Arts Guide 18, Alter State 20, Festival Guide 22, Isabella Manfredi

It was on a Tuesday that Sydney indie rockers, The Preatures, called it quits. On 25 May 2021, to be exact, a note posted to their Instagram feed read...

Credit Maclay Heriot

ISABELLA MANFREDI

“After 10 years, The Preatures have disbanded. We want to thank everybody who was part of the journey and especially you for being such a dedicated fan base. Izzi will continue to release her own music.”

Words by Tammy Walters

Naturally, fans were devastated that the ‘Is This How You Feel?’ giants were no longer. For lead vocalist and keyboardist, Isabella ‘Izzi’ Manfredi, it was her euphoric emancipation.

Behind the scenes of the bright bubbly exterior animated by anthems ‘Somebody’s Talking’ and ‘Yanada’, The Preatures story was clouded by financial stressors stemming from antiquated record deals, a decade-long romantic relationship breakdown, and dynamic misalignment.

Stepping away from the music family, forged at the Australian Institute of Music, to ‘go solo’ was not the intention for Manfredi but would be the outcome.

She explains, “There was a point where I presented a Preatures record and a solo record and there was a point where there was a lot of scrutiny on my solo stuff to make sure it was differentiated from Preatures stuff enough as far as if I were releasing them both – which I had originally intended. I wanted to stay in the band and write music as The Preatures but I also want to do my own thing because I feel like I have more to say and more to give. That didn’t end up happening.” Manfredi’s decision to venture outside of the band was met by confusion and blame for the band’s premature industry departure, with a cliched egomaniac stigma attached to the experience. “The scrutiny I experienced in that situation made me realise for me going solo, one, it’s just a music industry trope, that ‘going solo’, so there are all kinds of expectations and cliches and stereotypes when it doesn’t work – case in point Freddy Mercury when he went solo was a disaster – and there are all those tropes about the lead singer – ‘you give them a mile and they want to indulge themselves’ and ‘it’s the members of the band that keep them in check’.”

“I definitely wrestled with a lot of those beliefs myself, and insecurities, I think. I was very conscious of not doing that when I went solo. For me it was only about being about to actually move. I felt like I couldn’t move in the band. We just felt stuck in one place. Two records in ten years was like torture for me. Two records! Ten years! I’d like to do a bit more than that!”

On Friday 2 September, Manfredi will be one album into her solo catalogue with the release of her debut record, izzi. Following a 45-show-long run of Preatures shows across regional Victoria, Manfredi has a “fuck, I’ve gotta get out of here. I have to get off the island” moment. She headed on a writing trip at the end of 2018 where the genesis of izzi began through experimentation. “I had worked with a bunch of people like Anton Newcombe from Brian Jonestown Massacre and went and worked with a big pop guy in New York, just trying out a bunch of stuff to see where I might find myself.”

It was friend and collaborator, Emma Louise, who appears on tracks ‘Seasons Change’ ‘Sleepwalking’ and ‘Only Child’, who helped form her identity as a solo artist, one not dissimilar to that of her Preatures self.

“When I ended up in L.A with Emma, she was the one who said to me ‘You have a classic voice. Don’t lose that, don’t change it!’ and I loved that because I felt like she was giving me permission to just be me and that I was enough. Sometimes that is all you need!

“The funny thing was when I released the first couple of singles, people were like ‘it sounds like The Preatures’ and I was like ‘yeah no shit – I wrote the songs’. People didn’t think I was an agent of my own creative destiny which is so typical. I’m really excited for people to just see that side of me without the illusion that people “The funny thing was around me make me who I am.” when I released the first With Emma’s advice in mind, Manfredi couple of singles, people recruited a pool of talent to bring izzi to were like ‘it sounds like life. Along with Emma Louise, izzi credits Lucy The Preatures’ and I was Taylor as a co write and flautist for ‘Living In The like ‘yeah no shit – I wrote Wind’, Chris Collins as a producer, Stella Mozgawa the songs’. People didn’t on drums, Mikey di Francesco (Touch think I was an agent of Sensitive) on bass, Kirin J Callinan on guitar, my own creative destiny and PRICIE with a verse contribution on ‘Naive’. which is so typical. I’m Isabella Manfredi’s team was further expanded really excited for people by Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, to just see that side of Angel Olsen), Jeffertitti Moon, Drew Erickson, me without the illusion and full-circle collaboration with The Preatures’ that people around me debut EP, Shaking Hands, producer, Tony make me who I am.” Buchen. “I’d always written with the band so it wasn’t like I wasn’t used to a lot of collaborators, but what was different about it was that the people in the room with me were in service to what I wanted,” she explains.

“In the band I had to experience having to fight and pitch ideas and getting shut down a lot, which sometimes, artistically and creatively can be a good thing, and it is what made the Preatures, the Preatures. But personally I don’t see a huge difference between the songwriting I did in the band and the songwriting I’ve done on my own, essentially. It’s still me.” The nickname titled final product is Isabella Manfredi as her true authentic self; The Preatures but a bit more pop, passionfilled but imperfect, without pitching and without parameters.

“That was a goal of mine overall, I wanted it to feel more pop than Preatures,” she says. “I think naturally I’m a much more prolific artist. I don’t care about perfection. Things have to be good enough and my level of good enough is probably, maybe, six in-between.

“I think because I’m not a super-pro musician – I’m a good musician but I still have the mind of a beginner, an amateur – that even though I’ve absorbed a lot of things productions-wise and technically from being surrounded by that in the band, I also don’t mind if things are a bit scrappy, a bit imperfect.

“I like a bit of character in my recordings so I have a different metric of success for this album and these songs. I’m always going for the feeling, I just want things to feel good! You’ll notice that in this album. There are artifacts in this record.”

Isabella Manfredi’s izzi is out now via Island Records. She’s playing Queenscliff Music Festival from November 25 - 27.

STAGE GUIDE Shows to catch in September

Words by Ben Lamb

Do You Hear The People Sing?

Lyricist Alain Boublil and composer Claude-Michel Schönberg have been behind some of the world’s biggest musicals, including Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and The Pirate Queen. Do You Hear The People Sing? will bring well known stars from Broadway and West End runs of their musicals to celebrate and perform their amazing work. They will be joined by a 24-piece orchestra.

Do You Hear The People Sing? is taking place at the Arts Centre’s Hamer Hall. It runs from September 27 until September 28.

Queenagers

A Queenager is the new term to describe older women who want to live their lives as teenagers, and not in the way elements of society wants older people to act. The Butterfly Club will be home to two Queenagers this September for a few nights with their self-titled show. Katrina Fleming and Caili Christian will launch their cabaret-inspired show, which features a bunch of jokes and some great stories about traversing this world as an older single woman.

This show is taking place at The Butterfly Club. It’s happening from September 8 through to September 10 The Wog Boys are back. Nick Giannopoulos and Vince Colosimo have returned to the big screen a decade after their last foray into the Wog Boy world. As is the style with their movies, it’s set to feature a plethora of great cameos and guest stars. There’s set to be a massive premiere event taking place in Melbourne this month, and it’ll include a performance from Giannopoulos, plus a red carpet.

Wog Boys Forever World Premiere will be happening at the Palais Theatre. The Melbourne run lasts from September 22 until September 25.

Running Machine

Running Machine is hitting the Arts House courtesy of BLEED, the international art event taking over a number of popular art galleries across the globe. Running Machine brings the world of dance and technology together, this development coming to life in Fujiyoshida, Japan. One of the primary artists is Yuiko Masukawa, a Japanese choreographer based in Melbourne, who has been getting a great deal of attention lately for her exceptional work.

This show is taking place at the Arts House in North Melbourne. It runs from September 14 until September 17.

Traps

Traps is a play that’ll make you think. It’s about a group of six people who live between the city and the country, featuring a six-person cast that will turn the standard play format on its head, making the most of the La Mama theatre space. Traps will be an immersive experience too, but there’s no expectation for the audience to interact.

This show is taking place at La Mama. It runs from September 7 until September 18. Cyrano

Star of stage and screen Virginia Gay brings a gender-swapped version of the popular play to the Southbank Theatre stage. The original source material was written back in 1897 by Edmond Rostand, who based it on the life of Cyrano de Bergerac. Since then, it has had many musical treatments, opera versions, book varieties, and plenty more. Alongside Gay, the play will also star Holly Austin, Robin Goldsworthy, Tuulli Narkle, and many more.

This show is taking place at the Southbank Theatre. It’s happening from September 24.

Respect: The Aretha Franklin Story

Aretha Franklin remains one of the world’s most iconic singers, and her music has been the soundtrack to many lives across the world. This upcoming musical is based on the vocalist’s gripping life story, featuring Angie Narayan in the leading role. It’ll feature many of our favourite tracks of the singer, ‘Say a Little Prayer’, ‘RESPECT’, and ‘Son of A Preacher Man’ to name a few.

This show is taking place at The Palms at Crown. It’s happening on September 16.

Freaky Friday

Based on the popular Disney movie of the same name, Freaky Friday is a new musical that has been garnering a great deal of attention. The book is penned by popular playwright Bridget Carpenter, and the music is written by Tom Kitt, who has been behind the book in musicals If/Then and SpongeBob SquarePants. It’s hitting Chapel off Chapel and will star Lyla DiGrazia and Stephanie Powell in leading roles.

This show is taking place at Chapel off Chapel. It runs from September 8 until September 18.

ADULT ACTING CLASSES

October/November 2023

Explore Your Performance Potential

The National Theatre Drama School offers a range of short acting courses for adults (18+) looking to explore their performance potential. Our highly experienced industry professionals deliver courses over 8 weeks with 2 – 2.5hr classes held each week.

Acting Technique – The First Stage Take your first steps towards becoming an actor in a supportive, inspiring and creative environment. 8-week course. Wednesdays 7:30pm – 9:30pm or Saturdays 1pm – 3pm

Acting Technique – The Next Stage Our industry professionals will prepare you to take to the stage with confidence and skills necessary to successfully perform and connect with your fellow actors. 8-week course. Wednesdays 7pm – 9:30pm

Performance Making – The Creative Stage Work with expert teachers to further develop your acting skills and create a self-devised work that you will perform for family and friends at the end of the course. 8-week course. Wednesdays 7pm – 9pm

Screenshots Take your acting skills from the stage to the screen in this dynamic course with screen actor Cazz Bainbridge. 8-week course. Thursdays 7pm – 9pm

STRICTLY LIMITED CAPACITY. ACT NOW!

Book before Sunday 25 September and save 10%

Image credits from top: The Changeling. Dir by Harry Haynes. Image by Cameron Grant. Honey. Dir by Katie Cawthorne. Image by Cameron Grant. The Changeling. Dir by Harry Haynes. Image by Cameron Grant. Dredge, Dir by Katie Cawthorne. Image by Cameron Grant. Showreel. Dir by Danielle Carter. Image by Danielle Carter.