Go on… do something smart.. put your money where your mouth is- if you love it… support it.. if you believe that places like this should exist, get behind it. Be a hero. Feel good… Read more

For a nation that considers itself devoid of culture, we sure love a festival! Sydney’s social calender is so smothered in thick layers of culture, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for an expensive cheese. In the last few months Sydney has enjoyed The Sydney Writers Festival, The Sydney Film Festival, Vivid, Creative Sydney, The Biennale, Winter Festival, and now for all you free thinking, radical emerging/experimental/underground/fringe dwelling folk will be coming together to think, show, challenge, celebrate, explore and surprise… definitely worth checking out… go on – I dare you to re-invent the cultural cliche of Australia… Read more

It’s that time of year again! While many busy themselves with tissues and woollen scarves and dream of summer… writers are at their computers pick-pecking out some beautiful bold and inspiring new plays. Snack sized vignettes, portraits of the profound and banal, confessions and revelations- sketches of the sketchy and the seedy – love letters and revolutionary declarations…. this is Australian writing at its tender, brave, saucy and exciting… Read more

This week there has been a flurry of email and text messages sent to me by artists keen to connect with and collaborate with other artists. I love connecting people up- I love seeing creative partnerships flourish- it’s an awesome feeling…

If you are keen to get your hands dirty, get back in the swing of things, strut your stuff or work on something new- here’s a few opportunities that might satisfy your creative urges/butter your muffin – Read more

The nice thing about this picture is that it is difficult to tell which is the artist and which is the critic.

In recent times there have been a few discussions on theatre criticsm rolling around in the blogosphere and beyond. Why, even yesterday in Griffin Theatre’s e-news Secret Squirrel had a little post about it:

Nutters,
What exactly constitutes a ‘good critic?’ Well, there is the critic who gives you a summary of the show, then there is the main stage sycophant, the critic who love to bash the co-op, the critic who’s own personal style guide gets in the way of objective reporting, the critic who is also a frustrated director/actor, and the critic who has their own blog and wields their power accordingly…
Someone once said to me, “if you are going to hate a work, then hate with generosity”. It’s become something of a mantra ever since. And let’s not forget to critique the critic from time to time. I say that the art of criticism should not be without its fair share…
Secret Squirrel

I’m not sure how I identify really- I suppose I must be being referred to in SS’s description as a “frustrated director/actor” – except I don’t feel frustrated. I’m too busy to be frustrated. Read more

Queen Street Studio is excited to present a new residency program for emerging artists. Blueprint is an opportunity for performance-makers to create a devised site-specific work at FraserStudios in August 2010.

Open to performers from all backgrounds and disciplines, Blueprint aims to provide emerging artists with time and space to develop their practise and artistic enquiry.

This curated program is open to groups and individual artists.

We are looking for:
* Sydney-based groups and/or individual artists
* Artists or groups who would like the opportunity to develop their performance-making practise
* Artists or groups who are keen to develop a 7-10 minute performance work
* Artists or groups who are available to commit time from the 25 July – 29 August 2010
* Artists or groups who can work within the practical parameters of the studio spaces

We will provide artists with:
* 20 hours of rehearsal space (starting 25 July – 29 August 2010)
* The opportunity to show their work on the weekend of the 28 – 29 August 2010
* Basic sound and lighting support
* Mentoring support

Expression of Interest form:
Download info PDF (1MB. Requires the free Adobe Reader app to view and send the form.)
http://www.queenstreetstudio.com/pdf/Blueprint-EOI-form_pub_0001.pdf
Please download and fill in the form and email to augusta@queenstreetstudio.com by no later than 30th June 2010.

Questions? If you would like information about this project, please contact Project Coordinator Augusta Supple augusta@queenstreetstudio.com.

“Nothing but a breath – a comma – separates life from life everlasting. It is very simple really.”

In America, where a play can be judged in it’s written form as literature (though this does not mean that the prize has always been awarded- see 2006 and 2007), Margaret Edson has acheived two notable accolades for “W;t” – Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Best New Play, New York Drama Critics Circle. Impressive. The list of other plays awarded prizes or noted as finalists for the Pulitzer prize for Drama, have appeared on many of Sydney’s independent stages in recent years and include- Will Eno’s Thom Pain (based on nothing), John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, a parable, Christopher Shinn’s Dying City, Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County. New Theatre has taken a punt on a largely unknown playwright- who has only written two plays (the second of which and a largely unknown play: and have put the story first. Read more

This is the first play I have seen that is a part of B-sharp this year.

This is the first (and only) New Australian work included in the B-sharp’s first half of 2010 season. It has taken 4 years to write- and was commissioned after Jonathan Gavin won the Philip Parson’s award for Moment on the Lips- which enjoyed much acclaim at Darlinghurst Theatre. I have deep admiration for Jonathan Gavin’s writing- those who saw Tiger Country at Griffin know the power and terror of Gavin’s realism. They know his slick wit and his big heart. They know him for his structural perfectionism- his dialogue… I will now declare my hand: I know Jonathan Gavin somewhat- I know him as sweet and aloof, charming and calm- I have worked with him in 2 different incantations in the last 7 years- I am facebook friends with him- but not “share recipes/ call in times of crisis” type friends. I have long admired his writing. Having said this, I had no idea what to expect of Bang…

Every so often a play comes along and knocks you sideways. Takes your breath away and you are left winded by the feeling that your heart just grew too big too fast. You are silent because you are frightened and in awe. You have been transported and your mind reconfigured. It happened for me with Andrew Bovell’s “When the Rain Stops Falling” and it has happened again with Jonathan Gavin’s “Bang.” Read more

The more theatre I see- the more plays I read- the more I feel the groaning weight of history, of scholarship, of stories, of “words, words, words,” that I don’t know- haven’t seen productions of. I have limited experience of Chekhov- having only read The Seagull, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard… lucky for me Uncle Vanya will be making his way onto stage at The Sydney Theatre Company in November this year- saving me an afternoon hunched over a yellowing and somewhat brittle penguin edition. But largely my relationship with Chekov has been theoretical- and not practical. I didn’t see Cate Blanchette as Nina in 1997… I dd not see the original Russian production nearly 100 years earlier in Russia. I have however had the opportunity to see Siren Theatre company’s The Seagull at Sidetrack Theatre this month. Read more

Last Friday was a crazy day. I made the decision to do some life maintenance- you know, pay bills, clean the bathroom, make lists, look at the lists, then cross things off the list once completed. I thought I’d bake some muffins, my neighbour had handed over a hand of blackening bananas for me to transform into soft warm morsels- something I love doing. I bake muffins for a couple of reasons- one is the fact that I spent my teenage years in a banana growing region of NSW- so the banana recipe of my family is a sacred one, another reason is during times of stress and crippling workload- sometimes you need a task which has clearly defined and a conquerable beginning, middle and end (indeed an end which results in eating), another, I find it the easiest way to remind the botanist that though he is knee-deep in PhD writing- that I still exist and he deserves treats for tackling evolutionary science in such a rigorous/focused way. In fact, in a lot of ways I express myself through muffins. I spent last Friday, doing work- I wrote a review, had tea with two very interesting visual artists: http://timandrewart.com/ and http://www.bendenham.com/ , enjoyed the sound of aggressive rain on the leaves of the trees in my garden, had a scrumptious pasta dinner, replied to a metric tonne of emails, paid rent, answered enquiries of a theatrical nature… and bundled myself up, battling the elements to see Peter Brook’s 11 and 12 at the Sydney Theatre with Mr Waites. Read more