Deceased Estate
Melbourne Fringe Festival 2008

Venue:
The House, 244 Blyth St, East Brunswick
MEL REF: 30 B7, Google Maps
Preview Dates:
Wed 24/09/2008
Season Dates:
Thurs 25/09/2008 - Sat 04/10/2008 (not Mon/Tues) 8pm every session.
Tickets:
Preview $10.00, Conc $15.00, Full $20.00

Contact Will on 0425 737 146 or sense@roundangle.com.au for more details.

Bookings: Festival Tix: 03 9660 9666
www.melbournefringe.com.au

Roundangle's unique multi-sensory, interactive approach to theatre won them 3 Melbourne Fringe awards in 2006 for 'Source/Sauce'. For Deceased Estate, Jodie Ahrens and Will Tait have opened their doors to collaborate with Melbourne theatre innovators: Alex Desebrock (Kaleidoscope, Clickety Tock), Nat Faulkner, Kirri Buchler, Leonie van Eyk and Conor Fox.

Deceased Estate is a performance that guides you, blindfolds and brushes up against you, leaves tastes on your tongue and smells in your memory. Woven together with puppetry and a live atmospheric soundscape this humorous, dark, cajoling theatrical experience will be an adventure for intimate audiences through time and space.

With ‘memories’ of the property surfacing from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, swirling amid present reality and future speculation Deceased Estate also offers a degustation of Brunswick itself in its many guises…

Roundangle’s Team for Deceased Estate includes:

Jodie Ahrens (Designer) – haunted by the sense that there is more to theatre than sight or sound, Jodie has been pursuing the creation of multisensory performance since 2003 (and dreaming of doing so for a decade). Her first major piece after setting up Roundangle with partner Will was Source/Sauce, a barefoot blindfold adventure created by a team of deaf, deafblind and fully sensed artists which swept up 3 awards at Melbourne Fringe 2006. If multisensory theatre already existed and was being competently practiced by other people then Jodie would quite happily garden for the rest of her life.

Will Tait (Producer/Performer) – something akin to an ulcer that flares up when Will hears the word forestation is probably responsible for him taking over Our Planet Enterprises (OPE) in 2003. Jodie and Will’s other arts venture, OPE designs and delivers environmental awareness theatre to schools, festivals and lately also corporates. As well as overseeing (overfeeling?) Roundangle’s multisensory production needs, Will is also heavily ensconsed in the Bandito News Hour, an occasionally metaphysical summary of the news performed every Thursday at Open Studio in Northcote

Alex Desebrock (Writer/Director) - after moving to Melbourne in 2006 Alex made her mark on the Melbourne theatre scene with Kaleidoscope at Melbourne Fringe 2007, an installation theatre piece that wove through the basement of the North Melbourne Town Hall. Kaleidoscope took its audiences 2 by 2 into the world of Ben, through his 9-5 suit and into his vastly different childhood. Exploring the hope and positivity that we can tap into as adult if we search deep within the piece achieved excellent reviews from Buzz Cuts, B Magazine and by Dan Ziffer from The Age. Alex’s second work Clickety Tock premiered earlier this year at the Fitzroy Town Hall and demonstrated Alex’s developed strength and voice as a writer/director of installation theatre.
Natalie Faulkner (Writer) - Natalie writes and develops scripts for the stage and screen.  She wrote, directed and produced her first short film ‘Wishful Thinking’ in 2006 for  Raw Nerve,(funded by the AFC ). More recently, her short play ‘In the Closet with Pamela Anderson’ was selected for Short & Sweet 2007 at the Melbourne Arts Centre,  Short & Sweet 2008 in Sydney and a fleeting season at Brightspace Gallery, St Kilda. Natalie has just been awarded a Masters in Playwrighting from QUT.

Kirri Buchler (Sound artist) - Previous (musical) work in a theatrical field includes:
"The Cherry Orchard" (2004): a critically acclaimed production directed by Kate Wild; "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (2005): a Dancing with Strangers production in which Kirri was composer, musical director and performer; "Holy Gash" (2005): a musical comedy about self-mutilation and mental illness written by Sandra Durso performed as part of the Comedy Festival; "Faust" (2006): a silent film screening in which Kirri performed a live score with a sextet; "The Maids" (2006): an Alliance Francaise production which Kirri co-composed the score for; "The Lower Depths" (2006): directed by John Bolton, which Kirri co-composed the score for, "Sad Bird Boy and Other Tales of the City" (2006); live violin as part of the International Puppet festival; "Beyond Sheep" (2007) (sound design) in collaboration with RoundAngle Theatre Company and The Village Festival. Bands she has worked in include Croque Monsieur, Madam ZuZu, Babamanouche, The Wintership Quartet, The Sljivovitz Orchestra, Pete and the Tar Gang, Andrew Nolte and his Orchestra, and she has also played as a guest performer with Doch, MoJo JuJu & The Snake Oil Merchants, Tzigas and Grand Salvo.

Marianna Doherty (Musician) Marianna has worked extensively in the performing arts industry for over fourteen years. Beginning her career as a professional actor Marianna has appeared in successful television and film productions, such as the award winning movie 'Shine' and the thirteen part television series 'Glad Rags'. The last few years has seen Marianna focus predominantly on her singing career, performing at such venues as Bennetts Lane Jazz club, Dizzy's jazz club, The Wesley Ann and Open Studio. With a jazz/folk infused vocal style, Marianna's repertoire includes Jazz, classical, folk and contemporary. Currently Marianna sings with a five part female vocal group 'Solstice' and in a blues band 'The Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders'

Conor Fox, Leonie Van Eyk, Angie Orrego (Puppet Makers and Masters) Conor, Leonie and Angie were all too busy making really amazing puppets to send through their bios to the producer.

Kelly Alexander (Actor) - Kelly is a performer, choreographer and educator with a passion for cross disciplinary performance. Most recently Kelly featured in new dance theatre work Falling For Frank, (which she also choreographed and directed) as part of the 2008 Next Wave Festival. Other performance highlights include her role as “Miss X” in Juha Vanharkartano’s Undertow at the Finnish National Opera House, performing in Berlin’s Sophiensalle for dance theorist Yvonne Hardt, featured roles in Naida Chinner’s A Tiny Piece of Hope and The Paper Boat (SA), professional development with Pina Bausch’s “Tanztheatre Wuppertal”, performing contemporary dance for children throughout the southern Spain with company Da.Te. Danza, and touring to Shanghai where she collaborated on the creation of a new work with Amanda Phillips and the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Dance Performance from the Centre of Performing Arts, Adelaide and a BA in Women’s Studies/ Communications from Murdoch University, Western Australia. Kelly also likes jigsaw puzzles and learning to play the guitar.

Alice Fitzgerald (Actor) - THEATRE
Hermia – Midsummer Nights Dream – Unicorn Theatre: October 2002
Skinny Mini – Monologue – Unicorn Theatre: December 2001
Tinkerbell – The Christmas Tree Fairy – Melbourne Central Shot Tower Stage: 2000
TELEVISION / CORPORATE & SHORT FILMS / VOICE OVERS
Lady in white –‘The Lady In White’ Directed by Adam Niblett - August 2008
Jane-‘My Name is Jane’ – Directed by Marc Arena -July 2008
Girlfriend- commercial for the ‘Lifestyle Channel’ – Febuary 2007
Radio Co-Host: ‘Peace Song Tapestries’ – SBS Radio - January 2007
Bully: Short Film –‘Honour‘– Shibumi Productions – July 2004

Betty France (Actor) – Betty has drawn attention to herself for many years. She has acted, strummed, clowned, dressed up, danced and sung her way from Melbourne to Paris, Sydney to London...and back. She now tends to stay local and does gigs she can ride her bike to. She is, however, easily tempted.  She also plays a mean ukulele.

Penelope Bartlau (Actor) - Penelope is a puppeteer, performer, writer & director, with credits in film, TV, theatre, radio drama and cabaret. She trained as an actor at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City, and in Commedia Dell' Arte in Italy. Most recently, Penelope graduated from a Master of Puppetry at the Victorian College of the Arts. Her Master's show Dispatch was awarded an R.E. Ross Playwright's Script Development Award in '07, had a performance spotlight in ASSITEJ in Adelaide (May '08), a season at Brisbane festival (July ‘08) and a season at 45 downstairs booked for ‘09. Also in “08 Penelope co-wrote & directed The Keeper with Canberra artist, Chrissie Shaw, for a season at the Street Theatre. Other recent puppetry works written/performed/directed or collaborated on by Penelope include; Landscapes Within (directed by Philippe Genty Nov ‘06) Hatch, which toured India (January '07); Windows, Prague Quadrennial (June ’07); Chinese Shadow Play, (Feb. 08) and Bunraku Baby (July ’08) which both premiered at the Melbourne Immigration Museum. Penelope also toured as actor & puppeteer with Essential Theatre’s “Shakespeare in the Vines” production of 12th Night, in the role of “Feste” (Jan- April ‘08).

Caspian Dezfouli (Actor) - Caspian played young Ben in Alex Desebrock’s lauded Kaleidoscope last year loved her direction so much he’s back for more of it. He’s in grade 7 at Northcote High School.

Rebecca Hartley (designer) - Rebecca Hartley is an artist who after completing studies in visual art, graphic design and illustration has worked at everything from painting murals for Berlin based design group pandarosa to facilitating intellectually disabled animation artists. her obsessive nature of collecting oddities combined with creating dreamlike artworks has lead her to work as a set designer for deceased estate.

Jess Keepence (Stage Manager) - Jess Keepence is a freelance stage manager & costume maker. She graduated from the VCA Production School in 2006 & has been working around town on various projects since then. She has been involved in the small and large including "Priscilla, The Musical", "Kids Can Get Lost" in the Next Wave Festival, "Eurobeat- Almost Eurovision" South Korean Tour, Ranters Theatre's "Holiday", little death productions' "Mercury Fur", STC's "Riflemind" and "Living Things" with VCA Puppetry.

Sarah Johns (Stage Manager) - Sarah (aka SKJ) is a recent arts graduate with a passion for social justice and caramel- filled tim tams. Although a somewhat rusty thespian, Sarah is an accomplished transnational who has lived as everything from a fruit picker to a PA, but now considers herself to be one of the creative philanthropic scholarly types.

Rachel van Wyk (Stage Manager) - As a graduate in Theatre Arts 2004, Rachal Van Wyk’s love and passion for physical theatre has lead her to work nationally and internationally behind the scenes as either Stage/Production Manager for over 20 theatre productions across Melbourne.

Starting her loyal career in 2002 with Mayhem Productions for 8 productions of ‘Mayhem Cabaret’ (Theatreworks/Gasworks) she had continued to work and collaborate with small theatre companies releasing unique and courageous theatre, such as Suzie Blue, (La Mama),  Melbourne Dance Company and Pig Man (Darwin Arts Festival).  As a free agent she has been able to follow her work to Woodford Folk Festival for 5 consecutive years and works as a Production Manager/trainer for Tini Tinou, ‘Cambodia’s International Circus Festival’. Her interest in documentary lead her to production Manager & casting director for the successful TV doco/drama pilot ‘Fanging the Kombi’ for Net Effective media Group which will be aired as a TV series on ABC 2.

Carla Ori (Lighting)