Part of The Ricochet Reading Series

Featuring plays that have yet to be performed in Australia

AND SHE WOULD STAND LIKE THIS

By HARRISON DAVID RIVERS

Monday 20th January 2020

Reading begins at 7.00pm

Alex Theatre, St. kilda

And She Would Stand Like This is an adaptation of Euripides’ The Trojan Women with inspiration from Jennie Livingston’s seminal ball culture documentary Paris is Burning.

Set in a hospital waiting room during a mysterious plague, the play is a modern observation of HIV/AIDS and re-contextualizes the Greek characters as Queer bodies of colour fighting for survival.

Runtime: 2 hours and 30 minutes, with one interval

Reading presentations are followed by a brief Q&A session with the creatives.

Recommended for audiences: 12+, parental discretion is advised.

Writer: HARRISON DAVID RIVERS (he/him)

Director: JENNIFER SARAH DEAN (she/her)

Readers: MARTY ALIX (he/they), BAILEE-ROSE FARNHAM (she/her), JUAN GOMEZ (he/they), BUMPA LOVE (she/her) JAMES MAJOOS (they/them), MAMA ALTO (she/her), ANDREA MENDEZ (they/she) VANESSA MENJIVAR (she/her), MICHELLE PERERA (she/her) with BENJI BLOWERS (he/him)

Assistant Director & Stage Directions: SHAMITA SIVA (she/they)

Producer: BRANDON PAPE (he/him)

Biographies are available below.

Meet the Team

Harrison David Rivers

He/Him
WRITER
Harrison David Rivers is the winner of the 2018 Relentless Award for his play the bandaged place (New York Stage & Film). Selected plays and musicals: When Last We Flew (GLAAD Media Award, NYFringe Excellence in Playwriting Award), Sweet (AUDELCO nomination for Best Play), Where Storms Are Born (Berkshire Theatre Award nomination for Best New Play, Edgerton Foundation New Play Award), Five Points (MN Theatre Award for Exceptional New Work, BroadwayWorld Minneapolis Award for Best New Work), and This Bitter Earth (MN Theatre Award for Exceptional New Work, Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for Best Production). Harrison was the 2016 Playwright-in-Residence at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and is an alum of the Public Theater's Emerging Writers' Group.
Jennifer Sarah Dean

She/Her
DIRECTOR
Jennifer Sarah Dean trained at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. She is the artistic director for the Melbourne Shakespeare Company and has directed 8 productions for them including The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night. Jennifer’s other credits include Ghost Stories (National Tour), The Haunting (The Atheneum), Travesties (45 Downstairs), Festen (Ripponlea Manor House) and Tape (Courthouse). Next up, Jennifer will be directing As You Like It with performances 7th - 22nd of March.
Shamita Siva

She/They
SSISTANT DIRECTOR & STAGE DIRECTIONS
Shamita Siva is a multi-faceted performer who enjoys choreographing and devising new work. A trained dancer from an early age, she developed an interest in physical theatre. Her foundation began with 15 years of RAD ballet training, but branched out into several other styles ranging from Vogue to Bollywood. She holds a BA Performing Arts from Monash University and has trained at Film & Television Studios International, Stella Adler LA, and Meisner Technique. Shamita is also a writer and director and is often consulted for movement direction. She is an active performer in Australia's queer scene and is passionate about creating for the LGBTIQ community.
Brandon Pape

He/Him
PRODUCER
Brandon is the Artistic Director for Antipodes Theatre Company. Melbourne credits: GhostQuartet, #Really?! with Mel andPeppy, Bowie Ball,Mad World, From: New York, For: Him.NYC credits: the world premieres of Only You Can Prevent Wildfires, Happily After Ever (also Edinburgh Fringe), and Gordy Crashes for RicochetCollective (which he also co-founded)and several projects as resident producer with The Orchard Project andThe Drama League. Favorite directing credits include The Last Five Years, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Shape of Things, and Big Love. @midwestrunaway

Meet the Readers

Marty Alix

He/They
READER ‘Baby’
Marty Alix graduated with a BFA in Music Theatre at VCA and studied at Atlantic Acting School, New York sponsored by The Ron and Margaret Dobell Foundation. VCA highlights include Oh, What a Lovely War, Mate! and The Drowsy Chaperone. Marty was a co-collaborator on Ascent (Citizen Theatre Co.) for the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2018. Professional credits include Bring It On (Stage Masters), Rent (Chapel Off Chapel), Spamalot (One Eyed Man/Hayes Co), and the Sydney premiere of In The Heights (Hayes Co; Sydney Opera House/Blue Saint Productions – Sydney Theatre Award and Helpmann Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor).
Bailee-Rose Farnham

She/Her
READER ‘Cassandra’
Dancer Bailee-Rose began exploring her gender identity and the way our bodies are governed by society through performance. As a young, gender non-conforming trans woman of colour, Bailee-rose has choreographed a piece that encapsulates the idea of gender, sex and love on ABC iView. She is driven by her experiences and the injustice she and her friends go through as young queer people navigating through life. The show Lou Wall’s Drag Race she debuted in for Fringe Festival won the award Best Emerging Artists where “Bailee-rose’s saucy strip tease elicits howls and cheers from the sold out crowd” (The Age).
Juan Gomez

He/They
READER ‘Honesto/Helen’
Born in Spain, Juan moved to Australia in 2012 to pursue a career in the Performing Arts. After three years in Wollongong, Juan moved to Melbourne in 2016 to study Music Theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts. During his time training, Juan appeared in Eddie Perfect’s Vivid White; and played Paul San Marco in A Chorus Line and The Wolf in Into the Woods. Upon graduating he appeared in Mad World and Spring Awakening and joined the international cast of PAW Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure. Juan will soon be starring in ADAM by Frances Poet as part of Midsumma Festival. Juan is represented by JMAgency and is a member of MEAA/Equity.
James Majoos

They/Them
READER ‘Miss Scott’
James Majoos recently graduated from The Victorian College of the Arts (Bachelor of Fine Arts – Music Theatre 2018). They made their professional debut in the world premiere of Fangirls with Belvoir and Queensland Theatre. James’ previous theatre credits include Fangirls (Workshop 2019), Into the Woods, A Chorus Line (VCA), and Eddie Perfect’s Vivid White (VCA / MTC). James Majoos is thrilled to be representing queer people of colour in a new work and is a proud member of the MEAA.
Mama Alto

She/Her
READER ‘Grace’
Mama Alto is a jazz singer, cabaret artiste & gender transcendent diva. She is a transgender & queer person of colour who works with the radical potential of storytelling, strength in softness and power in vulnerability. As an actress, she has performed to critical acclaim in the Malthouse Theatre & Griffin Theatre premiere of Declan Greene’s The Homosexuals (2017). As a playwright, her new work The Bathroom was workshopped and performed with MTC for their Cybec Electric readings program (2019).
Andrea Mendez

They/She
READER ‘Andromache’
Andrea Mendez is a Salvadorean actor and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre Practice) graduate from the VCA. Upcoming roles include Mindy in Wellbless on at Theatreworks in March. She is also a writer and has recently been published in Overland and Sangre Migrante.
Vanessa Menjivar

She/Her
READER ‘Elena’
Vanessa Menjivar is a Music Theatre graduate from Federation University, where credits include When Midnight Strikes and Spring Awakening. She performed Ballarat and Melbourne seasons of her self-devised cabaret It Takes Two to Tango and featured as a vocalist in Flourish Productions’ The Songs of Alan Menken. Vanessa performed various roles with StageArt, including Sofia in The Color Purple, Sister Chantelle in Bare, and understudied and performed the role of Effie White in Dreamgirls. Internationally, Vanessa has starred in Paw Patrol Live! Race to the Rescue and The Great Pirate Adventure. Vanessa recently finished the Australian Tour of Waist Watchers The Musical.
Michelle Perera

She/Her
READER ‘Talthybius’
A former radio journalist and broadcaster with a Degree in English Literature, Michelle has been involved in theatre for over 25 years. She presents a weekly arts- and issues-centred radio show ‘Community’ on 3MDR 97.1FM, and most recently performed in Mordialloc Theatre Company’s production of Ray Cooney’s Out of Order (Nov 2019), Illumination Theatre’s production of Brooke Murray’s original play Hostage (Sep 2019), Wildefang Theatre’s production of Cassandra Yiannacou’s The Last Journalist on Earth which premiered at Melbourne Fringe (Sep 2017), and Oxagen Productions Twelve Angry Jurors by Reginald Rose (May 2017).
Bumpa Love aka Richard Taki

She/Her
READER ‘Hecuba/Derrick’
Richard Taki owns and runs Melbourne’s dinner and show venue Vau d’vile Drag Cabaret. A graduate of NZ’s National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Arts, he has spent the last 20 years performing as Drag Queen Bumpa Love producing stage shows for venues and corporate events. With a passion for supporting the GLBTIQ community, Richard has produced Auckland’s night time Pride Parade, MC for the Candlelight Aids Memorial and has produced and starred in work shown at Melbourne Fringe and Midsumma Festivals. He is excited to bring some of Bumpa to this reading.