Three Shows, Three States, Three Months: Already Very Busy in 2012

In fact, from the opening of Like a House on Fire through the two week season of Painting with Words and Fire (formerly Three Women) to the end of Richard Di Gregorio: On Time – it’s less than six weeks. Late January to early March.

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First up, as part of Short & Sweet Sydney, my ten minute ode to pyromania and sexuality, Like a House on Fire will play at the Newtown Theatre from January 25 to January 28 (8pm) and January 29 (5.15pm). Directed by David Attrill and starring Sarah Connor, I’m thrilled to have something on in Sydney – finally – and it’s a good excuse to go back after having been there so recently.

Actor Sarah Connor

Also, while in Sydney, I get to check out Griffin’s new production of The Boys – which should be suitably confronting in that small space. Also tempted to check out Hayloft’s Thyestes – which Belvoir is producing at Carriageworks, but I’m afraid that seeing it a second time might dilute its power.

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Next up, at Revolt Melbourne Artspace in Kensington, a tryptic of monologues for female actors culminating in a fourth piece where these disperate characters meet – Painting with Words and Fire is my biggest show yet and something the entire team is very proud of. Formerly titled Three Women, the show will play ten nights from Feb 15 to Feb 25 at 8pm in Revolt’s loading dock.

Produced by The Wooden Leg - which I co-founded this year with producer Wallis Murphy-Munn, writer/actor Hayley Lawson-Smith and writer/actor/inspiration Andy Dodds – it’s going to build on the company’s aesthetic for site-specific theatre, as well as being accessible, immediate and a bit in-your-face.

I’ve been working on this project for a while, after meeting actor/directors Christine Husband, Renee Palmer and Adrienne Sloan through the Cold Reading Series. We have developed the fourth piece collectively and the actors have been directing each other in their solo pieces, while building toward a show that will also combine movement, music, and beautiful design work by Andre Stefan White.

I feel lucky to have found such great collaborators and moving towards production is going pretty smoothly – with a press release put together and lots of photos taken last week for promotional and publicity materials. Note to self: at some point need a decent headshot for the inevitable program.

Look for publicity material soon on Facebook and on the Revolt website.

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Last, but certainly not least, the reappearance of Richard Di Gregorio: On Time at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.  Tickets are already on sale online and we’re already getting promotional material ready. Including this snappy little promo video:

And, later tonight, there will be a podcast interview with me on the LinkAdelaide website. I can’t wait to hear it back – see if I said anything too embarrassing.

As I said in the interview, even in our post-Melbourne Fringe analysis of the show, the whole team was pretty happy with the show as a whole. But we’re still thoroughly excited to get a chance to polish it up a little bit and tighten it up in places, so that Adelaide gets the absolutely best show we can give it. (Also, for a show about time, the fact that 2012 is a leap year gives me some really immediate new material – especially for the Feb 29^th show!)

Richard Di Gregorio: On Time is playing the Metropolitan Hotel in Adelaide for Five Shows Only from Feb 28^th to March 3^rd. Book tickets now!

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Meanwhile, of course, since these projects are basically all written, I have started work on new plays and new collaborations - trying new things, polishing old things and keeping the momentum going. For the second half of 2012.