What’s your story?
How is 2016 going for you? What stories have you told? Heard? Read? Maybe you’re the central character of someone else’s story? Or, maybe you are waiting for the opportunity to tell your story? Now is the time to start…Creativity is the answer to procrastination. Take out a pen or pencil and just scribble. There’s... Read More
Please confirm your humanity
Have you seen the film ‘Arrival‘? I saw it the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration on the anniversary of JFK’s assassination and the launch of the film ‘Jackie’. ‘Arrival’ opens with the ‘news of the world’ – China, Russia and America. Sadly prophetic. A linguist is sent to unravel the mystery of the arrival of... Read More
Replacement therapy
On first meeting HE said to HER: “Have you always had short hair? Most of my girlfriends have had long hair. It’s a thing of mine”. Part of the grieving process is trying to replace what you have lost. Some people rush out and buy a new dog when their former loyal friend dies. Some... Read More
2015 – A year of storytelling
Since I started PUMP Theatre in August 2012, the issue of domestic violence is now being talked about in the media in Australia, and hopefully in our homes and communities. In 2012 when I wrote SNUG and VENT and held a rehearsed reading with some young actors, it occurred to me that they even found... Read More
Director’s notes 9 – Sustaining passion in the production phase
Happy Sunday! I usually don’t post notes on a Sunday – however, I have a little more time today than I have during the week. Firstly, THANK YOU to all PUMP Theatre’s Facebook friends – new and old – across the globe for liking our page and events – particularly fans from the USA, The... Read More
Cherish
Happy V-Day Eve! Tomorrow PUMP Theatre performs VENT for Soroptimists International with an audience forum about love and violence. These are a group of women leaders who are professionals and in their ‘spare’ time do lots of great works to support to empower women to have better lives. I will be younger than most of... Read More
Director’s notes 8 – Kick start their hearts!
One of the aims of performance is to take the audience into an experience or a story. This is different watching TV at resting heart rate on the couch. A well performed theatrical piece will arrest the hearts or minds of the audience. It must arouse emotion and awaken the audience from its resting heart... Read More
Directors Notes 7 – Good theatre means great teamwork!
Hi Everyone It’s been a while since I’ve written, so here we go. Group dynamics are so important when choosing an ensemble to collaborate on a piece of work. As a director, actors’ resumes are always impressive, have lots of beautiful headshots and videos…but to me that doesn’t necessarily tell me who they are or... Read More
Director’s notes 6 – Why PUMP Theatre?
In Australia there is an ongoing war between the value of sport and the value of the arts. So I wanted to create an identity that kind of blended both sport and theatre. Theatre training is like going to the gym in some respects – it can build our physical agility, emotional capacity, and ability... Read More
Director’s notes 5 – Why domestic violence?
People often ask me why I have chosen domestic violence as my area of interest. They also ask me if SNUG|VENT is my story retold. I get annoyed by this question for several reasons: 1) not every writer writes about their own experience, I would prefer that someone else wrote about me; 2) this is... Read More