Presented by Australian Institute of Comedy In association with the Alex Theatre
Open Media team had the opportunity to film and photograph renowned comedic archeologist Professor Beverly Attenborough outside an actual dig site, situated in the bowels of the Espy Hotel in St Kilda.
Extraordinarily well-preserved fossils have been excavated and will be on show at the Alex Theatre 1/135 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda on the 29th February 2020 at 7pm.
Melbourne’s beloved all rounder Brian Nankervis will host this comedic event, the rarest in Australian history.
Other legendary comics include Flacco, Raymond J Bartholomeuz, Ethel Chop, Con Marasco, Elliot Goblet, Elle McFeast, Slim Whittle, Pate Biscuit, Bev Killick and special guest Professor Beverly Attenborough.
Open Media’s Simon Barnett and writer / journalist Jeanette Leigh fluffing Professor Beverly Attenborough in preparation for her film shoot.Filming her soon to be released micro documentary news story about RAIDERS OF THE LOST LAUGH on 29th February at the Alex Theatre.Fiercely passionate about her quest to save and preserve past and present Comedy Culture for future generations.
I am not an actor, professional or otherwise nor aspire to become one. None-the-less tonight I found myself attending the first night of Peter Kalos’s weekend long acting workshop Understand the Methodat the Alex Theatre.
I first met Peter Kalos a few short months ago while working with colleagues who set up shop within the Alex Theatre arts hub. I was instantly refreshed by Peter’s presence and his desire for honest connection and to cut to the chase. This I like. Among my endeavours, I create media content and as he had not long moved his acting school Actor’s Lab and theatre company Lab Theatre into the Alex, this is exactly what he wanted. We immediately had a common thread.
A couple of days later he seized the opportunity and invited me into one of his method acting classes being held in Theatre One, the biggest theatre. There were about 30 of his students draped around the theatre in various configurations. Peter was feverishly pacing up and down the aisle continuously guiding his devoted congregation. They had their eyes shut and appeared to be in their own zones. They were to enact his seemingly random and often contrary suggested scenarios. He quickly ran up the aisle to where myself and a colleague were observing and eyeballing me, a few inches from my face, said ‘watch this’. With a particularly emotive suggestion the sound of authentic and hysterical wailing women and men started filling the room. He turned to us and winked. I felt the goose bumps and immediately saw the potential of a reality show on the drawing board. I thought this guy is an ultimate trip master.
Some say the mark of a true creative is to have the ability to inspire others. Peter is a true creative.
“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” Act-II, Scene-VII of the play As You Like It by William Shakespeare. Never truer words.
So tonight we had a similar scenario going on but in a different studio setting with the same dedication and iron clad resolve from the 20 plus students. Eyes shut, in the zone. I started doing what I do, which is welding the camera, spying on others doing what they do. I’m watching these individuals being guided to other dimensions. All the time Peter was fuelling this collective flight with his seemingly irresistible words. The allure got the better of me and I put the camera down and joined the multiverse. We were even guided to the moon at one point.
What is fuelling this incredible communion? I am not entirely sure but tonight Peter shared some very interesting stories about his personal experiences with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio as a cameraman during the auditions for Gilbert Grape in LA, and what he witnessed on the set between Robert de Niro and Sharon Stone during the filming of Casino. Gripping and tantalising stories which are seemingly never ending.
Peter Kalos knows his business, every which way and is gifted with an insatiable ability to share it with his students. All are welcome to come along to experience the extraordinary world of Method Acting.
A never before published exclusive, intimate and very insightful interview with psychic medium John Edward produced by Open Media as a prelude to his 2019 appearances at the Alex Theatre on 25, 26 & 27 October, 25 & 30 November and 1 December.
The Evening will begin with Q & A, John will then connect with the other side delivering messages to the audience from loved ones who have crossed over.
VIP ticket holders get seats closest to the stage, they stay for a special Q & A and then meet and greet with a photo of them and John. In addition to that, they will receive a one-year membership to Evolve. (No welcome package is included)
Produced by Open Media
Interview by Lucy Gale
Sound by Alexander Stuart Black
Original music ‘Psychic Kiss’ by David Morris
Special thanks to John Edward and Dianna O’Neill Publicity
St Kilda, considered the jewel of Port Phillip, has always been synonymous with multi-layered cultures, music, theatre, art and artists.
However, along the way St Kilda lost its ability to attract and nurture its rising creatives.
St Kilda was cleaned up. Became gentrified. The toilet block at the well known indigenous meeting place ‘Koori Park’ was torn down and the the tribe was forced to scatter. Property prices skyrocketed and financial and property investors reigned supreme. The local council became one of the richest in Melbourne and the well-to-do believed they held the key to St Kilda’s rising prosperity and glory.
Today when one takes a stroll down the sunset side of Fitzroy Street you got to wonder WTF happened? Bucket loads of taxpayer’s money has been spent on road infrastructure to accommodate the projected masses flooding into St Kilda as a result of the clean up and gentrification and yes parking, car manoeuvrability and business has been severely impeded.
Regardless of its unique and beautiful seascape, St Kilda has became known as a bi-law trap, whether on the roads or in the venues where noise is policed to what many consider unreasonable and unrealistic proportions. Without doubt many performing artists and the businesses that accommodated them have little reason to feel confident in being facilitated to reach full potential.
Singer / songwriter Lisa Wood part of “Tribute to Women” at St Luja
A number of years ago local creatives with countercultural persuasions, living and working in St Kilda, started to look at ways to do their bit to save St Kilda’s diverse cultural expression and keep the streets alive and pumping. These guys were not property owners, nor did they have ties to local council or government. They battled along with their personal desires, inspirations and imaginations. Eventually a move was made to activate their collective visions and The St Kilda Arts Community was formed.
Espy and the St Kilda Comedy Club was reborn. Cj Fortuna, Andrew Goodone, Brad Oakes & Dave O’Neil.
Its founding members were remaining creatives working in isolated pockets throughout St Kilda who came together for the greater good. A new collective movement was ignited and the first St Kilda Art Crawl happened, followed by two more.
The Victorian Minister for the Arts was approached by representatives of this newly formed Arts Community and unquestioningly acknowledged the need and potential on offer and gave his official thumbs up. Local council also followed suit with some practical and moral support. The Alex Theatre and the not yet refurbished Espy opened its doors and rallied with moral and practical support, Slowly the local business owners, who were somewhat fiscally strained, started to take note although at first non-committal and wary. Many local artists and galleries on the other hand were given renewed enthusiasm, sensing the energy shift and the potential that comes with it.
Simon Barnett, Martin Foley & Mick Pacholli
A collective vibe throughout the arts community started to rise and ‘art happenings’ in the lesser known art hubs in St Kilda started to be acknowledged and illuminated by the Arts Community for their efforts.
The thing is, artists are workers who deserve a decent income. Their creative and artistic enterprises deserve to be held in high esteem and celebrated. History shows this is what nourishes community.
Robert Mate Mate performing at Theatreworks 1992 image by Russell Cooper.
To quote Robert Mate Mate, a much loved friend who passed on many years ago…
“Politics breeds combat ability whereas art and culture breeds compatibility.”
Some years back we had the opportunity to interview world renown Psychic Medium John Edward.
In this informative & compelling interview John has answered questions about what it means to be a psychic medium and how he shares this gift with the world.
As a prelude to his forthcoming 2019 tour at the Alex Theatre in St Kilda we decided to publish this interview in three parts in PODCAST format for your listening pleasure.
Sound by Alexander Stuart Black and original music by David Morris
The Evening will begin with Q & A, John will then connect with the other side delivering messages to the audience from loved ones who have crossed over.
VIP ticket holders get seats closest to the stage, they stay for a special Q & A and then meet and greet with a photo of them and John. In addition to that, they will receive a one-year membership to Evolve. (No welcome package is included)
Review by Marian Webb / photographs by Kerrie Pacholli
Daniel Schepisi and Katharine Innes performing in Fifty Words by Michael Weller
FIFTY WORDS by American dramatist MICHAEL WELLER premiered Off Broadway in 2008. Now, Lab Theatre, under the masterful direction of PETER KALOS, has brought the two-hander to the Alex in St Kilda.
Talented stage and screen performers KATHARINE INNES and DANIEL SCHEPISI portray Jan and Adam, a couple whose marriage reaches crisis over the course of a night when their nine-year-old son Greg is away on a sleep-over. The actors have both trained under Kalos in the American ‘method’ tradition pioneered by Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York and brought home by Kalos after a 20-year sojourn in the US.
Daniel Schepisi & Katharine Innes performing in Fifty Words by Michael Weller
Method is highly suitable to cinematic acting as it allows actors to tap the depths of their own psychology to give naturalistic, nuanced expression to the characters they portray. This kind of cinematic realism was on display in the stag performance I witnessed on Thursday night (25 July). There was genuine intimacy between the actors, who performed much of the play’s first act facing each other in profile to the audience, a positioning which rendered audible projection of dialogue somewhat difficult without the aid of cinematic microphones. Added to this challenge, Lab Theatre has only recently taken up residence at the Alex, which boasts an auditorium presumably larger than the ‘black box’ in Brunswick where in 2017 Lab Theatre began. Levels improved after intermission, however, when dialogue was perfectly audible.
Daniel Schepisi & Katharine Innes performing in Fifty Words by Michael Weller
Katharine Innes gave an assured, high-key performance as the overworked, overwrought Jan, a ballerina turned mother-cum-data-analyst. Daniel Schepisi gave a truthful rendition of Adam, Jan’s loving husband bemused by her increasingly frantic outbursts. There was much to love in his performance, although layers of deceitfulness and cynicism in Adam’s character seemed alien to the promising young actor.
The set, credited to Lab Theatre producers DENNIS MANAHAN, SKYE YOUNG and NATALIA NESPECA, is extraordinary; it presents an entirely liveable apartment complete with functioning kitchen, tasteful dining room, windows backdropped with nocturnal cityscape, and a translucent upstairs bedroom. A projected digital clock indicates the passage of time through the all-night action of the play.
The play’s title – Fifty Words – refers to a wish voiced by Jan for as many words in English for love as there are Eskimo words for snow. This is a love story about a crisis in intimacy that besets a marriage suddenly released from the blanketing burden of child-rearing.
Lab Theatre is to be congratulated for a nuanced and engaging piece of stage craft. The company is a welcome addition to the artistic life of St Kilda and well-placed to become a magnetic centre of excellence.
WHERE:
Alex Theatre – Level 1, 135 Fitzroy Street, St. Kilda
Daniel Schepisi & Katharine Innes in Fifty Words by Michael Weller
Performance Dates – Fifty Words
Wednesday 24 July (Preview): 8PM
Thursday 25 July (Media &VIP)
Friday 26 July (Opening): 8PM
Saturday 27 July: 8PM
Sunday 28th of July: 5PM
Thursday 1st of August: 8PM
Friday 2nd of August: 8PM
Saturday 3rd of August (CLOSING NIGHT) 8PM
THE TELEGRAPH
“Psychologically compelling.”
TIME OUT ****
Fifty Words, by playwright Michael Weller, produced by Lab Theatre is opening this week at the Alex Theatre in St Kilda.
This is a powerful play of love, anger and betrayal with two of the most promising Australian actors in Katharine Innes and Daniel Schepisi.
Directed by Peter Kalos, the story is about Adam and Jan who are finally alone together for the first time in almost 10 years. Without the buffer of their nine-year-old son (who is away at his first-ever sleepover) Adam’s attempt to seduce his wife before he leaves on business the next day begins a suspenseful nightlong roller-coaster ride of revelation, rancour, passion and humour that explores a modern-day marriage on the verge of either a breakup or deepening love…
This smoothly scripted multi-layered play reveals how closely love and hate can be linked in marriage; with each problem experienced as parents, another subsequent layer revealed shows yet another problem in their relationship. The play is an incisive close-up of the emotional battleground of contemporary relationships and the lengths to which a couple will go to save it.
“The play is a bruising back and forth of power games, recriminations, seemingly innocent putdowns and ugly confessions, but it’s the evidence of inextinguishable love and desire that makes this 21st century George and Martha fascinating.” – David Rooney, Variety
Crowded Together Productions proudly presents this hilarious, offbeat, absurdist comedy inspired play by Marius von Mayenburg’s ‘The Ugly One’. for MICF 2019.
Alex Theatre, St Kilda Doors Open: 7.30pm Act One: 8.00pm Approx. Finish Time: 9.10pm
Tickets: Adults $36.85, Concession $34.40. Artist Passes welcome
In a world where botox, implants and Instagram filters reign supreme, Leigh, finds out she’s a … not-so-aesthetically pleasing woman. In other words, she was hit with the ugly stick. several times. But Leigh is determined to get ahead no matter what the cost.
Shamita Siva (Co-director/Producer/Writer). Shamita is a multifaceted performance artist and creative. Comfortable on stage or on screen, Shamita is a performer who enjoys a challenge. A trained dancer from an early age, she has performed professionally overseas as well as nationally. She developed an interest in physical theatre forms and has trained in Butoh alongside her acting. She holds a BA Performing Arts from Monash University, supplemented by training with Film & Television Studios International, Stella Adler AoA Los Angeles, and the Meisner Technique. Shamita is also a keen writer and often incorporates spoken word into her pieces and performances. She draws inspiration from everyday experiences, music and sound, and socio- political issues she is impassioned by.
Charlotte Rose Watson (Co-director/Producer/Writer): Charlotte caught the acting bug in high school and continued with private acting lessons before completing a Bachelor of Performance at University of Wollongong. After moving from Sydney, her first Melbourne theatre debut was performing in the 2016 Melbourne Fringe Festival in the production ‘Altar Girl’. This is where Sham and Charlotte met. Charlotte has recently undertaken the Producer Bootcamp mentored by Laura Milke Garner to expand her theatre-making and theatre producing skill set. She has a passion for producing and writing plays – especially comedy! She previously worked as a talent agent representing Melbourne actors and coaching acting classes. She now proudly works at the Alex Theatre where she is their theatre programmer and the executive assistant to the general manager.
Cast:
Andrew Burns, a whiz bang trivia host and actor who plays the famous surgeon Dr. David Wazinski.
Maia Absburg an incredibly powerful actor and physical theatre performer, plays on our heart strings as Leigh.
Ben Lindsay, a tradie by day, dynamite actor by night, Ben plays the well-meaning yet oblivious Hank- Leighs husband.
Nicolette Nespeca; who’s comic timing is brilliant in the roles Leigh’s boss Lucille and #Insta-Famous Yogini.
It could only be from the Midas touch group at the Alex Theatre to ensure that this FANF……TASTIC musical parody of the very series ’50 Shades of Grey’ books and films hit St Kilda.
Anyone that has seen the films with the very sexy Jamie Dorman, who even made a psycho sexual serial killer in “The Fall” look hot, will get a spark of interest. There were a lot of women in the audience I noted. However, this story onstage emanates from the books and your imaginations. Probably more sensuous anyway.
Oh course, it was a hit all over America and now some very switched on Producers in David Venn Enterprises have brought it to our shores. My guess it will go on the road for quite a while once word gets out.
This extremely funny, well produced show consisting of nine TOP NOTCH actors, singers and dancers is a MUST to kick start your Comedy Festival dates.
It was such a positive ‘shot in the arm’ to coin a well known phrase, I not only slept like I had my fill but I woke up frisky as well and raring to go.
Oh, if you are wondering where to go the Alex Theatre begins the Paris end of Fitzroy Street.
Reason Victoria, Liberal, Animal Justice, Labor and Greens Parties gathered at the Alex Theatre that hosted a timely Albert Park Candidates Forum organised by unChain Port Phillip and Live.org.au and supported by 22 other local community groups.
As an independent producer and volunteer journalist for St Kilda News I was invited to cover this event. I am please to report I found this forum to be very compelling and very illuminating.
The night was long, a three-hour gig.
Jarryd Bartle from Reason Victoria was first cab of the rank. He made clear his party’s policies on sex, drugs and rock n roll. He stressed the party’s desires to have an evidence-based approach to crime, drug law reform, harm minimization, religion, tax, transparency and accountability in parliament to name a few topics.
Next up was Andrew Bond for the Liberals, who spearheaded his party’s concerns on congestion, crime, safety and CCTV on the streets and how those issue have been handled over the last four years.
In answer to Andrew Bond’s statements on these issues was Martin Foley who has been an Albert Park member since 2007. Martin is also a current Minister in the Andrews State Labor government with portfolios that include Housing, Disability and Ageing, Mental Health and Equality as well as Creative Industries.
With robust experience working in the field, Martin eloquently made clear that Labor is on its party line track and looking to continue to set a positive plan for a progressive future with bold reforms using the potential of Fishermans Bend as a lynch pin site to getting things right.
Greens candidate Ogy Simic also gave a strong voice to the Greens policies making clear that this Victoria State election is very significant for an inclusive future in facing issues on the impact of climate change and a healthy society; naming issues of housing, poverty, transport and assisting the vulnerable, with a new view, attitude and approach.
To finish was Dr. Tamasin Ramsey for the Animal Justice Party who illuminated to everyone that humans consist of .02 of 1 % of the global population and how important it is for we humans to realize that other living creatures consist of 99.9 % of all life on earth. Working as a paramedic on the streets also gave Tamasin experience into the plights of humans and a clear, clean insight into the importance of changing our attitudes, practices and interrelationships for a positive and healthy future for all life on earth.
Our media team, consisting of pationpics commissioned by St Kilda News and Mynewsroom, have produced a short film of the Forum with an extended podcast of the entire forum giving you, the electorate, insight into these individuals and their party’s polices. We hope you find this useful for your vote.
Community Groupssupporting the forumare: unChain Port Phillip, LIVE.ORG.AU, Port Phillip Alliance for Sustainability (PPAS), South Port Urban Responsible Renewal (SPURR), Port People, Port Phillip EcoCentre, St.Kilda Junction Area Action Group (JAAG), Sacred Heart Mission, Port Phillip Bicycle Users Group (BUG), Community Alliance of Port Phillip (CAPP), This Week in St Kilda (TWISK), Bayside Climate Change Action Group (BCCAG), Veg Out Community Gardens St Kilda, (VEG OUT), Friends of the Earth (FOE), Beach Patrol Port Melbourne, Albert Park, South Melbourne and St Kilda and Love Our Streets (LOS) Port Melbourne and Elwood, Beacon Cove Neighbourhood Association (BCNA), Montague Community Alliance, Friends of St Kilda, St Kilda News, pationpics.com, Mynewsroom.
Below is a Podcast of the entire Albert Park Candidates Forum which was organised by unChain Port Phillip and Live.org.au and supported by 20 local community groups, hosted by the Alex Theatre St Kilda.
A never before published exclusive, intimate and very insightful interview with psychic medium John Edward produced by Open Media as a prelude to his 2019 appearances at the Alex Theatre on 25, 26 & 27 October, 25 & 30 November and 1 December.
It could only be from the Midas touch group at the Alex Theatre to ensure that this FANF……TASTIC musical parody of the very series ’50 Shades of Grey’ books and films hit St Kilda.
Oh course, it was a hit all over America and now some very switched on Producers in
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