2022 Winter lab
20 - 31 July
ATC’s third annual Winter Lab for bold work and new ideas featured ten projects ranging from physical theatre and devised work to comedy and musicals. In addition to in-person development sessions for each project, the seventy-two participants took part in a variety of workshops, forums and panel discussions including:
MEET & GREET
WORKSHOP: Equity, Inclusion and Safety in Your Arts Practice with Cessalee Stovall (she/her)
WORKSHOP: Mastering Self-Care and Confidence with Will Centurion (he/him)
PANEL DISCUSSION: “Building An Inclusive Practice” with Miss Cairo (she/her) and Nilgun Güven (she/her)
OPEN SESSIONS
RETROSPECTIVE
The Diary of An African Nomad
by Getrude Matshe
Through poetry, dance and song, Diaries of the African Nomad chronicles the life and adventurous travels of Getrude Matshe, a serial social entrepreneur and advocate for children and women's rights. After travelling to 56 countries around the world (and living in 6), Getrude ended up living in New Zealand and then Australia to become an author, a poet, African Storyteller and Inspirational Speaker.
GETRUDE MATSHE
Getrude Matshe (She/Her) is an inspirational speaker and actress who has been described as a vibrant bundle of African energy whose zest and passion for life inspires everyone she meets. She is passionate about helping people achieve their full potential and find their individual life purpose. She is passionate about individuals’ success. This makes her an energetic, inspirational and enlightening speaker. Getrude has written several books and is now a book writing coach.
Photo by Tim Morrison
The Diary of An African Nomad COLLABORATORS
Click headshots for bios.
The Glassiest Slipper in the World
by Artemis Muñoz
A fresh look at the Cinderella fairytale in the style of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Following two queer fools who manage to pick up Cinderella’s lost shoe before the prince does, the play uses the familiar story as a framework in which to explore the relationship between our two new main characters: a gay man and an aroace woman.
ARTEMIS MUÑOZ
Artemis Muñoz (They/Them) is a performer and writer working across cabaret, theatre, music, online video, sketch comedy and more. Artemis holds a Bachelor of Arts (Acting) from Fed Uni’s Arts Academy in Ballarat and a Master of Theatre (Writing) from the VCA. Artemis is neurodivergent, queer and bi-racial and proud to use this lived experience to advocate for better access and representation across the arts and media.
Photo by Sarah Clarke
The Glassiest Slipper in the World COLLABORATORS
Click headshots for bios.
My God, She’s A Woman!
by Kikki Temple
Kikki just wants to be “normal.” Legitimate in her truth. A look into what her experience has been so far in her pursuit of happiness. A tale of discovery, adversity and desperation to be understood. Or maybe it’s just a love story, a journey to the sacred heart of her sex. Complicated and raw for both her and the object of her desire.
KIKKI TEMPLE
Kikki Temple (She/They) From the depths of their soul, a song rises. Bubbling up inside them. Bursting to be sung. Kikki is a teller of stories. A keeper of the tales of their ancestors and guardian of the paths they’ve trodden. Paths to breakthrough and power, through valleys of pain, fear and healing, they have come full circle. This journey is evident in the art that flows from them. As an actrex and advocate, Kikki has worked on stages throughout NZ as well as screen and is making a name for themselves here in Naarm. Their stories are ready for the world to see and hear. 2022 will be a year to remember.
My God, She’s A Woman! COLLABORATORS
Click headshots for bios.
The No-Brainers
by Abbey Hanson and Emily Tambree
The zombie apocalypse is upon us and who would survive it but a rag-tag crew of queers? Holed up in a Melbourne library, this makeshift sapphic family of womxn fight to turn their hideout into a home. But this isn’t a tragedy; it is the LGBTIQA+ Scooby-Doo Gang that every Gen Z baby-gay deserved because tragic queer stories are so last decade. We just want to know how to kill zombies and how to look hot while doing it.
ABBEY HANSON
Abbey Hanson (She/Her) is an emerging Actor and Writer based in Naarm, Australia. She is a recent graduate of Federation University’s Bachelor of Performing Arts (2021). Her writings were featured in the 2021 Showcase, alongside the student-devised production, Exquisite Corpse. For the 2019 Fringe Festival, Abbey was an actor and writer for T-Minus 1200 with Eclective Theatre Co. As an artist, Abbey is particularly drawn to creating work that reflects their own lived experience as a proud young, queer creator. Abbey will be making her debut as a playwright with her new Australian play The Last Hour at The Butterfly Club.
Photo by Lachlan Woods
EMILY TAMBREE
Emily Tambree (They/Them) is a Naarm based, non-binary, multi-hyphenate creative. Emily undertook intensive Musical Theatre training at Centrestage, SHOWFIT and received their Diploma of Music at The Australian Institute of Music. They have used their combined knowledge of both performance and music as a basis to develop a body of work that reflects experience in almost every aspect of theatre-making; including acting, directing, and stagecraft. They will be making their directorial debut this June at The Butterfly Club with The Last Hour.
Photo by Maeve Hook
The No-Brainers COLLABORATORS
Click headshots for bios.
Perjalanan
by Jalen Ong & Anthony Crowley
This partially devised work looks at a transman navigating transitioning secretly in Malaysia. Following a near-death experience and being diagnosed with a brain abscess, he nearly loses the ability to speak and write. We follow the story of his recovery, immigration to Australia and renewed self-worth.
JALEN ONG
Jalen Ong (He/They) Born in Malaysia, Jalen is a transgender actor and theatre-maker who graduated from Federation University. Before moving to Australia, he was a control system engineer. Fed Uni credits: The Sparagus Garden, Vinegar Tom, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and co-creator of Exquisite Corpse. Other credits: And She Would Stand Like This (Antipodes Theatre), Polite Mammals (The Wholesome Hour) and Tiny Beautiful Things (Anthropocene Play Company). Upcoming: Ego Machine (Citizen Theatre). Jalen is interested in devised/physical theatre and incorporating AR and VR into live performances. In his free time, Jalen is a tech enthusiast and is curious about trauma healing.
Photo by Lachlan Woods
ANTHONY CROWLEY
Anthony Crowley (he/him) is a multi-award-winning theatre-maker. He is the recipient of several major commissions and awards including The Wal Cherry Play Of The Year Award, The Malcolm Robertson Prize for Drama, The Sumner Locke Elliot - New Dramatists Award, An R. E. Ross Trust Award, An Australian Musical Foundation Grant, An Opera Australia Young Artists Residency, The Pratt Prize For Musical Theatre, The Victorian Premiers Literary Award For Best Music Theatre Script and was shortlisted for the Finch Memoir Prize in 2014. He is currently the joint Program Coordinator of the Bachelor of Performing Arts Program, Federation University, Ballarat.
Photo by Ella Crowley.
Perjalanan COLLABORATORS
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Shrive
by Alonso Pineda, Amy May Nunn, Karine Larché and Sam Diamond
What does it mean to be temporary in this world? Being a temporary resident during the continuous lockdowns in Victoria proved one of the most challenging experiences director Alonso Pineda has faced. Together with writer Amy May Nunn and designers Karine Larché and Sam Diamond, they will explore the essence of identity in a new science-fiction work that asks: At what cost do we relinquish parts of ourselves in seeking our future?
ALONSO PINEDA
Alonso Pineda (He/Him) is originally from Mexico. His work in Australia includes directing Nothing by Fleur Murphy (fortyfivedownstairs), assistant director in Admissions by Joshua Harmon (Melbourne Theatre Company), and interning on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Michael Cassel). As a producer in Mexico, his credits include Constellations by Nick Payne, Heisenberg by Simon Stephens, and Rag and Bone by Noah Haidle. Alonso believes that no matter where someone was born, the language they speak, the colour of their skin or their gender, we all share a basic commonality - we are human, we are curious, we are dreamers and we need storytelling.
Photo by Lachlan Woods
AMY MAY NUNN
Amy May Nunn (She/They) is an award-winning writer and theatre maker, originally from the UK. Their work has been published in Voiceworks, Verandah, Windmills, Metre Maids and Award-Winning Australian Writing. They are a two-time recipient of the Mathew Rocca Award for poetry, winner of the Express Media Award for poetry and the John Marsden Prize. They have been shortlisted for the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award, the Canberra Youth Theatre Emerging Playwright Commission, and are a co-founder of Dirty Pennies Theatre Project. They are a current member of the She Writes Collective and an Associate Artist alumna at Theatre Works.
Photo by Lachlan Woods
KARINE LARCHÉ
Karine Larché (She/Her) is a Set and Costume designer based in Melbourne, whose most recent work includes Costume Design for Gugu naGogo (ABC/Screen Australia short film directed by Taku Mbudzi); Set and Costume Design for Nothing (an adaptation of Janne Teller’s novel by Fleur Murphy directed by Alonso Pineda Garcia) and And She Would Stand Like This (Antipodes Theatre at Meat Market, directed by Margot Tanjutco); Costume Design for Mark Ravenhill’s Pool (No Water) (directed by Leticia Cãceres) and Project F (choreographed by Prue Lang).
Photo by Amanda Carr
SAM DIAMOND
Sam Diamond (He/Him) is a Naarm/Melbourne based designer holding both a Master of Design for Performance and Bachelor of Environmental Design (Architecture). Playing at the intersection of form, space and light, Sam enjoys bold and minimal gestures that create alternate realities and conceptual spaces. He is the 2022 Graduate Designer for Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre and was the recipient of the 2019 Orloff Family Charitable Trust Scholarship for excellence in production. Recent projects include Darling Boy (Lighting design, The Butterfly Club 2022), Sowing Seeds (Set and costume design, Gasworks 2022), and Earthquakes in London (Set Design, VCA 2020/21).
Photo by Amanda Carr
Shrive COLLABORATORS
Click headshots for bios.
Silver Tongue
by Miranda Middleton and Alec Steedman
What do you get when you cross a badass bisexual pirate, a tango-dancing parrot, and a whole lot of fiddles? This queer musical adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s coming-of-age novel Treasure Island challenges the male-centric narrative of heroes and happy endings to empower marginalised voices which have been traditionally excluded from the ‘Classics.’
MIRANDA MIDDLETON
Miranda Middleton (She/Her) is a director, writer, and choreographer with a Master of Fine Arts (Directing) from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA). She is particularly interested in the intersection of text, music, and movement on stage, and aims to create theatrical events which spark connection and joy. In 2022, Miranda is the Resident Writer at Theatre Works and will assistant direct Simon Phillips on Come Rain or Come Shine at Melbourne Theatre Company. Her recent directing credits include Not Today (Theatre Works), Voldemort and the Teenage Hogwarts Musical Parody (Theatre Works), and Sowing Seeds (Gasworks Arts Park).
ALEC STEEDMAN
Alec Steedman (He/They) A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts Musical Theatre program, Alec is an actor, singer, multi-instrumentalist, musical director and composer. Credits include Twelfth Night (Melbourne Theatre Company), Once (Darlinghurst Theatre Company), Hamlet and Measure for Measure (Pop Up Globe), As You Like It (Sport for Jove), Much Ado About Nothing (Artefact Theatre Company), and before Covid cancellations, they were excited to work with Opera Australia in the cast of The Secret Garden. Alec also recently made their first foray into the orchestra pit of Young Frankenstein (Hayes Theatre Co.)
Photo by Lachlan Woods
Silver Tongue COLLABORATORS
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Sorry Not Sorry
by Sarah Carroll & Marissa Saroca
A multidisciplinary piece using song, text, movement and a variety format to bring together IBPoC artists from various backgrounds (such as theatre, comedy, music and dance) and examine what it means to take up space and claim back our power. At the end of the day, sorry…not sorry.
SARAH CARROLL
Sarah Carroll (She/They) is a Rotuman/Australian queer multidisciplinary artist working across live performance, writing, film/TV and movement on Dharug Land (Western Sydney). Recently they debuted their one woman show Cherry at KXT Bakehouse as part of the Panimo Pandemonium Festival, and are a Midsumma Pathways participant mentored by Victoria Falconer and part of AFTRS Talent Camp 2022. Sarah strives to champion for underrepresented voices to be heard and create works that uplift and engage audiences in new and exciting ways, usually with lots of sparkle and sass.
Photo by Farah Aviva
MARISSA SAROCA
Marissa Saroca (She/They) is a singer/musician/actor with an extensive recording, songwriting, coaching, and live performance career. They have released two original albums and was on Team Lea (Salonga) of The Voice of the Philippines. Acting highlights: Ensemble in Ghost and Shrek (Manila), Gabriella in High School Musical (Newcastle Entertainment Centre), Ensemble/’Seasons Of Love’ soloist/cover for Maureen and Joanne in Rent (Sydney Opera House), The Arbiter in Chess (Civic Theatre Newcastle), and the title character in Lizzie (Hayes Theatre, Sydney).
Photo by Keane Fletcher
Sorry Not Sorry COLLABORATORS
Click headshots for bios.
Spunk Daddy
by Darby James
A musical comedy cabaret about the process of sperm donation, pondering options for queer couples starting families, and the ethics of why people decide to have children.
DARBY JAMES
Darby James (He/Him) is a Melbourne-based writer and composer. His previous work includes Post, A New Musical (Something Blue Productions, 2019), Songs of the Northern River (The MC Showroom Hatchery Sponsorship 2019), Tied Up With Strings (Hope New Works, Development 2020), Protein (Autonomous Inventions, 2021), and Westberg (Hope New Works, Development 2021).
Photo by Ebony Moffat
Spunk Daddy COLLABORATORS
Click headshots for bios.
You made your bed, now sleep in it
by Alanah Guiry, Flick & Sarah-Jayde Tracey
I still sleep in the same bed I was assaulted in.
I still sleep in the same body I was assaulted in.
The seismic shift of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements was palpable. The collective trauma was raw on the social conscience as survivors shared their stories whilst risking mass traumatization. What happens now, after the shock waves have dissipated? You Made Your Bed, Now Sleep In It is a visual exploration of PTSD, and how we heal in the aftermath of an assault.
One woman vs her bed.
Alanah Guiry
Alanah Guiry (She/Her) is a queer neurodivergent theatre director and dramaturg drawn to creating highly visual and thought-provoking experiences. Alanah graduated from the NIDA MFA Directing course (2018) and participated in an exchange at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art, Berlin, where she studied puppetry. Alanah was an Associate Artist at Theatre Works (2020), Resident Dramaturg with the She-Writes Collective (2021 - 2022) and a member of the Anthropocene Play Company. Alanah is currently developing visual theatre projects with Platform Arts and Antipodes Theatre Company. Alanah is a lab participant with Lemony S Puppetry.
FLICK
Flick (They/Them) is a working artist in Naarm/Melbourne. Primarily they are a dramaturg and facilitator interested in the way that the embodiment of sonic dramaturgy can lead to divergent ways of creating performance texts. Flick is also a writer, with their most recent show SLUTNIK™ debuting during Midsumma 2022. Their written repertoire has appeared in theatre festivals in Melbourne, Sydney and Los Angeles, and developed by theatre companies such as ATYP Nightingale Content and Queerspace Arts. As a queer and disabled artist, they aim to honour their communities through radical accessibility and representative creative teams within the arts.
Sarah-Jayde Tracey
Sarah-Jayde Tracey (She/Her) is a theatre maker/performer living and working on Wurundjeri land. They have an intense interest in works centering class politics, feminist analysis, and queer performance. Sarah-Jayde’s most recent collaboration, Hedda GablerGablerGabler, with Paper Mouth Theatre, is an experimental, devised piece of theatre that uses competitive gameplay to interrogate and disrupt the themes of the iconic play.
Photo by Lauren Connelly.
You Made Your Bed, Now Sleep In It COLLABORATORS
Click headshots for bios.
