10.06.2009

lovely wet and cold days

Let us be clear, I am a true Melbournian. I keep an eye on the weather, I look up the weather and dam levels on the internet, I don't really like it when it's too hot and especially if I'm not near water, I love to talk about the weather, I delight in the weather. And I am so delighted with the weather in the last few days. It's incredibly beautiful, for one. Very dramatic. Lots of Turner-esque visuals to delight the eyes. And then there's the rain!!! As for the cold, it is so brutal that it changes things and I like that too. Can't actually do the garden, even though I want to because it's too wet and totally freezing. Perfect weather for reading, writing, dancing, knitting, cooking, eating and yoga.

Perfect time too for researching, contemplating, and gathering, which is what I realised (in a breakthrough moment last week) I am doing right now in relation to my latest project, tentatively entitled Behind Every Good Man. Pretty much all year I've been giving myself a hard time about this. My inner tormentor has been castigating me at every turn..."What! haven't you written anything yet? Is that all you've written? Stop wasting time! Call yourself a writer/artist/interesting person? Ha! Come on, time's running out!" But finally I remembered that both of the other major projects I have created since I got back from drama school, the three interiors of Lola Strong and my novel, Stripped, have each taken me about five or six years to make. This was a great relief. Now I can give myself permission to take my time and do my work. Write, read, think, contemplate, brood.

The other reason I was applying panic and pressure to myself is that I've known for a while that I will be very busy in the second half of this year, and so I won't have much extra time for my own work. But that all feels okay now and actually, ironically, the easing of pressure allows for more productivity and a calmness about finding space and time in amongst all the bustle.

So what is the bustle?

Care Instructions, which I performed in at the end of last year, produced by Aphids, has been picked up by the Malthouse and will be in in the Tower Theatre from July 7th-26th. Then Care Instructions is touring to the Transit VI festival in Denmark in August. TRANSIT is an international theatre festival and meeting organised at Odin Teatret, Holstebro, Denmark, directed by Julia Varley, one of the founders of The Magdalena Project, a network of women in contemporary theatre that has existed since 1986. The theme of this year's festival is Theatre—Women—On The Periphery so this should be a provocative and very stimulating event, which we are very proud and excited to be attending.

Then A Quarelling Pair, the puppet show for adults, also produced by Aphids, which we've performed a number of times in Melbourne and on tour, has been invited to do a season at New York's La MaMa theatre as part of a puppet festival, which we are also totally thrilled about, not just because it's an amazing opportunity to travel to and perform in New York, but also because the Jane Bowles puppet play A Quarelling Pair, which is part of our triptych of plays of the same name and indeed was the inspiration for the whole project, premiered in New York at an incredible bohemian night club called Miss Spivy's. Also, our production premiered at the Melbourne La Mama. It is a fabulous and fascinating set of connections.

When I get home, I will immediately embark on rehearsals for The Flood, a beautiful Australian Gothic play written by Jackie Smith, of Finucane and Smith, famous for their incredible cabaret and burlesque shows. The Flood will be performed at La Mama (Carlton!) in December this year.

In the meantime I lovingly look at the sky and listen to the rain, read about politics and psychology and think about idealism and murder.