Part of Festival of the Unseen
THE HUMANS: A STAGED READING
Friday 3 March 2023
Meat Market Stables, North Melbourne
Doors open 7pm, performances from 7.30pm
Entry: $30 general admission,
$60 premium seating (reserved seats and a complimentary beverage)
Postponed due to Melbourne lockdowns and other unforeseen circumstances, The Humans was originally intended to be part of Antipodes Theatre Company's 2020, 2022, and lastly 2023 Season. The Humans will now be presented as a staged reading featuring members of the original cast and production team.
Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake has brought his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. His mother is living with Alzheimer’s, one of his daughters has recently been the victim of a nasty breakup, and he has to contend with the other's much older boyfriend.
Over the course of one evening, they grapple with aging, illness, and a changing economy while their family reunion goes slowly awry. But as darkness falls outside, eerie things start to go bump in the night as the heart and horrors of the Blake clan are exposed.
Runtime: 90 minutes, no interval
Recommended for audiences: 13+, parental discretion is advised.
Warnings: Coarse language, loud sudden noises, long period in low light, discussion of mental illness, dementia, chronic illness and dying
Running across the 2022 Dementia Action Week and during World Alzheimer's Month, The Humans is the winner of four TONY Awards (including Best Play) and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
‘A haunting, beautifully realized play...blisteringly funny and altogether wonderful.’ - The New York Times
‘Gorgeous. Stephen Karam boldly forces us into a world beyond the familiar.’ - Time Out New York
‘Absolutely, relentlessly gripping...rackingly funny even as it pummels the heart and scares the bejesus out of you.’ — New York Magazine
‘Spare, nuanced, and thoughtful in its tale of a family hanging on by the skin of their teeth...its exposed wounds hitting all too close to home.’ - Entertainment Weekly
Performer ‘Aimee’: JORDAN BARR (she/her)
Performer ‘Momo’: VIVIEN DAVIES (she/her)
Performer ‘Erik’: DAVID JAMES (he/him)
Performer ‘Richard’: CHRIS MASTERS MAH (he/they)
Performer ‘Brigid’: LUISA SCROFANI (she/they)
Performer ‘Deidre’: FIONA STEWART (she/her)
Director & Producer: BRANDON PAPE (he/him)
Associate Director: AUBREY FLOOD (she/her)
Producer: CAMERON STEENS (they/them)
Dialect and Voice Coach: MARK WONG (he/him)
Set Designer: CLAIRE MARMUR (she/her)
Costume Designer: JODI HOPE (she/her)
Lighting Designer: MUNGO TRUMBLE (he/him)
Sound Designer and Composer: RACHEL LEWINDON (she/her)
Biographies are available below.
2022/2023 Cast: JORDAN BARR (she/her), JACKSON BLISS (he/him), CHRIS CONNELLY (he/him), VIVIEN DAVIES (she/her), FIONA STEWART (she/her) & GABRIELLE WARD (she/her)
Meet the Cast
-
Jordan Barr
She/Her
PERFORMER ‘Aimee’
Jordan Barr is a Melbourne-based stand-up comedian. Jordan was short-listed for Screen Australia's Smart For A Girl: ROAR initiative (2016) and was a finalist for the 2018 Rebel Wilson Comedy Commission. Jordan performed a return season of her one woman show How To Be Sexy at the 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. She is also a Vic state finalist for RAW Comedy (2018) and a featured comedian on Triple J's Good Az Friday broadcast (2018). Recently Jordan completed a sold-out season of her show Zombie at the 2021 Melbourne International Comedy Festival and was a part of Upfront.
-
Vivien Davies
She/Her
PERFORMER ‘Momo’
Her extensive career has seen her perform in musicals including Billy Elliot, Les Misérables, Menopause the Musical, Buddy and Dusty as well as in many and varied productions with the Melbourne Theatre Company.
-
David James
He/Him
PERFORMER ‘Erik’
A NIDA graduate, David has worked with most of Australia’s leading theatre companies. Recent stage appearances: The Boy from Oz, And I’m the Queen of Sheba, The Sound of Music, The Speechmaker, When Dad Married Fury, Australia Day, All About My Mother, Avenue Q. TV credits include: Jack Irish, True Story (1 and 2), Hopelessly Devoted to You, Offspring, The Hollowmen, Play School, Childhood’s End, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries & It’s a Date. Films: The Whistleblower, The Healing, Any Questions For Ben.
-
Chris Masters Mah
He/They
PERFORMER ‘Richard’
Chris Masters Mah is an award-winning working actor with an incredible work ethic, love for the craft and industry, and has been a working actor since 2010. He studied at Victorian College of Arts and Actor's Lab. He is known for his roles as Roulette Player in Underbelly: Chopper, where in the big opening scene in Part 2, he plays gun roulette with Chopper Read (Aaron Jeffery), his role as Huoche Chengke in the largest Australian filming in 2018, the True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) produced by Russell Crowe. Houche shares a big scene with Ned Kelly (George MacKay). Chris has acted alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme in his Ultratune commercial.
-
Luisa Scrofani
She/They
PERFORMER ‘Brigid’
Luisa Scrofani is a Helpmann-nominated Musical Theatre performer. She has performed across Australia and is particularly passionate about developing new Australian works. She was most recently seen in "Bonnie & Clyde" (JRP Australia), and will next be seen in the Brittanie Shipway original play, "SENSER".
-
Fiona Stewart
She/Her
PERFORMER ‘Deidre’
Fiona Stewart is a global citizen, having lived in several different countries over the course of her life: Australia, the UK, India, Germany and France. She has lived her life in the tradition of a troubadour, moving from place to place and offering her skills as a singer, storyteller, actor, teacher and music maker. She is interested in telling stories that unite us in our humanity.
-
Jackson Bliss
He/Him
2022/2023 CAST
Jackson Bliss is a New Zealand born actor represented by Smith and Macdonald Management who recently moved to Melbourne from Auckland where he trained under renowned teacher Michael Saccente and has seen a successful past few years starring in local film, television, and theatre roles. Jackson will make his Melbourne debut performance at the Meat Market Stables starring as Richard in the Victorian premiere of Stephen Karam's The Humans.
-
Chris Connelly
He/Him
2022/2023 CAST
Chris Connelly has worked extensively in Stage, Television and Film. His numerous MTC productions include Happy Ending, After Shocks, Pax Americana, The Caretaker, Never in My Lifetime. Also: Barassi (Ron Barassi), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, In A Forest Dark and Deep, Hotel Sorrento, Face to Face, The Club, Kitten, West Side Story and Fury. Solo shows include The Dream of a Ridiculous Man. Television credits include Deadline Gallipoli, Bed of Roses, Stingers, Blue Heelers, Good Guys Bad Guys, Prisoner, Neighbours and The Adventures of Lano and Woodley. His film credits include John Doe, Face To Face, Queen of the Damned and Angel Baby.
-
Gabrielle Ward
She/Her
2022/2023 CAST
Gabrielle Ward is a Melbourne-based, Sydney-born artist who is signed with Mark Gogoll Enterprises. Recent credits include Citizen Theatre’s new work Ego Machine (dir. Jayde Kirchert). Gabrielle also made her directing debut this year in Murder is an Art at the Butterfly Club and is due to play Will in Salty Theatre’s production of Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical (dir. Ashley Taylor Tickell). Gabrielle is a recent 2021 graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) where she studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre).
Meet the Team
-
Brandon Pape
He/Him
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
Brandon is the founding Artistic Director of Antipodes Theatre Company in Melbourne, Australia. For Antipodes, Brandon directed the Australian Premiere of 'Ghost Quartet' (two 2020 Green Room Award Nominations, return season in 2021) and will co-direct their upcoming immersive reimagining of ‘Guys and Dolls’ taking place at Chapel Off Chapel in August 2023. Other Antipodes credits include Sam Martin's 'Sam I Am' (sold out season at La Mama, Victorian Premiere), 'And She Would Stand Like This' (Australian Premiere), 'Passing Strange' (Australian Premiere, five 2023 Green Room Award Nominations), and the Winter Lab - Antipodes' annual development program for new work and bold ideas. Antipodes will present their first production originating from the Winter Lab in November 2023 with ‘Orlando’ at fortyfivedownstairs.
-
Aubrey Flood
She/Her
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Aubrey is a Filipino-Australian Naarm-based actor, singer and director. Aubrey graduated from the Ballarat Arts Academy, and has trained extensively with Anne Bogart and the SITI Company in New York. As a performer, Aubrey’s credits range from children's theatre, to solo cabarets, corporate events and concerts, a cappella groups, fringe festivals all over Australia to major works in theatres, and performances in NYC. Aubrey most recently featured as the Duck in Chris Horsey’s tap dancing adaption of Peta & the Wolf. Aubrey is an emerging director with assistant credits including working with Kenneth Moraleda on new Filipino-Australian musical, LOLA! by Jordan Shea & Victoria Falconer, and as a directing intern for Melbourne Theatre Company's Cybec Electric: Malacanang/Montgomery earlier this year.
-
Cameron Steens
They/Them
PRODUCER
A WAAPA graduate, multidisciplinary performer, dramaturge, director and all-round creative. Cameron is known for their keen interest in new work, supporting artists in all stages of their careers and has run multiple creative & networking programs. The newly appointed Ne Work Manager for Antipodes Theatre Company, they’ve also established themself as an excellent programmer having leased theatres for Gasworks Arts Park. Their performance credits include BSSTC’s Assassins(dir. Roger Hodgman), JTC’s Rent(dir. Mark Taylor) and Mimma(dir. Adam Mitchell). Other credits include: Pear-Shaped (White Rabbit/Assist. Stage Manager, Rogue Projects & TheatreWorks), Protein (Assist. Director & Sound Design, Autonomous Inventions), The Mentor (Assist. Director, Dramaturg & Voice Actor, BravoArts & TheatreWorks), Pops andIf We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You(Assist. Director, Gavin Roach presents). www.cameronsteens.com
-
Mark Wong
He/Him
DIALECT AND VOICE COACH
Mark Wong is a Malaysian-born, Melbourne-based voice, speech and accent coach. Trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, Mark teaches voice and speech at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA Theatre). His production coaching credits include Next to Normal (Pursued by Bear), The Phantom of the Opera (Ballarat Lyric Theatre Company), Titanic The Musical (StageArt), The Color Purple (StageArt), and One Man, Two Guvnors (Heidelberg Theatre Company).
-
Claire Marmur
She/Her
SET DESIGNER
Claire is a freelance set and costume designer and scenic painter with experience in both German and Australian theatre. Since completing her studies at the Victorian College of the Arts, she has worked in Australia and Germany as a freelance scenic artist and designer /design assistant for companies such as the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Malthouse Theatre, the Australian Ballet, the Bavarian State Opera, the Bavarian State Theatre, and the Schaubühne Berlin as well as many smaller companies. In her work as a freelance artist she has completed large-scale murals, as well as art installations and concept designs for commercial companies.
-
Jodi Hope
She/Her
COSTUME DESIGNER
Jodi is a Costume + Textil Designer in theatre, film and fashion. She received Green Room nominations for Costume Design-Musical Theatre in 2019 + 2020 for bare - The Musical(StageArt) and BrightStar (Pursued byBear). Other highlights include Next to Normal (James Terry Collective), Incoming (Little Red Fox Productions), Side Show (WMTC), Strawberry (WLT). Costume Supervisor: Bring It On (David Venn Enterprises). Costume Maker: Sweeney Todd(Life Like Company), The Wedding Singer (DVE). Jodi is a graduate of Fine Art(Queensland College of Art) and Textile Design (RMIT, exchange Glasgow School of Art).
-
Mungo Trumble
He/Him
LIGHTING DESIGNER
A graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts, Mung is a touring automation and production technician working in commercial theatre and music theatre. Recent credits include: The Picture of Dorian Gray (Head of Automation) and Deputy Head of Automation (The Phantom of the Opera).
-
Rachel Lewindon
She/Her
SOUND DESIGNER AND COMPOSER
An award-winning composer, sound designer, pianist and musical director. Her sound palette has developed from her classical piano background with contemporary influences of voice, processive ensemble work and timbral electronic synthesis. She is thrilled to have had her work premiered both internationally and nationally as well as enjoying frequenting the local parks with her canine companion, Henry. Upcoming work can be found at www.rachellewindon.com
Venue Information:
Meat Market Stables
2 Wreckyn St, North Melbourne VIC 3051
Accessible entrance available via Wreckyn Street.