Filed under: Uncategorized
History is a passion of mine. I am often ridiculed for my ability to quote cricket games from the 1930’s better than I can now. Upon reading that this assesment involved a History element, i was wrapped. The problem with History though, is that it has to be written down somewhere, this proved difficult with the History of Theatre and film in the Illawarra, as it appears very little is written down.
The best source of information I found was a website called, Theatre in Illawarra and even it had very limited information availible.
It gave a glimpse into the major theatre companies in the Illawarra and a brief amount of information about them.
In the Illawarra there is The Merringong Theatre Company, The Arcadians, The Roo Theatre, Wollongong Workshop Theatre, Stanwell Park Arts & Theatre Society (SPATS), Illawarra Performance Writers Group and the Dodo Express.
According to the Website, Wollongong Workshop Theatre is the oldest theatre group, formed in 1953 and performing continually since.
The next significant/long running theatre group to appear, was the Arcadians back in 1964, the group formed to capitalize on the vaccant ‘musical’ scence and have been running predominately as a musical theatre group ever since. I talked with Derek Corrin of the Archadians, who gave me some background information on the group. Run for its members and its specators the Arcadians enjoys a mild success for a small theatre, with two of their shows last year selling 96% of their tickets.
The next theatre to appear by my reconing (more correctly the websites) is the Roo Theatre in Shellharbour. Run not for profit, the Roo opened in 1987 its
Unfortunatley there is no detailed information about The Merringong, despite it being the largest venue in the Illawarra. It is therefore no surprise that nothing (that I can find at least) is on the history of the Wollongong Workshop Theatre, Stanwell Park Arts & Theatre Society (SPATS) and Illawarra Performance Writers Group.
As far as I know, Dodoexpress is also extinct, but I think it now lives on in the new Phoenix theatre I was talking about previously.
Currently the Major players in Theatre in the Illawarra are, the Merringong co., The Arcadians and The Roo Theatre, all of which are listed on Wikipedia’s entry about Wollongong.
I think the history of stage in the Illawarra is going to be a grand one, with a nice balance forming between groups like the Phoenix determined to be different, even risque and the more family orientated fun companies like The Arcadians. I know that I will certainly be attending the Theatre more often if I can be.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Metro Orion, a radical new take on Science Fiction is due to come out late this July. Filmed in Wollongong it is the areas first work of this nature. Directed by Aaron Kernaghan and staring, Daniel Nittel as main character/protagonist Arthrun Kodan, Kieran Hoyle as Ekims and Emma Darragh as Gleynne Orky.
The cast blog for the topic sums up the story;
For decades refugees from the Eridani Star System have been
covertly sheltered by the people of the Earth
– giving them protection from a civil war
that has brought chaos to their home world.Now the Eridani have come
to claim back their people.Earth’s undersized and mismatched Star Navy
stands between the Eridani and their prize.
Metro Orion revolves around the idea of ‘grace under fire’ as Aaron Kernaghan told me in an interview and the Films unusual namesake comes from the name of the deep space vessel belonging to Arthrun Kodan the Metro Orion – a metro being a type of space craft and the vessel itself named the Orion, for the nebula in the universe it was located in.
Set in the present day against the background of a secret war being fought between Earth and an alien-race named the Eridani. Earths’ special forces are the Star Navy, which operate from a base on the far side of the moon. Out gunned and out manned the brave souls of the Star navy fight an at times hopeless battle against the forces of evil – the eradani – yet the unwavering strength of the human spirit and friendship hold true.
Heavily influenced by the works of John Milton and Dante Alighieri, the story is divided into twelve volumes with each volume containing 4 individual films. The work follows the epic tradition of starting in medias res (Latin for in the midst of things), the background story being told in later stages of the storyline. The film is notable for its use of byronic heroes and numerous antagonists each with differing motivations.
This July, come see a movie destined to take your socks off.
The Poster for Metro Orion
DANIEL NITTEL
KIERAN HOYLE
EMMA DARRAGH
Filed under: Uncategorized
I have had such fun with technology bringing you this post (0bvious sarcasm implied), due to the sheer tediousness of this task I think i shall outline, what has gone into this post. Firstly, I had the simple idea to save my audio recording of my interview as a sound file on my computer, in the hope that I could upload it direct to my Blog. This of course didn’t work. I was informed that, I required extra storage to go about posting this audio file, not wanting to pay extra money I opted for a different approach. Aware of the fact that I have a Youtube account I decided that I would get around my problem by creating a video and posting it on Youtube.
This simple idea has turned into hours of fiddling and annoyance. But here are the finished products. (Couldn’t post it as one video because Youtube limits its’ video’s to 10 minutes)
Profile;
- Your full name; Steen
- Your DOB; 25/8/64
- Your Current Career; Radio Station Manager, Theatre Manager/Chairperson, Head whipping boy
- Your favourite Film and Play; (film) Metropolis by Fritz Lang (play) McBeth By William Shakespere
- Your favourite Book; 1984 by George Orwell
Filed under: Uncategorized
Lord Mayor hands over the keys
Just over Two years ago in March 2007, the keys to the Bridge Street Theatre were handed to Steen by then Lord Mayor Alex Darling. Now called the Phoenix Theatre, it is beginning to live up to its namesake, due to host its fifth cabaret later next month.
The Phoenix is marketing itself as the first ‘artist run theatre’ in the Illawarra, according to Theatre Manager/Chairperson Steen.
The up and coming shows (excluding the Cabaret) are being keept under careful gaurd with Steen stating, “we’re not telling anyone, we are keeping our seasons completely under wraps until they are announced offically.”
Steen did further comment adding to the intregue, “we have pieces that range from Greek Tradedy to Modern Musical theatre,” which is BASCIALLY EVERYTHING, the new Phoenix isn’t giving away its secrets, “even the actors don’t know what they are in,” says Steen.
The mission of the New Phoenix is very bold – bold enough to match the cabaret acts in their foyer – and a breath of fresh air;
Its aims are to;
• Promote Performing arts in the local area
• Promote arts which are incidental to, or associated with performance art in the local area
From what I have seen in Wollongong it seems the Phoenix, the theatre that borrows its name from Greek Mythology, is the best choice for up and coming director’s, especially if they want to deal with some sensitive issues.
Jessica Garraway, Jan Van Steen, Brett Osseweyer
|
|
Promote Performing arts in the local area |
|
|
Provide performance and rehearsal venues for professional and amateur theatrical groups in the local area |
|
|
Promote arts which are incidental to, or associated with performance art in the local area |
|
|
Promote and provide education and training in performance art and associated professions in the local area |
Filed under: Profile
1>Your full name; AK47
2>Your DOB; You’ll have to guess.
3>Your Current Career; Lawyer.
4>Your favourite Film and Play; I have two: Lawrence of Arabia and Zulu
5>Your favourite Book; Lord of the Rings. I would like to say everything that Salmon Rushdie writes, but that’s more than one book.
Interview Questions; (Being that Aaron is a Lawyer and has sparing time, I emailed him these questions and this was his reply.)
1. Where did the idea for Metro Orion originate?
The idea came from watching news articles about Police in Columbia forming squads to go around and cull homeless people, especially kids, in order to try to cut down the number of them who were then filling up the streets. I thought of how it would be useful to actually have some sort of organisation that goes in and gets those kids out and to safety. And so that’s where the idea behind Metro Orion first began to form. It’s come a fair way since then.
2. How long has the idea been forming for, when did it first form and how has it changed and developed over time.
I first started working on it when I was in uni but then slowly drifted away from it while doing other stuff. It wasn’t until I met up with some really creative people who supported it that I began to develop it into what it is now. It’s changed a great deal with more defined characters and the story arc has moved away from a humanitarian focus to a more character centric approach in which my main concern is a group of characters trying hard to do the right thing in difficult circumstances. A grace under fire arc.
3. How did you personally get into performance? (acting, directing, writing)
I studied piano when I was a kid and so through that I kind of slowly developed into performance from there. From there I started doing stuff like rock eisteddfod and its a kind of one thing led to the other.
4. How long have you been involved in performance in Wollongong
About 16 or so years I think. Pretty sure that’s right.
5. What types of performance in your life have you done?
Anything I could try. Plays, musicals, I’ve even worked on dance stuff and straight concerts. Most recently I’ve been working on performances of some of my compositions for string quartet and that’s been really rewarding.
6. Can you give me a brief history of your life in performance?
Nope. It’s really long I suppose and besides it’s not really my life. It’s more something I do while I’m not working or doing the stuff I regularly do. I guess the thing for me is that it’s a hobby, and a chance to relax and have fun. I have taken it seriously from time to time and I suppose sometimes you can get so involved that it becomes obsessive and you start worrying and arguing over details that ultimately mean little (if anything at all). So it’s been a very positive thing to step back and slow down a little and just take things as they come. One of the best things is to be involved in someone else’s project, playing in the pit band or just helping out and not having to worry about the whole thing. That’s really enjoyable and I think I probably enjoy that the most.
7. How have you found filming in the Illawarra?
It’s an incredibly beautiful place, the sort of area where there’s so many different things you can point a camera at. From the mountains to the ocean and it all looks fantastic. We have a very diverse landscape all within close proximity so it’s been terrific.
8. Is there much support available for up and coming directors in the Illawarra?
If you’re independent and don’t have a government grant I guess the answer is no. But I haven’t really tried to get support. The key support available here and it’s been available in a huge quantity, is the support that comes from people who volunteer to get involved and see through that commitment to the end. We have had up to 40 people working on the film at various times and although you lose people along the way (and you have to expect that will happen when you can’t afford to pay people), mostly everyone we started out with are still with us and still incredibly supportive. People gave over their homes and their properties for us to shoot on and use as a studio and it’s been fantastic to receive that support. It shows that community theatre might be in decline but community cinema is definitely starting to light up.
9. How about in NSW?
Can’t really say on that.
10. What do you prefer to act in movies or theatre?
Theatre – live audience is great fun, whereas acting for film is extremely disjointed and it is never obvious what the whole performance will be until months after you shoot. In the theatre, you can experience the whole of the performance and leave the venue each night, having experienced it from start to finish. That’s particularly rewarding.
11. What do you prefer to direct movies or theatre?
Movies – the pace is much better and more conducive to making people have the time and environment where you’re not stressed out and the pressure is a bit off (in some respects). The process is incredibly creative and the opportunity to capture a performance, then try it again, a little bit more this or a little bit less that, gives you the chance to get the widest possible set of ingredients from which to mix together your final performance. I think that makes for a more thorough performance in the end.
12. Could you recount for me your favourite moment in your life in performance
My favourite moment is whatever I’m working on at the moment. I guess that’s a bit of a cliché but I try really hard to look at what I’m doing rather than re-hash old stuff. I must say though there has been some hilarious things happen and it’s kind of always the moments where things go wrong, the bloopers, that are the best memories. I have a particular recollection of a performance of Jesus Christ Superstar that I directed years ago and I was standing in the back of the theatre watching the Hosanna scene that comes early in the first half. The whole company was on stage and everything was working perfectly and they were all singing their guts out. I was extremely proud of them and of the production and it was a moment that was really very positive. I guess it sticks out all the more so because the performance was a matinee which are often not the best performances for a variety of reasons. But on this occasion, the performance hit every mark and it just worked perfectly. But my best experience to date was watching the expression on the faces of some of the actors in Metro Orion as they watched an early teaser for the film and they were so happy with what they had achieved. I was really thrilled by that.
Filed under: UOW
Creative Arts Logo
From Wednesday 13th of May to Saturday the 16th May the first year students of the Wollongong University performed Finding Love a play based on Traditional Korean Arirang.
Arirang, which according to Korean born Director Young Hee Park is; “Korean traditional folk song… even a three or four old four year old kid, if you ask them do you know Arirang, they will say yeah… It’s kind of like Korea’s theme song.”
Young chose the Mirang Arirang, the story of Ahrang, thought to be one of the original Arirang, as she wanted to start her young pupils on something “simple”.
As the name Finding Love would imply the play is about the quest for love, “our whole life, at least for me, is about finding true love, about finding the one,” said Young.
The play has two intertwined story lines, there is the Traditional story of Ahrang and the contemporary elements, to show love in our current situation. This works as obviously not all Australian’s can relate to traditional Korean Theatre and I doubt that any modern Australian woman has cut off their left breast to remain pure.
The story of Ahrang is a haunting tale of love, loss, betrayal, pain and suffering. Defilled by an ignored suitor she cuts off her left breast to remain pure, but in the struggle that ensues with the deffiler she is killed, having her throat slit by the same knife she tryed to use to protect her chastity.
Even seperated by the world of the living and the dead the Ghost of Ahrang refuses to abandon her lover. The story
Images by Derek Kreckler
from her death to the end of the play is all about her trying to re-unite with him and the tragic failure of this quest.
Yet while this tragic tale of love and loss is being played out, there is the parallel contempory scenes, where there are nightclubs, sperm dancers, a breaking up couple, silly boys making undisguised references to internet phenomenon’s, an
elderly hard of hearing couple, a mousey red head and a guitarist. All these wonderful characters examples of love in our current world and some of them a reminder that love isn’t always kind.
The silly boys fight the Guitarist, the girlfriend of the breaking up couple catches her boyfriend having an affair and yet there is also the reminder of the continuity of love in the elderly couple.
Finding Love is a brilliant story well performed and well acted. Finding Love was a great place to start for theatre in Illawarra, the students of the uni being the next generation of actors.
Images by Derek Kreckler
Filed under: Uncategorized
“I regard the theater as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” – Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Of course since Wilde wrote this powerful quote there has been the advent of Film, which could be seen as the younger ‘cousin’ of theater and now the more common branch of the performing arts. There is undoubtedly a fundamental truth to performance; it is life representing life with the actors portraying humanity to itself, tethered only by the limits of the imagination. There are people relating to characters, sharing in their pain and their experiences whilst viewing the world within a microcosm of itself and for the most part never leaving their chair!!!. Performance you’ve got to love it!
It is my love of Theater and Film that has led me to find out what services are available to the people of the Wollongong area. Having done a few armature performances with school productions I am keen to see what else exists for the aspiring actor and this is the purpose of this blog.
It is my aim to seek out what facilities are available, to talk with actors, directors, producers and all manner of people in the arts and ask them about their experiences and their life in theatre and film. I hope you enjoy this look into Performance in Wollongong as much as I am going to.
The Arts in Wollongong - From the Grass Roots Up 