Talk about hitting the ground running. I mean, I knew I would, but I think I was maybe not quite prepared for the pace of the last couple of days.
What I love about it, though, is that I feel like I’m really immersing myself in the Melbourne theatre scene, and I’m getting an intsense and quick schooling in how its done here.
Most of Wednesday was workshop prep at the Incubator with John Paul. Planning, creating PowerPoint, handouts, dealing with the tech stuff–did we have internet access, did the video projector talk to the computer, etc. My interview in Arts Hub also came out, so that was pretty exiting.
We took a break to attend a marketing event at The Malthouse Theatre. I was in love with this venue. I hope I get a chance to go back and take pictures and share them with you, because it was the kind of space that we dream of having in Vancouver. Brand-spanking new, gorgeous, industrial-feeling type lobby with a coffee/lunch bar (where there were tons of theatre people doing deals and having meetings) and a really great black box theatre which seats about 500, depending on configuration.
Thursday was the workshop. Our venue was the South Melbourne Town Hall, just across the street from where the new home of the Incubator will be. There were 40 people there, primarily from the theatre scene, but a few visual artists, some musicians, and one woman and her partner who had a children’s show. (The photo I took didn’t turn out because my camera’s batteries died)
What in inspirational day. I can’t tell you how amazing it is to watch people switch on to social media and how it can help them to connect with shier audience.
After, we went round to a local pub for a cider with a couple of the participants and enjoyed the same conversation that I have had with theatre artists everywhere: Why are we doing this? Why is there never enough money? How do we encourage people who don’t come to the theatre to come to our shows? Seems like, no matter where we are, we all seem to struggle with the same things.
JP and I had a “Starving Artists Pre-Theatre Supper” and then went to see [Title of Show] at a lovely space called TheatreWorks.
Last story of the day: when I got home, I tweeted about what fun I’d had at [TOS] and how much I loved the song “Die, Vampire, Die.” This morning, I got this reply:
These guys were not at my workshop, but they clearly didn’t need it. Melbourne gets it.