FAR North Queensland’s youth performing arts initiative, Overall Arts, will publicly showcase creative developments of two exciting new works, Koalazilla and O, Ophelia.
The two developments are being supported by JUTE Theatre Company and will be showcased at the Bulmba-ja Arts Centre this month.
JUTE’s Artistic Director and CEO Suellen Maunder said the organisation is proud to mentor Amber Grossmann, whose theatre company is at the helm of the new works.
As part of the creative development process, the two works are undergoing a prescriptive five-day creative development process that culminates in a public showcase on Friday evening.
“After an intensive five days of working in the studio with a team of actors, director, and set designers, the creative development showcase is always a fun and fascinating look behind the scenes of theatre-making and a milestone worth celebrating,” Ms Maunder said.
According to Ms Maunder, JUTE Theatre Company has 30 years of experience in creating new works.
The creative process generally takes several years and is a process that requires much moulding and shaping but the subsequent creative developments and public showcases are integral and a wonderful way of gauging audience reactions.
“For JUTE, developing new Australian stories and supporting a new wave of theatre makers like Amber and Overall Arts is a pinnacle achievement for the company,” Ms Maunder said.
The first of two new works undergoing creative developments being showcased by Overall Arts and JUTE this month is Koalazilla by emerging Cairns playwright Keziah Warren.
Koalazilla is set in Paper City – the most politically correct city in the world until all hell breaks loose when the corrupt government of the day signs off on a disastrous mining project.
It is a fun and fast-paced political satire about corruption, conspiracy, and the courage to stand up against injustice.
Ms Warren is joined by director and Overall Arts director, Amber Grossmann, and JUTE Actors Studio Pathways students, who will present the Koalazilla creative development showcase this Friday, 22 September, from 6.30 pm – tickets are $10 and can be purchased online.
The second creative development showcase on Friday, 29 September, is for Amber Grossmann’s O, Ophelia – a modernised adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic text, Hamlet.
According to Ms Grossmann, this is JUTE’s second creative development for one her works and explores the role of the tragic heroine, Ophelia.
“In the original text, Ophelia exists solely to further the male narrative, and once she has been expended, she dies,” Ms Grossman said.
“O, Ophelia takes control of the tragic narrative and brings life and agency to this otherwise two-dimensional female character.”
The creative development of O, Ophelia is a co-production between JUTE Theatre Company and Overall Arts, to purchase tickets to O, Ophelia visit this website.
Keep up with the latest news in Cairns and the Far North, and check out some of our top stories this week: International tourism set to boom and Townsville crime operation success.