Antipodes Theatre Companys presents the Australian Premiere of

GHOST QUARTET

Music, Lyrics and Text by DAVE MALLOY

Ghost Quartet is produced by special arrangement with United Talent Agency. Originally Developed and Arranged by Ghost Quartet (Brent Arnold, Brittain Ashford, Gelsey Bell, Dave Malloy), Annie Tippe, and Christoper Bowser.

August 14th - 23rd 2019

Gasworks Arts Park, South Melbourne

Ghost Quartet is a show about love, death and whisky.

A camera breaks and four musicians drink as they unravel four interwoven narratives spanning seven centuries: a warped fairy tale about two sisters, a treehouse astronomer and a lazy evil bear; a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher; a purgatorial intermezzo about Scheherazade and the ghost of Thelonious Monk; and a contemporary fable about a subway murder.

Inspired by source material as diverse as Arabian Nights and the television series The Twilight Zone, you won’t want to miss this spirited modern musical where nothing is as it seems.

Runtime: 90 minutes, no interval

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

Warnings: Death, murder, loss of children and sitting in darkness.

Digital Program

Nominated for two green room awards

DAVID BUTLER - Musical Theatre, Best Musical Direction

GHOST QUARTET - Musical Theatre, Best Ensemble

★★★★★ ‘...Antipodes Theatre Company demonstrates they’re a new theatre company to keep an eye on...an intimate serenade between performers and the audience.’ - Kristen Iliopoulos, Theatre People'

★★★1/2 ‘...Exquisite...brilliantly performed by a charismatic quartet of multitalented actor-musicians. Ghost Quartet is the inaugural production for new independent theatre company Antipodes and it is a wonderful success.’ - Reuben Liversidge, ArtsHub

‘Electrifying...NOT to be missed. Antipodes Theatre have proven they are one to watch with this beautiful and haunting production.’ - Owen James, Theatre Press

‘Mesmerizing and masterful...Antipodes Theatre Company triumphs in its inaugural production. The storytelling is intoxicating and the performances are spell-bounding.’ - Lillian Nejad, Weekend Notes

‘Blissfully lyrical, mysterious and magical...A palpable chemistry exists between four excellent performers who bring a surreal musical experience to life...superbly directed and designed by Brandon Pape.’ - Alex First, The Blurb

‘The cast is comprised of four incredibly talented musicians with a warm and incredible chemistry. Not only are the vocals stunning, but their gifts - playing multiple instruments - are astounding, performed with incredible finesse and talent to create a beautiful and haunting soundscape. Brandon Pape has created a visually stunning piece of theatre in his design and direction. I would see it again in a heartbeat and experience its beauty and tragedy all over again.’ - Taylor Kendal, Theatre Travels

Performer: MELISSA DAVID (she/her)

Performer: PATRICK SCHNUR (he/him)

Performer: WILLOW SIZER (she/her)

Performer and Musical Director: DAVID BUTLER (he/him)

Music, Lyrcis and Text: DAVE MALLOY (he/him)

Director and Designer: BRANDON PAPE (he/him)

Movement Director and Assistant Director: MADISON LEE (she/her)

Co-Lighting Designer: LACHLAN MCLEAN (he/him)

Sound Design: JEDD SCHAECHE (he/him)

Production Manager: KRISTY GRIFFIN (she/her)

Stage Manager: JACKIE MATES (she/her)

ASM: DIANE PEREIRA (she/her)

Wardrobe Supervisor: HELEN ROFE (she/her)

Biographies are available below.

Graphic Designer: JULIAN LEON

Production Photographer: JUNIOR DELUISE

Promo Cast Photographer: LAUREN BROEREN

Social Media Manager: CHLOE TOWAN

Crew; DAVE ANGELICO, GABE BETHUNE, ARLENE MILLER, MARCUS PETERS

Meet the Cast

David Butler

He/Him
PERFORMER AND MUSICAL DIRECTOR
David is a graduate of the VCA (Voice) and a freelance performer, musical director and vocal coach based in Melbourne. He is director of David Butler Studio, liaises with the Melbourne Voice Analysis Centre in rehabilitating damaged voices, and is a casual lecturer in Musical Theatre for VCA. Recent credits include two seasons of Mad World, Woman: It’s a Mother of a Cabaret, From: New York, For: Him, Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle, and Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas and King Arthur. David’s musical direction credits include Falsettos (StageArt, Green Room Award nomination) and Into The Woods (Bottled Snail Productions).
Melissa David

She/Her
PERFORMER
Melissa is a Northern California native who moved from NYC to be with her Australian husband in Melbourne. She is a graduate of the MFA Acting program at the University of Tennessee, currently in the top 30 programs in the world. Favorite roles include New Shoes (Off-Broadway debut, The Drama League), RENT (Maureen) and The Threepenny Opera (Lucy). She is a founding member of Antipodes Theatre Company and is Artistic Director of Brooklyn Runaways. Together with her creative partner Peppy Smears, she has written and performed in four cabarets. “Thank you to my Hubby, my show hubby, and my business hubby.” www.melissadavid.com
Patrick Schnur

He/Him
PERFORMER
Patrick studied a Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) at Federation University with performances of The Addams Family, Into The Woods, and his self-devised cabaret. Since graduating, Patrick has worked in several productions with the Australian Shakespeare Company including Twelfth Night and Alice in Wonderland. In 2017, Patrick was part of the ensemble and music director for No More Silence. Most recently, Patrick played Zombie Boy in Motor-Mouth Loves Suckface, written/directed by Anthony Crowley. Outside of his theatre life, Patrick is a member of the Australian Army Reserve, follows the Formula One and loves to play his guitar, 'Red'.
Willow Sizer

She/Her
PERFORMER
Willow is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts. Her canon of work has seen her collaborate on performance art in Jogjakarta, Indonesia and perform in venues such as Hamer Hall, the Melbourne Recital Centre and Canberra Theatre Centre. Deemed “A star on the rise” by Broadway World, she won the Upcoming Artist Grant (MCF) for her cabaret Put the Blame on Mame in 2017. She will be performing a return season of her acclaimed musical Death of a Demi Diva in the Melbourne Cabaret Festival in June. She is a core company member of Citizen Theatre Co, and an artist with internationally renowned provocateurs Finucane and Smith.

Meet the Team

Dave Malloy

He/Him
MUSIC, LYRICS AND TEXT
Dave Malloy is a composer/writer/performer/orchestrator. He has written fourteen musicals, including Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, an electropop opera based on a slice of Tolstoy’s War & Peace (12 Tony nominations, including Best Musical, Score, Book, and Orchestrations); Ghost Quartet, a song cycle about love, death, and whiskey; Preludes, a musical fantasia set in the hypnotized mind of Sergei Rachmaninoff; Little Bunny Foo Foo, a forest entertainment for small people; Three Pianos, a drunken romp through Schubert’s “Winterreise”; Black Wizard/Blue Wizard, an escapist RPG fantasy; Beowulf—A Thousand Years of Baggage, an anti-academia rock opera; Beardo, a reinterpretation of the Rasputin myth; Sandwich, a musical about killing animals; and Clown Bible, Genesis to Revelation told through clowns. www.davemalloy.com
Brandon Pape

He/Him
DIRECTOR AND DESIGNER
Brandon is the Artistic Director for Antipodes Theatre Company. Brandon recently relocated to Melbourne after spending six years in New York City. Melbourne credits: Mad World (David Butler Studio), From: New York, For: Him (The Butterfly Club) and several shows with the cabaret duo Mel & Peppy. NYC credits: the world premieres Only You Can Prevent Wildfires, Happily After Ever (also Edinburgh Fringe), and Gordy Crashes for Ricochet Collective (which he also co-founded). Favorite directing credits include The Last Five Years, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Shape of Things, and Big Love. @midwestrunaway
Madison Lee

She/Her
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Madison has appeared in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Melbourne Shakespeare Company), Saturday Night Fever (StageArt), The Last Five Queers, I Won’t Dance The Musical and Masters of Choreography. As a choreographer and director, Madison worked on the 2017 and 2018 Sydney Mardi Gras, Falsettos (StageArt), Garfield The Musical (Melbourne International Comedy Festival), Bare (Understudy Productions, Brisbane), and Mad World (David Butler Studios). Madison was nominated for the 2019 Sydney Theatre Award for Best Choreography for Little Triangle’s The Wild Party and she will return to choreograph their upcoming production of Nine.
Lachlan McLean

He/Him
CO-LIGHING DESIGNER
Lachlan is a Melbourne-based lighting designer and creative. He has worked on numerous productions in independent theatre and within the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). Lachlan’s professional works in lighting design include, Philtrum (2018), Ross & Rachel (2018), Strata Inc. (2018) and The Trial of Dorian Gray (2019). Lachlan has also worked as a technician on The Antipodes (2018), Sweet Phoebe (2019) and Escaped Alone (2019) at Red Stitch Theatre Company. Lachlan’s most recent designs include Body (2019) by Sue Healy at VCA and You are the blood (2019) directed by Peter Blackburn.
Jedd Schaeche

He/Him
SOUND DESIGNER
Jedd Schaeche is a Melbourne based Sound Designer, Engineer, Composer and Audio Systems Designer. He has worked in diverse design fields including theatre, dance, and instillation works. Always looking to expand his horizons, Jedd has done design and assistant design work for Science Gallerys instillation “Plastivore”, Bendigos’ Artlands “Poppet Project” and theatre designs including “US” by Margret Hickey
Kristy Griffin

She/Her
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Originally a performer from Canberra, Kristy holds a Cert IV in Performing Arts from Brent Street Studios, Sydney, a BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre from Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore and a MA in Arts and Cultural Management from Deakin University. Kristy has worked professionally since 2007 in all facets of performing and creative/production team roles in both Singapore and Australia. She is also a highly experienced educator, teaching Dance and Drama in secondary and tertiary courses, and at her own dance school Griffin Dance Studio.
Jackie Mates

She/Her
STAGE MANAGER
Jackie graduated from The Victorian College of the Arts in 2017. She is thrilled to be working with Antipodes Theatre Co on Ghost Quartet. Some recent credits include; Pomona, Escaped Alone, Lovesong, Antipodes (Red Stitch Actors Theatre), Mr Burns: A Post-Electric Play, Venus In Fur (Lightning Jar Theatre), West Side Story (GWB Entertainment), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Live Concert Series, Stravinsky’s Firebird (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), Die Meistersinger Von Nuremburg, La Traviata (Opera Australia), Cinderella, Spartacus (The Australian Ballet), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Queensland Ballet). Upcoming productions include; Broken River (La Mama Courthouse) & Lobby Hero (Around The Moon Productions).
Diane Pereira

She/Her
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Diane is an emerging Stage Manager, Dancer and Choreographer based in Melbourne. A recent graduate of Monash University, she is currently pursuing a Masters of Social Work and would like to help at- risk youth through performance. She recently Stage Managed TuskTusk (Patalog Theatre, 2019) and Assistant Stage Managed Moral Panic (Darebin Speakeasy and Double Water Sign, 2018), The Dressmaker: A musical Adaptation (Monash Academy of Performing Arts, 2018), Dance Nation (Red Stitch 2019) and Mr Burns a post- electric play (Lightning Jar Theatre). She is currently working on a new dance work called Pink Matter as part of DanceHouse’s Fringe program.
Helen Rofe

She/Her
WARDROBE SUPERVISOR
Helen is a Melbourne-based set/costume designer and scenic artist. She graduated in 2018 from a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production) in Design Realisation at the Victorian College of the Arts. During her time at the VCA, Helen worked as costume designer on A Chorus Line and as set/properties designer on A View From The Bridge. Helen has completed secondments with scenic art company Scenic Studios and renowned special effects company Odd Studio. In 2019, Helen worked as assistant designer on the Melbourne premiere of Anne Washburn's critically acclaimed Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play (Lightning Jar Theatre).