NEWS DESK
Auditioning for life in film
Warning: Parks Victoria is stepping up ranger patrols on peninsula surf beaches and warning dog owners about complying with dog-walking rules to better protect the endangered hooded plover. Picture supplied
Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au THE “thrill of the performance” drives Mt Martha actor and director Callum Needham, who has written, produced, directed and acted in his own short film, Fatum, being shown at the Astor Theatre, East St Kilda, in November. Named after the Latin word for destiny or fate, Fatum has a strong anti-bullying theme and also offers a positive message for young teens not to bow to peer or parental pressure but to follow their dreams. Needham, who attended Mt Martha Primary School and Mt Eliza Secondary College, began his acting career in Grade 6 in primary school productions and continued right to the end of secondary school. He then took a gap year to visit Europe. Now 21 he is in his final year at Deakin University where he has been studying film and digital media for the past three years. Fatum is the result of an assignment in which he had to write and direct his own composition. “I felt strongly about the central theme as a result of past experiences and it just came naturally.” He is soon to audition for both the National Institute of Dramatic Art and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and hopes to be able to continue to follow his acting ambitions at one of these academies. Needham has also written, produced and acted in other Deakin productions, and has had another of his films: These Four Walls, short listed
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More plover patrols
Break a leg: Mt Martha actor Callum Needham thrills to the curtain call. Picture: Yanni
for the Rosebud Short Film Festival. Fatum may be entered this year. Aspiring to a career “treading the boards” is not for the faint-hearted. “WAAPA has a single audition with the aspiring actor doing a Shakespearian monologue, while NIDA demands both a Shakespearean monologue and a contemporary piece in front of all those auditioning,” he said last week. “At the end they sit us down and whittle away reducing us from 40 to three, so it’s pretty soul-destroying. “I first did an audition there when I
Southern Peninsula News 29 September 2015
was in Year 12 aged 17. I didn’t know what to expect then but I will be doing it all again at the end of the year.” Needham said acting was all about feeling emotions in whatever character he portrays. “If I am playing an evil character I want the audience to hate me,” he said. “If I am playing a lovable character I want them to love me. It’s not about entertaining the audience but making them feel.” He said acting was also about being someone else. “You can be a child and just play,” he said.
PARKS Victoria is increasing ranger patrols on peninsula surf beaches in an attempt to help protect the endangered hooded plover during its breeding season from September to March. Parks Victoria’s peninsula chief ranger Kris Rowe said residents and visitors must abide by dog restrictions. The tougher regime is due to the disappointing breeding season in 2014-15. Just four chicks survived to fledgling (flying) stage out of 34 chicks hatched. There are fewer than 600 hooded plovers left in Victoria. Mr Rowe said the hooded plover population in Mornington Peninsula National Park was one of the largest in Victoria. “However it has a lower level of breeding success than those in other Victorian coastal areas and is particularly vulnerable to the presence of dogs,” he said. “Increased ranger patrols will target dog walkers who breach restrictions such as not having their dog on a lead, walking a dog outside regulated times (between sunrise and 9am) or walking a dog in prohibited zones. “Dogs are prohibited at all times in specific signposted zones throughout the national park, including between
Portsea and Flinders, to protect breeding habitats of plovers and other protected species. “Dog walking is permitted on-lead between sunrise and 9am only along sections of the national park that are marked by signs. These areas consist of about 14km of coast between Sorrento and Rye and additional sections at Portsea Surf Beach, St Andrews Beach and Flinders Ocean Beach.” He said it was the responsibility of dog owners to ensure they were aware of the restrictions and were doing the right thing. “We can’t emphasise enough how important it is for everyone to abide by the rules so that we can give the hooded plovers their best chance of survival,” he said. Alternative areas for dog walking on the southern peninsula include some Port Phillip beaches and leashfree reserves managed by Mornington Peninsula Shire. For detailed information and maps, visit www.parks.vic.gov.au or call 13 1963. For advice on dog walking areas outside the national park, visit www. mornpen.vic.gov.au or call 1300 850 600. Mike Hast