Playwright, actor
Too Ready Mirror
15–28 September
Northcote Town Hall
 |
| Jamaica Zuanetti |
If you could invite anyone to your show (and you knew they would come), who would it be?
Caryl Churchill
The Melbourne Fringe in three words?
Daring. Vibrant. Spicy.
A favourite Melbourne Fringe memory.
Performing in a show called More Intimate Than by Bridget Mackey with Laura-Jane Emes. There were two shows each night with eight audience members who sat around a dinner table as our guests. There was no dinner.☺
Your experience as an independent artist being part of the Melbourne Fringe?
It’s exciting and the high you get from either performing or being involved in a show is intoxicating. The support provided by the festival is invaluable. Everyone involved is so enthusiastic and encouraging of everyone’s different projects. It’s really great to feel like you have people around you who are energised by art. The independent sector can be hard and exhausting but being a part of a group or community of talented individuals creates a really positive and inspiring atmosphere.
What do you think makes the Melbourne Fringe unique?
The fact that artists from so many different disciplines and backgrounds can create a show or art and it doesn’t have to meet any rigid standards. It’s so freeing to be able to make a show that is daring, that pushes boundaries and doesn’t pander to the mainstream. I think fringe audiences really embrace the wacky and wonderful too, which is great!
Your advice for choosing what to see in the Melbourne Fringe.
Don’t go for the obvious choice. I think seeing something that is out of your comfort zone is always fun. I try and support friends as much as possible but I also like peruse the Fringe guide for something I wouldn’t normally choose, or I just blindly follow another person’s recommendation and see what happens.
Do you think there’s a better system than star ratings for reviews?
I think there needs to be more of conversation between artists and reviewers. It’s always so one sided that artists just feel victimised if their show receives a bad review. Perhaps if artists could respond to a reviewer’s review? That would even the balance. Or to be completely diplomatic, reviewers could say three things they loved, then three things they would change about a show. It’s tricky. Basically make your art, if a reviewer doesn’t like it, tell them to go make their own f*%king art!!
Five shows/events that you will not miss at the 2017 Melbourne Fringe.
The Maze
Fool’s Gold
The Sky is Well Designed
Too Soon, Too Now
How To Kill The Queen Of Pop
