First Date: Broadway's Musical Comedy - Blak Yak Theatre (23 September 2017)

Director Lorna Mackie has a knack for bringing quirky, lesser known musicals such as 2014's The Great American Trailer Park Musical, 2015's Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens, and last year's Bad Girls to Perth's community theatre stages. First Date fits comfortably into that tradition; a funny look at the pitfalls, embarrassments, and epiphanies of the blind date. Not only that, Blak Yak being a theatre company without a permanent home often comes up with interesting alternative venues for their shows. In this case the Shenton Park Community Centre which proved quite the intimate locale. As an aside, it was amusing to see a portrait of a much younger Queen Elizabeth II hanging high above the onstage antics. Perhaps Her Majesty would have approved and hankered for a burger.

Mackie also attracts the cream of Perth's community theatre performers with several here having lead role experience - Tom Hutton, Cassie Skinner, Helen Kerr, Therese Cruise, and reigning Finley Award Winner for Best Male Musical Performer Mitch Lawrence; the first four of whom were also in Bad Girls. Joining the cast were Arianne Westcott-King, James Hynson, and Jason Nettle.

In essence this is a two-hander - guy meets girl at a restaurant on a first date - that is surrounded by a colourful group of real and imagined characters. In some ways it felt like a musical version of 90's sitcom Herman's Head with a comic sensibility that reminded me of Spamalot (Aaron is Jewish, Casey is decidedly not) and there was even a little Avenue Q thrown in with an unexpected 'cameo'.

Hutton is the awkward BDV (blind date virgin) Aaron and Skinner's 'serial dater' Casey is all sass and confidence. On the surface. Over the course of drinks and a meal they get to learn more about each other with the help of the wait staff, reincarnations of mothers and grandmas, intrusions by imagined best friends, sisters, ex-lovers, and, in the modern age, technology itself.

This gives plenty of opportunity for the ensemble to shine in several funny set-pieces but the success of the production rests on the interaction between Aaron and Casey. In this I was impressed with the acting of both Hutton and Skinner who bounced off each other nicely, displayed good comic timing, and gave layers of doubt and vulnerability to their characters amongst the observational comedy and, at times, sheer shtick. Not to mention sporting credible American accents and the ability to freeze mid-ingestion of a pickle.

It's an odd musical in that the songs are liberally shared around with the two leads not often given prominence. Skinner does get a featured moment with the first act closer Safer which she belts out to great effect. The five piece band was nestled alongside one wall right next to the audience. Indeed I was about a metre or so from the keyboards in my second row seat. The sound balance, on the whole, was very good and I was delighted that the drums were suitably muted. Several musicals staged at venues without a pit have been cruelled by overpowering drum work.

The wireless microphones were occasionally problematic with Nettle suffering the most in this regard. The poor pickup often left him singing unamplified but he showed great composure (and style) in soldiering on. The intimate nature of the venue meant that nothing too much was lost though the rapid-fire lyrics were sometimes difficult to follow.

Of the supporting cast Mitch Lawrence was excellent as Aaron's best friend Gabe with faux indignation and 'bro advice' turned to high. Helen Kerr plays the ex that Aaron must get over with "I'm too good for you" insouciance though it's her appearance as Google - yes, the search engine itself - that cracked me up during a role call of social media in The World Wide Web is Forever.

James Hynson is a scene stealer as The Waiter (and accomplice for the guest cameo) with his I'd Order Love kicking off the second act in style. Arianne Westcott-King had a twinkle about her as Casey's hectoring sister Lauren and was light on her feet with a little tap for good measure. Therese Cruise adds colour as a drunk at the bar and as the Jewish Grandmother from Hell in the Pythonesque The Girl For You while Jason Nettle plays the over-the-top gay friend Reggie with swagger.

As I often find with comedy musicals there is always a more serious or tender song that stands out from the frivolity and here it's Hutton and Kerr (as Aaron's mother) singing The Things I Never Said which was a standout. Hutton also has a featured moment in the second act with In Love With You.

Mackie at the start of the show encouraged the audience to hoot and holler throughout and it's that kind of musical. Funny, over-the-top, but with some perceptive insights into the dating game and strong performances all round. A fun night.

24 Hour Stage Project - Blak Yak Theatre (9 April 2016)

Blak Yak Theatre held their inaugural 24 Hour Stage Project at Rigby’s Bar and Grill in the city on Friday and Saturday nights. I had the pleasure and great honour of being asked to come along and adjudicate the 6 teams that had created productions in that 24 hour period. Writers, actors and directors had been assigned at random and given the theme of Back in 5 which they were free to interpret in any way they liked. The writers went away Friday night to work their magic with the directors and actors starting their work Saturday morning. There was time for a tech run each in the afternoon before the lights came down on a paying audience from 8pm.

Teams were competing for cash prizes and there was also the opportunity for feedback and Honourable Mentions. Perhaps more than that it was a way for newcomers to get involved and have their words, directing, or acting staged in front of an audience, some for the very first time. Plus the impetus of having people coming together in a collaborative endeavour to create new work. Hopefully creative partnerships were forged and some if not all of these projects will find life in further development.

I received the scripts Saturday morning and I was impressed with the quality across the board given that they were written in only a 12 hour window. For the Best Script prize I wanted to choose a winner based on the work on the page before seeing the actual productions later that night. It also had me intrigued to see how they would be realised, again in the fiendishly short space of 12 hours for directors, actors, and the technical crew Blak Yak had provided to make the words come to life on stage.

The night was very well run, there was a good sized and enthusiastic audience in attendance downstairs at Rigby’s, and everything went without a hitch. Above all else the end result of 24 hours of frantic creativity was 6 varying yet compelling pieces of theatre. There was everything from a super-hero themed comedy set on a train to Midland; international spies duelling to see who would end Donald Trump’s robotic march to the White House; a hard hitting tale of a woman trying to come to terms with the abuse of her childhood; overwhelming grief and confusion over the death of a friend; a woman celebrating her wedding anniversary in, let’s say, unusual ways; and a relationship coming to an end as ‘going out to get milk’ turns into a cross country trip to Sydney. It was a nice mix of comedy and drama.

The quality of acting was high and the use of the small stage space inventive. As I remarked before announcing the winners it was instructive to see so clearly demonstrated that with a space no matter how small, a script, some actors, a director, simple props, minimal set, basic sound and lighting cues you can create theatre that will move people or make them laugh or think or all of these things. All you need is a willingness to work together, take some risks, and be creative in your storytelling.

I really enjoyed the night and it was a little unusual for me. Normally I never ever take notes when I’m watching a show. Occasionally at interval or after a production you might see me adding a few reminders to Memo on my smart phone but they’re usually song titles or references I might forget. Here I had a notepad and Adjudication form as there was the opportunity to give some brief feedback to each team as well as having to choose winners in a short timeframe. I even eschewed my usual cider, nursing a lemon squash (heaven forbid!) all night.  

Thank you to Blak Yak President Lorna Mackie who, along with her team, did such a wonderful job of organising the event and looking after me on the night. It really was a fantastic evening and, given the positive reception, looks like it will become an ongoing proposition. If so, I encourage people to get involved as it’s a fun (if tiring!) way to meet new people, put original work in front of a receptive audience and develop momentum for stories and idea. 

Congratulations to all the writers, actors, and directors who participated. Thank you also to the people who came up to chat after the event. I suspect Blak Yak will make a formal announcement of all the winners online so I won’t pre-empt that here only to say, well done everyone!

Dramafest - Session 6 (28 September 2014)

10am. In the morning. On a Sunday. Talk about my own personal afterlife. Yet there I was in the front row, my usual spot A8, in the grey limbo world between sleep and disbelief. The dulcet tones of Paul Treasure drew me back to the light and BAM suddenly there were people on stage entertaining me.

These poor souls were trapped in a lift stuck on the 12th floor of some medical facility that would require at least three gulps of air to recite. Yes, Level 12 was a very amusing beginning to a daylong celebration of independent theatre. In said lift is a guy late for his first day at a new job (Ben Costantin) and, let’s face it, pretty obnoxious about it; a heavily pregnant American woman (Natalie Baggen); and what turns out to be a drug dealer (Nichola Chapman) who’s been ‘restocking’ her supplies. 

What I liked about this is that there was a ticking clock and stakes for each character and these competed to create real obstacles and conflict. This, coupled with the close proximity of the characters in the lift setting, generated some really funny moments though some of the plotting was a bit ropey (pun fully intended). For example, the rope and handcuffs in the guy’s bag were there more for (odd) plot purposes than any real character reason. There was some wonderful physical comedy as well, particularly Baggen’s pregnant Florinda, and all three actors did a great job. The only thing I didn’t like is that Chapman’s character was totally ignored in the opening salvos as if she was invisible. Her presence is a given circumstance that has to be at least acknowledged. Written by Kate Beck and Directed by Sophie Prober for Blak Yak Theatre.

Now, I wouldn’t say I am a Major League Baseball fan but I know enough to get by and Field of Dreams is one on my all-time favourite movies. So the ten minute spotlight, Judgement Call, was an unexpected delight. Three baseball umpires are preparing for the new season – head of the crew Harvey is proud of his number 2 ranking and determined to be the #1 umpire in the American League. Rookie Joe idolises him but the other member of the crew, Frank, seems lackadaisical at best. 

We soon discover that Frank blames himself for the suicide of a player who took his life after losing a critical playoff game on a missed call. A call Frank made. I loved the physicality of this piece as the actors warm up and practice their calls. This also has all the trimmings of ‘baseball as a metaphor for life’ which is a peculiar American cultural quirk. Here the umpires represent truth and certainty in a world full of chaos. The only thing that didn’t quite ring true (but was absolutely in line with the idealism that comes with all that cultural weight) is that Frank is turned around by Harvey far too quickly at the end. A wry ending would much better suit an Australian sensibility. Produced by the Actors' Hub.

Then it was on to Laughing Horse’s production of Cut It Out, directed by Adam Salathiel and featuring three sisters – Jamie, Emmalee and Phillippa Bialas. Claire is a self-harmer, racked by guilt over the suicide of her twin sister, Clarice. Her older sister also feels guilt about this tragedy as she should have been home to potentially save Clarice but instead was engaging in an affair with an older, married man. 

A recurring issue throughout Dramafest has been doing justice to the unbelievably weighty issues of suicide and death. In other examples it has been the writing that has let these types of pieces down but here the writing is generally good, especially the snappy back and forth in all the two-hander exchanges. However, the young actors didn’t have the rhythm and pacing right for this type of, what I call, “banter dialogue”. The delivery was too one paced, monotone and measured. A master of this type of writing is Aaron Sorkin and I would recommend getting out Season One of The West Wing and watch how rhythm in delivery is absolutely crucial and when done well is like music. 

I was a little confused about who the older sister was delivering her monologues to – the audience, a psychiatrist, or some other party. There appeared to be flashbacks here as well and I didn’t see any change in the delivery style when the twins were playing younger characters. There needed to be delineation vocally and in physical movement to sell those moments. This was an incredibly difficult and ambitious piece especially when I was told later that the twin sisters playing Claire and Clarice were only 14.   

The session ended with the very funny Love and Other Flushes where a plumber pretends to be the husband of a well-heeled marriage counsellor whose actual spouse has left only hours before they were due to assist a young couple with their marital problems. Peter Neaves gives a great performance as the plumber cum de facto counsellor who imparts wisdom from his toolkit of common sense. Gael Campbell-Young plays the straight woman role as the very proper lady of the house who espouses HALO – humility, attentive listening and something starting with O that I have forgotten right now! The young couple are played by Sam Barnett and, in her second appearance for the session, Nichola Chapman. This was smartly written, genuinely funny, didn’t overstay its welcome, and had a sweet ending. Directed by Kelly van Geest, written by Hugh O'Brien and produced by Laughing Horse.

A short break loomed before it was onto the home stretch and the last session of Dramafest…

A retraction - I am reliably informed that Emma Davis is a Fremantle Dockers fan who only supports Sydney when Freo isn’t playing. Apologies for any confusion, Emma’s mum.

A clarification - My statement about purple, however, stands!