SPY presents Half of What You Were

Half of What You Were is an original one act play fully devised by six young performers aged between 17 and 21 years over a 15-week process as part of the Stirling Players Youth annual program. Based on an original concept of 'vultures,' the whole production, from characters to plot to design has been fully devised by the featured SPY ensemble including Ella Evans, Clare Housley, Mariah O’Dea, Madelaine Page, Jessica Russell and Courtney Turner. The final product is a haunting and emotional play set over a period of several years in the 1940s before, during and after World War II. The character-driven story follows the life of a soldier whose mind has been split in two, and examines how he relates to the women in his life; his autistic daughter, his ex-wife, the new woman in his life and her niece. As part of the SPY project model, mentorship roles were fulfilled by Brendan Ellis and Keren Schlink, who both also offered directorial assistance to the group during the development of the piece. This is an engaging piece of theatre which will not only be of interest as a showcase to other young theatre-makers, but will resonate with an older audience with its mature themes and storyline. The show will play at Stirling Theatre, Morris Place, Innaloo at 8pm on Wednesday 28 September and Friday 30 September 2011, before representing the Stirling Players theatre group in the ITA Dramafest One Act festival. Tickets to the Stirling Theatre season are all $10 and can be booked by emailing half@stirlingplayers.com.au or will be available at the box office from 7.30pm before each performance. Stirling Players Youth offers young people in and around the City of Stirling a creative opportunity to learn about the different aspects of performance and production. SPY has been a part of Stirling Players Inc for the past 10 years, and we are based at the Stirling Theatre in Innaloo. SPY manages a range of annual events and special projects which are programmed and run by our members, and are open to all young people interested in theatre and the performing arts.