Newsletter

Red Rock Regional Theatre and Gallery

April 2019 Edition 3/19

Meet Rhonda Mahoney a modest but

very versatile actress with the Colac

Players who has also been co -

producer of performances by the

“Players”.

GALLERY NEWS

Contents:

In This Edition 2

Gallery News 3

Café Culture 4

Carolyn Theatre 5

Film Society 6

Film Review 7

Community Information 8

Community News 9

Around the Community 10

IN THIS EDITION 2

Welcome to the April Edition of the RRRTAG’s Newsletter. We hope you got to see the Exhibition by Anabel Nolan. Her picture “Empty Promise” investigates an important yet overlooked piece of rural history: The Post World War 1 Soldier Settlement Scheme. You only have to see the monument in the Colac square to see how many families around the district were affected. On a brighter note Easter is almost upon us. The shelves of the stores bulging with Easter eggs and other assorted chocolates. Hot Cross Buns have been out since Christmas. Have a peaceful Easter everyone and stay safe on the busy roads. Iris Please note all shows can be booked online or tickets obtained from the Cow Lick Book Shop Murray Street Colac or the Cororooke Store. Booking link under corresponding shows.

Front cover pictures from Clip art “Easter”

Hi to everyone who has booked season tickets for the 2019 evening shows at the Carolyn Theatre. We have some important news to share.

Roman Rudnytsky who was coming to us on the 17th May is no longer able to commit due to changes in visa requirements. At this stage we are looking at replacing Roman with a classical Spanish guitarist and Classical pianist in ESPAÑA El VITO THE SPIRIT OF SPAIN

Video of audience feedback https://youtu.be/KAxzgGgb0HY

We are looking at the 8th June Saturday night on the Queen’s Birthday weekend. Please let us know if this is suitable for you. As you know we do our very best to avoid this situation and bring you all great shows from around the world. With your support we will continue.

Please let us know if you require a refund for the one night or if you are happy to attend on the 8th June. The other great option, if you are unable to attend, is to donate the night to a friend that would love to join us.

Looking forward to hearing from everyone, Andrew Beale.

A TASTE OF THINGS TO COME

Exhibition Launch

When: Sunday April 7, 2019 2-4 pm

Where: At RRRTAG Lake Corangamite road, Cororooke

Featuring: Meet the Artists Music & nibbles

Otway Hinterland Wines Silent Auction

Come and partake in the social gathering and celebrate the initiatives that Creative Otway’s Inc. has supported to date

Donations welcome to support the Colac Otway Arts Trail & Makers Space Initiatives

GALLERY NEWS 3

‘Fred Smith, Urban Sea Shanties’ May 4th at 7.30pm

Fred Smith joins forces with Men in Suits to present ‘Urban Sea Shanties’ it’s a collection of thinking man's drinking songs really. There are moments of beauty and delicacy, but on the whole, it’s a celebration of misadventure - an exploration of the masculine psyche executed with a restrained buffoonery befitting the subject matter! “Urban Sea Shanties” shanghaies the listener into a rich musical journey from the bars of Birmingham to the flooded streets of New Orleans, from the Mosques of Karachi to the Dapto Dog Track...painting a musical picture of venturous travel exploring a wide, colourful world… https://www.trybooking.com/BBMBS Tickets can be purchased at Cow Lick Books and Cororooke Shop

CAFÉ CULTURE 4

https://www.trybooking.com/BBGTV Tickets can be purchased at Cow Lick Books and Cororooke Shop

ESPAÑA El VITO THE SPIRIT OF SPAIN

8th June

Internationally acclaimed, Award Winning concert pianist and ‘Young Steinway Artist’ Nicholas Young & renowned 10 String Spanish Classical Guitarist Matthew Fagan aka Lord of the Strings!

Performing RODRIGO-ALBENIZ-GISMONTI- DE FALLA & MORE

A celebration of Spanish repertoire for the guitar and piano, from classical masterpieces to flamenco styles of Paco De Lucia and Paco Pena and modern jazz.

In a world first collaboration, Nicholas Young and Matthew Fagan infuse the exhilarating traditional flamenco elements of Spanish Guitar into virtuosic classical piano masterpieces to form stunning new arrangements, celebrating the launch of Fagan’s newest vinyl album “El Vito". From the famous folk-inspired ballet music of Manuel de Falla’s “The Three Cornered Hat” to the Spanish dances evoked in Isaac Albeniz’s “Sevilla”, “Asturias” and “Tango”.

Joaquin Rodrigo’s famous “Concierto de Aranjuez” is explored through its origins in “Tarantos” and “Rodena”, combined with stunning orchestral realisation by piano, and Egberto Gismonti’s “Frevo Rasgado”, first brought to fame by guitarists Paco De Lucia and John McLaughlin, will be transformed for concert piano and 10-string guitar, pairing rhythmic drive with colourful sonority.

REVIEWS

'A crepuscular scene in sound. Young's achievement is his ear for layering textures ... he convinces the listener that his is the way.

Fanfare Magazine -‘Commanding performance...consummate skill, virtuosity and panache.’

Limelight Magazine - 'Matthew has a Latin Soul and we love his playing so much that we want to take him back home to Cuba'

Ibrahim Ferrer- The Original Buena Vista Social Club

'A True Artist' Paco Peña

https://www.trybooking.com/BBVUM Tickets can be purchased at Cow Lick Books and Cororooke Shop

CAROLYN THEATRE 5 8

‘The Eagle Huntress’ April 17 & 18

FILM SOCIETY 6

This spellbinding documentary follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old nomadic Mongolian girl who is fighting to become the first female eagle hunter in twelve generations of her Kazakh family. Through breathtaking aerial cinematography and intimate verite footage, the film captures her personal journey while also addressing universal themes like female empowerment, the natural world, coming of age and the onset of modernity.

FILM REVIEW 7

Film Review -The Death of Stalin

Straight off the bat the title itself is a big give away, so to tell you that Stalin dies cannot be considered a spoiler. Yes Stalin dies in the early stages of the film. I won't tell you how he dies though.

I'm a sucker for the craft of film making so it takes a really bad film to make me hate it. That said, The Death of Stalin is a wonderful example of the craft. The props, the costumes, the location left no doubt that you were watching a piece of history. My favourite props were the vintage direct to disk recording lathe and ooh! the Classic original vintage Russian microphones made the sound engineer in me wanting to rewind to get another glimpse of these rare specimens. I don't think the rest of the theatre goers would have appreciated it if I had the remote in my hand.

Factually correct? Well, not exactly. Many artistic liberties were taken in the screenplay. The story cavorts around the truth, as you would expect in a well-made satirical, comedy drama. The cast is actually jaw dropping. Steve Buscemi (Nikita Khrushchev), Jeffrey Tambor (Georgy Malenkov), Michael Palin (Vyacheslav Molotov) and Simon Russell Beale ((Lavrentiy Beriya) no relation to Andrew Beale) tops off the elite line up and stunning performances from rising stars Andrea Riseborough (Svetlana Stalin) and Rupert Friend (Vasily Stalin).

The obvious fact that Stalin dies aside, the film is an insight into the power struggle proceeding the death of a ruthless dictator. The infighting between the powerful ones left over is a stark reflection of politics all around the world today. The back stabbing, the dissipation of values, the double crossing, lying and cheating is a familiar tale.

I personally loved the movie. Watching a movie and forgetting that I'm watching a movie is a good indicator that all the skills involved, acting, lighting, casting, script, scenery, came together to make a well-rounded experience.

I give it the thumbs up. Although, the audience was warned during the introduction that a couple of people actually walked out on the first night's showing. Maybe they left the chips on and had to rush home to avoid their house burning down?

***** 5 Stars *****

By Buzz Earthstein.

MEDIA RELEASE: NEW PERFORMANCE BY COLAC PLAYERS

Peter Greig, 7 March 2019

Five short plays linked by songs will be performed by Colac Players at COPACC in late May early June. “They’re all by American playwright Mark Harvey Levine”, said Ros Scanlan, producer. “All but one are two-handers exploring friendship, love and life’s hurdles”. All are funny, but they are also thought-provoking, and emotional. Mostly, they depict people who have been unlucky or unhappy in love, but who find a hopeful spark in unexpected circumstances. Well-known Player Rhonda Mahoney will be directing one of the plays. “My couple are fighting over domestic duties”, she says, “Typically, the male is expected to do more than he’s used to, and hates being nagged”. David McKenzie, who starred in the last production (Nobody’s Perfect), will play against Marita Kennedy for this little play. David will also be directing another of the plays, again about a male-female relationship, with a couple of support actors. “It’s a hilarious sketch about fortune cookies that predict dire consequences for one of the characters”, says David. Wayne Cahill (the grumpy old dad in Nobody’s Perfect) plays against Carol Balcombe in this one. Barry Mousley takes a lead with partner Lorraine Henkel in a third play – about good friends who are more attracted to each other than they know. Lorraine is also directing this play, which contains some funny but potentially embarrassing moments, difficult for all but the most experienced actors. A fourth play features Georgie Wheeler, who starred with David in Nobody’s Perfect, and Phil Gray, who directed last year’s hit “Back to the Eighties”. These very experienced actors will need all their skills to make the most of a surprise birthday gift, involving two total strangers. Peter Greig (Laying the ghost) directs this play. Peter Miles makes his directing debut in the fifth play, again involving two neighbours who might also be described as always being left out. It’s funny, and poignant at the same time, showing how even the unluckiest of people can sometimes win through. Kat Bryan and Gavin Lang will win the audience with this one. Linking these plays will be songs chosen, sometimes written, and directed by Pam Radcliffe (Colac Chorale), featuring many of the actors and directors already named, but also Andrew Beale (Red Rock Theatre and Art Gallery), Nicola Provan, Lin Martin and Melanie Duve. “Didn’t See That Coming” will be performed in cabaret style at COPACC on 30 and 31 May, and 1 June. Tickets from COPACC Further information: Peter Greig pjgreig@iprimus.com.au, 0427110023

COMMUNITY INFORMATION 8

Exhibiting in the Gallery at RRRTAG during April and May, more information to follow.

Exciting new Arts venture in Colac.

The Makers' Space committee has been hard at work over the last six months to open a space in Colac where the community can meet to make art, talk art and learn art in its many guises.

Through the auspice of Creative Otways we secured a grant from the Colac Otway Shire and today we are thrilled to bits to be able to announce the start of a 3 month trial at the Guide Hall, 50 Queen Street, Colac on 1 April 2019.

It is a huge space with plenty of natural light, space for a big communal creative table, a lounge, library and reading space and individual art studio spaces, oodles of locker space, a discrete lockable studio and a meeting space too. Sounds amazing even to me writing this out.

The 30 and 31 March 2019 between 11 am and 3 pm the hall will be open for viewing and we will be collecting registrations for memberships, a very reasonable $20 for the 3 months. This gives you unlimited access to the communal creative table, the lounge and art book library, VIP invites to events and workshops and the warm fuzzy feeling of belonging to the new vibrant arts community of Colac. We will also have available a list of tariffs for the use of the individual art studio spaces, locker spaces and the discrete lockable studio for you to consider. We have lots of workshops, art talks and classes planned.

You may have seen our stand at the Rotary Markets, consequently we have lots of workshops, art talks and classes planned. But to really meet your needs we want to hear from you, so please do click the link below and complete our short survey.

https://forms.gle/ZyyvkqEbfWBBP6gMA

Regards The Makers' Space Committee.

COMMUNITY NEWS 9

MAKERS SPACE

BARNABY SMITH - “Woodcuts” For the month of April

Spiritual Softdrive, Grey Blue Sky (1998), on Wenzhou mulberry paper, (detail)

Barnaby Smith's sense of art practice as a “spiritual discipline” perhaps influenced his intuitive decision to make print images. In 1996 Smith went to Kyoto and was introduced to the Japanese woodblock technique by Akira Kurosaki. In Japan he had the opportunity to appreciate the wooden temples of Nara and Kyoto and exhibited with the Second Annual Kyoto International Woodprint Association. Smith’s series, from which this WINDOWSPACE-BEEAC show is derived, are at once truly contemporary in their visual acknowledgements and resonant with thousands of years of graphic history, timeless.

Thank you for your ongoing support. Please email - newsletter@redrockarts.com.au with any

queries, ideas and feedback.

AROUND THE COMMUNITY 10 1010