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'Shift '- a new play about life in the Hunter Valley
A new play written by PP Cranney, directed by Verity Higgins and featuring Simone Bailey, Andrew Dempster, Caitlin Folpp, Patrick Moore, Wendell Peacock, Kellie Tym, Wayde Walker and Richard Wootten.
When Kate’s elderly father dies after a lifetime mining underground, her relationships with family, friends and community come into sharp focus. Her husband Gary is constantly tired from working twelve hour shifts mining coal, her daughter has become an anti-coal activist and a multinational mining company wants to buy her property.
SHIFT was funded by the Commonwealth Government’s Regional Arts Fund and researched in the Upper Hunter.
Performances
Muswellbrook: Muswellbrook South School Hall
Thursday 15, Friday 16 and Saturday 17 September
Singleton: Singleton Youth Venue
Thursday 22, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 September
Thursdays and Fridays at 7.30 pm
Saturdays at 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm
Doors open ½ hour prior to performances for refreshments
Tickets: Thursday - all $10, Fridays & Saturdays - Adults $15, Concession $10. Groups of 5 or more $10 per head.
Bookings and enquiries 65401188. If the phone is unattended please leave your name, performance time/date, number of tickets required and a phone number. Tickets can be picked up and paid for at the door.
The Project to date
This is a two year project the purpose of which is to write and produce a play connected to the lives of the people of the Hunter, in particular those who work are connected to shift work in some way or other. The project will engage professional artists to work with the community through the process of research, script development, production and final public presentation. The format has been designed to enable individuals to be mentored and to actively participate in all stages of the writing and production of the play. The resulting play will be performed in Muswellbrook and Singleton in September 2011. The potential to tour parts or all of the [play to a variety of smaller venues throughout the region will also be explored.
The project started with the engagement of playwright PP Cranney March 2010
“I have spent most of my professional writing life working to create theatre and publications that express the concerns, aspiration, the character and the spirit of many diverse communities all over Australia,” says Pat. His projects have been varied the common thread being that they have resulted from engagement with people about issues that are heart-felt. In 2000 he won an AWGIE award for HOME produced by Shopfront Theatre for Young People it was constructed as a multi-stranded piece weaving separate, unrelated stories together to give a complex exploration of the theme of belonging (or not) from the point of view of young people. Home was published in November 2009 in an anthology by Currency Press. Closer to home, some may remember the closure of the Newcastle Steelworks. Pat was involved in developing a book Tailing Out, which documented the history of the closure from the workers’ point of view. Working with a theatre company stories were adapted from the book into physical theatre performance, which had seasons in Newcastle and Wollongong. His efforts have been acclaimed through the receipt of numerous national and local awards, in 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for services in Australian society in writing for the stage. Suffice to say we are very happy to have him coming to work with us in this region. To meet the man, see www.currency.com.au/October
First Residency
Pat spent 2 weeks in and around Muswellbrook and Singleton, in April. During this time he interviewed people who either work shift work or are impacted by those who do. This included nurses, police, miners, truck drivers, the partners of all of these, their children and the occasional pet. He also ran workshops at the two libraries and St Catherine's in Singelton and Muswellbrook High School. He has collected an enormous amount of information and has gone away sift through it and start writing.
Second Residency
Pat’s second residency in the Upper Hunter occurred 23-27 August. He talked to more people about shiftwork, including people connected with the United Mineworkers Federation of Australia, conducted workshops in Muswellbrook and Singleton and at St Joseph’s Aberdeen about writing and scriptwriting, and received feedback on the play he is writing including discussions about possible characters in the play and settings. Pat will complete a rehearsal draft by the end of November this year. Stage two will involve the production and staging of the play in 2011..
Draft Script Readings
In November 2010, Pat returned with the draft of the script. Workshops were held in both Muswellbrook and Singleton with Pat and the recently engaged Verity Higgins ( Director). Verity currently lives in Ballarat Vic., theatre is her passion and she has done a number of interesting projects with community groups developing scripts, running workshops and directing/producing. A range of people attended the workshops including those interested in drama and acting to others who are interested in the topic and it would be developed. This was a very helpful working session for Pat who went away with a lot of useful feedback to help solidify the characters and determine the end!
Audtions Held
Auditions were held in March and May and the cast members selected. Rehearsals commenced.
Anyone wishing to be involved in any way please do not hesitate to contact Arts Upper Hunter 02 4992 1033.
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