Tuesday, December 11, 2012

I've Just Worked On...

All the Rage.
by John A D Fraser

Tamarama Rock Surfers' All the Rage at the Old Fitzroy Hotel. Written by local John A D Fraser, directed by Leland Kean and starring Duncan Fellows, Laurence Coy, Xavier Coy and Scarlet McGlynn. I'm coaching the men on a Derry dialect (Northern Ireland) and the lady on a North London sound.

When peace doesn’t bring Skin The Goat enough respect, he drags his best bomber back to the war for one last spectacular stab at glory. All the Rage is an explosively funny tale of sex, honour and cruelty. Writer John AD Fraser teams up again with Rock Surfers Artistic Director Leland Kean to present this wickedly funny new work.

The Old Fitzroy Theatre
Season Dates: June 20th to July 14th
Times: Tue-Sat 8pm, Sun 5pm


 Image: Laurence Coy. Photographer: Kar Chalmers

Sunday, June 24, 2012

I've Just Worked On... A Holiday!

My partner and I have just returned from a well deserved 5 week holiday to North America. New York for 11 nights, Montreal for 3, Winnipeg for 7, Banff for 2, Calgary for 2, Vancouver for 3, then Los Angeles for 5. We didn't have enough time in any city, but especially not New York or LA.

I was naturally listening to and notating every accent I could and recording all that I could so part of the trip was work for me, plus I met some industry types in Vancouver and LA. In New York on the PATH train system which goes between Jersey and Manhattan, a fabulous New York accent delivered an announcement in a flat drawl: "Your attention please. Your attention... please. We are working hard to keep you safe on PATH everyday." The words "working hard" were my favourite.
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I've Just Worked On...


Reasons to be Pretty.
by Neil LaBute

The Australian premiere of Reasons to be Pretty by Neil LaBute at the Darlinghurst Theatre. Directed by the amazing James Beach, a fellow postgrad at NIDA during my time there, and starring Andrew Henry, (who I worked with on The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman... ), Lucy Maunder, Julia Grace, and Stephen James King.

I was called in to consult during the audition process and to coach the cast during rehearsals. The play is set in Chicago, so I helped the cast with the sounds of the Northern Cities Vowel Shift. Actors love LaBute, and this is attested to by the enormous response to the wide casting call - heck I would have auditioned if the season wasn't right across my holiday. Some amazing actors at the auditions, and the cast assembled were carefully and cannily chosen!

Boy Meets Girl - Boy Dates Girl - Boy Compares Girl with Other Girl...

Greg and Stephanie have been together for a while when Greg says something pretty dumb to Stephanie that pushes her to the very edge. Their familiar struggles of wanting to be loved, wanting to feel attractive and wanting to understand each other are at the bedrock of this searing comedy.

Reasons to be Pretty gets stuck into timeless arguments between women and men in LaBute's trademark frank, honest and arresting style. Anyone who's ever written a letter to an ex, felt ugly, or generally wanted lover's revenge will be delighted by Reasons to be Pretty, LaBute's first play to transfer to Broadway (nominated for three Tony Awards).

Previews: 4 - 6 May
Season: 9 May - 3 June

I've Just Worked On...

Time Stands Still.
by Donald Marguiles
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Time Stands Still by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Donald Margulies at the Darlinghurst Theatre Company. I coached the lovely cast in American accents. Two of them I've worked with before at the Ensemble - Noel Hodda (The God Committee) and Richard Sydenham (Murderers), and Harriet Dyer I've only ever encountered onstage and in foyers - most recently stealing the show in Pygmalion for Sydney Theatre Company. Rebecca Rocheford-Davies produced and starred, but as a US native, didn't need my help.

The adrenalin and excitement of documenting the realities of war is addictive, as journalists Sarah and James know all too well. Together they have shared a passion for reporting on the world's war zones and have led a heightened life between the extremes of domesticity and the danger.

Their lives catch up with them when Sarah is injured in a car bombing and she is forced to return home to start a more conventional life with James. Although they have spent much of their lives bearing witness to horrific violence, Margulies' quietly powerful play illustrates just how much is required in the everyday business of two people creating a life together.

Season: 4 - 22 April
Director : Kim Hardwick
Production Designer : Lucilla Smith
Lighting Designer : Teegan Lee
Sound Designer : Michael Huxley

Friday, June 22, 2012

I've Just Worked On...



 
La Traviata.
by Verdi
Verdi's La Traviata with Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour / Opera Australia. That's right! I entered the world of Opera. Although my role was as an actor on stage with the chorus and the principals - so a glorified extra who did a lot of moving, posing, lifting, and had a whole lot of costume changes. Opera Australia usually run auditions for actors depending on the production's requirements, and it's somewhat a luck of the draw cattle call. I was just lucky this time to be selected one of twelve men of varying sizes, shapes and descriptions to play various waiters, removalists, gardeners. We rehearsed out at Olympic Park in Homebush on a huge purpose built mock-up of the stage while it was being built IN Sydney Harbour.

"Fireworks, a harbour stage and a giant chandelier will transform opera in Sydney like never before when Opera Australia presents La Traviata on Sydney Harbour for an exclusive three-week season. It will be the first opera in Australia to be held on a tailor-made stage built over the water off the Royal Botanic Gardens and will be directed and designed especially for this unique outdoor staging. It is the Company's most ambitious project to date, working in conjunction with Events NSW on behalf of the NSW Government to attract audiences from across the globe to be a part of this uniquely spectacular opera event." A massive chandelier made up of Swarovski crystals was constructed at around 9 metres diameter, and was suspended above the stage. It was big.

Francesca Zambello was the stage director for the production which also featured sopranos Emma Matthews and Rachelle Durkin, and tenors Gianluca Terranova and Ji-Min Park as well as Jonathan Summers and Warwick Fyfe.

Season ran March 24th - April 15th 2012 at Mrs Macquarie's Point in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. All perfectly timed for my holiday in May-June to North America.

I've Just Worked On...

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The Gingerbread Lady.
by Neil Simon

The Gingerbread Lady by Neil Simon at the Ensemble Theatre, directed by Sandra Bates. The cast was Adriano Cappelletta, Danielle Carter, Kellie Clarke, Tamblyn Lord and Kate Raison. I worked with Kellie back in 2007 in James and the Giant Peach at the New Theatre and have been looking for an excuse to work with her again! I coached the accents for Neil Simon's curious cast of characters living in Manhattan's West Seventies.

The Gingerbread Lady has all the ingredients that make for theatre at its best - recognisable characters who take us on a high stakes journey, where we ride with them through the fun times and the tough times. We laugh with them, we cry with them, but most of all we care about them.

Evy Meara is a cabaret singer just returned from rehab to be met by her long-time friends and daughter Polly. What ensues is warm, witty, heartbreaking and life affirming.

Season: March 16 - April 29

Ive Just Worked On...

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The Weir.
by Conor McPherson 

The Weir by Connor McPherson at the newly re-branded New Theatre. Directed by the fabulous Alice Livingstone, and many-a-time collaborator of mine on numerous projects in numerous capacities. The cast was likewise amazing: Patrick Connolly, Barry French, Lynden Jones, Peter McAllum and Amanda Stephens-Lee. The play is set in County Sligo in the north west of Ireland. Resources on the dialect proved hard to find - Donegal, just above, being more prominent. Best lead was the always useful IDEA and Chris O'Dowd of IT Crowd and Bridesmaids fame being a Sligo native. In some ways, the research is my favourite part!

In an isolated Irish country pub, four middle-aged men spin yarns to impress a young woman visiting from Dublin.  Over pints of Guinness, with the night closing in and a faint whiff of sexual tension in the air, what starts out as blarney and bluster soon turns dark and sinister as their tales drift into the realm of the supernatural. Then Valerie reveals a startling story of her own. Funny, offbeat and spellbinding, The Weir is superb theatrical storytelling in the best Irish tradition.

Season dates were 7 - 31 March 2012

Reviews
"The whole cast speaks with a convincing accent; something which is either done well or best left alone. I wouldn’t be surprised if Patrick Connelly is a native of the area, so good was his effort." Joan Beal, ArtsHub

"Dialect coach Nick Curnow should be commended for the effort that’s gone into catching the Irish accent for the stage." Aussietheatre.com.au

"McPherson’s quirky, engaging characters are fleshed out with charm by this troupe, and maintain highly credible accents throughout. No mean feat, to be sure." OzBabyBoomers

I've Just Worked On...

The Paris Letter
by Jon Robin Baitz

Picture The Paris Letter by John Robin Baitz at the Darlinghurst Theatre. Directed by the acclaimed and accomplished Stephen Colyer, and with a truly amazing cast of Caleb Alloway, Peter Cousens, Susie Lindeman, Nicholas Papademetriou and Damian Sommerlad. I directed Caleb and Damien in Canary last year, so it was great to be on board with them again. I'd seen Susie's and Nicholas's work a number of times and have been a huge fan of both for some time. Peter Cousens is the stellar performer he is, and his portrayal of Anton was tender and heartbreaking. I was called in to check up on their accent work in the last few weeks of rehearsal - some GenAm, some New York - wealthy, working class, Anglo-Saxon and Jewish, or affected. All in all it's a play with a beautiful array of voices.

The Paris Letter starts with a bang, literally. A complex and lethal affair with a young male associate forces successful businessman, Sandy Sonnenberg to confront a lifetime of half-buried desires. Sandy's life is thrown into turmoil by the affair that threatens to destroy everything he has fought to build. From New York in the sixties to present day Paris, The Paris Letter traces attitudes to sexuality in a thrilling tale of trust, friendship and betrayal.