Announcements & Apologies

Hello again. Of late I have been inexcusably distracted from conributing to this troublesome but well meaning blog. To the half dozen or so of you out there who do check in every now and then, I apologise and hope to be a little more regular in 2008.

To start with, I am aiming to post a few thoughts on the theatre I saw in '07 in the next week or so.

What have I been up to? Much musical rehearsing with Baby Driver #2 - expect some performance dates in mid February.

Villanus took up much of my time last year, with some encouraging success. More to add later.

This minute, I am rehearsing Welcome Stranger's brand new production This Is Good Advice, opening January 30. I am acting (for the first time in quite a while) as well as tackling set design with Mr Mijic of Villanus. The show is a double bill of short plays by two of my favourite playwrights, Caryl Churchill and Martin Crimp. I am including the press release below for your viewing pleasure. You can also find more information as well as booking details on our fancy new website at www.welcomestranger.org . If you're interested in keeping up to date with Welcome Stranger's theatrical goings-on, please join our mailing list through the site.

The show has a lot of exciting elements - Lauren Barnes (fresh from the UK) directing, original music by Reuben Stanton from Because of Ghosts, two exciting playwrights, and a whole bunch of very talented performers including Michael Finney, Kristy Barnes-Cullen, Kim Swalwell, John Latham and Tania Lentini to name just a few.

We're kicking things off with a WS fundraiser on Wednesday 23rd - Melbourne bands Hot Little Hands and Sly Hats will be playing at Gertrude's in Fitzroy from 8pm, entry $8.

Hopefully this will be WS's biggest year yet. I hope to see you at the show...

More blogs to come - just bare with me.

Welcome Stranger presents
THIS IS GOOD ADVICE
This is a Chair by Caryl Churchill
Advice to Iraqi Women by Martin Crimp (Aus. Premiere)

Directed by Lauren Barnes
Music by Reuben Stanton (Because of Ghosts)
Featuring Michael Finney (History Boys, MTC), Kristy Barnes-Cullen (Summer Heights High, ABC TV), Rhys Auteri, Raphael Hammond, John Latham, Tania Lentini, Vlad Mijic, Ben Mitchell, Harriet O'Donnell and Kim Swalwell

SEASON DETAILS
Dates: 30/1 – 10/2 Wed – Sun 8pm
Venue: New Ballroom, Trades Hall
(cnr Lygon & Victoria St)
Times: Wed – Sun 8pm
Tickets: $17 full, $12 concession
Bookings: 9782 2625 or http://www.welcomestranger.org/

MEDIA ENQUIRIES to Avi Lipski at avi.lipski [at] gmail [dot] com


THIS IS GOOD ADVICE

The protection of children is a priority.
Your house is a potential war zone for a child: the corners of tables, chip pans, and the stairs – particularly the stairs – are all potential sources of harm.
A car, just like a home, just like an orchard, just like a zip, is a minefield for a child.
Don’t let your child burn. Even on a hazy day it might still burn.
- Advice to Iraqi Women, Martin Crimp

After the success of their 2007 season of Villanus (‘…a profoundly intriguing work’ RealTime), daring new theatre company Welcome Stranger returns to Trades Hall with a compelling double bill of short works. Along for the ride is Because of Ghosts’ Reuben Stanton (‘This is beautiful, rewarding stuff’ The Age) to create an unmissable night of theatre.

One of Caryl Churchill’s most stylistically challenging texts, This is a Chair defies the traditional boundaries of theatre. Churchill looks at the political through the eyes of the personal, awakening the audience to the deeply intimate nature of political tension. This is a Chair is a series of surreal scenarios, named after the political headline they seek to excavate; for example, the UK and China’s diplomatic position on Hong Kong is unpicked through an argument about fidelity between Tom and Leo. Churchill’s scenarios theatricalise French surrealist René Magritte’s artistic conceit Ceci n'est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe), at once contradicting and demanding comparison to the reality they label.

The work is paired with Martin Crimp’s powerful and engaging Advice to Iraqi Women. A scathing satirical attack on modern society, Advice to Iraqi Women asks an important question: how can we begin to extol advice upon a society in which we have created terror and danger?

Who would worry about the UV rays in their backyard over the potential threat of their child dying in an ambushed bus? Advice to Iraqi Women is a short play of massive impact. More than an agit-prop comment on the Iraqi war, Crimp’s play is sharp satire of our own society.

Praise for This is A Chair
‘Churchill, who constantly reinvents dramatic form, has come up with something compelling and strange, an intimate revue about the increasing surreality of modern life.’ - The Guardian

Praise for Advice to Iraqi Women
‘… A perfect example of how resonance is achieved by indirection and metaphor.’ - Aleks Sierz, Performing Arts Journal

Welcome Stranger
Welcome Stranger have been quietly beavering away at theatre since their debut work The End of Civil Twilight drew acclaim in 2002. The work won the Development Award at the inaugural Malthouse Theatre 3D Fest, leading to a successful stand alone season. They followed this with two seasons of Martin Crimp’s Attempts on Her Life (2004) and an adaptation of an Ursula LeGuin story in Towards Omelas (2006). More recently, in 2007, they raised eyebrows and critics' pens with the self-devised work Villanus.

Praise for Welcome Stranger :
‘…well worth a look for anyone interested in the livelier edges of Melbourne theatre.’ - Alison Croggon, Theatre Notes

‘… this one-man show doesn’t so much explore evil as creep up on it from behind, dagger in hand.’ - Cameron Woodhead, The Age

‘…a profoundly intriguing work.’ - John Bailey, RealTime

‘[A] refreshing approach to staging and direction … excellent performances... An innovative production.’ - Stage Left

Where In The World Is Rhys Sandiego?

Rhys lives! Yes, it's true.
Where on earth have he been? I've been trying out various undercover identities, including a stint as an aspiring social work student, but have been found out and had to 'break cover' (spy-speak). As the dust settles, I have been keeping honest in a law firm typing out letters and words. I have been keeping busy working with Cowboy Mouth on a new piece that will be on around early September (the plugs blackmailing you all to come won't begin just yet... but soon!). I've taken a bit of time off from my tunes, but I am set to start playing a few dates later in the month.

But enough about me. Let's talk about my blog! I've been pretty neglectful of late, and would love to have written more on the things I've been seeing lately - I will try and remedy this in the days to come. For those curious, this is a very, very truncated set of thoughts on some recent expeditions (unfortunately a lot of this will only make sense to those who also saw these pieces)...

24.3 Black at the Malthouse
Not knowing much about the piece's subject (the murder of Betty Short), I really enjoyed this intriguing work. The central performance was hypnotic. The set of windows/mirrors in the middle, the real whispers (as opposed to stage whispers), the 'looped' nature of the show... it all certainly emphasised the mystery of the Black Dahlia. It was a great exercise in deconstructing evidence that was not static, but unchanging, incomplete and indecipherable. I also really liked the books cased in melting blocks of ice and the working mechanism that led to the water activating a terrifying alarm of cutlery (that's my best attempt at a description of it!). I enjoyed the freedom of roaming around the performers, to work more autonomously as an audience member. It was, however, a very dense work and I almost wish there were even more objects and 'artifacts' as part of the installation - more 'clues' to help illustrate the story.

24.3 180 Seconds in Heaven or Hell at NMTH
What a party! This gathering of artists to deliver a barrage of 3 minute performances had a carnival, almost (adult) rave feel to it - like a bachaanal even. Some of my favs were Lucy Guerin's vaccum man piece, Ingrid Weisfelt's mad nun, Angus Cerini and Chris Kohn's piece, and CW Stoneking - who was a bit of a revelation to me. Lawrence Leun was a fine host, and I particularly liked the last minute, informal feel of it. Hope it becomes an annual event.

29.3 Marcel and Albertine: Proust on Love at The Stork
My first initiation to Proust. The performances were great (particularly Nicola Gunn) and it the venue complemented the work perfectly - the intimacy and austere nature of the space particularly. It's examination of social class, scandal and sexuality has aged particularly well, and I was surprised at how contemporary and relevant it felt. Full of playfulness and melodrama, as well as authentic emotion.

9.4 The Ghost Writer at The Arts Centre
I was really looking forward to this as I had loved Contruction of a Human Heart by the same playwright. The piece was solid enough, as were the performances (particularly Belinda McClory). However, the space was far too big for the work, and director Julian Meyrick squandered alot of the play's life with his too-slow pacing. I sqiurmed at a couple of 'MTC moments' - for example when the mother of a dead daughter does a small monologue on the loss of her daughter - cue 'serious' music, lighting change... puke (apologies, I will try and clean up my language). Still, some fine writing and a nice set too.

15.4 The Pitch at the Malthouse
This was a real crowd pleaser from Peter Houghton. It was an energetic and sincere performance - Houghton has a great knack for conjuring up images and is a fine story teller. It was a well paced satire of Hollywood, as well as (a little less satisfactorally) a sympathetic look at a writer struggling for success and for love. The central character's back-story seemed a tiny bit underdone, and the set was great but revealed itself to be very versatile in the final scene (and as such I think Houghton could have benefitted from using it more. I really enjoyed myself and laughed alot, but was always a little aware of the 'strings' or the 'craft' - perhaps this too would have benefitted from a smaller space (it was initially staged at La Mama i believe - and you can't get much smaller than that!).

- End Part One
- Part Two (later this week) will include Exit The King, Tense Dave and OT.

Farewell friends, feel free to drop a message telling me what you're up to. Also I'd love to hear what others have thought of these shows.

Later all.

New Rhys-Goodness in the World

Some rather glorious procrastination has led to me setting up a myspace site for both myself and for my other project the Baby Drivers. The sites are pretty bare at the moment, but I have added a dash of colour to distract from this. I have also uploaded a Baby Driver song and a solo song - both are pretty old recordings now and not quite where I/we are now but at least those of you who haven't been able to come to my/our gigs can get a small sample of our music.

You too can procrastinate by visiting:
www.myspace.com/rhysauteri and www.myspace.com/babydrivers

Anyone who has myspace is encouraged to become a 'friend' (i know i know) and to leave a comment that might make me look far more popular than is actually the case!

More soon, amigos.

Facelifting

As you may have noticed, my page design has had a quick shave and haircut. Not sure of the results yet, but there were so many pretty designs available I thought it was wasteful to stick to one look forever.

I too am currently undergoing what feels strangely like a facelift procedure. I have returned once more to the loving arms of university - this time to begin a slightly more 'practical' course than Performing Arts: Social Work. I am hoping to use the degree to lead to a part-time career that will leave me a bit more secure and free to make theatre and music. So far, the results have been mixed. I have enjoyed a couple of the lectures, but can't help feeling like I am 'betraying' my arts background - this is not, after all the Master in Perf Arts I'm still considering, nor is it the VCA Animateuring course. Nor is it Rhys spreading his impressive theatrical (and musical) talents throughout Melbourne with an ever-growing canon of challenging work.

While I have a genuine interest in SW, I must admit one of the most appealling facets of the course is the guarantee of (paid!) work afterwards. For all the hours I have spent in rehearsals and at gigs, I am yet to see the millions in renumeration I had anticipated. Yes, Perf Arts is a difficult way to make a living - you need to be driven, but you also need to be lucky. I often find myself envying those who are able to live entirely off their artistic endeavours. Whether they are famous actors/singers, or avant garde companies doing the festival circuit, I often see their situation as ideal. However, perhaps being a 'full time' artist is not in the artist's best interests. If art is a tool to comment on the lives we lead, then perhaps the first step to becoming a successful artist is to get a life. (Ha! I'm scoff at my own argument).

We shall see. I made other plans and now I expect life to happen to me. John Lennon had better be right.

Thoughts on 'The Nature of Things: Relics & Time'

I've been a long time admirer of Renato Cuocolo and Roberta Bosetti's ongoing investigations into the performance experience. However, whilst I enjoyed The Diary Room and particularly Private Eye, I often feel I am never quite getting the full affect the pair may have intended. As I wrote my honours thesis on the role of the audience, I am particularly drawn to presentation, and innovative approaches to 'conversing' with the spectator. The problem is that often the 'hook' of the conventions used in IRAA's work (eg the one-on-one [or so it seemed..] experience offered in Private Eye) overshadows or possibly even distorts the content of the work. Their work is typically driven by memories, secrets - often presented in wordy, revealing 'confessions' and usually performed primarily by Bosetti. It's not always easy work. The writing is dense, poetic and full of imagery - and it is not always easy to understand Bosetti's thick Italian accent (though, admittedly, focusing intently and decoding the language is half the fun).

So it was with great curiosity that I showed up at their residence last week for 'season one' of their latest work - The Nature of Things: Relics & Time. We entered, and were left to wait in a sparse room, where a TV in the fireplace ran a video 'tour' of the house in Vercelli (i think it was). Then we were finally called and taken through the house, shown actual objects and objects similar to those in Roberta's childhood home. All the while she began relating to us her memories of the house, the kitchen, certain objects - in particular a certain table cloth. This object is the catalyst for her memories of a particular time in her life that become clearer and clearer to both her and us as the evening wears on.

On a purely academic level, it was thrilling. I loved the concept of trying to revive and transplant the ghosts of your childhood home into a foreign setting decades later to a room full of strangers. We witness Roberta, through a process of repetition and noting down details, having a 'revelation' about the past, that causes her to reassess her memories, and the memories she associates with certain objects. Near the beginning of the piece, she chats with us briefly, asking us to share memories about our early homes. In turn, with her revelation, we must question our own shared memories - are they fact, fiction, or somewhere in between?

I attended with five friends. Four of them absolutely hated this piece while the other (Vlad the Cowboy Mouth) liked it quite a lot. I admit to falling somewhere in the middle. As I said, I very much liked the ideas involved - and as I write about them here they sound even better than I remembered!, but the piece really failed to make any connection with me (and I it) in real time, in a meaningful way. Again (and I hate to say this because it seems such a petty criticism), Roberta's accent made the effort required to follow the language quite considerable. It also made her 'conversational' style and casual interaction with us seem stilted - in a way I could see the 'script' and it felt a bit like seeing the strings on a puppet. I felt that the objects or 'relics' in the house did not go far enough in realising the theme of dislocation - perhaps more objects, more details would have been useful. While IRAA's work has never intrinsically included audience 'participation' as such, they have attempted to bridge the gap created by many theatre formalities - both in their performance location and in their presentation and style. A real intimacy with the audience is often offered and achieved. I feel The Nature of Things failed in this aspect. Yes, we were invited into their home, but it felt quite clearly choreographed and scripted (as it was, of course) and the 'story' itself failed to fully engage the visitors (especially the ones I saw it with).

In the end, it was another satisfying experience - seeing fine performance makers at work, with a challenging idea and another innovative presentation. Whilst this time it felt a little hollow, it certainly won't stop me catching their next work.

For Your Records...

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

Well, boredom and the internet have yielded another indispensible love child of information. This is what I am, apparently. For the record, I love plants, nature, the outdoors - all of that green stuff. Preferrably when it's on TV. Nurturing my own plants? Taking valuable minutes out of my flashy but brief existence on this planet to do so? Please. I'm an artist - not a robot! I vote NO to personal plants. I do, however, like cats, puppies and fish. With garden salad, of course.

Thoughts on 'Chocolate Monkey'

Just a quick recording of some of the thoughts I had on The Amazing Business' Chocolate Monkey which I managed to catch on Wednesday 7th. It was so easy to enjoy this piece. It was frenetic, funny, honest, and many artists will identify with many of the struggles John-Paul Hussey plays out. In many ways, it appears to be a piece about a piece - one that's failure was the ovum from which this work appeared.

Hussey is the sole story teller here, and does so through a number of characterisations and accents. He excels with te accents - not so much for their technical perfection, but for the spirit and tone of the characters he portrays. I often felt he was least comfortable as himself - stumbling over a few lines over the evening. Hussey's energy and physicality sort of belies his stocky, pot-bellied form (with his bald head he resembled Little Britain's Matt Lucas). When he initially introduces himself to the audience as 'the cheeky monkey', it is not a stretch to imagine him as such - and I think this part of his charm, and why everyone responds to his heartfelt tales of the ups and downs of the independent theatre scene so strongly.

Of course, the piece is about much more than theatre. It is about beginnings and endings, inspiration and isolation. While the piece was easy to enjoy, I couldn't help feeling there were some themes and ideas that deserved more investigation. The conclusion and some of the metaphors involving the 'ovum', a Kinder Surprise and the toy within were a little too neat and at times rather obvious. Also, there were a couple of ideas that appeared early on, hinting at something more before being mysteriously forgotten about - leaving their inclusion seeming rather incongruous. For example, near the start Hussey tells in three easy steps how to speak Japanese - in effect it turns out to be how to 'appear' to be speaking Japanese (pretend to be constipated etc). It was almost offensive, but seemed to hint at the idea of stripping things down to their most basic (perceived) elements. I was certainly interested in where in might go, but it wasn't referred to again and I have no idea what its purpose was. In the end, however, it doesn't really matter. It is Hussey's own story that is pivotal. His struggle with weight, the failure of his theatre piece, the endless questioning of his day-to-day existence - it is a very personal story, and as such it is certainly effective.

Anyway, that's about it. It was nicely staged at the Black Box (a venue a really like, despite the immovable columns). The music was almost a character in itself at times, and the lighting and wall and floor projections worked really well also. In short, I had a lot of fun.