Anna Lumb
I HEART Jack
Anna Lumb knows that terrific circus needs great stories to make the tricks really fly. In I HEART Jack, she got together with Melbourne theatre and circus legends Maude and Anni Davey to create her first solo piece at her fourth Fringe.
What three words best describe you Fringe show?
Dark, Comical, Weird
Who does your show speak to?
People interested in live performance, experimental theatre, The Last Tuesday Society or fans of vaudeville/cabaret/circus.
What other Fringe show will you NOT miss?
Me Pregnant by Nick Coyle and Miles O’Neil’s (the show after me) World Around Us II is wonderful!
What other Fringe show do you wish you were in?
Sweet Child of Mine by Bron Batten. Everyone’s raving about it!
What do you love most about the Melbourne Fringe?
Anything goes.
How many Melbourne Fringes have you performed in?
Four
If you could invite anyone to see your show (and you know they would come), who would it be?
Grace Jones, Peaches and Nico.
What is the best theatre advice you’ve received?
Commit. Commit.
What was your most embarrassing moment on stage?
Bursting on stage with a banana shoved down my pants and the front row was all eight years old.
Do you have any pre- or post-show rituals?
Pre show – application of false eyelashes and side stretches. Post show – glass of wine.
What’s your favourite theatre superstition? Do you believe it?
Gosh I don’t think I have any. Be fearless. But that’s more of a mantra I guess.
What was the last book you read?
100 Years of Solitude.
What TV show do you never miss?
I’m a closet fan of Dr Who and Grand Designs. Also True Blood.
What film will you watch again and again?
I don’t like to repeat but if I had to mention some films I recently enjoyed: Winter Bones, some Alfred Hitchcock classics, okay I also really love old MGM musicals like Daddy Long Legs and Singing in the Rain.
Who will hate your Fringe show?
People that don’t like dancing and some fundamentalist religious groups.
What show changed how you see theatre? Why?
Not what. Who! There have been a few key individual performers/artists whose work I’ve followed over the years that have really influenced the direction of my own practise. Seriously ballsy ladies in both the visual art and theatre industry that are making brave and tantalizing masterpieces that don’t shy away from the ugliness and wonder of life.
What was your first time on stage?
Preschool Xmas play. I was Rudolph.
What is the first theatre show you remember seeing?
It was probably Phantom of the Opera or the Buddy Holly Musical.
If you had access to the TARDIS, what performance would you see first?
Josephine Baker, Charlie Chaplin, Rolling Stones, Woodstock; how do I pick?
What director/actor/writer would you just die to work with?
Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola. Maude and Anni Davey – wait, I’m already working with them!
What is your favourite theatre space in Melbourne?
The Spiegeltent, The Bosco or the Tiny Top.
Where in Melbourne do you always take visitors?
Dumplings and a good local coffee shop
How do you have your coffee?
Strong flat white, no sugar.
What’s the best pizza topping?
Napolitana
What do love most about your Fringe show?
My Double Bass player, Thomas William Butt. He’s a genius. Awwww.
Daniel Kilby
Things I Learned in High School
What three words best describe you Fringe show?
High. School. Hell. (or possibly, Writing. Not. Finished.)
Who does your show speak to?
Disaffected thirty- and forty-somethings who still haven’t managed to work out what they’re doing with their lives.
What other Fringe show will you NOT miss?
There are a couple of people I’ve met through Fringe’s artist development program whose shows I would hate myself for missing. The main one, though, is Peter Condon from Markus de Port.
What other Fringe show do you wish you were in?
Bullet. It sounds like it would be so much fun to be involved in.
What do you love most about the Melbourne Fringe?
The variety of work available and the fact that, although you’ve got to kiss a few frogs, when you do get a prince, he’s a keeper.
How many Melbourne Fringes have you performed in?
This is my first.
If you could invite anyone to see your show (and you know they would come), who would it be?
My primary school sweetheart, so that we could get together and live happily ever after.
What is the best theatre advice you’ve received?
You can’t unmake a mistake; you’ve got to leave it behind, or it will infect the rest of the show.
What was your most embarrassing moment on stage?
I once did a recital where not only did I go up on a lyric in the worst possible way (I had to re-start the number), and manage to fall flat on my face, but I discovered afterward that I had neglected to remove the dry-cleaning tag from my one of the rear belt-loops on my pants, so it had been visible for the whole performance.
Do you have any pre- or post-show rituals?
I’m going to try meditation, just some breath flow exercises, to keep myself calm and focused.
What’s your favourite theatre superstition? Do you believe it?
No whistling in the theatre, only because I have been guilty of it so many times.
What was the last book you read?
Maryanne in Autumn by Armistead Maupin. I’m in the midst of reading Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers, but I’m finding it hard going, partly because I don’t get much time to read these days.
What TV show do you never miss?
Oh, so many options. But I’m going to go with Doctor Who.
What film will you watch again and again?
Wings of Desire, because I love Berlin and am a colossal wanker.
Who will hate your Fringe show?
My mother. She thinks I should be grateful for the opportunities a Catholic education gave me. Like the opportunity to hate myself and engage in self-destructive behaviours.
What show changed how you see theatre? Why?
When the MTC did Angels in America back in the late 90s, there was this moment (probably in Perestroika) where the backdrop fell away and left the back wall of the stage exposed. It was in that moment that I learned that theatre can have a visceral effect on the viewer.
What was your first time on stage?
A terrible musical with the local church youth theatre group, called The Coolest Cat in Town. I played a middle-aged janitor, at the age of 15.
What is the first theatre show you remember seeing?
A local community theatre production of Godspell when I was five.
If you had access to the TARDIS, what performance would you see first?
Carrie on Broadway, because I am a gay.
What director/actor/writer would you just die to work with?
Jeff Blumenkrantz, who is a New York-based performer and songwriter. I used to have one of his songs in the show, but I had to cut it because it just didn’t fit.
What is your favourite theatre space in Melbourne?
For seeing theatre, it’s got to be the Playhouse at the Arts Centre, but for performing, I’d have to go with BMW Edge.
Where in Melbourne do you always take visitors?
Pellegrini’s
How do you have your coffee?
Flat white, one sugar, not too hot.
What’s the best pizza topping?
Meatlovers. Read into that what you will…
What do love most about your Fringe show?
The fact that I can finally consider myself an arts practitioner. (What was it I was saying before about being a colossal wanker?)
review
Spencer Bignell
Spring Awakening
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Sexuality, rock and rebellion.
Who does your show speak to?
Anyone can identify with it, really. But particularly teenagers and young adults dealing with sexual awakening and personal identity.
What other Fringe show will you NOT miss?
Insomnia Cat Came To Stay.
What other Fringe show do you wish you were in?
Frankenstein in Love.
What do you love most about the Melbourne Fringe?
The diversity of the productions and events.
How many Melbourne Fringes have you performed in?
This is my first!
If you could invite anyone to see your show (and you know they would come), who would it be?
Frank Wedekind – the writer of the original play that the musical is based on. I would love to hear what he thinks of our production.
What is the best theatre advice you’ve received?
It's not a stuff up unless the audience notice!
What was your most embarrassing moment on stage?
Losing the tap off the bottom of my tap shoe in the middle of a dance number. It went flying into the wings, narrowly missing the shins of several other cast members.
Do you have any pre- or post-show rituals?
I drink a ridiculous amount of water, which often causes me to need multiple trips to the bathroom during a performance.
What’s your favourite theatre superstition? Do you believe it?
I can't hear "good luck" before a performance. If anyone says this to me, I have to turn around three times before I feel ok again!
What was the last book you read?
Steven Tyler’s autobiography.
What TV show do you never miss?
Community.
What film will you watch again and again?
The Jungle Book.
Who will hate your Fringe show?
Hopefully no one
What show changed how you see theatre? Why?
The Lion King. It taught me that theatre is about so much more than just the actor.
What was your first time on stage?
I was nine and it was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
What is the first theatre show you remember seeing?
STOMP – tap in ski boots? What the?!
If you had access to the TARDIS, what performance would you see first?
The first performance of Les Miserables.
What director/actor/writer would you just die to work with?
Actor/singer Idina Menzel.
What is your favourite theatre space in Melbourne?
The Regent, I will always wonder how they change the light globes on that chandelier.
Where in Melbourne do you always take visitors?
Any of the little laneways in the city. The little boutique shops and the graffiti are just awesome.
How do you have your coffee?
Chai with honey.
What’s the best pizza topping?
Hot salami and feta cheese.
What do love most about your Fringe show?
The people. They're some of my closest friends now and I didn't know any of them before hand. I guess that's the beauty of theatre!review
The Wau Wau Sisters
The Wau Wau Sisters' Last Supper
What three words best describe you Fringe show?
Sexy, smart, hilarious.
Who does your show speak to?
Your inner aliens and angels!!WE hope to see all of them.
What other Fringe show do you wish you were in?
All of them :)
What do you love most about the Melbourne Fringe?
That it's in Melbourne.
How many Melbourne Fringes have you performed in?
We are VIRGINS!
If you could invite anyone to see your show (and you know they would come), who would it be?
Pee Wee Herman?
What is the best theatre advice you’ve received?
Necessity is the mother of invention!
What was your most embarrassing moment on stage?
No such thing!
Do you have any pre- or post-show rituals?
Bubbles and more bubbles!!
What’s your favourite theatre superstition? Do you believe it?
Bad dress rehearsal = great show. Absolutely.
What was the last book you read?
Patty Smith's book Just Kids.
What TV show do you never miss?
We kind of never miss a chance to do anything else. There's some pretty brilliant TV out there these days, but we don't watch it much.
What film will you watch again and again?
Here's a few: Waiting for Guffman, Dr. Strangelove, Wings of Desire, Blonde Ambition (the hysterical porn movie, not a doc about Madge. It's about showgirl sisters who are a bit twisted and confused and it has big pornographic dance numbers! It sort of has to be seen to be believed!)
Who will hate your Fringe show?
No one that we can think of, but maybe some crusty old closed-minded yucky bigot with a twisty up face, corns on his or her feet, a preference for bland food and staying in 23 nights in in a row believing idiot news programs, who wouldn't know a good time if it was naked, singing dirty songs and serving them free wine? But we know there's no one like that in Melbourne!
What was your first time on stage?
We both made stages of our own at our respective homes and neighborhoods and that was pretty young for both of us – like around 5 years old. We also both thought running on stage naked for a laugh was funny that long ago! Tanya was an amazing flying Tinkerbell through a Peter Pan production as a tiny little girl, thus foreshadowing her life-long love for being in the air. I had to do a ballet with a giant shark head made out of chicken wire that I couldn't see through. I also couldn't do ballet.
What is the first theatre show you remember seeing?
H.M.S. Pinafore.
What director/actor/writer would you just die to work with?
Hmmm, Tina Fey or Amy Sedaris or Lily Tomlin or Carol Channing or Beckett or Bretcht.
What is your favourite theatre space in Melbourne?
I'm pretty sure it's The G. H. Hotel! And, of course, we love the Spiegeltent and the folks at The Victoria Arts Centre.
Where in Melbourne do you always take visitors?
To see the bats feed at sun down or to Handsome Steve's bar at the Convent.
How do you have your coffee?
Sweet and creamy.
What’s the best pizza topping?
Pineapple.
What do love most about your Fringe show?
How much fun the audience has with us and we have with them and that we get free booze on the tech rider, because it's props 'for the show'!review from the first time they did it in Melbs
