ARTISTIC DIRECTOR NOTE

Beginning tumbled into my life two years ago and from the very first reading I connected with this gorgeous text and these beautiful characters I was in the midst of facing the same fears with all the societal pressures about being a woman, with dating and within my personal life.

Throughout the play, Laura and Danny rumble with their vulnerabilities, their hopes and dreams, taking us on a rollercoaster ride of their first date This play shouted from the page that it had to be performed now. This was the play I had been waiting for.

I couldn't stop thinking about Laura, who was a similar age to me, and I decided to take on her monologues for auditions The more I rehearsed the more I realised how much I wanted to play this part but how I may never get the opportunity to do so. I have observed in the Australian arts scene, there exists a preoccupation with the ideal body, often characterized by a preference for individuals who conform to the "thin" casting criteria, that I did not fit in to I rarely had the pleasure to see other curvy artists in leading lady roles and it wasn't until I lived in the UK that I had the joy to witness curvy goddesses gracing the stage. It was a relief as an artist to live in a place that employed you for your craft and skill and not for what you looked like

While I was away so much changed for the better with more Indigenous storytelling and more diversity throughout casting. It was an exciting time to come home but I still wondered, where are all the curvy women?

The decision to start Moonspark Productions was born out of this. I wanted to create a female led company that didn't isolate people based on their body shape. A company that fully embraced every body. The reality is that no one believes their body is perfect and there is always something that each individual would want to change or make "look better" We have all been conditioned through the media to look a certain way, we are constantly bombarded with imagery of lithe models and we are left longing to look like them.

It is time to make a change, to start seeing the diversity of all humans reflected in the media and on our stages

We hope you enjoy Moonsparks first production of Beginning and please spread the word so that there may be many more to come.

~ Crystal Arons ~ ArtisticDirector MoonsparkProductions