Where did 2017 and the first months of this year go, I ask myself? 2018 careened around the corner and has not stopped which is exciting and demanding, in equal measure. But grateful as always for the chance to be creative.
2017 swung into action with guest roles in January and February with “Ronnie Chieng : international Student”. Created by the brilliant Ronnie Chieng and Declan Fay. I had a wonderful experience playing with a fabulously talented group of comics, Anthony Morgan as my husband, a joy from start to finish. You can catch a snippet on my video page.
Following my time with Ronnie I went on to do a guest appearance on “True Story” written by the incomparable Hamish and Andy and directed brilliantly by Wayne Hope. Again a joy from the get go, again you will be able to catch a glimpse on the video page.
April 2017 took me to Brisbane for the QT/MTC co-production of ‘Noises Off’ the Michael Frayn farce written in 1982, in which I played Dotty Otley and Mrs. Clackett. A comedy of Olympic proportions. We were a stupendous cast of 9 talented actors directed with aplomb by Queensland Theatre’s (QT) Artistic Director Sam Strong.
We played a season in Brisbane and followed up with a 6 week season in Melbourne for the MTC at the Playhouse. Audiences laughed themselves sick as did all of us. One of the most challenging and rewarding jobs in my career, unforgettable. We threw ourselves wildly through the dangerous curves of the play with no restraint and the audiences appreciated every moment, as did I, a priviledge.
So a large portion of 2017 was taken up by working 8 shows a week in the Theatre for QT and MTC a great way to spend nearly 6 months. On my return to Melbourne my work began afresh on my own projects whilst continuing to perform at night. So all the work began with gusto in 2016 continues to pick up pace. As is the way with making our own work, it is a slow but very rewarding process.
I have just finished a wonderful teaching round at NIDA engaging with the final year students about screen studies. A fantastic time spent with enquiring minds eager to learn about all things Film and TV and so much more. Great to have the chance to share my skills with others who, like me, want to expand their work and wrestle with new learning opportunities. I loved it.
Just last week reading new works for the MTC always a joy to hear the work as it develops so my range of work modes is forever morphing from one thing to the next. Last week a meeting with my dear colleague Joel Carnegie of ABC radio fame to push ahead with a project that we began in January 2017. We exchanged music and poetry for 12 months and now we are taking that work and creating an evening to share.
I will have further updates in the very near future on all that I am up to, which frankly is quite a lot. Exciting possibilities are manifesting in a whole range of mediums and this year will see them all come to life so stay tuned. I am currently working on self created works for the Theatre, TV, Film and live events for Libraries and a book and the list goes on.
The making of work takes time and patience but I will be able to tell all ASAP