Harbour Lites

I managed to catch the last night of this collection of 3 one-act plays at Harbour last Saturday and I am glad I did. Apparently only 2 of the 3 will be going on to the ITA Dramafest. My frequent lament is that there just does not seem to be enough good quality Australian-written one-acters around and I applaud the efforts of those who take the bull by the horns and write their own. However, these 3 plays (which I believe were all English-written) were well chosen and the Aussie actors (and directors) did a good job on the English accents. Overall,I was impressed with the standard of these plays. One-act festivals can be an opportunity for experimentation with ideas and personnel. They are also a great opportunity to be 'noticed' if you are a talented young artist, working your way up in the theatrical world, thus not to be taken too lightly. Well done, all.

Probably because there are not enough good Australian one act plays around. It's quite unfortunate really. Most of the one act plays I do are British, Irish, American or English translations of foreign plays. The couple of Aussies one I did were fairly unmemorable and/or second rate.

Maybe if theatres advertised the fact they were actively looking for one-act plays written by local authors that might help? Rather than just hope a playwright may submit one on the off-chance?

Thanks luv. Glad you enjoyed the night. Besides someone had to find my cockney accent believable. lol. It was hell to learn (for me anyway.) Will you be at the festivals this year? ~ Tari The Writer is a child forever listening at the keyhole of the adult world.

Walterity Plingetty said: The couple of Aussies one I did were fairly unmemorable and/or second rate. That's exactly the apathetic attitude that causes Australia not to have a thriving film, or professional theatre industry. If you supported Australian theatre more, perhaps, just perhaps you might see some more quality work coming out of it. The comment angered me. The fact they were unmemorable and/or second rate could have to do with direction and not the writing. And if they were shit, why do them in the first place? For you to dismiss Australian one act plays so easily is ridiculous. It proves to me you haven't read many, if any at all, excluding the ones you have produced. Go read some Australian work before spewing your opinions here about the quality. You might find that there are some gems out there. "My personal opinion" - I have seen so many English and American one act plays that seeing Australian work is refreshing. And that's pathetic, because I live here.

I'm with you Daniel although perhaps slightly less outraged because of increased age and cynicism. There is a lot of good work out there. There is a guy in Queensland who keeps winning stuff with his one acters and posting the details on here. Look at the Australian Script Centre site. They have an enormous list of Aussie one actors. I too am refreshed when I see an Australian play, there are far too few performed. I have a few on my website and I'm not alone. Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing. www.tonymoore.id.au

I think perhaps that everyone who has a comment to make about which plays Community Theatres should be performing should join a theatre committee and see which plays get "bums on seats". Getting people along to see One Act Play seasons is hard enough. You see, despite the fact that it is altruistic and patriotic to support Australian plays, theatres have rent to pay (some of them huge!). Having directed a lot of Australian full-length and one act plays I can say that they were very successful but no more so than any of the high quality English, American, Canadian plays that have been done. If English theatre had only performed English plays we would not have theatre as we know it today. Instead of being so parochial people should accept that there are good and bad plays no matter in which country they are written. The good ones become famous, the bad ones are consigned to obscurity. Let the professional companies "experiment" as they have bigger budgets and can afford the occasional financial flop. I know we can't!

"Can afford the occasional financial flop"... Whoa, you obviously missed all the controversy last year as the SDC went into bankruptcy and only survived because the government pulled them out. Actually, smaller companies can afford to experiment, and it's just as risky as putting on a more well-known show. There is never a guarantee of making your money back in theatre, no matter if you are pro or amateur. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

So we are all to agree that theatre is a risky business and plays can be good or bad no matter where they are written or the nationality of their author, characters or anything else. ~ Tari The Writer is a child forever listening at the keyhole of the adult world.

The one act season is the only time of year clubs are able to experiment with style and content, because their expenses are slight. I mean, does anyone spend more than 200 bucks on their budget? And the entry costs for the fesitvals is not much at all. The limited one act season would easily cover this, so why not take an artistic risk? I say this because for the rest of the year the only things thhat I can see a farces, musicals and drawing room dramas. Best of luck to everyone this weekend and the next. Looking forward to it.

Perhaps you should look a bit further than the end of your nose!-) Ssstinger>>>