SHAKE & STIR: 31 VENUES, 5 STATES, 100 PERFORMANCES

Hello friends! All done. Four months, 31 Venues, 5 states, 100 performances and 4 very tired, but extremely grateful actors! What a tour it has been. Starting back in March at La Boite, we feel like we have all been a part of something very special.

The highlights?

Speaking personally, I would have to say performing on the stages of some of our country’s most beautiful theatres including The Theatre Royal in Hobart (TAS) and Her Majesty’s Theatre in Ballarat (NSW) – treading the same boards as Sir Laurence Oliver was bound to send a shiver down the spine – or maybe that was the presence of George – the Theatre Royal’s resident ghost.

Maybe the highlight was taking this show to Cairns, my hometown, and performing for some of my high school drama teachers. An added bonus was being in town for my Dad’s birthday – Happy birthday Dad! I think I speak for the entire company when I say we all had a great time at your party…

The highlight probably was playing in the snow in Warburton, a quaint little town in the foothill of the Yarra Valley (VIC). Watching our driver Scottie see snow for the first time was awesome – like a big kid! And we are all now very well versed in the principles of Boingaology thanks to Boinga Bob (confused? Google it!).

A definite highlight was having a couple of days off in the beautiful Barossa Valley (SA). Think lush, rolling hills, amazing restaurants, great coffee and 100 year old vineyards – if only we could have thought of something to do with our spare time

Maybe the highlight was taking the show to Moranbah and Capella – small mining communities with a lot of young families keen for something to do on a Friday night. It is always very satisfying to bring theatre into areas that don’t get too many shows passing through – we were all made to feel very welcome.

Actually, taking the show to all of the QLD towns including Gympie, Biloela, Atherton, Ayr, St George, Miles, Maleny, Glenden, Toowoomba and Redcliffe would have to a big, highlight. It is very rewarding to tour a locally produced show in our home state and to be met with so many smiles. We love ya QLD!

Ok. So choosing one highlight might be a bit hard.

Check out our image galleries on our facebook page for the crazy fun we had on tour, we also took a company photo on every stage we performed on! www.facebook.com/shakeandstir

We are so grateful that we were supported in taking STATESPEARE around the country – we look forward to taking to the road again very soon with our new production of ANIMAL FARM.

A lot of people invested countless hours of time and passion in making this tour the success it was and we want to take the time to thank a couple of them. First of all to our wonderful National and State Tour Coordinators from arTour, Christine Johnstone and Adam Tucker. Thank you for answering our questions, being on call, meeting our special requests and for putting together such a varied and exciting schedule. Thanks to our Tour Managers Shaun O’Rourke and Jess Audsley – for getting this show in, up and running at each of the venues. You called upon your skills as Stage Managers, Furniture Removalists, Interior Designers, Merchandise Sellers and Front of House staff and really made the tour as smooth as possible. Thank you to our crew Scott, Gilly, Alon and our driver Scottie – with your multi-skills you took multi-tasking to new levels and went above and beyond to make it all happen so smoothly. And of course, a HUGE thank you to all the venues who invited us into their theatre spaces to bring this show to their audience. We thank you for supporting our first major National tour and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

And finally, thank you to all the people, both young and old who came to see our show. We thoroughly enjoyed making you laugh at the antics of Nerys, Lachlan, Jay and Rob – we hope you enjoyed the journey of this mismatched foursome as much as we enjoyed playing them and we hope that through them, we have awakened or re-ignited your passion for Shakespeare’s works.  Theatre is nothing without the honest and spontaneous exchange between actors and audience – thank you for coming along and playing with us! In a non-creepy way… you know what I mean!

Until next time – Farewell friends – thus, STATESPEARE ends… for now.

 Nick Skubij

Artistic Director

shake & stir theatre co

WEDDING BELLS A RINGING…

We couldn’t help ourselves…this picture brought a smile to our faces in the arTour office today and we had to share it with you all!

Sending a big congrats to Red Chair Producer Angie Dunbavan (the team behind this year’s touring sensation, Flamenco Fire Primavera Mia) and  Flamenco Fire Artistic Director Andrew Vievers for their recent celebration!

We received this specatcular beach wedding shot entitled ‘Angie and Andrew get hitched (& Max makes a run for it!)’

Here’s wishing you both many happy years…and many more wonderful future productions!

From all the team at arTour!

AND HE’S A POET TOO…

As the Flamenco Fire tour draws to a close, this week’s blog is written by touring guitarist Damian Wright…through the beauty of poetry! Damian has sent us in four poems – grab a cup of tea and enjoy!

ONE PUB TOWN RITUAL

No sooner do we leave the mining mecca of Mt Isa then we see ant                    stacks like roadkill gravestones lining the highways edge, as olive green      shrubs quench the thirst of the dusty earth, every colour tamed and        lightened by the heat.

An oasis of tarred roads shield cars momentarily from the red dust as             hawks hover like gods deciding to devour life or death, the impact of the        cattle grids awake sleepy passengers gazing into the endless arid vista as              the occasional sand trap sends the van into a serpents dance “watch the            tyres man!!”

This is at least remote enough to be ground control to perfect silence, thinking of the original people of this land with their skin in harmony with the sun makes us of European decent seem somewhat wrongly dressed for the occasion, we arrive at Burketown shake off the dust and begin the one pub town ritual…

THE LAKE

The silky smooth lake massages the mind away, mesmerized by the water of life. Waiting for the sun to signal the days end with its light show illuminating the dust into the early evening outback sky.

Galahs fly in majestic formations, pink as if painted by the sunset. Immersing in the freshwater of the lake like an Aquarian dream floating to the sleepy song of the crows and calls from other birds, as the reeds and the grainy sand of the lake bed embrace my feet, breathe in, breathe out, floating away.

BRIDGE FISHING

“Ya gotta be one with ya bait mate!” he says as he pulls in his 8th fish in less than an hour.

“Do you mean Zen like?” joking we reply.

“Pass me a few ‘coldies’ and I’ll show ya who’s Zen mate!” says another.

Hoping to hook a fish that’s mistaken a piece of bait shop squid, Swinging our hand reels like wayward darts, a mixture of peaceful contemplation and eager hunting. one fish two fish catfish no fish…

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The heat makes the asphalt road oasis lying ahead look like an outgoing tide never to be reached, like a devils plaything to those dying of thirst.

The road trains sliver side to side, we overtake then confront from a distance, the gauntlet of oncoming traffic, roads so straight as if created as the crow flies, lonely towns passed in a blur, kilometers passing like slow seconds, watching the trees and grasses fly by and fade into distant memory…on the road again.

Damian is a Sydney-based Flamenco guitarist who began Flamenco study with Robbie Varga in Sydney and then moved to Spain where he spent 4 years studying with some of Spain’s most recognised maestros of the Flamenco guitar, including El Entri and Pepe Justicia. Upon his return Damian studied with Richard Tedesco in Melbourne. In 2010 Damian received funding from the Australian Council for the Arts to continue his studies in Spain. Damian is also leader of acclaimed Australia based flamenco ensemble ‘Bandaluzia’. Damian first joined the cast of Flamenco Fire in 2010.

Don’t run…beware…don’t walk backwards!

Greetings from Innisfail!!

Well it seems like we’ve been driving for a lot more than a week, maybe it’s something to do with the long dusty roads we’ve driven over but now we’re in beautiful, tropical (dust free!) Innisfail!

Before I take us to the coast, I must say a big thank you to those who came to see our show at Croydon! I knew pretty much nothing about Croydon, but after visiting the historical precinct with Nat and Sebastian, and watching the excellent doco in the visitors centre, I already started to feel an attachment to the place.

Croydon is a smart, proud town full of amazing stories that blaze back from the days of glory – the gold mining of the 1800s. Amazing stuff! Some stunning and really beautifully maintained buildings. We had some great fun wandering through them – especially when one of the inmates of the old jail actually talks to you from nowhere and makes you jump ten feet.

We also enjoyed a fantastic walk out to the stunning Lake Belmore – what an oasis of cool – where Sebaz and Damien enjoyed a cool dip. A truly beautiful spot, though walking there it’s best to stay on the road as there are old mine shafts still around and easily fallen into (as graphically shown in the sign on the side of the road!).

Our 3rd performance took place in the Croydon Town Hall – an old galvanised iron building of great character where we had a wonderful and enthusiastic audience for our 6.30pm show. Many thanks too to the Croydon Club Hotel for their excellent hospitality and great memories!

So, onto Innisfail. Land of sugar cane plantations and all those young banana trees. We performed to a sell-out crowd at the North Qld Conservatorium of Music. A lovely and intimate theatre built in the 70s. As often is the case on these tours, the venues can be vastly different so it’s never boring. Brendon’s challenge (our sound guru) is to make us all sound great! This is no easy task when you have to mic our feet so the audience can hear all the percussion sounds we make, along with Damian’s guitar, hand clapping, Olayo’s voice and Sebastian’s cajon (percussion box). Every stage floor is different which means Brendon has to reinvent each time to make our feet audible for the audience. He did a great job and we really enjoyed our onstage sound. It was a great night for us all. Thanks for the folks at the Con for being so welcoming and appreciative!! (and for the champas and wine!!) Looking forward to Ayr and then Proserpine.

Talk soon, hasta pronto!

Simone

Flamenco sets Queensland on fire! Ole!

Hi everyone! Sebastian Sanchez here to offer the Flamenco Fire Primavera Mia first blog post, so here goes!

The Flamenco Fire cast arrived in Mt Isa for the first day of the tour, a town full of big burly miners, jugs of XXXX, gusts of hot dry wind, all swirling within the red dust bowl the town was set in. The Spinifex Motel where we are residing has been such a luxurrrry, or in Spanish as we say a ‘lujo’. Just perfect for everybody to kick back and relax after an intense rehearsal period where the crew has been hastily busting out to get everything artistically sweet for the tour and especially the tech boy’s long haul trek from Brisbane, outrunning the high speed emus…beep beep!

On our day off we made our way to Lake Moondarra just 15kms from Mt Isa, making the day trip one of the highlights of things to see and experience around the region.

Watching the sunset was one of the most beauteous views that I’ve seen in a long time.

The short time it lasted brought the broad blaze of day to a slow crescendo of placid shades, descending with the gentlest hush on the landscape…just stunning.

So after a couple of nights of hearty steaks and a few schooners, we made it to opening night at the Mt Isa Civic Centre, an ominous rectangular building of sandstone  tinged with a red hazy glow. It fondly reminded me of an Arrakis palace from the 1984 David Lynch classic ‘Dune’. After the tech run it was time to make it all happen, and we have to say we were pretty chuffed with the result of the show.

Damien’s playing was superb and Olayo sung and even danced at 110% which raised the ‘animo’ to another level for the whole crew. The girls did a sublime job of dancing beautifully with femininity and ‘fuerza’! It was especially enjoyable for me to dance alongside such gorgeous gals on stage for a brief moment of energetic  synergy, to the beat of a 12 beat compas.

Thank you Mt Isa for being so great to us, we really appreciated it! Now it’s time to make our next trip to the wilds of the Gulf of Carpentaria, for a show in Burketown. Can’t wait to see the Morning Glory and catch a Barramundi…Ole!

Saludos!

Sebastian

A BREATH OF FRESH AYR!

Hey guys – Judy here! I play the character of Nerys in Statespeare and I’m going to get you up to speed on the last couple of days of our Queensland tour!

Monday 18 July AM: After a fantastic day off in Townsville (I broke in my new thongs and caught some rays with the gang on Magnetic Island!), it was time to head south to Ayr. Our crew of Shaun, Gilly and Scotty headed off early in Borris the truck to get a jump start on the bump-in at the Burdekin Theatre. The cast had a quick stop at a shopping mall for some supplies (I picked up some more warm weather clothing – I’ve never been to North Queensland and had no idea it would be so hot in the middle of winter! I didn’t bring a hat…or togs…or shorts! D’oh) then we did the hour’s drive to Ayr in our trusty van Bessie.

When we arrived, we went straight to the Burdekin Theatre. After performing in halls for the last few towns, it was awesome to be in a purpose-built theatre again! The Burdekin is such a lovely venue and so full of character, with wonderfully helpful front of house and backstage staff. The bio box has GREEN shag pile carpet on the walls!

We also enjoyed the foyer and backstage areas which were covered with signed photos of past performers, including familiar Queensland faces such as Kamahl, Carol Burns and Simon Gallaher. And we chuckled at some favourites that perhaps have not withstood the test of time, such as the girl’s singing group Girlfriend (remember when hats with huge flowers on them were cool?) and Frente (of ‘Accidentally Kelly Street’ fame! Possibly the most annoying song of all time?).

Monday PM: After bump-in, cast and crew checked into our motel and caught up on some work/rest/play for the afternoon. Then we regrouped for dinner and after scanning Ayr’s main strip, we chose a restaurant purely based on the fact that it had pretty fairy lights! Luckily, the food was fantastic and the service was warm and friendly.

Tuesday AM: Our 10am show was packed to the brim with 350 students from various schools in the shire. The response was fantastic! I never cease to enjoy how each audience is unique, and laughs/gasps/cries at different things and relates differently to each character. As an actor, it keeps you on your toes and means that every show is fresh and fun! We had some great questions during the post-show Q&A session, including one we’ve never encountered before – ‘Do you think Shakespeare was stoned when he wrote his plays?’! (By the way, our answer was no!…and drugs are bad!) 

Tuesday PM: Another afternoon off, giving us a chance to do some work, explore the sights and even do a spot of fishing!  

So, that’s the tour up to date, folks. Thanks for having us Ayr and the Burdekin Theatre, it was a real pleasure! Tomorrow, we leave early to drive to Cairns. Talk to you then! Or as Miss Pingle would say, catch you on the flipside, homies!

 x Judy

Bessie to Borris – week one now in review – over!

Woah! What a huge week!

Let’s recap…

Nelle, Judy, Nick and I arrived in Emerald on Tuesday morning to be greeted by our crew – Shauno, Scotty and Gilly at the airport, each with an Hawaiian lay in hand for the cast – thanks gents! After an embarrassing initiation ceremony in the middle of the luggage collection area and a few odd looks from the locals we grabbed our bags (each weighing 3 kilos less than the national leg of the tour – we learnt our lesson).  We quickly met our new tour vehicles – Bessie (the Hyundai imax) and Borris (the 3T Mitsubshi Fumo) both aptly named by the crew.  It was then time to hit the road – first stop – Capella.

With the cast and Shauno travelling in Bessie and Gilly and Scotty following in the truck, we rely on walkie-talkies to converse on the road – giving each other updates, road directions and taking travel games to a new level. ‘I Spy’, ‘Would You Rather’ and ‘Hey Cow’ – will never be the same again.

 Bessie to Borris – over.

We arrive in Capella and check into our accommodation. After having a chat with the Motel’s talking Cockatoo (who could only say ‘Hello’), Nick, Nelle and I set up our portable shake & stir office in Nelle’s room while the crew head to the theatre to bump-in for tomorrow’s 10am performance.

After a few hours office work and checking in with Ash, Sam and Mike (our awesome School’s Touring crew – who had their first day of term 3 touring in Brisbane), the crew return with bump-in complete.

We had a great night as an entire company, having dinner and a few bevies at the town’s only restaurant – and what a restaurant it was! We’re talking steaks the size of your head and a couple of bottles of Capella’s finest. It was very nice to have the co back together – spirits are high for the first regional QLD leg of the tour.

We wake early Wednesday morning for a 9.00am call for a 10.00am show. The show was a hit with the mostly student audience – some students travelling a few hours to get to Capella Cultural Centre. The show was quickly followed by a will2shake workshop with 50 students – the cast were very impressed with the enthusiasm of every student. While the cast led the workshop the crew bumped out and in an hour we were ready to hit the road once again – next stop – Nebo!

Not too much going on in Nebo – it’s a prime cattle town and a service centre for all of the nearby mines. Once again, the co enjoyed dinner with the locals at the only restaurant in the town – and you guessed it – steaks all round!

Another great night with the company – we all hung out in my room for some communal TV viewing (that new renovation show had us hooked) and at midnight it was time for bed. An epic day awaits.

We pull into the Glenden Recreational Centre at 11.00am on Thursday and lucky we watched the reno shows last night as we had 5 hours to transform the local gym/crèche/drop in centre into a fully functioning theatre! All hands on deck as we pulled out everything from the truck for the first time in our 2-month tour thus far. Most venues we have travelled to have their own pre-rigged lights and equipment and we only need to use our special lighting and set – however some of the smaller regional towns we are now visiting require us to BYO everything! It is a very rewarding feeling “bringing the magic of theatre” to these smaller communities.

We couldn’t resist playing with a few of the crèche’s toys during our break however.

We were set and ready to go for our 7.00pm performance and the space looked brilliant – our crew are awesome! Quick company shot on stage and then – show time.

Another very well received show with an audience of over 150 (we had to hold the show for 10 minutes while the local presenter brought out more chairs!). Straight after the show – the crew got to work bumping out and it was the cast’s turn (the crew went prior to the show) to visit the Miner’s Mess – a cafeteria-style restaurant open from 4.00am – 10.00pm every day to feed the hundreds of miners that work in Glenden.  It was intense – think Sizzler x 3. The food was amazing! Chicken Teriyaki, steamed fish, roast lamb/beef/potatoes, soups, lamb hot pots, vegies, salads, cheeses, fruit, cold and hot desserts – tea and coffee and milo. After such a huge travel/bump-in/show/bump-out day is was great to see so much glorious food!

Friday – Moranbah here we come! We arrive nice an early – the crew go straight to the theatre and the cast settle into the accom. Nick, Nelle and I steal some time to touch base with our office in Brisbane – catch up on emails etc… Nick and Judy head to the theatre to run our will2shake workshop with a smaller bunch of very passionate students (and teachers). Nelle and I join them at the theatre and we are ready to go for the 7.30pm performance. Again, our sincere thanks to Shaun, Scott and Gilly – the space looked incredible!

We loved Moranba. The venue had a great pre and post show function happening in the foyer – with live music, drinks and finger food. There was a heart-warming sense of community and we felt so lucky to be a part of it.

The cast and crew were also invited to a home cooked dinner post show provided by the local arts council reps as an added cherry on top. Bon appetitio!

After a swift bump out  – and a quick company catch up back at the accom (this time in Gilly’s room) we were off to bed, feeling very satisfied with our first week of performances. Tomorrow is a travel day – a big drive from Moranbah to Townsville, stopping for lunch in Mackay so Nick can drop in and visit his Grandma. Awwwwww!

And that brings us to Sunday – currently a perfect 22 degrees in Townsville for a day off. The company takes advantage of needed rest – heading to the shops (Gilly, Nick, Judy and myself seized the moment and bought thongs – after all – Cairns is just around the corner) cafes on Palmer Street and a ferry to Magnetic Island for an arvo of sun and surf. Life’s tough.

We are all looking forward to jumping into week 2 – next stop Ayr followed by Cairns and Mission Beach.

 Lovin’ life.

 Ross

And we’re on the road…

The QLD Regional Tour of Statespeare commenced for the Crew on Saturday 8th July with a 477km drive to Roma. The drive to Roma was a lot longer than normal, due to a lot of the roads still being fixed up from the devastating floods earlier this year. The impact from the floods on a lot of the towns along our way to Roma was just amazing – and a lot of communities are still working hard to get back on their feet. For the Crew – some of whom grew up in these regional areas of QLD - it was quite confronting and hard to believe what happened earlier this year. The Crew arrived safely in Roma, and settled down for the night – trying to stay warm in the -4.5*C conditions. On Sunday, after defrosting the ice from the windscreen of the vehicles, the Crew embarked for Emerald. We had a lovely drive across to Emerald, and arrived just in time to check out some of the local attractions. One being the world’s largest easel. There are only 3 of these easels in the world, one being here in Emerald. They all showcase Van Gogh paintings – and believe it or not, these super large paintings are done by hand! The Crew now rest for a day, waiting for the talented Cast to arrive at the Emerald airport on Tuesday morning. Then it’s off to Capella!

See you on the road – Shaun

Are you ready Queensland?

Welcome to the arTour blog site!

arTour is the peak tour coordination body in Queensland Australia connecting artists, audiences and communities through touring services.

Here we’ll have our current touring cast and crew posting pictures and discussing their experiences while on the road.

If you are an audience member across the State we would especially love to hear from you. Get in touch with the touring company before or after the show to get all the information that you need. Feel free to post questions to the company or just drop in and say hi! 

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