What has been your journey into theatre ?

I studied theatre production at the University of Notre Dame and I also did a lot of student productions with SUDS. I am very grateful for my time in student theatre. There was a kind of creative reckless abandon, we were hungry to create works that pushed boundaries. To be able to create art with your friends, in a dusty cellar with no one telling you what to do – you create some magical theatre – and some god-awful theatre – but that is probably what I am most grateful for. There was no sense of getting it “right”.

We just made art because we wanted to. I was determined to have a career in theatre so throughout my degree I did a lot of internships with theatre companies. I worked as a Stage Manager with Sport for Jove on their touring Summer Season and also their Education Season. Learning from Damien Ryan is also something I will be eternally thankful for; he is a truly visionary director. I have been fortunate to have steady work in the industry, the past year or so I have done some assistant directing with companies such as ATYP, New Theatre, KXT and Outhouse Theatre Co.

Many people in my age bracket have a “grad year” when emerging in their professions, and I treated assistant directing as my “grad year”. For me, Dumb Kids is the culmination of all I have learnt in the industry so far, and the deepest and most joyous expression of who I am as a director, both in terms of process and end product. 

Tell me about your experience of developing Dumb Kids

Dumb Kids was originally pitched to be the 2021 major work for SUDS. But as is the case with so many productions around that time, due to Covid-19, with all the lockdowns, we made the tough decision to cancel the full run of the show as we just couldn’t devise a show over zoom or do justice to the text. At the time I was helping produce the Panimo Pandemonium Festival at KXT in early 2022 and I pitched a one-night staged reading of Dumb Kids – partially, to give the cast some creative catharsis, as they had all put in so much work into the script already. Back then so many shows were just being cancelled, so being able to do this staged reading felt like a light at the end of the tunnel. And thankfully it was really well received, and we pitched it for the 2023 KXT main season.

I am incredibly grateful to John and Suzanne at KXT for their continued support of this show. New works don’t often get the time to have a proper development or more than one life. So myself, Jacob and Emma Van Veen (our movement director) just sat down and had an intensive development in which we asked: what worked? What didn’t? What can we improve? From there we cast the show, and then entered a three-week part-time development period where we worked closely with the cast to hone the script. Jacob is an incredibly generous writer and we have developed a wonderful relationship of trust between writer and director. Collaborating with him is truly a joyous creative process because he leaves his ego out of the room. He truly listens to the actors’ input on the characters he creates, listens to their voice and trusts what they bring to the characters. Emma and I chatted a lot about what the physical language of the show would be and what the dramaturgy behind it was. This show – as Jacob put it – explores the joys and struggles of high-school, the melodrama and the tragedy, the whimsy and the painfully real. The devised, movement elements of this show allow us to enter the minds of these characters and I cannot speak highly enough of Emma and the beautiful images she’s creating on stage. 

Overall, this process has been extremely gratifying. At the start of this process, Emma and I said we just wanted to make a piece of theatre that reminded us why we love theatre and why we are grateful to work in this industry – and if nothing else we have been successful in that.  

What is the one message you want every person who sees Dumb Kids to take with them out of the theatre?

I hope that the audience comes away with as much a feeling of joy as of contemplation. Ultimately, this story tries to tackle some important issues that young people – particularly queer communities – face. We’ve worked hard to collaborate with our actors to ensure the authenticity of the voices we are presenting on stage and to ensure a wide cross section of gender, sexuality and identities were being uplifted. In a work like this, I wanted to ensure the actors are proud of the characters and stories they are performing. 

In one of our rehearsals, when reading a scene in which a trans character is just playing video games with “the boys”, I had an actor in the room get quite emotional as they expressed how heart-warming and gender-affirming it would feel to watch that scene for any audience members who may be questioning their gender identity, just that casual acceptance. It made me proud of this work. 

We want it to feel nostalgic to those with a familiar story. I want people to see themselves – now or in the past – in the characters. A throughline in the show is: how do we grow up? and we want to engage with this in a nuanced way, interrogating the struggles queer kids (and kids in general) face when they must figure it out themselves, and to tell people they aren’t alone.

What do you enjoy about the Aussie theatre scene, and what needs to change?

Honestly, I enjoy the community. Working on this show in particular – the rehearsal room was just filled with such creative freedom, such kindness and so much support that I often felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that this is what I get to do for work. There truly is so much talent out there, even when we were auditioning for this show I was reminded how many passionate and skilled creatives Sydney has. They are eager and ready to work.

In terms of what needs to change, I am not the first to say this but what needs to change is the lack of financial support for the Arts, particularly in the independent sector. It was a priority of ours that our actors were paid an honorarium, we have provided work for ten actors and a variety of creative collaborators and that is something we are proud of. However, that comes with its own financial risks. The tragedy of the industry at the moment is so many shows are not breaking even and this is a stress I am cognisant of. Many of our upper creative team and I are currently working unpaid because this show is a labour of love for us – because we are passionate about what this show stands for.  At the end of the day there are so many incredible stories that are just waiting to be told, and the saddest part is how many of them go unheard purely due to the financial stresses of trying to be an artist in this economy. 

However, this show has been blessed by many friends within the industry. From rehearsal spaces from the Seymour centre, to ATYP lending us costumes, photographers and graphic designers offering services for free – all because they care about the work. This industry, considering how little it has, is one of the most generous communities I know.   

What type of wine would you pair with Broadway Diva, and why?

Either a Goon Sack or Passion Pop

Purchase your ticket to Dumb Kids here.