Grand Theft Theatre Show Program
Grand Theft Theatre Show Program content
Theatre | World Premiere
Grand Theft Theatre
Pony Cam & David Williams
Dates: 3 - 11 Mar 2024
Venue: Latvian Hall ‘Tālava’, Wayville
Duration: 1hr 55mins, incl. interval
Warnings: Contains strong language, drug references, sexual references, depictions of violence, loud sounds and extended periods of loud music. Recommended for audiences 14+
Note: Latecomers will not be admitted.
Originally commissioned by Melbourne Fringe. Generously supported by Margo Hill-Smith & Sam Hill-Smith.
Contents
Creative Team
Biographies
About Pony Cam
About Alternative Facts
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Creative Team
Created and performed by Claire Bird, Ava Campbell, Williams Strom, Dominic Weintraub, Hugo Williams & David Williams
Producer Suzie Franke
Associate Producers Dominic Weintraub & Hugo Williams
Lighting Designer Suzie Franke
Music Credits
“The Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky is used by permission of Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd, exclusive agent for Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd of London.
“Jack It Up”
Written by: D. Pemberton
Universal Pictures Music
Administered by: Universal Music Publishing Pty Ltd
“Love Me Tender”
Written by: Matson/Presley
Published by Concord Music Publishing ANZ Pty Ltd obo
Songs Of Steve Peter
ABG Elvis Songs, Elvis Presley Music
Administered by: Universal Music Publishing Pty Ltd
Biographies
David Williams
Creator & Performer
David Williams holds a PhD from UNSW, was the founder of the performance group version 1.0 (1998-2012) and is currently the director of Alternative Facts.
Over the past 27 years, he has crafted evocative performances from found materials such as interviews, archives and transcripts of public inquiries.
His recent works include Quiet Faith, built from conversations with Australian Christians about religion and public life, Grace Under Pressure (co-written with Paul Dwyer), based on interviews with doctors and nurses about hospital workplace cultures, and Smurf In Wanderland, an autobiographical work about football fandom and geographic belonging.
Ava Campbell
Creator & Performer
Ava Campbell is a Naarm-based musician, film and theatre maker originally from northern Tasmania.
As a young performer, she was awarded the Rural Belle Shakespeare Scholarship and went on to train at RADA in London, and later in Athens with French performance company Sine Qua Non ART. Over subsequent years, she has worked with internationally acclaimed theatre makers and choreographers including Susie Dee, Stephanie Lake and Antony Hamilton.
As well as being a trained jazz singer and violinist (Hobart Conservatorium of Music), Ava is also one half of a film making partnership with her sister. In 2019, they released their first feature film entitled The Deep State.
Claire Bird
Creator & Performer
Claire Bird is a Naarm-based multidisciplinary artist, maker and performer with dual education at the VCA (theatre) and UNSW (theatre and performance studies; dance). Their work is based in contemporary performance, dance and collaborative practice and swims inside a Frankenstein of queer, clown, provocative deconstruction of form and the downright silly.
Claire is the co-founder of award-winning experimental theatre collective Pony Cam and works highly physically and playfully to create bold new experiences for audiences and community alike. Pony Cam’s practice challenges traditional models of hierarchical performance making, instead seeking to engage in the mess of half-baked ideas, finding harmony in head-butting and bodily modes of making. They seek a provocative edge through humour, theatrical thievery and the breaking down of form.
Dominic Weintraub
Creator, Performer & Associate Producer
Dominic Weintraub is a theatre maker, creative producer and arts facilitator based in Naarm/Melbourne. In all facets of his work, Dominic tries to cultivate the meaningful exchange of ideas between artists and non-artists. Creating spaces where diverse communities can come together to build collective identities, challenge themselves and imagine possible futures.
Alongside his work as co-founder & producer for Pony Cam, Dominic is the General Manager of the Centre of Jewish Artists and is a freelance artist working with companies including Back to Back, Punctum Inc, and Playable Streets. Dominic is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts (Bachelor of Fine Arts) and the University of Melbourne (Bachelor of Arts).
Hugo Williams
Creator, Performer & Associate Producer
Hugo Williams (he/they) works across contemporary performance and socially-engaged art as a performance artist, creative producer and facilitator.
With a background in history, sociology and languages from UOM, Hugo borrows from ancient texts, historiographies, social theories, poets, senior citizens and young people to create subversive, informal and physically provocative performances.
Graduating from the VCA as the recipient of the Orloff Family and Richard Pratt scholarship, Hugo is a co-founder and creative producer of Pony Cam. Professionally they have created new-work for curated, found and public spaces working with organisations such as Punctum Inc, Testing Grounds and artists Roslyn Oades and Nathan McGlynn.
William Strom
Creator & Performer
William Strom is a theatre maker. His practice is deeply physical, highly improvisational and usually playful, with at least a passing interest in music. His investigations are often directed towards the intersection of his own practice and the practices of others - whether they be artists or non-artists - and these collaborations are a constant source of interest and inspiration.
Through this work, William aims to forefront and connect with community. He has extensive training in both circus and dance, and a degree in Theatre, all of which he uses with great abandon.
Suzie Franke
For Alternative Facts
Producer & Lighting Designer
Suzie Franke is a seasoned professional with an extensive range of expertise in theatre production. With experience spanning over twenty years, she has excelled as a Producer, Production Manager, Lighting Designer, Event Manager and Company Stage Manager. Her dedication and skill have allowed her to successfully produce, manage and deliver national tours, making her a highly sought-after industry professional.
Currently, Suzie is a Producer for CDP Theatre Producers, an award-winning theatre production house specialising in producing and touring theatre of the highest quality. Additionally, she holds the position of Director and Executive Producer for Alternative Facts Pty Ltd, where she drives the company's mission of presenting works of social relevance, aesthetic rigour and emotional impact.
About Pony Cam
Pony Cam is a collective of five artists from around Australia. Together, we create theatrical experiences that reinforce community and challenge audiences to receive performance in new and unexpected ways.
Pony Cam was founded in 2019, after the collective graduated from the BFA (Theatre) course at the Victorian College of the Arts. While studying we travelled to Berlin, where we trained with a number of international artists. During this exchange, we were deeply inspired by Gob Squad’s collaborative practice, and their formally innovative work.
Since 2019, Pony Cam has made theatre for a number of social & cultural contexts. They have made commissions for the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne Fringe Festival, and the FUSE Festival. They have created digital artworks using live video streaming, live sound recordings, and Microsoft PowerPoint. And they have created community-engaged works, which bring together groups of non-artists in order to create innovative and communal live performances.
About Alternative Facts
Alternative Facts creates theatre works of social relevance, aesthetic rigour and emotional impact - theatre designed to change the world, one person at a time. Under the leadership of theatre maker David Williams and producer Suzie Franke, the theatre of Alternative Facts explores contemporary social life in all its complexity, messiness, beauty, and strangeness.
Current works include Sincere Apologies, Is Shakespeare in this Movie? and Public Good.
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