Inking an Original Work: The Power of New Theatre
Original work can be a risky prospect for theatres on a tight budget. And, let’s face it, most theatres run on the smell of an oily rag borrowed from a friend in a sensible job.
But when a company manages to unearth a wonderful new play, the one that gets audiences buzzing and turnstiles turning – everyone wins.
Tours are suddenly an option (creatives actually get paid a living wage). Playwrights get breaks. Scripts get published. Actors get noticed. And…who knows what else? Someone might even want to turn it into a Netflix movie.
Actually, the sky’s the limit when a truly new, original work strikes the sweet spot between commercial and critical success. Look at Andrew Bovell’s Speaking in Tongues (later made into the film, ‘Lantana’), or Hannie Rayson’s Hotel Sorrento.
But how does that actually happen in the real world? Plays rarely just appear on someone’s desk like they do in a Netflix movie.
Playwriting takes time and critical thinking, an ear for the mood and the hot topics of the day. Sometimes it requires the benefit of an audience and an entirely new draft. Mostly, it’s just hard, thankless work. And many, many revisions.
Script developments are a vital part of theatre companies.
Inking the Deal
Yet, the power of original work to create new opportunities – and build new audiences – is powerful motivation for theatre companies to invest in strong script development programs.
The INK program at Red Stitch brings together talented playwrights and the company’s ensemble actors. Working together, with the help of dramaturges and theatre creatives, INK builds a viable pipeline of new, original work.
It was always about creating a highly visible pathway for writers. Then, with time and rigour put into each script’s development, the company could commit to programming new plays and giving them the very best chance of success.
Katy Warner.
Katy Warner, whose play Grace wowed audiences earlier this year, developed her original work through INK from just the seed of an idea. The production, which tapped into some difficult issues around motherhood, has since played to sell out houses and an extended season.
“I always felt that I, as the playwright, was at the heart of the INK process. (It) afforded the time, the space, the dramaturgical expertise and professional connections, to shape and workshop the play through a process that worked for me and the play I wanted to write. I cannot think of another program like this.”
Touring the World
Like Warner, Morgan Rose has been working with Red Stitch in the INK program for a number of years. Her play, desert, 6.29, had a successful run in Melbourne and received high acclaim. Even better, the production was invited to tour to China for the Wuzhen Theatre Festival in 2018.
desert 6.29pm by Morgan Rose
Morgan feels the program has helped her continue to develop as a writer after that initial success. It’s become her ideal way to write plays; ‘the way theatre was meant to be made.’
Furthermore, she feels that sharing an idea and having support right through to production has allowed her to become ‘fully immersed’ in the work and get to new places in her artistic practice.
Morgan Rose
Now, Rose’s latest play is ready to premiere. The tragi-comic Fast Food is a timely look at the gig economy and the power of imagination to transcend soul-crushing employment.
Unlike the ‘desert’ workshops, development on Fast Food began with a series of discussions and on-the-floor improvisations with actors. Rose proposed this unconventional approach to the ensemble. She was grateful the response was enthusiastic rather then sceptical.
The production is now in the hands of director, Bridget Balodis. A long time collaborator and a big fan of Rose’s work, Balodis continues her obsession with expanding the notion of what an ‘Australian Story’ can be.
“I love Morgan’s writing, I think she has an incredible ear for dialogue and she loves making work about things we don’t normally talk about; private thoughts, failures, secret wants. So Morgan and I knew we wanted to work together again and I’ve been attached from the very beginning.”
Fast Food by Morgan Rose premieres in May.
A Wing and a Prayer
The volume of original work in Red Stitch’s 2022 season is testament to the belief that Artistic Director, Ella Caldwell, places in the INK program to drive the company forward.
A lot of development continued during the Covid-19 shutdowns, and the accumulation of scripts presented some real opportunities for the company. This was especially valuable at a time when overseas premieres had slowed to a trickle.
Artistic Director, Ella Caldwell.
Playwright, Eric Gardner, approached Caldwell simply to explore a theatrical idea, to see what was possible with a ‘conventional’, text-based play.
Gardiner’s original work was a laconic, brooding piece about missed opportunity. Its dark, anti-dramatic tone and themes of domination and submission might struggle to find a home in a purely commercial theatre. But, at Red Stitch, the opportunity to see what worked with audiences was a vital and revelatory moment.
“Red Stitch’s INK program nurtures playwriting that’s complex and stimulating, but which remains thoroughly engaging and accessible to a broad audience. That’s a difficult balance to strike, and it’s only made possible by the company’s rigour and generous attention.”
After all, INK is not just about constructing popular hits, but also about exploring ideas that transcend traditional narrative. Who knows what subjects and modes of performance will define the next generation? Experimental theatre remains an important way to learn how to tell stories on the stage.
Memory, Trust and Love
The premiere of Prayer Machine, a ‘sharp two-hander…navigating memory, trust and love’, followed a number of workshops involving director, Krystalla Pearce, and Red Stitch actors.
Prayer Machine by Eric Gardiner.
By that time, Gardiner had shifted his protagonists to an older, middle aged male demographic, which would further highlight the sense of loss they experienced within the drama.
The continual digressions of the text served to underscore the evasion at the heart of the story: Two men, tragically lost, unrepentant, and riddled with denial.
Delayed Interplay
Similarly, Hmong-Australian playwright, Michele Lee, wanted to explore the interplay between ‘sexuality, identity, displacement and desire in contemporary culture’. With Single Ladies, the same performers worked on the project from start to finish.
Unfortunately, the play was well into previews in early 2020 before being abruptly shutdown by Covid – and then mothballed for over a year.
Michele Lee.
Nevertheless, Lee found the constant presence of actors (Caroline Lee, Andrea Swifte and Jem Lai) throughout to be a wonderfully supportive and fruitful experience.
It was during that unscheduled break, whilst the production sat idle, that many parts of the play started to fall into place.
Finally, in 2021, the gentle, domestic comedy about a lost dog set in Collingwood had its opening night. Single Ladies offered a unique and entertaining vision of multiculturalism and ‘otherness’. Moreover, the writer’s ability to conjure ‘the atmosphere and sound of a place‘ was well received by Melbourne audiences starved of local content.
Lee continues to write new scripts for screen and stage professionally. She has worked with Matchbox Pictures (Hungry Ghosts, 2020), Malthouse Theatre, and Sydney Theatre Company. Her latest play, Rice, is soon to embark on a UK tour.
Slap. Bang.
Dan Giovanonni, whose 2015 play, Jurassica, enjoyed enormous box office success at Red Stitch, is another INK playwright enjoying main stage opportunities. His latest play Slap. Bang. Kiss. opens at the MTC later this year.
Jurassica tapped into a large Italian émigré audience and also had resonance for many of us who have grown up in this culture. It perfectly captured the Australian experience. And, as a ‘deeply personal reflection about the idea of home‘, it connects on many levels.
The production gave Red Stitch a remount and a tour through 2018 with the help of touring partner, Critical Stages.
Jane Bodie’s original work, Lamb (with songs by Mark Seymour), was also an audience favourite that toured nationally with Critical Stages in 2020.
Lamb by Jane Bodie on tour in 2020.
All in all, the INK program has spawned countless opportunities and collaborations between artists (like Bodie and Seymour) that might never have happened without a company dedicated to creating new work.
Those casual connections and meetings of minds are perhaps the most valuable thing that theatres as creative hubs provide.
Find out more about Red Stitch’s INK program and how to apply. Book now for Fast Food by Morgan Rose (May 13 – June 5).