Spring ProgrammeExplorations

2010

Hello and welcome to Spring!Always exciting at this time of year is La Mama’s Explorations Season, so be daring and don’t just take a risk… take several! Over the last 5 years more than half of our Explorations have gone on to develop into full seasons, both at La Mama itself and other theatres around the country.Our Spring Season welcomes back to La Mama a careful selection of Melbourne’s absolute fi nest creators, writers, directors and performers to cap off what has been a fantastic and successful 2010.Looking forward just a little, the La Mama car park will be transformed into an open extension of our garden thanks to the support of the City of Melbourne and the Government of Victoria through the Cultural Precincts Enhancement Fund. We are hoping it will be fi nished in time for the commencement of the 2011 Summer Season. See you at La Mama in the coming months.

Liz JonesC.E.O. & Artistic Director

And on behalf of Pippa Bainbridge (company manager), Maureen Hartley (publicist / education coordinator), Lisa Höbartner & Bec Etchell (house managers), Louise Jones (marketing coordinator), Mary Helen Sassman & Caitlin Dullard (community producers), Fiona Wiseman & Nedd Jones (administration) and the Committee of Management: Catherine Hill, Dur-é Dara, Mark Rubbo, Caroline Lee, Tim Stitz, Rhonda Day, Emily Harms and Liz Jones

SPRING 2010Newsletter 115

full seasons, both at La Mama itself and other theatres around the country.Our Spring Season welcomes back to La Mama a careful selection of Melbourne’s absolute fi nest creators, writers, directors and performers to cap off what has been a fantastic and successful 2010.Looking forward just a little, the La Mama car park will be transformed into an open extension of our garden thanks to the support of the City of Melbourne and the Government of Victoria through the Cultural Precincts Enhancement Fund. We are hoping it will be fi nished in time for the commencement of the 2011 Summer Season. See you at La Mama in the coming months.

Liz JonesC.E.O. & Artistic Director

And on behalf of Pippa Bainbridge (company manager), Maureen Hartley (publicist / education coordinator), Lisa Höbartner & Bec Etchell (house managers), Louise Jones (marketing coordinator), Mary Helen Sassman & Caitlin Dullard (community producers), Fiona Wiseman & Nedd Jones (administration) and the Committee of Management: Catherine Hill, Dur-é Dara, Mark Rubbo, Caroline Lee, Tim Stitz, Rhonda Day, Emily Harms and Liz Jones

Targetthe shrink and swell of knots

Tramstop at the end of the UniverseWorld of VintageThe Cutting Boys

BlackboardThe Nanny School

SilkwormSchism

Last SongsNames of Bright Stars

A Vague Trembling of StarsUnAustralia

The Red Dress ShowHome Stretch

Ambiguous MirrorsThe Girls in GreyThe Lost MachineSnake Skin Fence

The InterviewA Most Worshipful Knight

Dr. BlondeThree Theatre Pieces

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Owl in SpotlightMag and Bag

Foxholes of the MindTwin

Krash Test KultureSpecial

Melbourne PlaybackFairweather IslandHearts Full of Rust

PlayreadingsLa Mama MusicaLa Mama for KidsLa Mama PoeticaTicket Information

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TARGETLuke Paulding, Composer

Performed by Quiver Rebecca Lane, Flute

Aviva Endean, Clarinet Luke Paulding, Piano & Tuba

Matthias Schack-Arnott, Percussion with guest Boy Soprano

and Matthew Thomas, Baritone Brett Kelly, Conductor

Margaret Cameron, Dramaturg

Presented as a work-in-progress as part of La Mama’s Explorations Season. Come behind the scenes of a new chamber

opera being made in the living room of Melbourne theatre, La Mama.

TARGET reinterprets the ancient Greek myth of Ganymede, the most beautiful of mortals whom Zeus abducted in the form of an eagle to serve as his cup-bearer.

Young composer Luke Paulding drags this myth into a contemporary context including fashion photo-shoots and underwear model advertisements.

Chamber Made Opera in association with La Mama and Quiver present a creative development showing of

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created & performed by Ben Grant

the lighter the twist, the greater the strength.he bends and slips to make it right.

what’s the best hitch to be borne away?how many loops in a love note to life?

Tram Stop at the end of the Universe

Directed, written and produced by Roxana Fuentes with Tom Brok, Laura Hernandez, Johana Tierney & Florence Kasingeela

Meet the everlasting Sun and the celestial Moon caught up in the middle of the Carlton redevelopment process.

Understand the power of nature through the eyes of these two powerful persona living in the Carlton housing Commission fl ats.

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Welcome to the World of Vintage! A sweet and sharp new romantic comedy set in a retro clothing store on Brunswick Street.

World of Vintage Written & directed by Fiona Wheeler Performed by Grace Travaglia, Tania Lentini, Daniel Lammin and Jane Flanagan

Yuri and Max are best friends. They are two ordinary twentysomethings, living ordinary twentsomething lives. There is nothing extraordinary about them...until Yuri and Max do something very bad.

Written and Directed by Daniel LamminFeaturing Jack Angwin, Oliver Coleman

and Ilana Charnelle GelbartA Theatre on a Horse Production

An unusual and uncompromising new work from the creators of Writing Angus.

9.

Blackboard

written by Trudy Hellierperformed by Heather Bolton

How do you rewrite your history when the history you’ve been living is a lie?

Inspired by true-life events, Blackboard, explores the aftermath of a double life.

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The Nanny School

A rehearsed reading Written & directed by Peter Murphy.Performed by Jo-Anne Armstrong, Maureen Hartley and Germaine Wattis.

Bev hopes to make a career change from a small actors agency to a nanny school but, in helping her students understand their place in the world, she creates the conditions for rebellion.

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Silkworm: A Story of Transformation

Silkworm is a dynamic, physical theatre

performance based on countless birth/life and death experiences of one man.

The show reveals how a tragic life can transform into alchemical gold by action, patience and charism (gift).

I’d like to acknowledge Ilan Abrahams for

directing the fi rst phase of Silkworm.

This second phase is created & performed by Stev Fioretti.

A collaboration between writer Melanie Bainbridge, auteur/performer Pippa Bainbridge and other artists

SCHISM

I watched them, day and night, and it was clear that despite their outward similarities, they were not growing together, as twins so often do. An exploration into the theories surroundingpsychological rupture and the consequent division of bodily and psychic identities.

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Last SongsBy Kate O’BrienA rehearsed reading performed by Jane Bayley & Carole PatulloDirected by Lloyd Jones

Based on the life experience of Sydney writer Kate O’Brien, a sequel to the successful La Mama production of Out of the Blue in 2008. Poignant and penetrating this is a study of a married woman who fell deeply in love with a female colleague. It is also a revelation of the writer’s creativity and survival powers enduring three separate diagnoses of cancer over the past 15 years.

5:30pm on October 31 @ La Mama Theatre

Names of Bright StarsA new play by Robert Reid

Maddy is not just a smart kid, she may be the smartest eleven year old in the world. When she goes missing from a school camp Tim, her dad, takes his flatmate, their mute friend and his ex wife out into the night to search for her.

An exploration of themes of colonialism and the shifting nature of communication with and without words.A first draft reading.

5:30pm on November 7 @ La Mama Theatre

A Vague Trembling of StarsConcept by Polly SaraCreated and performed by Keira Lyons,Ellen Rijs, Polly Sara & Janine Watson

“The bull and the bullfi ghter - each has his own orbit. And between these two orbits is a point of danger, the vertex of the terrible play” (Frederico Garcia Lorca).

A Vague Trembling of Stars is an exploration of Federico Garcia Lorca, the women presented in his trilogy (Blood Wedding, Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba) and the fi re that propels them towards life in the face of death.

Presented by Red Moon Rising as part of La Mama’s Explorations Season.

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By Reg Cribb

Directed by Tim Nolan

Production Management by Adrian Corbett

I still call Australia home....?

Crulla Beach is home and playground to one and all. But when a lifesaver is beaten by a local youth of “middle-eastern appearance,” some start to question who really is a “local?” And more importantly, who or what is a “real” Australian?

The Red Dress Show (Part 1)

Inspired by her recent voice studies in Europe, Susan has invited Anastasia, John and Eliza to join her in improvising music, lights and design for a show that plays with eight songs by artists including Rufus Wainwright, The Pixies and Bernard Lavilliers.

Singer/Performer: Susan Bamford CaleoMusician: Anastasia Russell-HeadLighting Design: John FordSet and Costume Design: Eliza Donald

image Eliza Donald

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Home Stretch written and performed by Tom Davies

A man fi nds himself running down a road at night not knowing who he is or why he’s running. Accompanied by dread and an

unruly imagination he seeks the heart of the matter. But the more he discovers, the less he wants to.

An unusual body. The silences in a family. Ducks gliding past rubbish. Inheritance. Questions packed into a suitcase. A poet and a puppet in search of a father.

Written & performed by Andy JacksonPuppeteer Rachael Wenona Guy

Ambiguous Mirrors

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The Girls in GreyWritten & performed by Carolyn Bock and Helen HopkinsDirected by Karen MartinDramaturge: Jodi Gallagher

1915

Sometimes it gets like thatLike thousands of themCalling you at onceOf course you do your bestWorst are fi rstAnd sometimes everything goes quietAnd we all listenAnd we waitFor that droneThat whistlingAnd then the thudAnd you wonder where it fellAnd who it got

The Lost Machines

The development of this project has been supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria

Adam Simmons, an accomplished musician, premieres his latest work of a more visual and tactile nature - sculptural music box assemblages, similar in concept to player-pianos. Adam has composed the scores, which will be performed differently each night by the audience.

Snake Skin FenceWritten by Suzi MezeiDirected by Laurence StangioPerformed by Rebecca MezeiMusic by Scott Dunbabin

Set against a backdrop of racial violence, two women buckle under the weight of suburban fracture. A poetic exploration of contemporary Australia in transition.

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Performed by Matt O’Reilly, Emma Hale, Rachel Hale, Kate O’Reilly, Heath Pawley, Staniforth Ricketson & Matt BakerStage Manager / Operator: Colleen Jeffery Media Designer: Alan Cole

Matt O’Reilly’s playwriting debut begins with The Interview, a comedy of black set in the capricious world of Limbo where deals and compromises take place, as Eric discovers reincarnation is not everything it’s cracked up to be.

Directed by Steven Schiller

Stories of Lechery, Pride, Murder, Betrayal, Misogyny, Jealousy, Wrath (with a small Dash of Chivalry)

The Other Knights of King Arthur.

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A Most Worshipful Knight

Dr. Blonde

A feel-good comedy exploring the serious social issue of ‘blondism’ and the joys of stalking. ʻWhen I refl ect on my life as a blonde, I just can’t fi nd any thoughts to think.’She says. Performed by Scott Welsh,Sarah Walton & Genevieve Mary Victoria

Devised and directed by Lloyd Jones

These short exploratory performances will draw off the body of work involving non-text based theatre, which Lloyd Jones has developed with his ensemble at

La Mama since 1973.

THREE THEATRE PIECESdisconnected, disconcerting, disrespectful

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a Terrible Comfort production

Owl in SpotlightHow Dort taught the house to behave

Oct 20 - Nov 6Designed and created by Terrible Comfort

Voiced by Peter Houghton

Dort and her family fi nally move into their dream home but not everyone is happy about it. When her parents disappear and the House does its best to scare her off, Dort and her pet rabbit Chuck Norris, face some of the scariest, strangest nightmares that are let loose and roaming free.

A Halloween show suitable for all agesDiscount for audience who come in Halloween costumes

Wed, Sun 6:30pm / Thu, Fri, Sat 8:00pmLa Mama Courthouse

Two wizened old women, both aged a hundred not out, squabble and squawk their way through scalding

tea and budgie swings with hatred and love.

”Lasting about 30 arguments and two cupsa tea and a whole lotta bird whistlings and shit like that.”

Perennial Dickins dialogue laced with swearing (… and a smattering of Calabrese for good measure).

29.Wed, Sun 8:30pm / Thu, Sat 6:00pm / Fri 10:00pmLa Mama Courthouse

Oct 27 - Nov 7by Barry Dickins

Directed by Laurence StrangioPerformed by Carmelina Di Guglielmo

and Maria Portesi

Wed, Sun 6:30pm / Thu, Fri, Sat 8:00pmLa Mama Courthouse

a Larrikin Ensemble Theatre production

Nov 10 - Nov 21

Directed by Wolf HeideckerPerformed by Peter Finlay, Joanne Davis,

Sean Kavanagh, Ian Rooney, Claudia ClarkProduction Manager: Canada White

Lighting Design by Rebecca Etchell

Somewhere in suburban Australia, Frank, a veteran of the Vietnam war, is cracking under the strain of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

As he searches for understanding in the stories and friendships of fellow diggers, his wife Trish finds she must also sift through the past in order to look to the future.

Playwright Bernard Clancy presents a wry, touching and uniquely Australian explorationof the effects of the Vietnam war on the men and women who lived through that time.

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Wed, Sun 6:30pm / Thu, Fri, Sat 8:00pmLa Mama Courthouse

Wed, Sun 6:30pm / Thu, Fri, Sat 8:00pmLa Mama Theatre

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TWINDec 1 - Dec 12

made by Olivia Bryant and Nicola Gunnsound designed by Camilla Maling

set designed by Rowan Opat

Inspired by the true story of Jennifer and June Gibbons who were incarcerated in a mental institution for 13 years for asocial and criminal behaviour, TWIN is about two individual

persons inexplicably entwined. TWIN is dark, unsettling and a little bit silly.

Devised and Performed by Komissar Kabaret & Canto CoroDirected & co-written by Ella Filar in collaboration with many story tellers

Canto Coro Musical Director Tanya HeineMusic and songs by Ella Filar, Ajak Kwai, Anthea Sidiropoulos and others

While celebrating the “unique” diversity of Melbourne’s ”KRASH TEST KULTURE” and High on Cultural IN-fusion Komissar Kabaret comes face to face with the ugly

face of racism – warts and all - and….

Shazza Bazza Chooka and Macca En route to Oodna-Bloody-Datta

Crashed Head On While “Flashing a Brown Eye” At Abdul, Archie and Mustafa Mat Hattah

Wed, Sun 6:30pm / Thu, Fri, Sat 8:00pmLa Mama Courthouse

Dec 2 - Dec 19

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Dec 15 - Dec 19Created by Mary Helen Sassman and Emma Valente

Performed by Mary Helen Sassman and Liz JonesDirected by Emma Valente

Designed by Kate DavisPresented by THE RABBLE

A musical tale about the wretchedly banal.Mother and daughter; Goldie and Special are lack luster.

An inadequate and bland duo with nothing to offer. They search for the divine through soft serve ice cream, the sacred through infl atable palm trees.

At some point stupid, ugly Special will perform a miracle;Sexy, stressed out Goldie will slip with the electric knife;

And there will there be a foot-tapping, heart-pumping, fi nger-clicking show stopper.

www.therabble.com.au

Wed, Sun 6:30pm / Thu, Fri, Sat 8:00pmLa Mama Theatre

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Melbourne Playback is coming back to the La Mama Courthouse, bringing your stories to life.

“You can’t get much closer to the source than the actors of Melbourne Playback TheatreCompany, who take their inspiration from the stories of audience members, spoken aloud on the night, then turn them into instant theatre pieces...Whatever actually happens on the night, this is theatre that’s never the same twice.” THE AGE

Led by Artistic Director Andrew Gray, Melbourne Playback is made up of some of Melbourne’s most exciting and acclaimed performers and musicians.

Ensemble: Karen Berger, Clare Bartholomew, Vanessa Chapple, Ian David, Alan Davies, Danny Diesendorf, Rachael Dyson-McGregor, Mike McEvoy, Tobias Manderson-Galvin, Ernie Gruner, Petra Kalive, Michelle Nussey, Nikki Rydon, Alexandra Sangster, Tamara Saulwick & Tim Stitz.

Nov 26 - Nov 28 @ La Mama CourthouseFri & Sat 8pm, Sun 6pm

Melbourne Playback at La Mama

Melbourne Playback Workshops at the La Mama Courthouse. Go to melbourneplayback.com.au for details

FAIRWEATHER ISLANDDec 13 & 14Devised, written and performed by Steven GrationLighting Design by Anne-Maree GarciaSound Design by Anne-Maree Garcia, Steve Gration & Shanene Ditton Hand-Prop Electrics by Grant White, Steve Gration

Fairweather Island is a solo performance exploring the events and influences shaping the life, character and work of the artist-adventurer Ian Fairweather. Fairweather Island is the creative outcome of Steve’s PhD research into ‘The Praxis of the Solo Performer’, conducted through the School of Humanities, Griffith University, Queensland.

We gratefully acknowledge the University of Queensland Press for permission to use excerpts from Nourma Abbott-Smith’s Ian Fairweather, Profile of an Artist and Ian Fairweather’s The Drunken Buddha; also Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge for the use of Ian Fairweather’s correspondence with Jim Ede; the Trustees of the Fairweather Estate; and the people of Bribie Island, Queensland.

Fairweather Island was first performed at the Drama Theatre, Griffith University, Gold Coast campus on 10 April 2010 in partial fulfilment of Steven’s PhD.

La Mama Courthouse, both shows 7:30pm 39.

Hearts Full of RustNov 1 & 2 @ La Mama Courthouse

Richard Frankland is a well known Gunditjamara renaissance man. He is a singer, writer, poet, filmmaker, activist, father, leader. Together with his band The Charcoal Club, he is

launching a new album of songs in performance at the La Mama CourthouseHearts Full of Rust takes the listener on a journey into the heart of this land we call Australia.

It is a dream like place full of broken images, lost and found identities, lost and found love, fractured families, politics, environmental disaster, fear, beauty, children, hope, tears, memories, dispossession

…….and a way to go.

The Charcoal Club is Richard Frankland, vocals, guitar, poetry; Andy Baylor, guitar, fiddle, vocals, mandolin; Monica Weightman, guitar ,vocals, Aurora Kurth, vocals, percussion,

Andrew O Grady, double bass; Harry Lye, drums percussion.

Both shows @ 7:30pm | Tickets $25 Full or $15 Conc

Richard Frankland and the Charcoal Club in association with La Mama present

Monday October 25 - La Mama CourthouseTony Hicks (wind instruments) solo; duo with Joanne Cannon (bassoon); trio with Stuart Favilla makes

‘Heretics Brew’ (an extention of the Bent Leather Band)

Monday November 22 - La Mama CourthouseBec Matthews (voice, West African strings) solo,

plus ONE AFRICA: King Marong (voice, percussion) with Lamine Sonko (voice, guitar, perc.)

Monday December 20 - La Mama CourthouseGian Slater’s Fourteen Voices (brand new 14-voice ensemble)

$15 or $10 conc. (inc hot drinks and nibbly treats) All shows at La Mama Courthouse @ 7pm for 7:30pm performance

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La Mama MUSICA

Featuring - Ouyang Yu, Sandy Fitts, Geoff Lemon,

Alana Kelsall & Peter Davis.

Monday, november 15 at 8PM at La Mama Courthouse

La Mama would like to thank the following for their generous support in 2010

How The Goose Broke OpenWritten by Nathan Curnow | Directed by Greg Carroll

A contempary version of Australia’s gruesome colonial past, inspired by the strange escape attempt of convict Billy Hunt at the Eaglehawk Neck Dog Chain on the Tasman Peninsular between Port Arthur and Hobart

a Playreading at 2pm on Nov 14 @ La Mama Theatre

‘Home is a Strange Place”

The SandDragon’s Tail by Curious Legends Theatre Company

An inspiring show for children and older family, The SandDragon’s Tail is a mythical story about a young child’s adventure far away. Using puppetry, dance, live music and theatre, Curious Legends brings this imaginative and highly original tale to life.

October 24 @ 11am and 2pm, La Mama CourthouseSuits ages 4-12. All tickets $12www.curiouslegends.com.au

Jack and Molly’s Christmas ShowJoin early childhood educators and entertainers ‘Jack and Molly’ for some Christmas fun. With lots of cheery stories and songs including Jingle Bells, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Six White Boomers, The Ute Song, Do put Your Hat on Your Head, and the Five Days of Christmas.

December 18th @ 11am, La Mama TheatreSuits ages 2-5. All tickets $12www.jackandmolly.com 43.

Phone bookings close @ 4pm (weekdays) & 2pm (weekends) on the day of the performance

Please pick up your tickets 15 minutes

prior to the starting time of the performance

Please note that parking can be diffi cult (try Safeway or Carlton Clocktower, both off

Drummond Street, or alternatively City of Melbourne parking in Elgin Street near Lygon)

Both venues are just a short walk from Melbourne University tram stop at Faraday & Swanston Street

La Mama is on Wurunjeri land, part of the Kulin nation, and the Commitee of Management,

staff, and wider theatrical community acknowledge its traditional custodians

La Mama Theatre is registered by the Heritage Council Victoria and has recieved National Trust status

Phone bookings close @ 4pm (weekdays) & 2pm (weekends) on the day of the performance

Please pick up your tickets 15 minutes prior to the starting time of the performance

Please note that parking can be diffi cult (try Safeway or Carlton Clocktower, both off

Drummond Street, or alternatively City of Melbourne parking in Elgin Street near Lygon)

Both venues are just a short walk from Melbourne University tram stop at Faraday & Swanston Street

La Mama is on Wurunjeri land, part of the Kulin nation, and the Commitee of Management,

Council Victoria and has recieved National Trust status

TicketsFull $25Conc. $15Explorations $15 or 4 for $40

BookingsBook & Prepay Onlinewww.lamama.com.au (follow links)Phone: 03 9347 6142

InformationPhone: 03 9347 6948Offi ce Hours: Monday - Friday 10:30am - 5:30pm

VenuesLa Mama Theatre205 Faraday Street Carlton Melway Map 2B Ref G7

La Mama Courthouse349 Drummond Street CarltonMelway Map 2B Ref G7 www.lamama.com.au