ATYP and Brown’s Mart in association with Artback NT present
by Mary Anne Butler
CUSP, 2023. Photo by Clare Hawley.
“How do you move into the future, when your past keeps dragging you backwards?”
ATYP would like to acknowledge that we are a company that works and creates on the traditional lands and waters of the Gadigal people, and we are grateful to be telling stories on First Nations country that has such a rich history of storytelling.
We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
CUSP
By Mary Anne Butler
Australian Theatre for Young People and Brown’s Mart in association with Artback NT
Preview
24 May
Season
25 May – 3 June
The Rebel Theatre
Eora Country
Pier 2/3, 13A Hickson Road
Dawes Point NSW
Duration 80 minutes (no interval)
Age recommendation 15+
Warnings Adult themes, frequent coarse language, descriptions of sexual acts, suicide and references to trauma.
Writer
Mary Anne Butler
Director
Fraser Corfield
Dramaturg
Jane FitzGerald
Set Designer
Cj Fraser-Bell
Lighting Designer
Jessie Davis
Sound Designer
Brad Fawcett
Tour Manager
Kate Atkinson
Lighting Realiser
Jasmine Rizk
Technician/Operator
Chris Kluge
Cultural Consultant
Rosealee Grimes [nee Pearson]
Associate Director
Hayden Tonazzi
Rehearsal Stage Manager
Bronte Schuftan
With Lakesha Grant
Joshua McElroy
Abbey Morgan
Isaac Harley [Understudy]
Mema Munro [Understudy]
Cover Image Clare Hawley
CUSP 1
Writer’s note
It’s almost four years since CUSP had her world premiere at Brown’s Mart Theatre in Darwin. Produced by ATYP and Brown’s Mart, CUSP was directed with nuance and love by Fraser Corfield. Following its Darwin season, CUSP transferred – in March 2020 – to The Stables Theatre at Griffin.
There had been whisperings since late January 2020 of a virus sweeping the globe. The first Covid-related death in Australia was recorded on March 1. March 2 revealed 30 cases, including the first community transmission.
The official opening at Griffin on March 13, 2020 was an absolute cracker. My siblings and nieces travelled a long way to see the show on the 14th of March, an act that meant the world to me. A few days later theatres went dark across the country, and the season of CUSP was closed down. That darkness hit many people: industries, lives and livelihoods. The timing for CUSP was atrocious, but so many people suffered so much more.
It’s always a privilege for a new Australian play to go more than one round on the ferris wheel, and it’s an absolute joy to see CUSP back on stage in 2023 – this time at The Rebel Theatre, again under Fraser’s energising directorial hand and brought back by a collaboration between Artback NT, ATYP and Brown’s Mart. The same incredible Northern Territory design team has once again rendered vivid the Top End landscape: capturing its light, sound and the ubiquitous louvres which open up every Top End home to the natural elements. Sydney’s own Joshua McElroy is once again nailing the role of Elvis, joining two new cast members: Lakesha Grant and Abbey Morgan.
Many thanks to Fraser Corfield and Jenny Medway for commissioning me to write CUSP, way back in 2017. And to Fraser –thanks for staying so true to this story, and giving it more of your deft, nuanced touch. Thanks to dramaturg Jane Fitzgerald who was pivotal in finessing CUSP’s complex timeline and picking up script inconsistencies. Special thanks to Rosealee Grimes [nee Pearson] for cultural input and advice which helped craft Rosie’s life out at Yirrkala, making real the choices she faces as a strong young Indigenous woman torn between living on Country, and moving to the city to study medicine.
CUSP juxtaposes the Northern Territory’s vast Top End landscape with three teenagers teetering at the cusp of their adult lives, juggling choice and chance in a world where, as the character of Elvis says, “Some people get better choices to choose from”. If CUSP was a song, it would be Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping. People who get knocked down, yet still manage to get up again, somehow.
CUSP is a love letter to the people and landscape of Australia’s Top End: in particular our youth, who hold the future so delicately and respectfully in their more-than-capable hands.
We hope you enjoy the ride.
Mary Anne Butler
© 2023
Director’s note
There’s a particular joy in being able to share this production of CUSP with you. It’s rare for a director to be able to follow a play from the very first discussion with a playwright, through to sitting at the opening night of the finished production. In this case the production’s Sydney premiere then fell foul of the unprecedented COVID closures of 2020. Our three week season closed in three days. We got to see the script receive the accolades it deserved, but the production so clearly deserved a wider audience.
This play offers three beautifully drawn characters, each wrestling with decisions that will change their lives. It’s a play about those thresholds in life that must be crossed in one form or another. While hopefully not too many of us will contend with the decisions these characters face, sooner or later we all get our moments of reckoning – those moments in our lives that leave us older, sadder, wiser. But these are the moments that make us the people we become.
Mary Anne Butler has crafted a play that offers a directing opportunity that is equal parts exhilarating and daunting. It is exhilarating in the colour and depth of the story. The language blends poetry and potent imagery with the slap of a teenage turn of phrase. But it is daunting because the language only flies if we genuinely feel for the characters, believe in their relationships, see the truth in their eyes. It is one thing to read the words on the page, it is another to find young actors with the confidence and clarity to bring them to life.
Though the world has changed since we first staged this production, I have no doubt it remains absolutely current. We had a school from Western Sydney join us for a day of rehearsals and the first comment from a student? “It’s really powerful to see a play that has characters that we can relate to. It’s like what we’re dealing with, us or our mates.” That is the power of a good play.
It has been a privilege to be a part of this exceptional Australian play’s beginning.
Fraser Corfield
CUSP 3
Creative Team
Mary Anne Butler Writer
Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. She’s been nominated for the Griffin Theatre Award and twice for the Nick Enright Award [NSW Literary Awards]. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow. She holds an MPhil in Creative Writing, MEd in Arts Education, and is undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
Fraser Corfield Director
Fraser regularly sits on industry panels and advisory groups for all levels of Government, Foundations, advocacy organisations and peak bodies. He lives in Sydney with his children, Eva and Dylan.
As Director For ATYP: Desiree Din and the Red Forest, Rio Saki and Other Falling Debris, The Laramie Project, Ishmael and the Return of the Dugongs, The Tender Age, Max Remy Super Spy, Spur of the Moment, M.Rock, Sugarland, A Town Named Warboy, Patrice Balbina's Chance Encounter with the End of the World, The Big Dry, Oedipus Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Impending Everyone, Follow Me Home, CUSP, Intersection: Beat
Jane FitzGerald
Dramaturg
As Dramaturg For ATYP: M.Rock, Lights in the Park, CUSP, Bathory Begins, April Aardvark, Impending Everyone, Charlie Pilgrim (or a Beginner’s Guide to Time Travel), WonderFly, Intersection 2019: Arrival, Intersection 2018: Chrysalis for ATYP and Ensemble Theatre: The Big Dry; for ATYP and Sydney Theatre Company: M.Rock; for Ensemble Theatre: Black Cockatoo, Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race, Fully Committed; for Merrigong Theatre Company: Lost Boys; for Sydney Theatre Company: Volpone, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Festival of the Dreaming).
Previous Positions Literary Manager for Ensemble Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company; Artistic Associate for Sydney Theatre Company; Administrator for the Patrick White Playwright’s Award, Sydney Theatre Company; Script Reader for Royal Court London, Playwriting Australia, Australian National Playwrights Centre, Playworks.
Jane has also mentored year 12 students on HSC creative writing projects for 15 years.
Kate Atkinson
Tour Manager
With 16 years experience in the creative industries, Kate Atkinson has worked in a wide variety of roles from tour management, event coordination, programming, stage management and band management.
Establishing her own business as a Promoter and Events Consultant set her on a path that has taken her around the world working for The Famous Spiegeltent, Love Police Touring, Woodford Folk Festival, Queensland Music Festival, Dashville and The Garden of Unearthly Delights.
More recently, Kate was Artistic Director for Bello Winter Music as well as Co-Programmer for Mullum Music Festival. Currently she is a freelance Tour Manager, working for artists such as Goanna and Emily Wurramara and also conducts photography workshops in remote indigenous communities such as Maningrida.
© 2023
Jasmine Rizk
Lighting Realiser
Jasmine is an accomplished Sydney-based theatrical lighting designer and programmer, working with both professional and independent theatre communities. Jasmine is part of Belvoir’s ongoing CoCurious associates program.
As Lighting Designer
For ATYP: M.Rock; for Concertworks: Jekyll and Hyde 25th Anniversary Concerts, Kings of the Keys Tour; for So Popera Production: Strictly Ballroom, Priscilla, Chicago, Jersey Boys; for The Mitchell Old Company: Heathers; for Belvoir St Theatre: The Boomkak Panto; for NTofP: Zombie Thoughts; for The Roxy Theatre: Henry V; for Hayes Theatre Company: Well Behaved Women, Catch Me If You Can; for Darlinghurst Theatre: Small Mouth Sounds; for Merrigong Theatre Company: Lost Boys, Letters to Lindy (Remount)
National Tour
As Associate Lighting Designer For MonkeyBaa: Edward the Emu; for Sydney Theatre Company and Black Swan State Theatre Co.: City of Gold; for Belvoir St Theatre: Opening Night, Into The Woods; for Terrapin Productions: Scaredy Cat
Nominations APDG 2022 – creative crunchers for Zombie Thoughts
Awards Sparrow Mentorship program for lighting design with Trudy Dalgleish.
Chris Kluge Technician/Operator
Chris started working in live entertainment in 1998 with a local Darwin hire company. In 999 he was invited to join Cats Run Away to the Circus national tour as a mechanist, where he did over 150 shows. Chris has worked as a mechanist, dome operator, in wardrobe, sound designer, lighting technician and designer, set constructor, and so much more.
Chris has worked formany organisations including Brown’s Mart Theatre, Corrugated Iron Youth Arts, Darwin Theatre Company, Tracks Dance, Darwin Entertainment Centre, and has even worked for oil, mining, construction and gas companies as an advanced rigger. He returned to live entertainment in 2016, bringing his new skill set to tasks such as flying people ‘Peter Pan’ style, and lecturing at the Charles Darwin University as an expert in counterweight fly system operations.
In 2019, Chris was awarded in the inaugural live performance awards of the NT, for his contributions to the arts. Despite the countless amazing worldclass productions he's been a part of over the years, he enjoys working with new performers and watching them progress from timid and insipid to fierce and powerful. His latest credits include building the set for Darwin Chorale's 2023 production of Evita single handed and designing, building and perfecting the practical effects used in CUSP. Having endured a very difficult childhood, CUSP has been a challenge for Chris to encompass. It's been worth every moment.
CUSP 5
Creative Team cont.
Hayden Tonazzi
Associate Director
Hayden graduated from NIDA’s Master of Fine Arts (Directing) program and is an Associate Artist at the Kings Cross Theatre.
As Director For ATYP: Shack; for Kings Cross Theatre: Tell Me Before The Sun Explodes; for New Theatre: Significant Other; for La Mama Theatre & Old 505 Theatre: This Genuine Moment; for NIDA: Miracle City
As Assistant Director For ATYP: Follow Me Home; for Siren Theatre Company: The End Of Winter; for Outhouse Theatre: Heroes Of The Fourth Turning; for RGM Productions: Starstruck: The Musical.
Directorial Placements For Global Creatures: Moulin Rouge; for Opera Australia: HOSH: La Traviata; for Hayes Theatre Company: The Bridges Of Madison County
Bronte Schuftan Rehearsal Stage Manager
Bronte works as a Sydneybased stage manager and has had a range of experience working on mainstage and independent productions, musicals, professional touring shows, festivals, immersive theatre and regional touring.
Bronte’s production credits include The Barber of Seville – National Tour 2022 and 2023 (Opera Australia), Grand Horizons (Sydney Theatre Company), Life of Galileo (Belvoir), The Big Time, A Letter For Molly (Ensemble Theatre), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Godspell, Lizzie, Young Frankenstein (Hayes Theatre Co.), Cry Baby (LPD Productions & Sydney Opera House), Senior Moments (National Tour – Return Fire Productions)
She has worked with Sydney Festival, Sport for Jove, and is also a published playwright.
Original Creatives
Rosealee Grimes [nee Pearson] Cultural Consultant
Cj Fraser-Bell Set Designer
Jessie Davis Lighting Designer
Brad Fawcett Sound Designer
© 2023
CUSP 7
“Maybe some people just get better choices to choose from.”
—Rosie
CUSP, 2023. Photos by Clare Hawley.
Cast
Lakesha Grant
Rosie
Lakesha Grant is a First Nation actress and musician. Lakesha was born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory. Due to her drive and love for the arts she moved to Sydney in 2019 to further develop and have access to more opportunities to be able to pursue a career in art.
Lakesha graduated from Sydney Theatre School with a Diploma in Theatre and Screen Acting recently in 2021. Since then she has featured in two short films with AFTRS, one lead role and one feature role, and more recently played Bundilla in The Resistance, an ATYP production.
Joshua McElroy
Elvis
Joshua McElroy is an awardnominated young actor who began his working life as a teenager with bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company. Theatre highlights include Spring Awakening (Mitchell Butel, ATYP) Low Level Panic (Justin Martin, Red Line Productions) One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest (Kim Hardwick, Sport For Jove) Oedipus Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (Fraser Corfield, ATYP), where he was nominated for a GLUG award for Most Outstanding Performance by a Newcomer.
Josh also works as a screen actor and writer, founding MTM Productions in 2020 which has produced two indie films which he wrote and Executive Produced. Notable screen credits include BAFTA Award Nominated Series Frayed, Sundance selected short film Backpedal. Catch him next on Amazon’s first Australian feature Five Blind Dates (Directed by Shawn Seet) and NCIS Sydney.
Abbey Morgan
Maddie
Abbey Morgan is a Melbourne-based actor who completed the Bachelor of Arts (Acting) at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2021. Upon graduating from WAAPA, Abbey was cast as Emma in the Stan Original Series Bad Behaviour, (Directed by Corrie Chen and Produced by Amanda Higgs). Abbey performed as Amy in Oil by Ella Hickson for Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA in November of 2022.
Isaac Harley [Understudy]
Isaac is a young Sydneybased actor, hailing from Lake Macquarie. With a 3-year Bachelor of Arts (Acting) course under his belt through the Academy of Film Theatre and Television (AFTT), Isaac is eager to continue growing as an artist, expanding his ability and scope for storytelling.
Recent credits include: Boy in Them/Us (Show Development) (Directed by Charlie Vaux); Dim in A Clockwork Orange (Show Development) (Directed by Fraser Corfield, ATYP); Aaron in 3:33am (Directed by Lachlan Knight); Bassianus in Titus Andronicus (Directed by Shannon Thomas and Steven Ljubović, AFTT); Isaac in Storehouse Stories (Directed by Dean Tuttle); Carl in Clinchfield (Directed by Dino Dimitriadis, Belvoir 25A).
© 2023
Mema Munro [Understudy]
As a young Indigenous creative, Mema hopes to become a role model for Indigenous youth and inspire them to follow their dreams. She is excited to take on roles that will challenge representational casting nationally and internationally. She also looks forward to telling empowering stories of First Nations on screen and stage.
Mema’s recent credits include: Cutter in Cutter and Coota (Moogahlin Performing Arts), Kimberley/Ensemble in Black Cockatoo (Ensemble Theatre Company), Jazz in God’s Country (NIDA), Brenda in Perfect Stranger (NIDA), and Beatrice in A View from the Bridge (NIDA).
CUSP, 2023. Photo by Clare Hawley.
CUSP, 2023. Photos by Clare Hawley.
CUSP 11
The ATYP Team
Artistic Director & CEO
Fraser Corfield
Executive Director –Management
Amanda Wright
Executive Director –Strategy
Johanna Mulholland
Business Manager
Chrissy Riley
Operations Manager
Taryn Brown
Education Manager
Jacqui Cowell
Workshops Manager
Claudene Shoesmith
Marketing & Communications Manager
Jason Dixon
Resident Dramaturg
Jane FitzGerald
Artistic Associate
Hayden Tonazzi
Development Coordinator
Aden Abeleda
Finance Coordinator
Yoko Miki-Feeney
Venue and Events Coordinator
Catherine Tomsen
Education Coordinator
George Kemp
Digital Communications & Engagement Coordinator
Rebecca Herkess
Digital Engagement Designer
Georgia McGinness
Workshop & Administration Assistant
Emily Johnson
Archivist
Judy Seeff Company Accountant
Steve Davidson
I.T. Consultant
Daniel Andrews
Intern – Outreach
Ellie Park
Front of House Managers
Catherine Tomsen
Ellie Park
Front of House Attendants
Jasper Reucassel
Sally Gyngell
Alexandra Chambers
Adriana Carlino
Front of House Volunteers
Aidan Hale
Jade Bowell
Harry Peters
Helena Burke
Ebony Dodds
Georgia Boon
Jessi Kivijian
Board of Directors
Chris Puplick AM (Chair)
Fraser Corfield
Samara Hand
Tasnim Hossain
Janine Lapworth
Gillian Larkins
Mark Morrissey
Daniel Selikowitz
Nicole Webb
Donna Worthington
Georgina Willcock
(Board Observer)
Lily Hayman
(Youth Advisory Observer)
Jack Walton
(Youth Advisory Observer)
© 2023
Thanks & Acknowledgements
Hunter Page-Lochard
Mia Evans Rorris
Jayla Shae Davey
Ciella Williams
Rachael Chisholm
Pascoe Lawler
Tim Roseman
Adam Drake
Set electrics and mechanics – Chris Kluge
Guitar on sound design – Finn Williams
Field recording – Ben Andrews
Paper Jam Partners
Abbie-lee Lewis
Partners
#CUSP #ATYP_CUSP
#ATYP_Theatre
#TheRebelTheatre
#OnlyAtTheRebel
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