and Sophie Strykowski embark on an intergalactic voyage to understand their interlocking selves.We all have a gravitational pull. The sun, a chair, and you. I felt that tug. Who put me here? And why are you here too?Haz Lugsdin (They/He) is a trans performer who relishes in gusto, ego and innuendo. Sophie Strykowski (She/They) is an actor and performance maker whose work sparkles fearlessly with a joyous curiosity. Together, they pastiche comedy, performance art, and unbridled joy to glimpse the life practice of world-building together.  About the Artists: Haz Lugsdin / Sophie Strykowski    Instagram - @sp0repunk_ Haz Lugsdin (they/he) is a trans performer making on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people. Haz's experience is in devised and collaborative work, rooted in comedy, pastiched with drag, performance art, movement, wordplay and absolute buggery. Haz is invested in developing non-binary ways of making that refuse rigid performance structures; as explored in their three latest 45 minute works; Rising Damp: A Sporepunk unearthing of a queer utopia at La Mama HQ (2022), The (Sour Glitch) Two-Step Refusal at The Flying Nun by Brand X (2021) and 101101001: Dude Where's My Gender at The Giant Dwarf (2020). As a writer, Haz has received mentorship with ATYP as part of National Studio (2020) and Fresh Ink (2021). Haz's work relishes in the illegible and incoherent; centering play and pleasure. He uses performance to make sense of himself and non-sense of the rest. They have a distinct modus operandi of gusto, ego, and innuendo.  Sophie Strykowski (she/they) is a performance maker and actor from Gadigal, currently living on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people. Their devised work reflects their positionality as a queer person, with the intention to dismantle and reimagine perceived truths with earnestness and delight. Sophie has worked across a range of independent and professional stages in Gadigal, including Griffin Theatre and ATYP in Intersection: Arrival (2019), Q Theatre in Originate (2020), Kings Cross Theatre [KXT] in Natives (2022) and Rogue Projects in Taz v. The Pleb (2023). Her work plays with form, combining elements of movement, comedy and experimental theater to ask big questions about the self, love, sexuality and connection. Sophie brings these questions to an audience with sparkling fearlessness and joyful curiosity. ------------------------------- Charaf Tartoussi joined Queering The Air as our third and final guest artist for the Melbourne Fringe Festival. A discussion between Sasja and Charaf about their captivating live performance titled “Aza” Aza: Stories of Grief in Diaspora  TICKET Dates 18 - 22 OctTime 6:00pm, 5:00pm (50 minutes)Venue Festival Hub: Trades Hall - Old Council ChambersA vulnerable exploration of migrant and diasporic grief through storytelling.Aza (Arabic colloq: wake) is a powerful, nuanced portrait of migrant loss. Spoken word theater meets mourning ritual, it takes us on the grieving journeys of four artists as they grapple with what it means to lose a loved one back home.Meet Charaf, Parminder, Thabani and Farah. They all live in Naarm, all write poetry and all have had to grieve a family member from a homeland someplace else. Together, they embark on an honest voyage through a grief as ancestral as it is foreign. From longing and guilt, to curiosity and pride, they will venture into the breadth of emotion in their migrant and diasporic mourning.Aza is where they come together to be witnessed in the diversity in their grief. It is where they come together to heal, and to be healed.In 50 minutes of vulnerable and sincere storytelling, they will move through the motions of their loss and attempt to answer the question: how does grief change when it is experienced in the immigrant diaspora, and how does it stay the same?  Music:Rehab by RihannaMusic by MadonnaYAMA LAYALI by David Vendetta feat Haifa Wehbe National Coming Out Day Event by Queerspace - Drummond Street Services(All LGBTQIA+ People Are Welcome)100 Drummond Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053Wednesday 11 October4pm - 7pm

Creativity in Captivity
JERRELL L. HENDERSON: A Director that is Nobody's Puppet

Creativity in Captivity

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2023 50:23


A theatre director, puppeteer, and African American theatre historian and archivist that seeks to disrupt generational curses of self-hate, racism, homophobia, and religious intolerance. Intellectually curious and emotionally dexterous, Jerrell is at home in a wide range of genres including, but not limited to, American Realism, Magical Realism, Traditional and Contemporary Musical Theatre, Poetic Black-Queer Narratives, and Live Spectacle Events. He is the recipient of a 2023 Henson Foundation Workshop Grant and the 2022 League of Chicago Theatre's Samuel G. Roberson Fellowship. Recent projects include directing Reverie by James Ijames (2022 Pulitzer Prize recipient for Fat Ham) with Azuka Theatre in Philadelphia, co-directing Marys Seacole by Jackie Sibblies Drury with Griffin Theatre in Chicago, and collaborating with The Classical Theatre of Harlem and St. Ann's Warehouse on: When The World Sounds Like A Prayer in Bryant Park in NYC. Other credits include Mlima's Tale with Griffin Theatre (Jeff Award nomination for Direction and Best Play), The River with BoHo Theatre, and Untitled with Inis Nua (Barrymore Award nomination for Outstanding Direction of a Play). His puppet short films include a filmed version of his signature puppetry piece, I Am The Bear with The Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival. His other puppet short films include, Hamlin: La Revue Sombre with Heather Henson's Handmade Puppet Dreams and Diamond's Dream with Chicago Children's Theatre. His Juneteenth Puppet Protest: The Welcome Table was featured in the New York Times and his Fall 2020 puppetry celebration of the lives of John Lewis and C.T. Vivian titled, Black Butterfly was later expanded into an educational performance piece with Tria Smith of Guild Row and a student collective working with Urban Growers Collective on Chicago's South Side. He received his MFA in Theatre Directing from Northwestern University, is an artistic associate with Black Lives, Black Words, is a member of Lincoln Center's Directors Lab, and was a Henson Foundation sponsored participant at the Eugene O'Neill National Puppetry Conference.  As a theatre historian and archivist, Jerrell contributed to Fifty Key Musicals (Routledge Press). He authored the chapter on Shuffle Along (1921) and co-authored the chapter on The Wiz (1975). 

Backstage
Debra Oswald

Backstage

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2023 28:47


Debra Oswald joins Regina to talk about tow shows playing at the Ensemble Theatre, plus how she came to writing from a young age. Debra Oswald is screenwriter, playwright and fiction author. She was the co-creator and head writer for series 1-5 of the award-winning Channel Ten series Offspring. Debra won the 2011 NSW Premier's Literary Award for the Offspring telemovie script and won the 2014 AACTA for Best Television Screenplay for an episode in series 4.  Her other television credits include award-winning episodes of Police Rescue, Palace of Dreams, The Secret Life of Us, Sweet and Sour and Bananas in Pyjamas. Debra's stage plays have been produced around Australia. Gary's House, Sweet Road and The Peach Season were all shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Award, and her play Dags has had many Australian productions. Gary's House has been performed in translation in Denmark and Japan. Mr Bailey's Minder broke the Griffin Theatre's box office record in 2004, toured nationally in 2006, and was produced in Philadelphia in 2008 and is back with the gorgeous John Gaden, as well as Rachel Gordon and Albert Mwangi and Claudia Ware… She's also bringing back Is there something wrong with that Lady—sold out in APRIL….at griffin and it is playing at ensemble from 18th September. Her  plays are published by Currency Press.   

STAGES with Peter Eyers
TONY Episode - ‘Folks, It's Funny Girl, Fiddler and Dolly Combined' - Satirist and Broadcaster; Mark Humphries

STAGES with Peter Eyers

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2023 62:57


It's TONY time once again - the annual celebration of the Broadway community via their awards ceremony - The Tony's - named after Antoinette Perry, an actress, producer and theatre director who was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre WingThe 2023 awards have been surrounded by some controversy as producers negotiated with the striking writers guild of America for cooperation to present the ceremony. Happily, the awards will proceed as scheduled featuring live performances but in a non-scripted format.The televised performance is an essential marketing tool that can boost sales for those shows nominated and those that are awarded prizes. The ceremony will be broadcast on American network CBS on June 11th. The awards were postponed for approx. 18months in 2020 during the Covid pandemic which made such an event impossible. Audiences have yet to return to prepandemic levels, so such a telecast is understandably needed.Australians are an ever growing presence on the Broadway stage and this year were are cheering for Suzie Miller's production of Prima Facie; a play that  has taken the world by storm. After a commanding production starring Sheridan Harbridge which commenced at Sydney's Griffin Theatre, it landed triumphantly in London's West End starring Killing Eve's Jodie Comer. The production won Best Play and Best Actress at the Olivier Awards. The production opened on Broadway in April, once again starring Comer. Once again conquering box-office and compelling audiences with its visceral storytelling. A recent announcement has informed us that the play will be adapted into a feature film starring Tony winner Cynthia Ervio.Prima Facie is nominated in these categories at the Tonys …Best Leading Actress in a Play - Jodie Comer (first time on stage), Best Scenic Design of a Play - Miriam Buether Best Sound Design of a Play - Ben & Max Ringham, Best Lighting Design of a Play - Natasha Chivers. And Australian Daniel Edmonds is Assistant Conductor on the Best Musical nominee - Shucked!STAGES is joined in this episode by Musical afficiando Mark Humphries who will share his experiences of the Great White Way and offer his own predictions as to where the Tony's may land amongst this year's nominees.The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

Backstage
Solomon Thomas and UFO at Griffin theatre

Backstage

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2023 20:43


SOLOMON THOMAS joins Regina Botros BACKSTAGE. He is a theatre maker and performer and is a core member of re:group performance collective, He explores the intersection between the physical and digital in theatre, experimenting with how theatre and film can co-exist in a live context. He works as a performer, puppeteer, theatre maker and video designer and is driven by how these practices meet formally. UFO by Kirby Medway and Solomon Thomas at the SBW Stables Theatre from 18th to 29th April 2023. Part of the Griffin Lookout program. Described as a blend of science fiction tropes, live cinema and exquisitely detailed 1:8 miniatures, it is  mix of video, stop-motion animation and live theatre brings UFO's to the stage!    

The Arts Section
The Arts Section 03/12/23: Harris Theatre Celebrates 20 + Oscars Preview

The Arts Section

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2023


On this edition of The Arts Section, host Gary Zidek catches up with the CEO of the Harris Theatre as it prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary season. The Dueling Critics, Kerry Reid and Jonathan Abarbanel, stop by to review Griffin Theatre's latest production. Later in the show, local film writer Janet Arvia joins Gary to chat about the Academy Awards. The 95th Oscars ceremony is tonight. And WDCB's Leslie Keros has an interesting story about a local jazz musician's mission to draw attention to the work of songwriter Irene Higgenbotham.

STAGES with Peter Eyers
‘Now I will believe that there are unicorns…' - Actor; Elaine Hudson

STAGES with Peter Eyers

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2022 68:09


Elaine Hudson is an actor/director/producer/teacher. She trained at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) and has worked in theatre, film and television. Directing credits include Endgame (Lookout Theatre); The Lady from Dubuque (Downstairs Belvoir); Poles Apart (Stables Theatre); The Death of Peter Pan; After the Fall (Associate Director), Relative Comfort, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Gross Indecency/The Importance of Being Earnest and Seven Little Australians (new theatre); The Man Who Came to Dinner (Genesian Theatre), A Touch of Paradise (Downstairs Belvoir) and Young Dramatists – Page to Stage (Co-Artistic Director 1999 – 2013 ), Heir Raising for Mardi Gras 2009 and Associate Director on Trapped in Mykonos, Downstairs Seymour 2013. Acting credits include roles for Sydney Theatre Company, including a celebrated Elizabeth Proctor in Richard Wherret's often mentioned The Crucible; new theatre; Company B; Griffin Theatre ; Queensize Productions (Dacia Maraini's Mary Stuart –Excellence Award from International New York Fringe Festival); Cumulus Productions (Mother Teresa is Dead, The Women of Lockerbie, Box and Quotations from Mao Tse-Tung). In 2009 Elaine performed in A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Liv Ullmann, for the Sydney Theatre Company, touring to Washington and New York. In 2010, at Teatro Cortile in Bolzano, Italy, Elaine premiered a group devised solo performance inspired by life and work of Emily Dickinson. A residency at Bundanon was followed by a second performance of this work at the Adelaide Fringe in 2012. In 2012, Elaine took part in a performance of poems of Miyazama Kenji at Theatre X (Cai) in Ryogoku, Tokyo, directed by Roger Pulvers. Film and Television work as an actor includes Cross-Life (Sydney Film Festival), Dying Breed (Tribeca), The Disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain, Joh's Jury (AFI Best Actress Nomination), All Saints, White Collar Blue, Grassroots, Heartbreak High, Chandon Pictures and Rake. It is indeed a rich tapestry which Elaine has woven in her pursuit of artistic endeavour. She is passionate about all forms and her academic investigation of each equips her with extensive knowledge and a broad experience of theatre-making. I adore any encounter with Elaine, so I cannot wait to share this STAGES conversation with you, so you can see exactly what I mean. The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages). www.stagespodcast.com.au

STAGES with Peter Eyers
‘Mum's the Word!' - Playwright, Performer and Perfect Wit; Ash Flanders

STAGES with Peter Eyers

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2022 55:06


Ash Flanders is a multi-award winning playwright and screenwriter from sunny Melbourne. In 2006 he and Declan Greene formed theatre company Sisters Grimm and together they have written a dozen shows including Summertime in the Garden of Eden (Theatre Works, Griffin Theatre), Little Mercy (STC), The Sovereign Wife (MTC), Calpurnia Descending (Malthouse/STC) and Lilith: The Jungle Girl (MTC). Ash has also created the solo shows Meme Girls (Malthouse), Special Victim (Feast Festival), Playing to Win (Arts Centre Melbourne), Ash Flanders is NOTHING and End Of (Darebin Speakeasy) as well as SS Metaphor at The Malthouse Theatre. Ash has been invited to present work for the Emerging Writers' Festival, The Wheeler Centre's Show of the Year as well as Women of Letters, where his letter was chosen to be published in the book Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Women of Letters. His erotic Golden Girls fan fiction became the short film Divine Decadence of Cheesecake which played Frameline, Out On Film, LLFF Canada and other international film festivals. He co-wrote the web series FRIENDLY (over 10K views) and has a slate of fresh screen projects in development, including a series taken from the world of his solo shows. Ash will premiere a new play, This is Living, at The Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne, in 2023. Over the next 2 months, Ash will be performing a solo show, also penned by Ash; titled End Of. It plays the Griffin Theatre in Sydney from October 13th to November 5th. The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages). www.stagespodcast.com.au

Race Matters
Episode 118: Queer Masculinities (with Dylan Van Den Berg and DEiFY)

Race Matters

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2022 33:59


Two conversations exploring the complexities of queerness and masculinity. First, Darren chatted to First Nations playwright Dylan Van Den Berg about his upcoming work at Griffin Theatre, White Fella Yella Tree. We'll hear from Dylan about how this play came to be, what queer blak love on stage looks like, and what we take away from the theatre.  We then hear from Tian and Thy from DEiFY - a platform that centres the experiences of queer, trans, intersex people who also identity as black, First Nations and People of Colour. They've just released a zine called Queer Masculinties, exploring the ways that masculinity can be understood outside of a white, hetero and colonial framework.  White Fella Yella Tree is showing at Griffin Theatre from August 19 - September 23, get tickets here! The image is a still from the trailer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Theatre Thoughts Podcast
Episode 21 - Indigenous Perspectives with Palawa Playwright, Dylan Van Den Berg

The Theatre Thoughts Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2022 24:39


On today's episode we sit down with Palawa playwright, Dylan Van Den Berg, to discuss his new play Whitefella Yella Tree. Dylan takes us through his process of writing as a playwright, what it's important that we share our own stories and how significant Indigenous voices can be in the Australian theatre scene. We explore what paths artists take when becoming a playwright and also explore what audiences can expect from this new production from the Griffin Theatre. Tickets to Whitefella Yella Tree can be booked via griffintheatre.com.au or by following this link. Don't forget you can listen to and watch our podcast episodes on our Youtube Channel! Be sure to subscribe to our podcast to get all of this month's juicy new episodes! TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST REVIEWS, NEWS AND EXCLUSIVES, SIGN UP TO OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER NOW. FOLLOW THE LINK HERE or by heading to our website theatrethoughtsaus.online. About Dylan Van Den Berg Dylan Van Den Berg is a Palawa writer from the northeast of Tasmania. For his play Milk (The Street Theatre), Dylan received the 2021 Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. In 2020, his gothic revenge drama Way Back When won both the Griffin Award and the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award, and was developed through Darlinghurst Theatre Company's ‘Next in Line' program. Other work includes Whitefella Yella Tree (MTC Cybec Electric), The Camel (Melbourne Fringe) and Blue: A Misery Play (The Street Theatre). Dylan is a current participant in ILBIJERRI Theatre Company's BlackWrights program, and studied drama at the ANU and the State University of New York. About Whitefella Yella Tree Once in a blue moon, in the middle of nowhere, two teenage boys meet under a lemon tree. After a rough start, a fragile friendship fruits into a heady romance. Ty and Neddy fall madly in love, as teenagers are wont to do. If history would just unfurl a little differently, the boys might have a beautiful future ahead of them. But without knowing it, Ty and Neddy are poised on the brink of a world that is about to change forever. It's the early 19th century. Ty is River Mob. Neddy is Mountain Mob. And the earth they stand together on is about to be declared ‘Australia'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

STAGES with Peter Eyers
'Show me the way to the next Whiskey Bar' - Director, Writer, Co-Artistic Director of Red Line Productions; Constantine Costi

STAGES with Peter Eyers

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2022 60:24


Constantine Costi is a director, writer and the co-artistic director of Red Line Productions at the Old Fitz working across opera, film, and theatre. He was named one of the 21 hottest creatives of 2021 by The Australian.Most recently Constantine directed Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour La Traviata for Opera Australia, as well as Verdi's Requiem for Ensemble Apex and Phoenix Central Park, and is currently preparing a Kurt Weill Double Bill for The Old Fitz Theatre of Mahagonny Songspiel and The Seven Deadly Sins.In 2020 he directed the feature film A Delicate Fire for Pinchgut Opera based on the madrigals of Barbara Strozzi, wrote the libretto of a new Australian opera Cassandra for Victorian Opera by composer Simon Bruckard, directed Monochromatic; a video series of piano portraits for Phoenix Central Park, and directed an online Don Giovanni production for the Shanghai Opera with Maestro Xu Zhong.Constantine has also directed Karakorum starring David Wenham (Australian Brandenburg Orchestra); the award-winning production of Bittersweet Obsessions, and Messiah which played to standing ovations and sell-out seasons in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane; Puccini's Suor Angelica (Opera Projects Sydney); and Il Tabarro at Alfie's Sydney.Constantine has directed revivals of Harry Kupfer's Otello (OA), Il Viaggio a Reims (Dutch National Opera, OA and Royal Danish Opera), Sir David Mc Vicar's Vienna State Opera production of Falstaff(National Centre of Performing Arts, Beijing); and La Traviata (OA).He also assistant directed productions of Ring Cycle (Chen Shi-Zheng) and Wozzeck (Salzburg Festival, OA, Canadian Opera Company, Metropolitan Opera); Hunde Gottes (Schauspielhaus Vienna); and The Marriage of Figaro (OA). Constantine has also worked with director Chen Shi-Zheng as assistant director of Puccini's Turandot (OA, Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour), as well as co-directing Werther with director Elijah Moshinsky (OA).Other work includes directing and co-creating the world premiere of jazz musical The Overcoat (Belvoir's 25A); co-writing the immersive theatre experience Visiting Hours (Vivid Festival); and directing The Space Between the Fuel and the Fire (NIDA).Constantine is the recipient of The Berlin New Music Opera Award with The Opera Foundation for Young Australians where he worked with Komische Oper Berlin's directing team on the premiere of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin directed by Barrie Kosky.Other directing credits include: The Hypochondriac, The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet (NIDA); Young Artist's Program Showcase (Opera Australia); Thomas Arne's The Sailor's Return (Nagambie Lakes Opera Festival); The Master and Margarita after Bulgakov (Aboriginal Centre of the Performing Arts); Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo (Zenith Theatre); and The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer (George Georgiou Inc). Constantine has previously been a member of the Belvoir Artists' Workshop and was affiliate director with Griffin Theatre.Constantine's screen credits include: music videos, I Know What You're Hiding (Hedge Fund) and Into My Arms (Bloods) for Triple J Unearthed; and the short films Ferguson & Daisy & Ursula, andDonny.The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Whooshkaa, Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

Backstage
Glace Chase

Backstage

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2022 28:21


Glace Chase joins Regina Botros to dive into the world of theatre through Glace's new work Triple X, playing at Sydney Theatre Company. Glace is a multiple award winning multi-disciplinary “trans-queen” / performer / playwright / comedienne / screenwriter / tour guide / bon vivant. As a playwright Glace has won two Griffin Awards and the Queensland Premier's Literary Award, and has been shortlisted for almost every playwriting award in Australia. Glace's play Triple X, which she created, wrote and stars in, ran at the Queensland Theatre and has subsequently moved to Sydney Theatre Company. Glace was a finalist for the 2021 Susan Smith Blackburn Award for Triple X, which was additionally shortlisted for the Nick Enright Prize for playwriting. Described as “delightfully satanic” by Time Out NY, Glace's work defies easy categorisation. Glace created the world's first Drag Queen Tour Guide business – Dream Queen Tours – named “Best Alternative Tour” by the International Travel & Hospitality Awards. She also has a limited television series in development entitled Falleni. Other plays include Whore, A Hoax, Oranges & Lemons, GULL or the lamentable comedy called love (hereto known as the Trannies' Revenge) and Nobody's Girl. Her plays have appeared at Griffin Theatre, Belvoir St Theatre, La Boite, The Public Theatre NYC and NJ Rep.

Backstage
Kate Gaul

Backstage

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2022 10:17


Director Kate Gaul joins me, Regina Botros, to talk about her show The End of Winter at Griffin Theatre. Kate Gaul is a theatre and opera director, creative producer, festival director, and designer based in Sydney, NSW. She is a graduate of NIDA (Directing 1996) and Artistic Director of Siren Theatre Co. Kate undertook a residency with SITI Company (NYC) and was Associate Director at Ensemble Theatre.    

STAGES with Peter Eyers
'The Art of Making Art' - Artistic Director, Queensland Theatre Company; Lee Lewis

STAGES with Peter Eyers

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2021 76:46


Lee Lewis commenced her career as an actor, training at Columbia University in New York. Her performance resumes includes work on and off-Broadway. Upon her return to Australia she completed a Masters of Directing at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.As a director, Lee has forged a stellar career and it is exciting to see that her work on Suzie Miller's incredible Prima Facie helped build an international appetite for this powerful production, which debuts in London next year.Lee has been an outspoken advocate for increased cultural diversity on Australian main stages, and a leading voice for the representation of female directors and playwrights.In 2013 she was appointed Artistic Director at The Griffin Theatre in Sydney, overseeing a vast array of new Australian works. In 2020 she became A.D. of the Queensland Theatre Company; a month in, confronted with the challenge presented by the Covid pandemic and the closure of theatres.Lee's vast resume has seen her directing classic and new work at companies around Australia including the Sydney and Melbourne Theatre Companies and Bell Shakespeare. The theatre she has given vision to includes Our Town, Family Values, First Love is the Revolution, Is There Something Wrong With That Lady?, The Almighty Sometimes, Kill Climate Deniers, Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography, The Homosexuals or ‘Faggots', The Bleeding Tree, Emerald City, A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il, The Serpent's Table, Silent Disco, Smurf In Wanderland, The Call, A Hoax, The Nightwatchman, The Literati, The Misanthrope, Mary Stuart, Honour, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Hayfever, Rupert; That Face, The School for Wives and Twelfth Night.The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. And where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

STAGES with Peter Eyers
'The Best Of All Possible Worlds!' - Theatre-maker, Thespian and Artistic Director of State Theatre Company South Australia, Mitchell Butel

STAGES with Peter Eyers

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2021 51:40


Mitchell Butel became interested in theatre as a child after seeing the musical Song and Dance and later The Little Shop of Horrors. He attended the University of New South Wales and studied for a degree in Arts/Law, majoring in Theatre Studies. He was destined for a career telling stories and has contributed markedly as a creative, on and off the stage, around Australia.With an extensive career in theatre, film and television, Butel is one of Australia's most prolific acting talents. From Shakespeare, Moliere, Williamson and O'Neill to musicals such as Avenue Q, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Mikado, to AFI-nominated feature film and TV performances, he has excelled.Butel's writing credits include Excellent Adventure and Killing Time and he wrote additional material for Meow Meow's Little Match Girl, Belvoir Street Theatre's production of The Government Inspector and Opera Australia's production of The Mikado.His directing credits include Violet at the Hayes Theatre, Spring Awakening for Australian Theatre For Young People, Porgy and Bess, Funny Girl and The Bernstein Songbook for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and Candide for the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.Butel co-directed An Act of God for the Darlinghurst Theatre Company and directed the Australian premiere of Jordan Harrison's play, Marjorie Prime. Productions of Mary Rachel Brown's Dead Cat Bounce for Griffin Theatre and Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's Caroline Or Change for the Hayes Theatre have followed.In 2019 he was appointed Artistic Director of the State Theatre Company South Australia, launching his first program in 2020. His extensive experience as a versatile creative have equipped him well as he has steered the company through the challenges of the past year. Mitchell is passionate about his craft and making theatre. He is a super conversationalist and a delight to welcome to the STAGES podcast.The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. Also where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

Don't Be So Dramatic
Sam Strong on Directing Australian Theatre And Keeping Up With Contemporary Attention Spans

Don't Be So Dramatic

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2021 71:01


Sam Strong is an award-winning theatre director and one of Australia's most successful and influential arts leaders. Sam is currently the Chair of Melbourne Fringe and was previously Chair of Circa. Sam has also been Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre and Griffin Theatre, Associate Artistic Director of the Melbourne Theatre Company, Literary Associate at Belvoir, and the founding dramaturg in residence at Red Stitch. Sam has directed productions for all Australian State Theatre Companies, Belvoir, Griffin and the Melbourne and Sydney Festivals. His next project is the world premiere stage adaptation of Trent Dalton's novel BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE. Email: rachellaurenbaker@outlook.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don't Be So Dramatic
Sam Strong on Directing Australian Theatre And Keeping Up With Contemporary Attention Spans

Don't Be So Dramatic

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2021 71:00


Sam Strong is an award-winning theatre director and one of Australia's most successful and influential arts leaders. Sam is currently the Chair of Melbourne Fringe and was previously Chair of Circa. Sam has also been Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre and Griffin Theatre, Associate Artistic Director of the Melbourne Theatre Company, Literary Associate at Belvoir, and the founding dramaturg in residence at Red Stitch. Sam has directed productions for all Australian State Theatre Companies, Belvoir, Griffin and the Melbourne and Sydney Festivals. His next project is the world premiere stage adaptation of Trent Dalton's novel BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE. Email: rachel@thehubstudio.com.au

STAGES with Peter Eyers
'Open a New Window' - Writer, Director, Actor - Sheridan Harbridge

STAGES with Peter Eyers

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2021 62:45


Sheridan Harbridge is a director, actor and author of plays and musical works. She authored the acclaimed musical Songs For the Fallen, which won Best Musical and Best Actress at The New York Music Theatre Festival 2015, and a Green Room award for Best Artist. This brilliant show has toured the major Australian and New Zealand arts festivals.Sheridan co-wrote and directed the musical bloodbath Nosferatutu (or Bleeding at the Ballet), for Griffin Independent and Glenn Street Theatres. She co-wrote and directed Reg: The Reg Livermore Retrospective for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. And she has directed The Blueberry Play, a Griffin Award finalist and The Sentimental Bloke for the Neglected Musicals series at The Hayes Theatre.Alongside creating her own work she has forged a career as an actor/writer having been part of the workshopping cast, dramaturgy, and premieres of many new Australian works such as the musicals Muriel's Wedding, Dream Lover, Melba, The Detective's Handbook, and the plays North By Northwest, The Speechmaker, The Sugar House, The Dog/The Cat, Prima Facie, Kill Climate Deniers and Jump For Jordan.As an actress, the NIDA graduate has appeared on the stages of all the major Australian companies, most recently to acclaim for her work in Prima Facie for Griffin Theatre, and Calamity Jane and Stop Girl for Belvoir Theatre.She soon returns to the stage with a return season of Suzie Miller's Prima Facie. This phenomenal work will play at The Seymour Centre from 23 June to 10 July. Later in the year she is at the helm of a new Australian musical with her direction of Dubbo Championship Wrestling to be staged at The Hayes.She is contagiously vivacious, hugely talented, ultra-insightful and terrific fun. She is, Sheridan Harbridge.The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Whooshkaa and Spotify. And from where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

The Stage Show
How a dancer overcame a spinal injury to shine on the international stage

The Stage Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2021 54:06


When dancer Amy Hollingsworth was just 18, she suffered a potentially career-ending injury. Yet, she didn't just recover — she flourished. She's now the artistic director of the Australasian Dance Collective, which is about to make its return to the stage. Also, we hear a scene from Andrea James and Catherine Ryan's Australian gothic play Dogged now at Sydney's Griffin Theatre and we consider the journey of social dance, particularly hip-hop, from the streets and clubs to the theatre with Erin Brannigan.

The Stage Show
How a dancer overcame a spinal injury to shine on the international stage

The Stage Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2021 54:06


When dancer Amy Hollingsworth was just 18, she suffered a potentially career-ending injury. Yet, she didn't just recover — she flourished. She's now the artistic director of the Australasian Dance Collective, which is about to make its return to the stage.Also, we hear a scene from Andrea James and Catherine Ryan's Australian gothic play Dogged now at Sydney's Griffin Theatre and we consider the journey of social dance, particularly hip-hop, from the streets and clubs to the theatre with Erin Brannigan.

RN Arts - ABC RN
How a dancer overcame a spinal injury to shine on the international stage

RN Arts - ABC RN

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2021 54:06


When dancer Amy Hollingsworth was just 18, she suffered a potentially career-ending injury. Yet, she didn't just recover — she flourished. She's now the artistic director of the Australasian Dance Collective, which is about to make its return to the stage. Also, we hear a scene from Andrea James and Catherine Ryan's Australian gothic play Dogged now at Sydney's Griffin Theatre and we consider the journey of social dance, particularly hip-hop, from the streets and clubs to the theatre with Erin Brannigan.

Backstage
Catherine Ryan BACKSTAGE

Backstage

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2021 23:26


Catherine joins Regina to talk theatre writing and her inspirations and process. A VCA graduate Animateur, Catherine works as a writer, dramaturg, director, community theatre maker, producer and performer, with a range of experiences across several media including stage, radio, published prose and documentary film. Her practice is inspired by questions about empathy, interconnectedness, the dynamics of relationships and the spaces and obstacles between us. She lives in Dja Dja Wurrung country (Central Victoria), just outside a town with a name, but no shop, pub, tennis court or public phone (there are, however, magnificent eagles and a gorgeous river). In 2001 she co-founded Castlemaine's Barking Owl Theatre, co-creating many original and community-based works in their 8 years of activity. In 2009 Catherine won an AWGIE for Best Radio Adaptation for Aurora Calling: The Results of a Joint Observation, which was then the Australian nominee in its category at the Prix Italia International Media Awards. Her work has also won a George Fairfax Award (Precipice - 2009) and 2 Inscription Awards (Precipice and Getting Away From It All - 2009, 2006), along with several other national (Patrick White, Griffin and Hal Porter Short Story Awards) and international (Perishable Theatre International Women's Playwright) short-listings. She has been an Affiliate Writer at the Melbourne Theatre Company, a Resident Playwright at Griffin Theatre, Sydney, and commissioned by the Malthouse Theatre (2013) and ABC Radio National (2008, 2004). Catherine's work has appeared at/in the Castlemaine State Festival, ABC Radio National, La Mama Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Overland, and will be seen in the journal Antipodes. In 2017 her work, Dogged, received a National Script Workshop at Playwriting Australia.

Not in Print: playwrights off script - on inspiration, process and theatre itself
'The law of sexual assault spins on the wrong axis': Suzie Miller on her play, Prima Facie

Not in Print: playwrights off script - on inspiration, process and theatre itself

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2021 32:45


"Five years at law school, eleven years of practice, I have always believed. Now I need to know that I was not mistaken." --- In this episode we spoke with playwright Suzie Miller about her award winning play, Prima Facie. Winner of the 2018 Griffin Award, Prima Facie is an indictment of the Australian legal system’s failure to provide reliable pathways to justice for women in rape, sexual assault or harassment cases. It’s a work of fiction, but one that could have been ripped from the headlines of any paper, any day of the week, so common you could cry. Tessa is a criminal lawyer at the top of her game who knows the law permits no room for emotion. To win, you just need to believe in the rules. And Tessa loves to win, even when defending clients accused of sexual assault. Her court-ordained duty trumps her feminism. But when she finds herself on the other side of the bar, Tessa is forced into the shadows of doubt she’s so ruthlessly cast over other women. Turning Sydney’s courts of law into a different kind of stage, Suzie Miller‘s (Sunset Strip, Caress/Ache) taut, rapid-fire and gripping one-woman show exposes the shortcomings of a patriarchal justice system where it’s her word against his. *** Prima Facie will be showing again at Griffin Theatre, 23 June - 10 July 2021. Tickets here: https://tinyurl.com/4j8kd74x Grab copies of the script here: https://tinyurl.com/5zdjzr2y *** Music by Grace Turner. Thank you to Sarah Easterman for reading the excerpts from the play for this episode.   

RN Arts - ABC RN
A comedian with a turbulent past finds his voice in the footlights

RN Arts - ABC RN

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2021 54:04


Oliver Twist is a comedian with a very challenging past — he was born in Rwanda as the country was being torn apart by civil war. Now he's an Australian and he's telling his story in a one-man show called Jali at Sydney's Griffin Theatre. Also, Australian composer Carmel Dean writes songs for history-makers in Well-Behaved Women, and playwright Anchuli Felicia King discusses how the Royal Shakespeare Company's digital productions are changing how we perceive theatrical space.

The Stage Show
A comedian with a turbulent past finds his voice in the footlights

The Stage Show

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2021 54:04


Oliver Twist is a comedian with a very challenging past — he was born in Rwanda as the country was being torn apart by civil war. Now he's an Australian and he's telling his story in a one-man show called Jali at Sydney's Griffin Theatre.Also, Australian composer Carmel Dean writes songs for history-makers in Well-Behaved Women, and playwright Anchuli Felicia King discusses how the Royal Shakespeare Company's digital productions are changing how we perceive theatrical space.

RN Arts - ABC RN
A comedian with a turbulent past finds his voice in the footlights

RN Arts - ABC RN

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2021 54:04


Oliver Twist is a comedian with a very challenging past — he was born in Rwanda as the country was being torn apart by civil war. Now he's an Australian and he's telling his story in a one-man show called Jali at Sydney's Griffin Theatre. Also, Australian composer Carmel Dean writes songs for history-makers in Well-Behaved Women, and playwright Anchuli Felicia King discusses how the Royal Shakespeare Company's digital productions are changing how we perceive theatrical space.

The Stage Show
A comedian with a turbulent past finds his voice in the footlights

The Stage Show

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2021 54:04


Oliver Twist is a comedian with a very challenging past — he was born in Rwanda as the country was being torn apart by civil war. Now he's an Australian and he's telling his story in a one-man show called Jali at Sydney's Griffin Theatre. Also, Australian composer Carmel Dean writes songs for history-makers in Well-Behaved Women, and playwright Anchuli Felicia King discusses how the Royal Shakespeare Company's digital productions are changing how we perceive theatrical space.

Race Matters
Episode 93: New Beginnings (with Oliver Twist)

Race Matters

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2021 42:11


JALI is a new play showing at the Griffin Theatre, chronicling playwright Oliver Twist's journey from Rwanda, to Malawi, to Ipswich, to here in Sydney, where he's now based. We speak to Oliver about translating his story to the stage, diasporic resilience, and the importance of our ancestors.  Plus, today marks the first day of the Persian calendar – Nowruz. We hear about the significance of the holiday to four people who celebrate: Melody Forghani, Mehrassa Farjad, Tanita Razaghi and Pedram Khosronejad.  Iranzamin at the Powerhouse Museum is on until August. Head here for more info. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big Squid with Justin Hamilton
Comedian Oliver Twist, XX-A Novel Graphic and WandaVision

Big Squid with Justin Hamilton

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2021 100:17


Hammo catches up with Rwandan comedian Oliver Twist before his one-person show opens at the Griffin Theatre, Rove drops in to discuss the penultimate episode of WandaVision and Hammo raves about Rian Hughes' debut novel XX-A Novel, Graphic. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

STAGES with Peter Eyers
'Just you wait and see' - Composer, Comedian and Creative, Yve Blake

STAGES with Peter Eyers

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2020 59:39


If you happened last year, to catch the phenomenon that is Fangirls, you are no doubt aware of the brilliance of Yve Blake. The musical, created by Yve, celebrated the cult of fandom in a most exhilarating and engaging story-telling. The show broke box-office records and guaranteed her place as a theatre-maker to watch.Yve is an award winning writer, composer and comedian. She is an alumna of the Royal Court Writers’ Programme and has completed residencies with Griffin Theatre, the ATYP National Studio, Old Vic New Voices, the Barbican, the National Theatre and Princeton University.Her debut play SUGAR SUGAR premiered in 2015, and Yve has also created several internationally touring solo shows, including the acclaimed THEN which played to sold out crowds at the Soho Theatre in London.She was the recipient of the 2016 Rebel Wilson Theatre-maker scholarship at ATYP and a member of the 2017 Belvoir Artists’ Workshop.Yve was one of just 17 speakers at TEDxSydney 2019, and has also spoken at the Women of the World Festival 2018 at London’s Southbank Centre.Yve is currently adapting Fangirls for the screen, co-writing a Screenplay for Aquarius Films, adapting an Aussie kids book into a musical, and developing a podcast musical about Mary Wollstonecraft.So much to talk about, so let’s get going in this awesome episode of Stages.The Stages podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify, Whooshkaa and where all good podcasts are found.

Things People Are Passionate About
Episode 012 - Thomas Fonua - Haus Of Kong & Chosen Family - Things People Are Passionate About

Things People Are Passionate About

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2020 47:40


Episode 12 – Thomas Fonua – Haus Of Kong & Chosen Family Thomas Fonua is a formidable teddy bear. A professional dancer from the age of 16 with an Economics Degree & a Masters in Leadership and proud Mumma at The Haus of Kong.   Thomas Fonua an artist of Pacific decent with an established career as a dancer, choreographer and emerging leader. Thomas has worked for companies such as Black Grace (NZ) , Australian Dance Theatre, Red Sky Performance(Canada) and has been touring internationally from the age of 16. Thomas' alterego Kween Kong, is the Reigning Dragnation Australia Winner. With a strong focus to inspire, challenge and nurture our community with his loved based leadership style. Thomas is the recipient of The (NZ) Prime Minster's Award for Arts and Creativity(2015), Out For Australia's Emerging Leader(2019) and has recently been nominated for the Dora Award For Outstanding Choreography in Canada. Kween kong https://www.instagram.com/kweenkongofficial/ Haus of Kong https://www.facebook.com/hausofkong The House with Peta-Anne Louth https://www.facebook.com/dasafehouse The House Podcast with Peta-Anne Louth https://www.buzzsprout.com/904999         SHOW NOTES Australain Dance Theatre https://adt.org.au/ Fa'afafine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fa%27afafine Black Lives Matter https://blacklivesmatter.com/ Microaggression https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression Ball Room Culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_culture Voguing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_(dance) Talking Chief ( ‘orator' Chief known as Tulafale ) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fa%CA%BBamatai Chosen Family https://fairygodboss.com/career-topics/chosen-family Jehovah's Witnesses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses Stonewall Riots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karangahape_Road Black Grace Dance Company https://blackgrace.co.nz/ The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Priscilla,_Queen_of_the_Desert Gender transitioning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_transitioning#:~:text=Gender%20transitioning%20is%20the%20process,be%20non%2Dbinary%20or%20genderqueer. Thomas Fonua – Full Biography Born and raised in New Zealand, Thomas is of Indigenous Samoan/Tongan descent. He started dancing at the age of seven and at 16 was offered a two-year apprenticeship with Black Grace Dance Company. This led to a full-time position, completing his formal training and later performing as a leading part of the ensemble touring numerous works through Europe, Asia, North America and Canada. In 2010, he was invited to The Banff Centre to take part as a dancer in the Indigenous Dance Residency. He was then invited back and given the opportunity to be a part of a pilot program designed for dancers with high leadership and choreographic ability called the ‘Merit Dancer Program'. Following the success of the program Thomas became a faculty member, assisting in mentoring, choreographing and dancing with professional dancers of Indigenous heritage from all over the world. Thomas has choreographed work for The Indigenous Dance Residencies productions Backbone and TRACE, The Banff Centre's Midsummer Gala and Red Sky Performance's inSIGNia. Thomas has worked for Red Sky Performance in Canada on productions Migration (2011) and inSIGNia (2013) and has been touring internationally since the age of 16. In 2014, Thomas joined Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) as a guest artist for the Indonesian tour of Be Your Self. Soon after, he joined the professional ensemble where he made his Adelaide debut in the return season of Proximity. In 2015, he performed in the Australian national tour of Be Your Self. He also founded the ‘Ia Manuia' initiative, focussing on the slogan – ‘Pay. It. Forward.' with the vision to give back to his Pacific community and create opportunities for young members. His work, MALAGA, was performed at the Q Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand as part of the TEMPO Dance Festival. Conceived, choreographed and directed by Thomas, the work features himself and the dancers of ADT. In 2016, Thomas performed in the world premiere season of Habitus at the Adelaide Festival as well as part one of The Beginning of Nature at WOMADelaide. Later that year, he performed in the Australian premiere season of Objekt and was a featured choreographer and dancer in ADT's return season of Ignition, where he presented an excerpt from MALAGA titled The Village. Following the season, he was nominated for the Critics Circle award for Best Emerging Artist in Choreography. In 2017, Thomas performed in Garry Stewart's Doppelganger, a piece featured as part of the exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia – Versus Rodin: bodies across space and time, followed by the Melbourne premiere season of Be Your Self and the Australian national tour of Be Your Self Redux. Later that year he performed in the premiere season of The Beginning of Nature in Colombia, South America. In 2018, Thomas performed in the Australian national tour of The Beginning of Nature and international tour throughout Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium. In 2019, Thomas performed The Beginning of Nature at the prestigious Joyce Theater in New York. Following the season, he took part in the development of a new work by Garry Stewart, Supernature as part of the Pillow Lab program in Jacob's Pillow, Massachusetts. Outside of ADT, Thomas competed and won DragNational Australia under his alter ego, Kween Kong. He also established the ‘Haus Of Kong', a small business designed to create windows of opportunities for the SA LGBTQIA+ communities. Kween Kong also made some very special appearances as part of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, performing alongside Maggie Beer and Julia Zamero in The Liner Notes live show, The Blues Brothers. Kween Kong also made a guest appearance with Maude Davey in My Life In The Nude and performed with Hans (Matt Gilbertson) as part of The House Of Hans. He was also announced the Out For Australia's 30 under 30 leadership award, which recognises young leaders across the country who are demonstrating strong leadership capacity in their selected fields. Recently Thomas received support from the Scratch Festival at Griffin Theatre in Sydney to start development on his new work FAFA, a duo, physical-theatre work the examines gender in pacific culture and dissects patriarchy, gender roles and the ideology of the ‘two-spirited' people in world indigenous mythology

No Offence, But
No Offence, But Is This A Joke?

No Offence, But

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2020 65:01


Hello! Thanks for joining me for another episode of the pod. In today's ep I'm joined by the one and only Jonny Hawkins.Jonny is an actor, writer and the notorious DJ, Aunty Jonny. He grew up on the Central Coast of New South Wales, relocating to Sydney's Northern Beaches, then London, but made Sydney home and thinks of himself as a loyalist despite all his mates moving to Melbourne.As an Actor, Jonny is a proud graduate of WAAPA's Acting course. He has appeared across film and TV in Stan's The Other Guy, Season Two, Les Norton, the ABC's award winning RIOT, The Mini-Series Peter Allan: Not The Boy Next Door.As a writer, he received funding from SBS and CreateNSW to make a short film called Joy Boy, winning Best Film at Melbourne's Queer Film Festival, Best Screenplay at Vivid's Fresh Flix and several international awards. Queer Stories has featured his story "Red Flags" on their podcast. His show, Disco Conversion Therapy, a lecture on the history of Disco, won Melbourne Fringe Festival's Tour Ready Award. His play Maureen, The Harbinger of Death was due to have its Sydney Premier at Griffin Theatre (pre Covid).Aunty Jonny is one of Sydney's best loved DJs and founder of The Dollar Bin Darlings, preaching capital D-Disco and love all over Australia.Make sure you follow The Dollar Bin Darlings on Instagram and check out the Espresso Martini Time playlist on SpotifyKeep up to date with all things Black Birds by following us on InstagramYou can buy tickets to our upcoming show ~ Our Visions Begin With Our Desires-Chapter 2 ~ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Run the Show Podcast
EP 25 - Sam Strong (Director)

Run the Show Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2020 63:11


Sam Strong is an award-winning theatre director and one of Australia’s most successful and influential arts leaders. Sam is currently the Chair of the Melbourne Fringe and was previously Chair of Circa. Sam has also been Artistic Director and CEO of Queensland Theatre and Griffin Theatre, Associate Artistic Director of the Melbourne Theatre Company, Literary Associate at Belvoir, and the founding dramaturg in residence at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. As a director of theatre, Sam has created productions for all Australian State Theatre Companies and the Melbourne and Sydney Festivals. His directing credits include EMERALD CITY, JASPER JONES, TWELFTH NIGHT, Working Dog’s THE SPEECHMAKER, PRIVATE LIVES, LES LIASONS DANGEROUS, and THE BOYS. Sam has won Best Direction of a Mainstage Production at the Sydney Theatre Awards and has received multiple Best Director and Best Production nominations at the Sydney Theatre Awards, the Green Room Awards, and the Helpmann Awards. Sam’s next project is the world premiere stage adaptation of Trent Dalton’s novel BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE. In this episode: We talk about the now and how we will potentially work in a post-COVID universe. We discuss who we make work for and how we might do that moving forward. We talk about the importance of audience and the live experience. We discuss the adjustment of our rhythms as creatives when there is currently no deadline to work to and what might come next in how we create new work and so much more!  

AIRPLAY
AirPlay2020: SLIDESHOW By Coni Koepfinger

AIRPLAY

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2020 107:51


Sideshow by Coni Koepfinger :Koepfinger’s SIDESHOW opened in 1996 as a finalist in the “Upstairs Théatre New Play “ Contest; it was revived in 2015 in the New York “Unfringed Festival “ ... please join me as we welcome the Chicago cast of “Koepfinger’s Sideshow “ under the direction of Andrew J PondSynopsis: When a child has complications, every parent must make a choice. When family drama, self-doubt and medical and spiritual options seem to collide, will the couple accept advice from someone they know or a being from another dimension?Bio’s:Christopher John Grella is happy to be involved in such a unique play. Past projects have included: The Winter's Tale, 4x2, Change the Night Owl, Midsummer Night's Dream, Psycho Beach Party, Lady Macbeth, Emma, Unmatched, The Masque of the Red Death and Pride & Prejudice.Jessica Lauren Fisher is a founding member and the casting director for Eclectic Full Contact Theatre. She has performed throughout the Chicago and Indiana area in theatre, musicals, and opera playing everything from mice to men. Favorite roles include Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde, Adele in Die Fledermaus and Sarah Daniels in Spinning into Butter. She has been a teaching artist for over 10 years and has directed and choreographed shows for people of all ages. She is ever grateful to her family and her partner in everything Andrew. LVYA Mom!Christopher Wayland, originally from Baltimore, MD, currently works and resides in the Chicago area. There, he has worked at Porchlight Music Theatre, Marriott Theatre, 16th Street Theatre, Raven Theatre, Stage Left Theatre, First Folio Theatre, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Teatro Vista, Haven, and Lifeline Theatre. Regionally he has worked at THEATREWORKS, Spotlighters Theatre, Fells Point Corner Theatre, and Baltimore Shakespeare Factory. His television credits include neXt (FOX), Chicago Med (NBC) and APB (FOX). Christopher received an MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University, is a proud member of SAG-Aftra, and is represented by Gray Talent GroupJane Vincent is very happy to be part of this wonderful production. Jane has performed on stages throughout Chicagoland for many years. She is also known as a writer, having written a young adult novel, a stage play, and two screenplays, which are in pre-production, and as a producer.Joshua Stewart A former student at Columbia College Chicago has been looking for an opportunity to get back into theater after a long hiatus. Much Ado About Nothing (Actors Equity of Columbus), You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Into The WoodsKaeley Osterman is the Resident Stage Manager with Eclectic Full Contact Theatre. Her recent credits include Charley’s Aunt (SM, St. Sebastian’s Players), Richard III (SM/Costume Designer, EFCT), and Proof (Costume Designer, MadKap Productions). She is also a voice actor on the podcast Throwing Shade (EFCT). She has a BA from Huntington University.Andrew J. Pond moved to Chicago in 2002 from South Florida, where he had studied with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, José Quintero, and Charles Nelson Reilly. While there, he taught and directed at both InterAct Summer camp, and the Miami Shores Theatre's summer camp. Since moving to Chicago from the tropics (for the weather), he has worked extensively as an actor, director, and playwright with several children’s theatres, is a founder of Eclectic Full Contact Theatre in Chicago, teaches drama classes for all ages, is an Elvis impersonator, juggler, magician, balloon artist, plays with puppets, does Muppet voices, performs stand-up comedy, and has a degree in philosophy so he can use words like “epistemology” at parties.Other than that, he is completely normal. Thanks to Jessica, his partner in all things.

AIRPLAY
AirPlay2020: SLIDESHOW By Coni Koepfinger

AIRPLAY

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2020 107:51


Sideshow by Coni Koepfinger :Koepfinger’s SIDESHOW opened in 1996 as a finalist in the “Upstairs Théatre New Play “ Contest; it was revived in 2015 in the New York “Unfringed Festival “ ... please join me as we welcome the Chicago cast of “Koepfinger’s Sideshow “ under the direction of Andrew J PondSynopsis: When a child has complications, every parent must make a choice. When family drama, self-doubt and medical and spiritual options seem to collide, will the couple accept advice from someone they know or a being from another dimension?Bio’s:Christopher John Grella is happy to be involved in such a unique play. Past projects have included: The Winter's Tale, 4x2, Change the Night Owl, Midsummer Night's Dream, Psycho Beach Party, Lady Macbeth, Emma, Unmatched, The Masque of the Red Death and Pride & Prejudice.Jessica Lauren Fisher is a founding member and the casting director for Eclectic Full Contact Theatre. She has performed throughout the Chicago and Indiana area in theatre, musicals, and opera playing everything from mice to men. Favorite roles include Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde, Adele in Die Fledermaus and Sarah Daniels in Spinning into Butter. She has been a teaching artist for over 10 years and has directed and choreographed shows for people of all ages. She is ever grateful to her family and her partner in everything Andrew. LVYA Mom!Christopher Wayland, originally from Baltimore, MD, currently works and resides in the Chicago area. There, he has worked at Porchlight Music Theatre, Marriott Theatre, 16th Street Theatre, Raven Theatre, Stage Left Theatre, First Folio Theatre, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Teatro Vista, Haven, and Lifeline Theatre. Regionally he has worked at THEATREWORKS, Spotlighters Theatre, Fells Point Corner Theatre, and Baltimore Shakespeare Factory. His television credits include neXt (FOX), Chicago Med (NBC) and APB (FOX). Christopher received an MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University, is a proud member of SAG-Aftra, and is represented by Gray Talent GroupJane Vincent is very happy to be part of this wonderful production. Jane has performed on stages throughout Chicagoland for many years. She is also known as a writer, having written a young adult novel, a stage play, and two screenplays, which are in pre-production, and as a producer.Joshua Stewart A former student at Columbia College Chicago has been looking for an opportunity to get back into theater after a long hiatus. Much Ado About Nothing (Actors Equity of Columbus), You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Into The WoodsKaeley Osterman is the Resident Stage Manager with Eclectic Full Contact Theatre. Her recent credits include Charley’s Aunt (SM, St. Sebastian’s Players), Richard III (SM/Costume Designer, EFCT), and Proof (Costume Designer, MadKap Productions). She is also a voice actor on the podcast Throwing Shade (EFCT). She has a BA from Huntington University.Andrew J. Pond moved to Chicago in 2002 from South Florida, where he had studied with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, José Quintero, and Charles Nelson Reilly. While there, he taught and directed at both InterAct Summer camp, and the Miami Shores Theatre's summer camp. Since moving to Chicago from the tropics (for the weather), he has worked extensively as an actor, director, and playwright with several children’s theatres, is a founder of Eclectic Full Contact Theatre in Chicago, teaches drama classes for all ages, is an Elvis impersonator, juggler, magician, balloon artist, plays with puppets, does Muppet voices, performs stand-up comedy, and has a degree in philosophy so he can use words like “epistemology” at parties.Other than that, he is completely normal. Thanks to Jessica, his partner in all things.

The Tony Rossi Show
Why You're Not A Starving Artist - with Leah Raidt

The Tony Rossi Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2020 67:03


Today’s interview is with Chicago artist, Leah Raidt. Leah Raidt proudly hails from Louisville, Kentucky. She is an actor, teacher, mentor and director based in Chicago, IL. She is the founder and head instructor of The College Audition Clinic at Actors Training Center, and a teacher and private coach at The Green Room Studio. Works in process include developing and directing the show Reverse Missionary with creative partner Juliet Barrett, which had a workshop premier through The Guest House Project at Haven Theatre. Upcoming projects include ROE at The Goodman Theatre. Past credits include work with Steppenwolf Theatre, Cloudgate Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Griffin Theatre, American Theatre Company and more. Leah has worked as assistant-director to Jonathan Berry and Nick Bowling. She holds a B.F.A from DePaul University, and is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf. Represented by DDO Artists Agency and Heyman Talent.  Contact info Website: www.leahraidt.com Instagram: @lraidt For coaching Email lraidt@gmail.com Also may contact coach@thegreenroom.com     Want to start winning your day? (FREE GIFT)  Acting is stressful enough. It’s time to stack the odds in your favor Head on over to www.tonyrossicoaching.com and sign up for the self care email newsletter. When you do, you’ll get an email back with a link to listen to a free audio, How to Win the Day.    Through my own self care routine, I’ve identified three ways you can win the day and make it much easier to experience more positive emotions. Whether you’re going to a day job, heading to an audition, or having one of those “I don’t have time to eat or sleep!” weeks - this audio has some tips for you. Head over to www.tonyrossicoaching.com now and sign up for the email newsletter to grab it - because honestly, you deserve to start winning your day.    Wanna chat with me?    Use this link here to schedule a free one on one. Just make sure it's 48 hours in advance.    NOTE: Don’t see an open slot? Email me at tony.rossi@gmail.com with the subject “1-on-1 Inquiry” and we’ll work something out :)    Books & Podcasts to check out**   The Book of Joy For a list of Tony’s favorite books and podcasts, check out his list here!**  Wanna listen to some of these books????Get your first Audible book free over at www.audibletrial.com/tonyrossishow      Previous Tony Rossi Show Episodes to Check Out    Meditation Doesn’t Have to Suck - A Deep Dive with Kelsey Mathes  How High Standards Can Help Your Career - Pt 2 (Day Jobs)       Things Tony likes Built In Chicago - Tony’s Day Job (they’re hiring!)    People Tony likes    Kelsey Mathes  Website  Instagram    Other references For Sponsorship Inquiries Shoot an email to tony.rossi@gmail.com and put “Tony Rossi Show Sponsor” in the subject line.  Wanna just support the podcast? You’re the best. Head to patreon.com/tonyrossi for donation optins, starting at $1/month.    Are we connected? (We totally should be….) Facebook: facebook.com/tonyrossicoaching Instagram: @tony.rossi Twitter: @_tonyrossi  **Indicates affiliate link. (So like, buy two) Hey...you're enough. Without all those things you want and deserve.  You're enough. Like, today.    #notperfect #stillenough ************************

Speaking Out
City of Gold

Speaking Out

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2019 20:34


City of Gold, starring Wongatha and Yamatji man, Meyne Wyatt, is the latest theatrical production challenging racial stereotyping in the entertainment industry.

Speaking Out
City of Gold

Speaking Out

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2019 20:34


City of Gold, starring Wongatha and Yamatji man, Meyne Wyatt, is the latest theatrical production challenging racial stereotyping in the entertainment industry.

STAGES with Peter Eyers
Actor - Nicholas Brown

STAGES with Peter Eyers

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2019 50:35


Nicholas Brown is an artist of many dimensions - actor, playwright, singer, songwriter and screenwriter. The Australian-Indian actor has explored many roles, from genial host on Playschool, presenting a multicultural face to a young audience; and a foray into the celebrated Bollywood Film Industry, making his mark in a succession of villainous characters.Direct from secondary education, Brown was one of the youngest actors to be accepted into training at NIDA. Roles in Packed to the rafters, White Collar Blue, Home and Away and The Cooks followed - along with unique experiences performing in theatre at various international festivals.Songwriting and performing has always been a passion - and for several years he hosted SBS Radio’s Pop Desi program, broadcasting the biggest Bollywood, Bhangra and Desi pop selection in Australia.A move to Mumbai saw him develop a repertoire of Bollywood films including Love You to Death, Sedition, Prattichayya and the lead role in the highly successful Kites.In 2016 his play Lighten Up (co-authored by Sam McCool) was presented at the Griffin Theatre. The play told “a universal tale of identity, cultural assimilation and bleaching your bits”.He sat down with Stages to examine his work in Australia and abroad, and the crucial consideration of diversity on our screens and stages; effectively representing and reflecting an ever-evolving Australian population.Nicholas Brown is currently appearing in the Australian premiere production of Come From Away. The musical opens tonight in Melbourne. It plays the Comedy Theatre, before a tour to other States.Stages episodes available in iTunes, Spotify and Whooshkaa

PQ&A - USITT at the 2019 PQ

Born and raised in Japan, Izumi came to the states to learn performing arts at age of 18. She double majored in dance and theatre design at State University of New York, Buffalo. Right after the graduation, she moved to Chicago to attend the master program at Northwestern University, focusing on costume and scenic design. Soon after completing the program in 2009, she started working as a freelance costume/makeup designer in Chicago. She has joined Red Tape Theatre as an ensemble member in 2012, where she has designed all productions since such as Skriker, Elephant’s Graveyard, Lear, Madam Barker, and Hamlet is Dead. She has also designed costumes for production with Griffin Theatre, A Red Orchid, The Gift, The Music Theatre Company, The Hypocrites, Lifeline, Strawdog, Albany Park Theatre Project, Steep, Porchlight Music, CPS Shakespeare at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, The Building Stage, Marry-Arrchie, Two Pence Shakespeare, Evanston Dance Ensemble, Wheaton College, Sideshow, TUTA, Raven Theatre, and Buzz 22. Her makeup designs appeared in the productions with Theo Ubique Cabaret (Cats, Non-Equity Jeff Award for Artistic Specialization), and Chicago Dramatists. She has served as a costume staff/designer at National High School Institute for last 7 years. Izumi is honored to receive Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award 2014.

CONVERSATIONS with Ed Tracy
WILLIAM MASSOLIA - Griffin Theatre Company's LETTERS HOME & GHOSTS OF WAR

CONVERSATIONS with Ed Tracy

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2018 36:46


William Massolia, Griffin Theatre Company's Artistic Director & Founder joined the conversation on March 23rd to discuss LETTERS HOME & GHOSTS OF WAR examining the Iraq & Afghanistan wartime experiences of servicemen and servicewomen, and their families. Written and directed by Massolia, Letters Home has been seen by more than 100,000 people in more than 100 cities since its first performance in 2007. Ghosts of War was adapted from the book by Ryan Smithson. The productions will be presented in rotating repertory at The Den Theatre in Chicago.  Season 3 Episode 5  Originally Posted March 28, 2018

Audiostage
SISTERS GRIMM / THE POLITICAL DRAG, THE QUEER MAINSTREAM - Audiostage

Audiostage

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2016 70:41


"The weird thing is that LGBTIQ exists as a category of being, that’s designated by mainstream culture, when actually it’s unbelievably fragmented. And there’s so much intra-group conflict because everyone actually has really, really different aims, and different objectives, and their struggle doesn’t mirror that of the other groups at all.” – Declan Greene "You find these little things that help... 'If I can channel Judy Garland, If I can channel the strength of this survivor'... For some reason, it usually is a female survivor, because you don't want to identify with the straight men that are making your life hell, or that you don't relate to. You relate to the women who are outsiders as well." - Ash Flanders In the third episode of season four, we discuss what queer is and isn't with playwright Declan Greene and performer Ash Flanders, who together make up Sisters Grimm, Melbourne-based queer performance collective par excellence. Sisters Grimm have risen through the ranks of Melbourne's independent theatre with a series of extremely well received shows, very quickly progressing from backyard performances for friends to sold-out shows at Malthouse Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Sydney's Griffin Theatre and Belvoir. By now, they have, together and separately, performed in all of Australia's major theatre houses, and won an incredible number of awards. They have been described in The Age as 'treading the line between the frivolous and the furiously political better than anyone in Australia right now'. And it is their brand of frivolous, furiously political queer theatre that we talk about today. Drag, the way it speaks gender as a foreign language, and its undercurrent of dissecting, enabling, and owning, victimhood, as well as its central position in queer culture, is one of our great topics. Drag features prominently and aggressively in the Sisters Grimm oeuvre, which features every kind of cross-casting imaginable, most notably when appropriating Euro-Australian colonial narratives. The queer eye is particularly suited to dissecting national and colonial myths because it is an outsider eye, say Ash and Declan, giving numerous examples of the ways in which the queer individual grows up interested in aesthetics, in surfaces, in the performativity of identity, and the way in which oppressive power is exercised through cultural myths - and perhaps becomes particularly fluent in ways to dismantle that power. "I think you develop critical facilities, as a queer person, because you learn to question the texts that you receive culturally... You know that those narratives don’t articulate your experience of being, so you have to figure out how to dismantle them, and to insert yourself into them in order to identify with them.” – Declan Greene Today's conversation was yet another slightly ridiculous endeavour, recorded between Melbourne and a handmade recording teepee in a house in Brussels. It was also a feat of scheduling: we have been talking about recording a conversation for over two years, but Declan and Ash have been so busy making excellent theatre across Australia, sometimes together, sometimes separately, that finding a time when we are all in the same city was harder than trying to synchronise the schedules of four busy divas. As their new show, Lilith: The Jungle Girl, opened at Melbourne Theatre Company, Declan and Ash found one free evening to join us for a conversation, and for this we are immensely, immensely grateful. The conversation you are listening is very dear to our hearts, and not only because of the punk spirit in which it was recorded. These two men are dear friends of the Audio Stage team, extraordinary theatre-makers, and brilliant minds. While Sisters Grimm are easy to like for the dazzling wit and deceivingly effortless cool of their shows, there is real rigour in the thinking behind their work. It comes to the fore as they speak,

Not in Print: playwrights off script - on inspiration, process and theatre itself
The Secret River: Our history is contested space l Classic Australian theatre

Not in Print: playwrights off script - on inspiration, process and theatre itself

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2014 35:20


William Thornhill: Born into brutal poverty in London in the late 18th century and transported to the Colony of New South Wales for theft in 1806. After earning his freedom he brings his wife and children to the Hawkesbury River where they ‘take up’ 100 acres of land, only to discover that it’s not theirs to take.--Andrew Bovell writes for the stage, television and film. In 1992 he wrote the original screenplay for Strictly Ballroom and in 2001 he went on to adapt his stage play Speaking in Tongues in to the feature film, Lantana. The film premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in 2001 and went on to screen at numerous international film festivals winning many awards. Most recently Andrew adapted John Le Carre’s novel A Most Wanted Man. His theatre credits include Scenes from a Separation (with Hannie Rayson); Speaking in Tongues, which premiered at Griffin Theatre in 1996 and has had over 50 other productions worldwide; Holy Day, which won the Louis Esson Prize for Drama at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and the AWGIE Award for Best Stage Play (2002); and When the Rain Stops Falling, which won Queensland and Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards for Best Play, the Adelaide Critics Circle Individual Award, Sydney Theatre Award for Best New Australian Work and 3 Greenroom Awards including Best New Writing for the Australian Stage.

General Admission Podcast
Episode 20: Caroline Neff, Men Should Weep and the Storefront Scene

General Admission Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2014 47:36


This week we zero in on a Chicago mainstay: storefront theatre. We dig deep with storefront veteran Caroline Neff about her experience with Steep Theatre Company and beyond. On Date Night, Tyler and Don head to the Griffin Theatre to see ”Men Should Weep” with special guests Bea Bosco and Dana Jerman, and our listeners chime in on Beyond the Mic.

Not in Print: playwrights off script - on inspiration, process and theatre itself
Speaking in Tongues: mysterious reflections, love's refractions l Award-winning Australian theatre

Not in Print: playwrights off script - on inspiration, process and theatre itself

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2013 30:22


Two couples set out to betray their partners. A lover returns from the past and a husband doesn’t answer the phone. A woman disappears. Her neighbour's the prime suspect. In this masterfully interconnected polyphony, an evocative mystery unravels alongside a devastating tale of disconnection between individuals, partners and communities.--Andrew Bovell writes for the stage, television and film. In 1992 he wrote the original screenplay for Strictly Ballroom and in 2001 he went on to adapt his stage play Speaking in Tongues in to the feature film, Lantana. The film premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in 2001 and went on to screen at numerous international film festivals winning many awards. Most recently Andrew adapted John Le Carre’s novel A Most Wanted Man.His theatre credits include Scenes from a Separation (with Hannie Rayson); Speaking in Tongues, which premiered at Griffin Theatre in 1996 and has had over 50 other productions worldwide; Holy Day, which won the Louis Esson Prize for Drama at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and the AWGIE Award for Best Stage Play (2002); and When the Rain Stops Falling, which won Queensland and Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards for Best Play, the Adelaide Critics Circle Individual Award, Sydney Theatre Award for Best New Australian Work and 3 Greenroom Awards including Best New Writing for the Australian Stage.