Virag Dombay - Page 5

Check out our interview with a local Brisbane artist!

Last night I had the absolute pleasure of attending the Brisbane Premiere of 2.20AM by award-winning playwright Rebecca Lister at Ad Astra.

It's NUMBER TEN and if you've been holding off, this is the year to perform anywhere you want!

This weekend I had the absolute pleasure of going to see 4MBS and Brisbane Shakespeare Festival's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the amphitheatre at Roma Street Parklands. Looking around the crowd before the show started, it was so lovely to see so many families and small children residing in the seating banks, eagerly waiting for the magic and the mayhem to unfold onstage. I cannot express how much I love it when I see parents supporting their children's education in the arts.

Next up on my local artists interview segment is Cal Harris, one of the performers in Head First Acrobat's production of Circus 'Cision as a part of the Wynnum Fringe Festival.

Next up on my local artists interview segment is director, producer, playwright, dancer and actor Liam Burke.

Next up on my local artists segment I will be interviewing three independent theatre companies and collectives who have been working with Dead Puppet Society on professional developments as a part a professional development program called THE DPS Lab. First up was the Naughty Corner Collective, then came The Fizzy Rascals and now it's time for Minola Theatre. Minola Theatre is a collaboration between Kat Dekker, a director, creative facilitator and Queensland Theatre Associate Teaching Artist, and Bianca Butler Reynolds, a writer, performer and academic who holds a PhD in playwriting and Jungian psychology from QUT. Minola Theatre was founded by Kat and Bianca in 2019 as a home for 'timeless stories told for now', with a focus on empowered female voices and locally relevant narratives. Minola Theatre has produced five successful productions to date, with two more works currently in development. More information about the company and creatives can be found at minolatheatre.com.au. Here's what they had to say...

Next up on my local artists segment I will be interviewing three independent theatre companies and collectives who have been working with Dead Puppet Society on professional developments as a part a professional development program called THE DPS Lab. First up was the Naughty Corner Collective and next up are the Fizzy Rascals, a group of experimental theatre makers interested in pushing the boundaries of form and visual aesthetic. Their core team consists of four members: Jennifer Bagg, Fiona MacDonald, Mark McDonald and Linnea Tengroth. Working collaboratively to devise works with a focus on movement and striking images, we believe in striving for a universal language in storytelling. Our works are handmade with vigour and passion, accumulating skills with each new process and striving for big images. We bring expertise in areas such as devising, physical theatre, acting and directing. Currently we are pursuing an interdisciplinary practice, exploring ways of incorporating the language of film, puppetry and dance into live performance. Here's what they had to say...

Next up on our local artists segment is the Naughty Corner Collective. The Naughty Corner is a Brisbane based theatre collective founded in 2017 by local creatives Bianca Bality, Jess Bunz, Claire McFadyen and Joe Wilson that is dedicated to creating independent contemporary works that are visceral, provocative and which explore the intricacies of human relationships, and the choices and situations that connect and bind our communities. Through heightened design elements and investigative storytelling, The Naughty Corner explores what it is to be human through works that uncover the underbelly of the ordinary. I was very fortunate to be able to sit down with them and have a chat about their creative journey with the DPS Academy, a professional development opportunity for emerging artists working in the form of visual theatre. Here's what they had to say...

Three independent theatre directors have joined forces to combat the devastating toll of COVID-19 on Brisbane's theatrical landscape.

Last night I was invited to see The Curator Theatre Company's production of Vincent River, a one-act play play by Phillip Ridley told by two characters who are in different stages of grief over the death of someone dear to them.

Next up on my local artists interview segment is Michael Beh, the director of upcoming show Vincent River and the founder of The Curators Theatre.

Next up on my local artists interview segment is the wonderful Bianca Butler Reynolds. She is Brisbane-based actor, playwright, theatre-maker and academic. She is a founding partner and co-Artistic Director of Minola Theatre, with production credits including Love you hate you drive you wild, Highway of Lost Hearts, Grace and Begotten.

Next up on my Brisbane local artists interview segment is the incredibly hardworking and generous CEO and Artistic Director of Anywhere Festival, Paul Osuch. This is probably one of my favourite interviews I've done and I really cherish Paul's vulnerability and openness in his responses. Here's what he had to say...

Written by Yasmin Reza and adapted by Christopher Hampton, Ad Astra's God of Carnage serves as a delightful night of theatre

Next up on our local artists segment is (drum roll please)... The Good Room. They are a Queensland-based performance collective who use the experiences of ordinary people to create extraordinary theatre works, as part of a process that blurs the line between 'audience' and 'maker' to explore theatrical collective authorship. Theirs is an investigation of empathy, connectedness, stakes and sacrifice. Mirrorballs, rose petals, panda suits and party dresses stud our theatrical universe but totems of party, play and celebration are often subverted; this is richly affirmative, highly contemporary, and widely accessible theatre - underpinned by rigour, ethics, and deep consideration.

Next up on my local artists segment is the wonderful and incredibly hard-working Andrew CP, Artistic Director and Founder of Technicolour Theatre Company. Andrew is an award-winning director, performer and designer, currently completing a Bachelor of Theatre and Performance with the University of New England and is the Founder and Artistic Director of Technicolour Theatre Company. He has a number of directing credits and is proud to have held the position of 'Theatre Academic Mentor' for Earle Page College at the University of New England (Securing a Resident Fellowship and Cultural Bursary for achievements in Performing Arts), resident senior drama teacher at Spotlight Theatrical Company (2016-18) and Senior Drama Tutor for 'Raise Your Voice' (2017-present). In 2018 he founded Technicolour Theatre Company and its adjacent Youth Ensemble before acting as Convenor and Curator for the 2019 Gold Coast Festival of One Act Plays. Here's what Andrew had to say about Technicolour Theatre Company's upcoming project and how his company has been impacted by co-vid...