END OF YEAR PRODUCTION SEASON 2021 nida.edu.au/june-2021
This season is supported by the Nick Enright AM Estate
WELCOME I am excited to welcome you to NIDA’s End of Year Production Season for 2021. These four fully-staged live NIDA productions tell stories of worlds in flux. We invite you into a magical forest, a world without electricity, a beachside camping ground and a theatrical kaleidoscope through opera, myth, comedy and invention. Commissioned by NIDA, God’s Country is a new work by First Nations writer Nathan Maynard, a Trawlwoolway, Pakana/Palawa man from Lutrawita/Tasmania. This play has been written specifically for the NIDA acting students and has been developed in workshops with them over the course of the year. The play is directed by Liza-Mare Syron, Co-Founder and Senior Artistic Associate of Moogahl in Performing Arts. God’s Country is supported by The Keir Foundation. Liza-Mare Syron Director of God’s Country has been supported by UNSW. An exciting co-production with our friends at the Sydney Conservatorium brings the genre of opera to NIDA’s Parade Theatre with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Conducted by Stephen Mould and directed by Kate Gaul, Britten’s magical opera breathes new life into Shakespeare’s most loved comedy. Our technical production and stage management students, props, scenic construction and costume, bring the production to life with Conservatorium students as performers. For many, Caryl Churchill is the world’s greatest living playwright. This contemporary masterpiece asks how our insatiable appetite for knowledge can be informed by our capacity for love. We are so proud to present Love and Information, a collage of story, directed by Anthea Williams. Anne Washburn’s international hit comedy Mr Burns, a post-electric play dissolves the barriers between high art and pop culture and imagines a world where The Simpsons becomes the new bible, showing how the stories we tell make us the people we are. Directed by NIDA alumnus Alexander Berlage, this production takes comedy to a new level. We couldn’t present any of these high-calibre productions without support from the Australian Government, our first Nations Program Principal Patron The Balnaves Foundation and Principal Partner for Property Services ARA Group. I would also like to thank our Major Partners Technical Direction Company, our Corporate Partner YouTube, as well as UNSW and Tempus Two wines. NIDA is appreciative of the support of various trusts and foundations and the generous individuals supporting the Behind the Scenes Program, including our student scholarship supporters. This End of Year Season is supported by the Nick Enright AM Estate. We welcome you back to NIDA and hope you enjoy these live productions. — Liz Hughes, CEO
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which we learn and tell stories, from the lands of the Bidjigal and Gadigal people of the Eora nation where our campus stands, to the nations across this continent where we teach. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders past and present who have cared for land, water and story on these lands for generations. We also recognise the work and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, workers and creatives within the NIDA Community. Sovereignty was never ceded. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
God’s Country – rehearsals
God’s Country
NIDA Theatres, Studio Theatre 1–4, 6–9 December, 7.30pm 3 December, 1pm
By Nathan Maynard (Trawlwoolway) Directed by Liza-Mare Syron (Biripi) Set and costume design by Cris Baldwin Lighting design by James Rawlings Sound design by Krystelle Quartermain God’s Country is supported by the The Keir Foundation
Liza-Mare Syron (Biripi), Director of God’s Country and UNSW Indigenous Scientia Senior Lecturer, has been supported by UNSW. Running time 90 minutes God’s Country will be performed in one act with no interval. For the First Peoples of this country the 26th of January marks the beginning of the occupation of unceded lands by the British empire. Known as Invasion Day, Survival Day, or Day of Mourning by many First Peoples, we often gather in solidarity of our enduring cultures, families, and communities. With the rise of the Change the Date movement there is growing support amongst younger Australians for a celebration that is inclusive of all Australians. Nathan Maynard’s new play God’s Country is a refreshing, humorous, confronting, and poignant consideration of our national day. What better way to continue this debate than through the voices of the next generation. – Liza-Mare Syron (Biripi), Director
Nathan Maynard’s God’s Country is a special NIDA commission. Nathan is a Trawlwoolway, Pakana/Palawa writer from Lutrawita/ Tasmania. His first play, The Season, appeared in 2015 Yellamundie Festival, the Sydney Festival, Ten Days on the Island Festival, Melbourne Festival and a 12-week regional tour. He helped produce and direct an episode of Little J & Big Cuz, and wrote ‘Pilot Bird’, a season two episode. He co-directed the animation series, Zero Point. Nathan twice attended the PWA First Nations Retreat and was an Australian Council delegate to the 2018 Dublin Theatre Festival. His awards include Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist of the Year Award (2006 and 2013), 2018 Tasmanian Aboriginal of the Year, an Errol in 2018 for best writing, and two 2018 Green Room Awards for new writing for the Australian stage and best production for The Season. Nathan co-wrote the children’s play Hide the Dog for four major festivals next year and is co-writing the feature film adaptation. In 2022, Nathan’s play At What Cost? will be presented at Belvoir.
Presented by NIDA BFA Design for Performance, BFA Costume, BFA Properties and Objects, BFA Scenic Construction and Technologies, BFA Technical Theatre and Stage Management, final year BFA Acting, and Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services students.
Company
Sandy Cassidy Ricky Two Bob Jazz Rusty Mossy Baako Playwright Director MFA Assistant Director Set/Costume Designer Lighting Designer Sound Designer
Shaw Cameron Libby Kay Ari Maza Long (Meriam/Yidinji) Riley McNamara Mema Munro (Marriamu) Alyona Popova Connor Reilly Adolphus Waylee Nathan Maynard (Trawlwoolway)* Liza-Mare Syron (Biripi)* Amy Sole (Wiradjuri/Worimi) Cris Baldwin* James Rawlings Krystelle Quartermain
Voice Coach Angela Sullen** Movement Consultant Troy Honeysett* Production Stage Manager Leia Loisa Deputy Stage Manager Ethan Hamill Assistant Stage Manager Maddison Craven Head Electrician Construction Supervisor Costume Supervisor Props Supervisor Costume Assistant Props Assistant Set Design Assistant Costume Design Assistant Set Construction Assistant Technical Assistant Crew
Zoe Davis Nicholas Day** Corinne Heskett** Rhyanna Martinussen Nina Price Jess McIntosh Rebecca Howarth Serena Pollock Maxime Armand Bernadett Lorincz Ugochi Okorie***
*Guest artist **NIDA staff ***Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services student
Special thanks to Maxine Ryan from the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council and Belvoir St Theatre
Graduating students 2021 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
G abriel A lvarado
H annah Julii A nder s on
Fly nn B arnard
Julie B et tens
O liv ia B ourne
S haw C ameron
R yan Ennis s
A my Joyce
Libby Kay
A lfre d Kouris
A shan Kum ar
A ri Ma za Long
Charlot te L uc a s
Philip Ly nch
Wern M ak
B raydon May
Riley McNam ara
A lyona Pop ova
Harrison Q ua s t
C onnor Reilly
Mem a Munro
Chris t y Tran
Eb ony Tucker
Adolphus Wayle e
L ucy Jauris to
S am antha Manning
S iobhan Nealon
A ngelina Meany
H ayden Relf
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Costume)
Elsb eth C ameron
B ethany Hew it t
O ri His er
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Design for Performance)
S oham A pte
B lake He dley
Hannah Tayler
H annah Yardley
A my Jack s on
Pho eni x Mckay
Is ab ella S altearn
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Properties and Objects)
Hunter D epalo
Danielle G uyot
Rachel Hallet t
Is ab ell de L aurentis
Zo e M anning
Rhyanna M ar tinus s en
Z achar y Por telli
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Scenic Construction and Technologies)
Mat thew Hinton
Z achar y W hite
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Theatre and Stage Management)
Elif A kgul
Is a ac B arron
K aitly n Cro cker
S ophie Jone s
Leia Lois a
Alex Makaronopoulos
Jo el M allet t
K r ys telle Q uar term ain
Jame s Rawlings
S aint Clair
Nathan Sandy
Z achar y S aric
Mellit a Ver tigan
Trillian V ieira
Sy billa Wajon
S ophia Wallace
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Major Partners
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