Skeleton (2015) Program

SKELETON

14 – 23 MARCH

Image: Chris Herzfeld / Camlight Productions

Malthouse Theatre presents

SKELETON Choreographed by Larissa McGowan

Directed by Sam Haren & Larissa McGowan Set & Costume Design Jonathon Oxlade Lighting Design Bosco Shaw Composer Jethro Woodward Rehearsal Director Carol Wellman Kelly Producer Insite Arts Performers Tobiah Booth-Remmers, Lisa Griffiths, Marcus Louend, Larissa McGowan, Lewis Rankin Production Manager Gabby Hornhardt Assistant Stage Managers Tony Currie & Tina Venditto

BECKETT THEATRE 14 – 23 MARCH

DIRECTORS’ NOTE Skeleton was triggered by the sculptural work of Australian artist Ricky Swallow. We were drawn to Swallow’s playful juxtaposition of skulls and skeletons with objects associated with popular culture.

Swallow treats objects from 80s and 90s popular culture like archaeological artefacts – Adidas shoes, BMX bikes and Walkmans are all placed with skulls or skeletal remains.

Swallow’s aesthetic is a strong fit with both our previous work as artists – Larissa’s choreographic material has often investigated the internal workings of the human body, and Sam’s work has continually interrogated the impact of popular culture on our identity.

We feel that Skeleton is like an archaeological puzzle. It is an examination of our physical skeleton – the final trace of our existence that we leave behind – and the objects, memories and fantasies that define who we are. It has been a delight for us to bring together a dream team of collaborators to create this work over the past three years – and to have had the brilliant opportunity to build on our existing creative relationships in our creative team and forge exciting new collaborations with young artists.

This project would not have come about without the support from Arts SA’s Triennial Project Grant, the Dance Board of the Australia Council, and the inkind support of Australian Dance Theatre and many other people.

Larissa McGowan & Sam Haren

TOBIAH BOOTH-REMMERS PERFORMER Tobiah is an independent dance performer and creator based in Adelaide. Since graduating from the Adelaide College of the Arts’ Bachelor of Dance in 2009 Tobiah has worked with Graeme Murphy, Larissa McGowan, Anna Smith and David Massingham at Tasdance, performing in two main seasons with the company, as well as continuing to work independently with Gabrielle Nankivell, Larissa McGowan, Lisa Griffiths, Erin Fowler and Katrina Lazaroff. Tobiah has also been extensively mentored by Carol Wellman Kelly through the Jump Mentorship program, has received funding from Carclew Youth Arts, Helpmann Academy and Arts SA, as well as obtained residencies from Australian Dance Theatre and Restless Dance Theatre to produce a number of his own works.

TONY CURRIE ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Tony graduated from the Adelaide College of the Arts in 2011 with a Bachelor of Dance Performance and a Merit Award for high achievement. In 2012, Tony was a member of LINK Dance Company (under the direction of Michael Whaites); a post-graduate student company housed at Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts. Whilst studying, Tony has performed under the direction of various choreographers: Leigh Warren, Garry Stewart, Jonathan Taylor, Lisa Griffiths, Zaimon Vilmanis, Peter Sheedy (AC Arts); Twyla Tharp, Larissa McGowan, Michael Whaites, Sue Peacock, Jo Pollitt, Jacob Lehrer, Kim McCarthy (LINK); and independently – Brooke Leeder, Micki Pellerano and Tobiah Booth-Remmers.

LISA GRIFFITHS PERFORMER Lisa began her career at Chunky Move in 2000, before joining Tasdance. Lisa has worked with choreographers Sue Healey, Prue Lang, Meryl Tankard and Frances Rings. With Leigh Warren and Dancers she has toured to the USA with Quick Brown Fox and performed in Phillip Glass’ opera Einstein on the Beach. In 2009, Lisa toured with Tanja Liedtke’s Twelfth Floor and Construct.

In collaboration with Adam Synnott, she choreographed Element for Dance Forum Taipei. Lisa has received four nominations at the Australian Dance Awards for outstanding performance by a female dancer. She also received an Australian Dance Award nomination and an Adelaide Critics’ Circle Award for her first independent fulllength work, Side To One, created in collaboration with Craig Bary and Adam Synnott in 2010.

SAM HAREN DIRECTOR Sam is a Creative Director of Sandpit, a new company that designs participatory experiences across platforms that transport audiences into a story, fictional universe or artwork. From 2002-2012, he was Artistic Director of The Border Project, and directed/co-directed all of the company’s work in this time. His directing credits with The Border Project include: I Am Not An Animal with Daniel Koerner, Half-Real, Escape from Peligro Island, Vs Macbeth, Disappearance, Trouble on Planet Earth, Highway Rock ‘n’ Roll Disaster, Please Go Hop! with Ingrid Voorendt, The War and Medeamaterial. For Windmill Theatre, he has directed Plop! and Grug. He has also directed and choreographed Theatrical Trailer for Alien 5 and The Game is Not Over as part of ADT’s Ignition program.

GABBY HORNHARDT PRODUCTION MANAGER Gabby graduated from Adelaide Centre for the Arts in 2005 with an Advanced Diploma in Technical Production (Stage Management). Since then, she has worked in a variety of capacities within the theatre industry. Companies she has worked with include Windmill Theatre, Australian Dance Theatre, State Theatre Company of South Australia, The State Opera of South Australia, The Border Project and The Adelaide Festival Centre. Gabby has also worked on a wide range of events and festivals: WOMADelaide, Adelaide Festival, Adelaide Film Festival, Australia’s Performing Arts Market, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Fringe, Feast Festival, Adelaide International Guitar Festival and OzAsia Festival.

MARCUS LOUEND PERFORMER Marcus studied at the New Zealand School of Dance, where he worked with New Zealand choreographers Craig Bary, Michael Parmenter, Taane Mete and Taiaroa Royal. While completing his third year of studies at Adelaide College of the Arts he performed works by Zaimon Vilmanis, Peter Sheedy, Jonathan Taylor and worked alongside Garry Stewart and the Australian Dance Theatre in the premiere of Worldhood.

LARISSA MCGOWAN CHOREOGRAPHER, DIRECTOR & PERFORMER Larissa is a multi-award-winning dancer who began her dance training at the Queensland Dance

School of Excellence, before graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts as ‘Most Outstanding Talent’. She joined Australian Dance Theatre in 2000 and has toured extensively with the company, both in Australia and internationally. During this period, she won numerous awards for her work as a dancer, including a Helpmann Award in 2004 for Best Female Dancer. In 2008, she became Australian Dance Theatre’s Assistant Choreographer and her work Zero-sum made its world premiere at WOMADelaide 2009. This was followed by highly successful appearances as a guest choreographer on two seasons of So You Think You Can Dance. Larissa was one of four choreographers featured in the 2012 Sydney Dance Company program, Contemporary Women, for which she created Fanatic, premiering at the Sydney Opera House. The work will be remounted in 2013. Skeleton is Larissa’s first full-length work as an independent choreographer.

JONATHON OXLADE SET & COSTUME DESIGN Jonathon studied Illustration and Sculpture at the Queensland College of Art and trained in Design for Puppetry with Kid Praha in the Czech Republic. He currently works as a theatre designer and illustrator. Jonathon has designed set and costumes for companies including Kite Theatre, Windmill Theatre, Arena Theatre Company, Kooemba Jdarra, LaBoite Theatre, Circa, Bell Shakespeare, Queensland Theatre Company, Polytoxic, The Escapists, The Border Project, Sydney Theatre Company, Real TV, Aphids, The Sydney Opera House, Victorian Arts Centre and Brisbane Festival. Jonathon received the 2007 and 2010 Matilda Awards for Best Design and was nominated for a Green Room Award in 2011 for Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd (Malthouse Theatre/Arena Theatre). Jonathon is also one of the performers in Windmill Theatre’s School Dance.

LEWIS RANKIN PERFORMER Lewis completed his Bachelor of Dance Performance Degree at the Adelaide Centre for the Arts in 2009. Along with dance, Lewis regularly does street theatre and performs for the roving entertainment group Slack Taxi, incorporating acrobatic skills and stilt walking. This has seen him perform at events such as WOMADelaide, Tour Down Under, Singapore Grand Prix and Singapore Youth Olympics. In 2010, Lewis performed in the world premier of Stone/Castro’s contemporary theatre work Superheroes at the Adelaide Festival Centre and Arts House Melbourne. Later in that year, he toured nationally in Alison Currie’s dance work 42a. At the beginning of 2011, Lewis joined the company Leigh Warren and Dancers. He performed in the work Breathe by Frances Rings for WOMADelaide and a double bill of Breathe and Impulse as part of Edinburgh Festival 2012. This year Lewis has already been part of the film The Boy Castaways, directed by Michael Kantor and choreographed by Garry Stewart.

BEN ‘BOSCO’ SHAW LIGHTING DESIGN Bosco has worked for companies and festivals in Australia and around the world. These projects vary from independent works to major festival installations.

Companies include Australian Dance Theatre, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Adelaide Fringe, Assembly Rooms - Edinburgh Fringe, Adelaide Festival, Windmill Theatre, Arts Projects Australia, Leigh Warren and Dancers, Expressions Dance, Dancenorth and Bluebottle. Working primarily as a lighting and set designer on projects including WOMADelaide, Beauty (Restless Dance), Halcyon (Australian Ballet), Songs from the

Middle (ANAM/Eddie Perfect), Black Project 3 (Antony Hamilton/ Lyon Opera Ballet), More or Less Concrete (Tim Darbyshire), Missy Higgins’ Unashamed Desire film clip, Conversations with Ghosts (ANAM/Paul Kelly), Nest Live Sites (City of Melbourne New Year’s Eve 2012) and Fugue (Dancenorth).

TINA VENDITTO ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Tina graduated from the Adelaide College of the Arts in 2010 with a Bachelor of Dance Performance. Her projects as a performer include: In Absence Of, choreographed by Tobiah Booth-Remmers for the 2011 Adelaide Fringe; Somewhere Else, a first stage development with Tasdance, choreographed by Marnie Palomares; A Velikovsky Affair, choreographed by Tammi Leigh Gissell as part of the inaugural Guillermo Keys-Arenas Scholarship; and Cleopatra’s Dream as part of the Hellenika Festival.

Tina also received funding from the Helpmann Academy to collaborate with Daniel Jaber in order to choreograph a solo, titled Colour of Night, which was performed as part of the October Choreolab 2011 season. In 2012, Tina performed in Somewhere Else for Tasdance and also performed in Fury, choreographed by Callan Fleming as part of the October Choreolab season.

CAROL WELLMAN KELLY REHEARSAL DIRECTOR Made and trained in Australia, Carol has created a long and eventful performing, teaching and facilitating career in Australia, UK, Europe, Asia and America.

After eight years as Assistant Director for Garry Stewart and Australian Dance Theatre she is currently working as a freelance

dance artist in a variety of capacities such as a: performer in Pomona Rd (Katrina Lazaroff) and A Delicate Situation (Lina Limosani), rehearsal director with Tasdance (Larissa McGowan), Project Manager and Artistic Advisor with Restless Dance Theatre, and recently collaborated with Adelaide photographer Sam Oster for The Human Locomotion Project. Carol recently choreographed Pinocchio (Windmill Theatre/Malthouse Theatre/ State Theatre Company of South Australia). She is currently working closely as mentor with Tasmanian choreographer/ performer Trisha Dunn on Finding Centre for the 2013 Ten Days on The Island Festival.

JETHRO WOODWARD COMPOSER Jethro is a Melbourne-based composer, musician and sound designer recognised for his expansive and highly layered film, theatre and dance scores. A multi Green Room Award winner and nominee, he has worked with some of Australia’s leading major and independent companies including Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company, Belvoir, Arena, Windmill Theatre, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Rawcus, Stuck Pigs Squealing, Fragment 31, Lucy Guerin Inc, Australian Dance Theatre, KAGE and more. Jethro won Green Room Awards for Moth (Malthouse Theatre/Arena), Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd (Malthouse Theatre/Arena) and Irony Is Not Enough (Fragment 31). He was the Musical Director and Sound Designer for Helpmann-nominated musical Wizard of Oz (Windmill Theatre).

INSITE ARTS PRODUCER Insite Arts is an Australian independent producer. We work with artists to initiate ideas, develop and create art, and take it to audiences. As a producer, we provide key artistic support and management to our Artists’ project and practices, collaborating with them from concept through to realisation. Insite Arts are Jason Cross, Lee Cumberlidge, Elena Vereker, Victoria Raywood, Freya Waterson and StÊphanie Kabanyana.

Image: Chris Herzfeld / Camlight Productions

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Simon Westcott (Chair), John Daley (Deputy Chair), Frankie Airey, Michele Levine, Ian McRae, Sarah Morgan, Thea Snow, Sigrid Thornton, Kerri Turner, Leonard Vary.

Artistic Director Marion Potts Executive Producer Jo Porter Associate Artist (Design) Paul Jackson Associate Artist (Direction) Matthew Lutton Associate Artist (Writing) Van Badham Company Managers Lucy Birkinshaw

Nina Bonacci Associate Producer Josh Wright Administrator Narda Shanley Finance Manager Mario Agostinoni Finance Administrator Liz White Finance Assistant Connie Stella Marketing and Communications Manager Lisa Scicluna Digital Strategy & Marketing Coordinator Carl Nilsson-Polias Development Manager Jaclyn Birtchnell Philanthropy Manager Nicole Punte Development and Marketing Assistant Hiroki Kobayashi Media Manager Maria O’Dwyer Ticketing Manager Emma Howard Ticketing Assistant Lauren White Youth and Education Program Clare Watson Executive Assistant Emily Fiori Audience Development Consultant Jason Tamiru Building Manager Peter Mandersloot Bar Manager Cherry Rivers Front of House Managers Tristan Watson

& Sean Ladhams Production Manager David Miller

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Technical Manager Baird McKenna Operations Manager Dexter Varley Head Electrician Stewart Birkinshaw Campbell Head Mechanist Andy Moore Theatre Technician Nathaneal Bristow Head of Wardrobe Amanda Carr Wardrobe Assistant Chloe Greaves Workshop Supervisor David Craig Steel Fabricator Goffredo Mameli Scenic Artist Patrick Jones Props Master Ross Murray

(lifetime recognition) FRONT OF HOUSE/BAR STAFF Leeor Adar, Matt Adair, Jacqui Brown, Ben Carollo, Mimi Catterns, Kathryn Delaney, Tom Dent, Carla Di Stefano, Alice Dixon, Graham Downey, Tanja George, Christian Grant, Kate Gregory, Bridie McCarthy, Ian Michael, Anna Nalpantidis, Daniel Newell, Ruby Nolan, Syrie Payne, Kliment Poposki, Beck Rafferty, Claire Richardson, Sanne Rodenstein, Kathryn Stuckey, Phoebe Taylor, Jade Thomson, Lee Threadgold BOX OFFICE STAFF Abbey Barnes, Jo Bassilios, Liz Bastian, Paul Buckley, Mark Byrne, Dan Giovannoni, Kate Gregory, Suzie Hardgrave, Michelle Hines, Ian Michael, Fiona Wiseman, Liz White Malthouse Theatre would like to acknowledge the people of the Kulin nation on whose land this work is being presented.

Vale Marc Psaila, our Company Manager, much loved and greatly missed.

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