His name is Tom Holloway

.
The following link is for The Age online article called "A stage they're going through" (30/5/09). It's worth a look but does seem to suggest that all independent theatre artists in Melbourne aim for either a Malthouse Tower Room season or a Full Tilt gig. Now they are both great opportunities but really, is that accurate? I also noticed that it mentions the play Red Sky Morning on a number of occasions, but never once mentions the playwright. The playwright's name is Tom Holloway. I mention that the playwright's name is Tom Holloway because, well, even though my name is not Tom Holloway, and Tom Holloway is not a Melbourne Dramatist, I still think that if I'm going to mention that the play is called Red Sky Morning, then I should probably also mention that the playwright's name is Tom Holloway. I won't mention the director, or the venue, or the actors, or the program, or the name of the journalist, because they have all been covered in the article.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/a-stage-theyre-going-through/2009/05/30/1243456778978.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap3

- Amelia Roper

Mueller's No Man's Island opens in Sydney

No Man's Island was first produced over ten years ago at La Mama. It was the first La Mama play to be included in the Melbourne International Festival. Two years ago it was presented at HERE performance space in New York City. Next week it finally opens in Sydney. http://my247.com.au/sydney/Old-Fitzroy-Theatre/whats-on/No-Mans-Island-by-Ross-Mueller.165608

Melburnalia No. 2 Opens to Great Reviews!

Melbourne Dramatist David Mence's comany White Whale Theatre has achieved wonderful reviews for this week's opening of their show Melburnalia No. 2.

"We're really pleased with the response, it's been a long road but it demonstrates that Melbourne audiences are defininately interested in seeing Melbourne writing."

Check out the Age review http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/theatre-of-the-burbs-behind-facades-of-five-postcodes/2009/05/24/1243103429775.html

Another Melbourne Dramatist in The Age

Ross Mueller is a Melbourne Dramatist and today he was featured in an article in the Saturday Age A2. You can read the article by clicking on this link - click away. http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/in-an-unscripted-moment-the-seen-is-set/2009/05/21/1242498866789.html.

The Ghost Writer

A Play Reading of The Ghost Writer By Ross Mueller

Directed by Lucy Freeman
Featuring:
David Whiteley, Georgina Capper,
Natalie Carr & Kevin Summers

Saturday 30 May, 2009. 3pm
The Plaza Room The Arts Centre on St Kilda Road.
General admission is by $5.00 donation.


“I am so thrilled to be directing a public reading of the re-write of the Ghost Writer. The fact that the play premiered on the MTC main stage in 2007, and the playwright elected to keep working on the material into 2008 is nothing short of inspiring. I believe if all plays in the contemporary Australian cannon underwent this detailed and responsive reworking, our repertoire would be the stronger for it.” Lucy Freeman

This script is available for sale through - Playlab.
Go to the http://www.playlab.org.au/catalogue/index.php
for details on how to purchase your copy.

The Early Stages - Play Reading

She's Not Performing

A new work by Alison Mann
Directed by Kelly Somes

Thursday 28 May, 2009

6.30pm

The Black Box, Arts Centre

The Early Stages features some of Melbourne’s exciting emerging playwrights, presenting their new works through performed readings. The third in the series is She’s Not Performing by Alison Mann.

Margarite by chance sees a girl at a strip club that uncannily resembles herself. She becomes fascinated by the girl and continues to attend the strip club by herself. Margarite had a daughter adopted out when she was a teenager. Is it possible the girl at the club could be her? Or is Margarite looking out from within her own fantasies?

The Early Stages are FREE events, presented by the Emerging Writers' Festival in partnership with FULL TILT.

www.emergingwritersfestival.org.au

Melbourne Dramatist in The Age

David Mence is a Melbourne Dramatist and his company (White Whale Theatre) is about to open their new show about Melbourne's suburbs, Melburnalia No. 2.

Check out The Age profile on their upcoming season.

And what a nice combination of blazer with jeans?

http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/all-the-suburbs-are-a-stage/2009/05/17/1242498636652.html

Melbourne Dramatists Manifesto

Melbourne is a cultural community hungry for a diversity of artistic forms. Melbourne Dramatists (MD) believes that there is a genuine and unfulfilled desire for Melbourne plays.

MD is an organisation consisting of professional Melbourne based-playwrights at various stages of their careers.

Our purpose is to support and champion Melbourne playwrights and highlight issues facing us as artists working in the theatre industry.

The need for a manifesto

The Melbourne Dramatists was started some time ago. I am a founding member.

When we began there was a distinct change in the way that Playwrights were being treated in Melbourne. Opportunities for work were evaporating and there was no advocacy group in Melbourne at the time. Since that first meeting we have changed, morphed and grown into a tight knit unit. We are not just angry folk, we have solid commitments and solutions to offer.

We regularly present an Award in the Melbourne Fringe for Best Emerging Writing. The first recipient was Adam Cass and the most recent was Alison Mann. We advocate and enthuse for Melbourne writing and argue that there is a market for good stories that are well written (as well as devised) for the Australian stage. We also present Playwright Wresting - otherwise known as Smackdowns. These are events that show new work in formative stages. They are fun and frequently loud - which is a reflection of who we are. This blog is not just for ads about our work, most of it is a forum for discussion about the Australian theatre industry. Melbourne used to be the capital of new Australian writing. Where does Melbourne see Melbourne writing now?... mostly in Sydney.

We started this journey at that first meeting saying - "we need a manifesto!" ... Now we have written one... Stay tuned.

RM.

PS - the photo above is of Terry Serio... from Concussion premiered by STC/Griffin.

A Reading

SICK

by Melissa Bubnic

A reading directed by Brett Adam and performed by Sarah Borg and Kurt Geyer. Presented by the Emerging Writers’ Festival and FULL TILT.

Two strangers find each other dumped in the desert. Frank is an ugly young woman. Philip is a broken old man. Neither wishes to speak about their crime, the reason for their exile. But threatened by starvation, cannibals, and the haunting power of memory, the unlikely pair become friends.

If society cannot forgive them, can they forgive each other? Or at least themselves? Who will love the unlovable?  

When: Tuesday 26 May

Doors open at 6:00pm, reading starts at 6:30pm

Venue: The Black Box, Arts Centre

Price: FREE

This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria.

A Bill of Rights

THE MELBOURNE DRAMATISTS BILL OF RIGHTS

1. ARTISTIC INTEGRITY. No one (e.g., directors, actors, dramaturges) can make changes, alterations, and/or omissions to your script—including the text, title, and stage directions—without your consent. This is called “script approval.”

2. APPROVAL OF PRODUCTION ELEMENTS. You have the right to approve the cast, director, and designers (and, for a musical, the choreographer, orchestrator, arranger, and musical director, as well), including their replacements. This is called “artistic approval.”

3. RIGHT TO BE PRESENT. You have the right to attend casting, rehearsals, previews and performances.

4. ROYALTIES. You are entitled to receive a royalty for your work. If any other Creative in the production is being paid, or if any admission is being charged you can negotiate a flat fee per performance or a minimum 10% of the gross box office revenue, whichever is the greater. You must never be paid less than any other Creative.

5. BILLING CREDIT. You should receive billing (typographical credit) on all publicity, programs, and advertising distributed or authorised by the production company. The nature of your billing (including size, order in which it appears, etc) is subject to your approval. Billing is part of your compensation and the failure to provide it properly is a breach of your rights.

6. OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. You own the copyright of your dramatic work. Playwrights do not assign (i.e., give away or sell in entirety) their copyrights When a production company wants to mount a production of your play, you actually license (or lease) the public performance rights to your dramatic property to that entity for a finite period of time or number of performances.

7. OWNERSHIP OF INCIDENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS. You own all approved revisions, suggestions, and contributions to the script made by other collaborators in the production, including actors, directors, and dramaturges. You do not owe anyone any money for these contributions. If a production company uses dramaturges, you are not obligated to make use of any ideas the dramaturge might have. Even when the input of a dramaturge or director is helpful to the playwright, dramaturges and directors are still employees of the production company, not the playwright, and they are paid for their work by the production company. Neither dramaturges nor directors (nor any other contributors) may be considered a co-author of a play, unless you have agreed in writing that they are a co-author.

8. AUTHOR’S CONTRACT. The only way to ensure that you get the benefit of the rights listed above is through a written contract with the production company, no matter how large or small the entity. The basic contract can be obtained from the Australian Writers’ Guild: www.awg.com.

Dear all MD folk,
I am conducting a two weekend workshop with the Victorian Writers Centre. It is especially dedicated to writing for and working with actors. Places are limited to ten people so individual attention is possible. You will produce a short script within the process. We will talk, we will read, we will listen and we will write and in the second weekend, you meet and work with actors. The location is the Nicholas Building in the centre of the city so public transport is a definite. The actors are Georgina Capper (The Time is Not Yet Ripe) and Trent Baker (West East Theatre). These are two of Melbourne's finest independent practitioners, so if you're interested - call the VWC - 03 9654 9608 and grab the special offer.
RM

M2 Flyer

Oh and here's a flyer too.

All the info's up on The Whale's Webpage.

Melburnalia No. 2

Melburnalia No. 2 includes five brand spanking new works by local Melbourne writers Andrea James, Hoa Pham, Danny Katz, Kit Lazaroo and Aidan Fennessy.

It was commissioned, dramaturged and developed by White Whale Theatre and is about to go into production at fortyfivedownstairs (20 May - 7 June).

Suburbs covered in our journey through Melbourne include Birrarung, Maribyrnong, Caulfield, Preston and Mentone.

Here's a picture of the lovely ensemble who play over 25 roles throughout.

Come see it! It will be blast!

Melbourne Dramatists Breathes Cyber-Air

Let the cyber world be aware -

The conglomeration of playwrights collectively known as MD is as of now a force to be reckoned with in the Matrix.

Let the posting begin.

Huzzah!