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from Mercury’s Wings Exploring the related themes of love, lust and loss, local directors and actors will present rehearsed readings of short plays and extracts at Arts Centre Gold Coast in the Basement Theatre. From Chekhov to Molière via Shakespeare and Sheridan, the season is a tasting menu of the classic authors. Tuesday evenings at 7.30pm 17th August, 7th and 21st September, 5th and 19th October. Claudine Stephen-Smith, Artistic Director, said: “Many actors on the Coast tell us they would like to work with us and we’d like to work with them, but as a small not-for-profit theatre company we can’t schedule as many productions each year as we'd like. So we have created an opportunity to showcase more Gold Coast talent and to present wonderful, inspiring and entertaining texts. “We have invited a number of friends in community theatre to join us in planning, directing and participating in rehearsed readings from classic authors in the public domain. It gives actors an opportunity to perform in plays that local theatre groups are unlikely to schedule for mainstream productions, while limiting their commitment to a few days. It gives serious playgoers a chance to hear those plays. And it gives us a low-cost way to fulfil those two objectives, in line with our overall mission to bring challenging and unusual work to the Coast. “The program is also, quite unashamedly, a fund-raiser. We need to cover some of the company's necessary overheads like insurance so that we can maintain our 2011 schedule of major productions. But we want this to be a relaxed and inexpensive night out for theatre lovers, so admission will be just a $5 donation. We're deeply grateful to the management of Arts Centre Gold Coast for making this possible. “The themes of love, lust and loss give us plenty of scope to explore the sighs, tears and laughter that authors have brought to the stage over the centuries. Our first reading is a good example, with two Chekhov pieces; his farce, The Bear, combining lust with loss of property and Swan Song showing the loss of occupation for an ageing actor. We follow up on 7th September with scenes from Shakespeare that look at the themes from both tragic and comic aspects. Later we'll read Molière’s The Pretentious Young Ladies, a play about love, deception, and the loss of innocence. And we’ll visit French farce, 18th century high comedy and the Greeks.” Claudine said that the initial season of five readings would run to 19th October, but that the planning committee – Marion Parry, Andrew Trump, Joel Beskin, Carmen Trevino, Jean Watson, John Rees-Osborne and Claudine herself - were working on a second program in anticipation of continuing demand from audiences, directors and actors. |