Fun-times

This roughly sums up our day...

(You can draw your own conclusions)

(not responsible for lipstick heart... but hey, it's on the wall of our accom... we love you too?)

... ask me later.

but YAY we're in RADELAIDE!

Introducing the team...

Starting with our eminent director, James Shaw

Trained at the Actor's Centre Australia, James is now a long-running ensemble member of one of Australia's leading children's theatre companies - Alpha Shows. Working with Alpha since 2011, James has toured their huge stage shows to hundreds of schools and theatres nationwide. Before then he had been involved extensively in the Melbourne fringe theatre scene; performing, writing and directing numerous productions since 2003, and winning multiple awards for his performances with the Hartwell Players in 2010. You may also have heard his voice in the new children's animated series Jar Dwellers SOS (Channel ELEVEN).

Cast is joined by the lovely:

Kristina Benton is a New Zealand-born actor, singer and composer, who trained

with the late Peter Oyston at the Monash Academy of Performing Arts. She has been

performing for close to 30 years, has worked with several Melbourne theatre companies

to critical acclaim, and has been composing music for theatre for four years. Her most

notable performances to date have been Skinhouse, which she co-wrote, composed, and

performed, Acidtongue and Dollface (Theatre On A Horse), and Awake (Quiet Little

Fox). She has appeared in ABC’s Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and has recently

performed in her first indie feature film role in How To Time Travel. Kristina is currently

the composer-in-residence and member of the creative team for Melbourne-based theatre 

company Quiet Little Fox, and is also an associate member of the newly formed theatre 

company, Before Shot. Her favourite fuck saying is “fuck me dead and bury me pregnant.”

Siobhan Connors graduated from the full time course at Howard Fine Acting Studio, Australia in 2012, after moving from her New Zealand home with a pair of "jandals" (it's a thing).

Siobhan's recent works includes Adoption (Ben Shackleford), Nevyr Love A Vampyr (Geoffrey Wright) and M-City (Tim Dolan) and has a number of  projects hiding up her sleeve to be revealed throughout the coming year. Siobhan also loves playing the piano, tennis, flowers, the versatility of coconuts, miniature Christmas trees, many a form of physical exercise, 'slightly salty, slightly sweet' popcorn and the willingness and wit of her closest people.

My favourite way to use the word 'fuck' is cathartically especially when the passion is so great I can't conjure words. Other times I like to use the big bad F word over-zealously in polite conversation, as an adjective for people who grind my bones, or when I've too keenly over pour my red wine (I'm a lightweight). But I like to use it most of all when my family isn't looking/listening as I can't even use the word 'fart' at home.

Lisa Divissi is a young actress & writer raised in Melbourne, Canberra and then Melbourne again. In late 2009 she formed the independent theatre company Theatre of Rats, which comprised of 6 friends and a cat they found in hard rubbish. During this time she performed in Lullabicycle (2009) and Papyrophobia in Yellow (2010) which she also wrote and toured as part of the Brisbane Festival. After some soul searching, barista-ing and enjoying life in Brunswick, Lisa graduated from the Howard Fine Acting Studio Australia’s full time course in 2012.

Her recent theatre credits include Sampaguita (Stephen Barker), Scrub and It’s Dark (Ross Mueller). Film credits include Arrivals (Meleesha Bardolia) alongside actress & poet Tariro Mavondo and Sue… Has a Dick (Shane Connor).  Lisa is currently in the process of writing a series of vignettes that will form a web series for her blog, which features art and social commentary on feminism, culture, literature, humour and personal essay at www.lisadivissi.com. Whilst she is a fan of the word fuckface, her favourite use of the word is simply to say it with a lot of air, as in ‘fuuhhhhhhhhhhck.

Phoebe Anne Taylor is an independent actor, writer and director. She was a member of the Howard Fine Acting Studio Ensemble 2012 and the Monash Graduate Ensemble 2009. Recent theatre credits include Four Letter Word Theatre’s Titus Andronicus and Speak English or Die and Apples and Shoes’ no blinding light,which she wrote and also toured to Adelaide Fringe in 2011. Film credits include Michael Liparota's Raylene and Charlie, Liam Firmager’s Revelation and Jaklene Vukasinovic’s Firelight. Phoebe is also a regular narrator for the Vision Australia Information Library Service. When Phoebe is not tripping the life dramatic, she can be found making a mean martini.

Phoebe found it difficult to articulate her favourite use of the word fuck as she spent time writing a play about it (you might've heard, the art of fucking), however, enjoys these two the most:

a) half past fuck in the morning

b) the fucking fucker's fucked now.

We have one more cast announcement to come. 

But should say we are also being helped by Isabel Hertaeg's invaluable creative experience and are looking forward to working with her soon.

Isabel Hertaeg (Actor/Soprano) is a cabaret artist of international reputation. Isabel’s work has been described as ‘The Rarest of things... Theatre that mattered’ Arts Hub and ‘Radical, transgressive chic’ The Guardian, UK. Isabel has worked in theatre, opera, independent film, community radio and television. She is also a freelance writer, published in New Matilda.   

Isabel has developed, and toured several successful solo cabaret works, which have given her hundreds of hours of stage experience and developed her skills as a writer, creator and producer of independent theatre.  Isabel’s recent cabaret work, 'La Petite Mort’ has endured two successful Edinburgh Fringe seasons and several seasons across Australia in Melbourne, Adelaide and launched the Tasmanian Theatre Company's Associate Artist Program in Hobart.  La Petite Mort has been listed as 'Adelaide Fringe Top 3 Shows' Adelaide Magazine, 'Best Bets of the Melbourne Fringe' The Age, 'A truly original, delightful, accomplished show' The Scotsman and 'Hot Pick' ABC Classic FM's Limelight Magazine.

Isabel occasionally calls deserving people 'fucking fuckfucks' and also enjoys the phrase,  'fuck those fuckers'.

So... It's finally here

After three years of trying to find a way through the art of fucking, it's completed, cast, got a director, had the first read through and we have broken it down. When I look back at where this piece started, and how it has morphed and taken in various different moods, styles of writing, sentiment... It is hard to believe that I a finally in a position to start sharing this piece with the world.

Three years ago, I was struck when a friend of mine was caught in the middle of a ridiculous homophobic situation, and I was left with a deep sense of resentment and purely dumbfounded. How quickly I was prepared to rush to my mate's defence, how angry I was that any form of discrimination still exists (particularly as this case happened in what I perceive to be a pretty progressive part of town), how easily it was slipped into the situation without any recourse for action, how powerless everyone in the situation had been to stop it... And worse, that this is not a once off story. Fast forward, we're now in a place whee the federal government is actively sanctioning homophobic policies, I'm reading pretty consistent stories about hate crimes towards women all over the world, gen y is getting hated on for falling into a stereotype that has been dictated to us by the media and by the way we are forced to live by the baby boomer generation... And another mate of mine tells me a ripper of a story that oddly seems to capture all of my discomfort and deep sense of confusion as to what is happening with my generation. It is these curious elements coming together which have finally given me the push to find a way through what, at first, was at best a melange of ideas and dissatisfactions with dismissals happening all over the world.

My first major challenge was how to find humour in a piece which - at present - I find so essentially unfunny. But, I similarly did not want a piece of theatre that bashed people over the heads with wht "my message" was. Rather, like my conversations when it comes to any of these issues, I wanted to tell a story that provoked questions and thoughtfulness, rather than lessons and ill-conscience. This I think, beyond all hope, I've found an almost Seuss-sequel voice for those of us who know how to relate to street rhythm (brought up with nursery rhyme, guilty pleasure for hip-hop and rap, appreciation for the beat poet generation... I've tried to find my way through and lean on my inspirations with heavy heart).

I also felt very strongly about writing an aural piece, a joy to have on the tongue, but to re-encourage active listening. I'm so pleased with this outcome. There is something playful and open in the possibility of non-scene-based text. And I'm so thankful that the whole creative team seem pretty happy and on board with this aspect of the play.

What fascinates me though, is that the central premise of this piece has always been the use of language, and how my contemporaries have found the way to subvert language norms and reclaim the obscenities of old. The art of fucking has always been a piece about language and how we use the word to full advantage, and the times when it fails us. There was a time when if realised that for me personally, when I get really serious and angry, I can no longer swear, because for me, it doesn't hold that purpose. I have other friends who would never swear until really very very irate. The ways I which swearing is friendly banter, and the times where it crosses into inappropriate.

I once dropped the f-bomb on the radio - not because I'd made a mistake or anything, but referring to the book Go the Fuck to Sleep... Which, let's be honest, is just more funny than "Go the Eff to Sleep" (common way around printed swear words on the radio). Well, boy did the station come down on me and hard. I similarly turned two of my friends usage of the c-bomb around in one year of them living with me... Because, I fear words that have so much power in the simple act of saying them. This to me is a dangerous part of language. To be able to utter one simple four word letter and be able to make the whole word dismiss what you're saying simply because there is the presence of obscenity in your speech disregards too large a portion of society... And also gives a power over to words that is dangerous and dark. I'd be lying if I said that the title of the show has already run me into trouble... But, I'm staying true to what I think this performance is really essentially about - which is sections of society who are painted in a specific way find a voice, which sometimes is readily dismissed because that voice doesn't fit the designated stereotype and hence, marginalisation can be a vicious cycle...

There's something messy about this piece, it's about getting fucked up, fucked over, fucked with; it's about fucking, fucking up, the fact that everything's fucked; fuck this, fuck that, fuck off... Y'know... Fuck!

It is in this spirit of play that I am so thrilled to be really starting on this journey with close friends who are willing to take on the world too. Ready to start rehearsing it so we can share this show with the world.