Drama & Theatre Studies Performance Season 2007

Ash Girl

By Timberlake Wertenbaker. Directed by Naomi Edwards.

An urban gothic rendering of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Ash Girl - A feminist telling of the timeless Cinderella myth. Traversing depression, incest, suicide and the pain of beauty, The Ash Girl faces the trials of her step sisters, the absence of her father and the pursuit of her short lived happiness at the ball. A journey of self definition, self discovery and affirmation.

Out of Order

Directed by Adam “Gus” Powers

Out of Order is a self-devised performance piece, collaboratively written by a group of ten second-year Performing Arts students. Using Sir Walter Scott’s text The Black Dwarf as a starting point, the cast have created their own performative piece based on the themes, issues, and ideas raised in the text.

What began as a script set in 19th Century Scotland has now been transformed into a contemporary exploration of loneliness, isolation and untold secrets. The work is essentially a series of short episodes, linked together by similar themes that were all raised in the original text The Black Dwarf.

What you will see on stage is a work in progress that has evolved through numerous improvisations, workshops, brainstorming sessions, scriptwriting tasks, and extensive research. While wanting to produce a polished performance piece, the casts’ primary focus has been directed towards the process.

Road

By Jim Cartwright. Directed by Mark Constable.

It is 1987 and the inhabitants of Road are unemployed, uneducated, desperate or philosophical yet all with little hope of escape. England is in pieces.

This production is the result of an eight week rehearsal period with a talented cast of 15 third year BPA students. Directed by Mark Constable, the actors walk the audience through multiple performance spaces, introducing the colourful and varied personalities of Road.

A Solemn Mass for a Full Moon in Summer

By Michael Tremblay. Translation by William Findlay and Martin Bowman. Directed by Matt Lockitt.

On six Montreal balconies, eleven people await the coming of the full moon.
Throughout the humid night, hearts will open and souls will be exposed, as their voices cry to the heavens asking for mercy and a little peace. Each of the characters represent an element of love, and their relationships form an exploration of the human experience.

Michel Tremblay, Canada’s leading Quebecoir playwright, was inspired by the discovery of a lost Beriloz Mass during the writing of this play.
Structured not in scenes, but in movements (Kyrie, Dies Irae, Agnus Dei etc.), with each being driven by a musical tempo, the play is akin a to a major choral work, with lives being revealed through spoken recitative and aria’s - often underscored by the ensemble.

Directed by Matt Lockitt, assistant to Gordan McCall on MTC’s Cheech, this is a theatrical experience not to be missed. Following Cheech, and Thompson’s Lion in the Streets, this is his third Canadian play.

The Baker’s Wife

By Stephen Schwartz. Directed by Peter Fitzpatrick.

Monash University’s Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies is thrilled to present this major musical by much-loved composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell, Pippin), with a sizzling book by Joseph Stein.

Under the direction of AFI-award winner Peter Fitzpatrick (Rent, The Last Five Years, Parade), Monash students will take to the stage for one week only to present to audiences this unique and heartfelt musical about loves, loaves and lechery.

The Baker’s Wife opens on the mythical French village of Concorde, where the villagers eagerly await the arrival of their new baker, Aimable Castagnet. When he finally arrives, he brings with him not only his extraordinary baking skills but also a beautiful young wife, Genevieve, who attracts much attention from the villagers. One in particular, Dominique, is smitten by her beauty, and serenades her under her balcony, begging her to run away with him. When she reluctantly agrees, and Aimable wakes to find her gone, all hell breaks loose in the village. Aimable, unable to function without his beloved Genevieve by his side, becomes a wretched, alcoholic mess, and stops baking altogether. The villagers are horrified: how can life continue without their daily fresh, warm, bread? Taking matters into their own hands, the villagers set out on a quest to find Genevieve, and to reunite her with their baker. The consequences are heartbreaking and often hilarious, with a whole host of weird and wonderful characters all pitching in to try and save the day.

Director Peter Fitzpatrick is excited to be premiering in Australia the new version of this much-loved musical as his farewell production at Monash. “This is a fabulous show to be doing with our students,” he says. “It is blessed with Schwartz’s terrific melodies, and a huge heart. But most of all it’s a genuine challenge to all our actors to reflect the reality of all those quirky individuals who make up the community of the village.”

Featuring some of the Monash Performing Arts faculty’s best and brightest talent, The Baker’s Wife is a beautiful and original work of music theatre that is not to be missed.

Oleanna

By David Mamet. Directed by Tanya Barnes Performed and produced by Brune Munier and Adam ‘Gus’ Powers.

David Mamet’s gripping play Oleanna addresses the fine border line that impalpably sits between teacher and pupil. The delivery of failed communication between John and Carol leave audiences outraged enthralled and divided on gender politics and sexual harassment with violent climaxes driving our re-examination of education function. A ‘Must See’ production!