I asked some of our new members of the HotBed Ensemble a few questions, so that you can get to know them better. Read on for a quick glimpse into the hearts and minds of HotBed Ensemble actors, the set and costume designer and stage manager!
Hannie Rayson speaks about The Swimming Club
Award-winning Australian writer Hannie Rayson made a great speech about her new play, The Swimming Club, at the January launch of Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2010 season. A co-production with MTC, The Swimming Club is a Rio Tinto Black Swan Commission play about dreams, dilemmas, regrets..and skinny dipping!
Watch the video of Hannie’s speech and listen to her funny and poignant explanation of the play and what drove her to write it:
Black Swan’s Young Writers’ Program
Black Swan is excited to unveil our Young Writers’ Program members! As part of our dedication to building and developing the arts in WA, this Program accepts writers who are in their first five years of professional practice.
Lead by Adam Mitchell, Director of the HotBed Ensemble, the Young Writers’ Program accepts diverse talents and guides them on playwrighting skills, building skills, and play development. The writers will also contribute to Black Swan’s literary department by reading and analysing work for the Company.
We are very excited to see what these nine writers will create and accomplish while in the Young Writers’ Program:
Interview – Trent Suidgeest
Here’s another blog post from me straight away! I conducted this interview with Trent Suidgeest, our lighting designer for The Sapphires a few weeks ago and thought you might be interested in it too.
You were the lighting designer for Black Swan’s HotBed Ensemble in 2009. Tell us about what you valued about the experience.
The HotBed Ensemble was a wonderful program to be involved with. The camaraderie we established by working on two productions and various workshops throughout the year was different from any other project I’ve worked on. The texts were dynamic, fresh and arty. The collaboration was invigorating because we could give the designs an edge.
Education Update
Black Swan’s Education Program is off to a flying start this year with many Drama Teachers eager to have our professional actors and designers visit their students. The most popular workshops for the year so far have been Set Design and Original Solo Performance.
19 school groups and one university group attended our production of The Sapphires. We received fantastic feedback from the teachers, with many saying that their students had experienced the best theatre moment of their lives.
Black Swan are thrilled to welcome Sam Longley (Improvisation Guru) and Trent Suidgeest (Lighting Designer) to our in school workshop tutor team.
Black Swan presents the 2010 HotBed Ensemble!
Black Swan is abuzz with excitement as we announce the 2010 HotBed Ensemble. Adam Mitchell, Director of the HotBed Ensemble, has brought together a new group of actors and creatives to grace the stage at PICA this year.
Cast:
Tim Solly
Tim Solly – Tim’s theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing for Black Swan, Checklist for an Armed Robber and Lonely Hearts Club for deckchair theatre, and Romeo and Juliet for Essential Theatre. He was also in 2008’s The Shape of Things for Accidental Productions, and has had roles on television and in film.
Adriane Daff
Adriane Daff – Since graduating from SOCA, Adriane has appeared in The Crucible for Black Swan, The Visit for Black Swan’s BSX Theatre, The Gathering for Thin Ice and worked with Side Pony Productions on The Manic Pony and Motor City Blues. She has worked in television and film and has recently returned from New York City where she studied Meisner Technique at the Ward Studio. Adriane received the 2005 Equity Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Black Swan Busy in Perth and in Melbourne
While everyone in Perth is busily focused on the final preparations for the opening of The Sapphires, our sellout season for the Perth Festival, Artistic Director Kate Cherry is equally hard at work in Melbourne preparing for the first preview of a new World Premiere commissioned by Black Swan as part of the Rio Tinto Black Swan Commissions, called the The Swimming Club. Kate is directing this latest work from well known Australian playwright Hannie Rayson, a co-production with Melbourne Theatre Company. It will have its initial season in Melbourne before it comes to Perth, opening here in late March. We wish Kate and her cast all the best for the Melbourne season opening on 4 February.
Give your night at The Sapphires some extra sparkle!
Our friends at Canton Lounge Bar have created a very special cocktail to coincide with Black Swan’s season of The Sapphires at the Playhouse Theatre. You would have guessed it … it’s called the Sapphire cocktail!
Welcome to the Black Swan blog!
I’d like to welcome you all to the brand new Black Swan blog, providing you with the latest news and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the work at Black Swan State Theatre Company.
And what a time to launch the Black Swan blog! Kate Cherry, our Artistic Director has put together a fantastic season 
for 2010. Poor Fleur, our new Ticketing and Administration Officer, is struggling to keep on top of the subscriptions