Where's Alice?

Backbone Youth Arts Ensemble present their new production of Where's Alice? a collaborative work that combines both theatre and technology to create an alternate reality.

The Backbone Ensemble is a collective of creatives from the ages of 21-26 with the aim to create cutting edge work in theatre. For three months between May-July 2012 they have been working non-stop to create this experience for a small select audience group.

With assitance from the Queensland Government's The Edge and The State Library of Queensland, they have been able to bring this site specific work to the banks of Southbank.

Where’s Alice? She’s not answering her phone and her mum is worried. Come join a world of live performance and augmented reality. You may even find her!Question time and place as you walk around a world of alternate reality. This site specific work asks for you to pick up your smart phone and headphones and using geo-locative technology embark on a bespoke exploration of human relationships with time and location.
Where: The Edge, State Library of QueenslandWhen: 5th – 8th July 2012Performance Times: 4pm & 6pm

For more information please visit the Backbone Youth Arts website, or the Where's Alice? event page.

Next to Normal Auditions

Oscar Theatre Company are holding an open, online auditions for their next production, Next to Normal. Nominated for 11 awards at the 2009 Tony Awards, including best musical, Oscar Theatre Company brings this musical Queensland for the very first time and you can be apart of it.

There is no requirements to audition, just a camera and access to the internet. Those interested are asked to record themselves singing a song of their choice, upload it to YouTube and email the link to the company.

So if you're interested, or know someone who you think should be on stage let them know because this is a show that's not to be missed.

Email audition video or link to video to: admin@oscartheatre.com

They're Beginning the Beginning (Reprise).

*Lecture 12 (The Last) 

"How you control your brand starts now."

To be honest, I have never understood why we blogged til now. I really didn't believe Bruce when he said that we are the journalist now, and we do this by blogging. I didn't get it, believe it, understand it, or even care for it. It was just an assignment, that I just added bits to in order to get a better mark, but then came along Steve Molks.

This lecture sees the end of lectures in the JOUR1111 subject for 2012, and we were treated to a guest lecturer of one Steve Molks. Chem student, turned IT man, then all of a sudden, journalist and all through blogging. He created his own website where he blogs and reports on television, his passion. Everything he talked about made everything that this Intro to Journalism was talking about. If we wanna go somewhere we have to blog, he talked about the importance for us to constantly write about what we want to do.

He hammered home the idea that by constantly blogging, not only are we honing our writing skills, but also, we are providing potential employers evidence of your writing. Essentially our blog is a portfolio. Steve spoke about the fact that even though it's still young, blogging really does take you places. It's so easily accessible that it makes it the best method to kick start yourself into the journalistic world.

Mammamia was Steve's example of how one person turned blogging into an empire. From just blogging about being a mother, and talking about issues that she's interested in, it attracted readers of the many all and now it is her career. Blogging can take us somewhere, and this is what we have to do.

I'm sorry Bruce if you're reading this and thinking "THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU THE WHOLE SEMESTER", I guess it was Steve who all brought it into perspective. I know now that I must keep blogging, and blogging about the material that I am interested in and that I hope to write about as a job.

That's what I've tried to do, with the previous two blogs I've posted and I will continue to do so, well into the next semester and the rest of my time at UQ.

Comedy.com.au

This is exactly what I want my blog to end up like. Blogging and reporting on comedy. My passion is stand up and theatre, and to run a blog like Comedy.com.au would be a dream of mine. Thank you Bruce, thank you Steve, I know the direction I need to head and how to get there. Jour1111 has taught me a lot, but out of all my subjects of my first semester at University, it has given me the most vital piece of information, I know how to get where I want, which I think is more important than anything else. My skill at writing will come over time, but knowing how means I can start right away.

This is the start of a new beginning. Thank you Bruce.

Tony Awards 2012

I'm a theatre nut. I read, watch, do and write theatre. It is a passion of mine and every person in theatre knows that one of the most prestigious live theatre awards one can get is The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, or as it is more commonly known as, The Tony Awards. 


I was watching the news and they reported on the 66th Annual Tony Awards, and they titled it "the Oscars of musical theatre," which annoyed me. These awards are not just for musical theatre, they are for all live theatre, just thought I'd clear that up for everyone.


I was so impressed with the winners of each awards, and the performances, with each performance showcasing a very diverse and talented range of actors and actresses from all unique and extremely different productions. If you haven't watched any, I highly recommend you do that now.

It was a landslide victory for the musical 'Once', collecting a total of 8 awards out of its 12 nominations, including Best Musical. 

'Gold' - Performance from the cast of Once

This night is the highlight of the year for many artists and theatre goers, and the ceremony did not dissapoint, with an opening sequence by last year's Best Musical winner The Book of Mormon, introducing the emcee for the night Neil Patrick Harris, which had the audience in stitches. Another successful night for theatre, now we wait for next year.


The winners of each award are as follows - The Tony Award for most outstanding:

Musical: “Once. 

”Play: “Clybourne Park." 

Revival of a Play: “Death of a Salesman.” 

Revival of a Musical: “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.” 

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: James Corden, “One Man, Two Guvnors.” 

Performance by an Actress in Leading Role in a Play: Nina Arianda, “Venus in Fur.” 

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Steve Kazee, “Once.” 

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Audra McDonald, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.” 

Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Christian Borle, “Peter and the Starcatcher.” 

Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Judith Light, “Other Desert Cities.” 

Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Michael McGrath, “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” 

Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Judy Kaye, “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” 

Book of a Musical: Enda Walsh, “Once” 

Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: “Newsies.”Direction of Play: Mike Nichols, “Death of a Salesman.” 

Direction of a Musical: John Tiffany, “Once.” 

Choreography: Christopher Gattelli, “Newsies.” 

Orchestration: Martin Lowe, “Once.” 

Sound Design of a Play: Darron L. West, “Peter and the Starcatcher.” 

Sound Design of a Musical: Clive Goodwin, “Once.” 

Costume Design of a Play: Paloma Young, “Peter and the Starcatcher.” 

Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes, “Follies.” 

Scenic Design Play: Donyale Werle, “Peter and the Starcatcher” 

Scenic Design of a Musical: Bob Crowley, “Once.” 

Lighting Design of a Play: Jeff Croiter, “Peter and the Starcatcher.” 

Lighting Design of a Musical: Natasha Katz, “Once”

Wherefore art thou theatre?

I reviewed shows, and did a video report on this, I tried to convert the video report into a text piece. In JOUR1111 lectures, Bruce would talk about how journalists were required to produce the same story in different formats, so I gave it a go.

Remove the stage, take down the lights, turn off the microphone. Theatre is moving out of the traditional theatre space and transforming the most innocuous places into 5-star theatre experiences.
The Anywhere Theatre Festival enters its second year, priding itself on encouraging and promoting theatre that extends past the walls of a traditional theatre and operates in non-conventional spaces. From parks, to bedrooms and even mobile phones, this festival is a theatre experience like no other.
Paul Adams, artistic director of Small Crown Productions sums up the intentions of the festival, "it's showing that theatre can happen every day in every place and if you look for it you'll find it ... [this concept can] break audience's minds out of that habitual thought of what theatre is."
From the 10-19 of May, Brisbane is taken over by theatre of all kinds, found in every nook and cranny Brisbane has to offer. "[Audiences] see parts of Brisbane that they normally wouldn't, and experience them in a way they wouldn't either," says Sandra Carluccio the creative director behind This is Kansas City (a site specific work in the festival).
The use of these unconventional spaces relinquishes the limitations of the stage, but also provides a more financially viable performance for emerging actors and directors. The Oxford Girl Theatre Project Ensemble is a group of drama, film and music students, collaborating together to produce The Oxford Girl. "We're only students," laughs Hannah Farrelly, member of The Oxford Girl Theatre Project Ensemble, "there's only so much we can afford."
Young and undiscovered talent have the opportunity to showcase their creative work to audiences and members of the industry, all of which would not be possible without the Anywhere Theatre Festival. Mr Adams is one such playwright who has found the festival a platform to launch from, providing his project with connections, support, marketing that would not be possible elsewhere.
This festival is only in it's early stages and continues to grow, with the number of performances and theatre companies involved rapidly increase each year. Directors and playwrights are looking beyond the four walls of a traditional theatre as audiences witness what is the forefront of future theatre.

"Why build a set when you've got all this to work with?"

Theatre, Anywhere

This is my JOUR1112 assignment. A video report on the Anywhere Theatre Festival. It's so painfully amateur.

What do you guys think?

Let's have a look shall we?

*Lecture 11

I don't want to be an investigative journalist. THERE I SAID IT!

I'm sure I will, at some point do some investigative journalism, but it's not what I want to do. 

I went into this lecture not expecting much, but I did come out with a lot of information and general thoughts about journalism on a whole. This lecture dealt with the concepts that one comes across in journalistic investigation, and the types of stories that one comes across in the field.

The Purpose of Investigative Journalism

    1. Critical and thorough journalism

            - active participant.

    2. Custodians of consciences

            - exposure

            - public scrutiny

    3. Voice to the Voiceless
            -Social Justice

            - public interest

    4. Fourth estate/ fourth branch of Government/ "watchdog"

            -  interests of those without power to balance the power of the Government

            - free flow of information necessary for the functioning of democracy - interrogate the                                      .              judiciary, executive and legislature

            - journalists make accountable public personalities & organisations

' Skeptical not Cynical. Assume Nothing. '

 Whilst I don't really want to become an investigative journalist, I think such journalism is brilliant. I love reading such reports and articles and this type of journalism can actually change the world. There are so many fantastic investigative reports, like the Watergate scandal. Two reporters were able to uncover president Richard Nixon's involvement in stealing files from the opposition, of which he originally denied. It was because of two reporters investigation that they were able to uncover information that lead to the eventual resignation of Nixon. *cue dramatic music*


Investigative Journalism is a fantastic thing, and can do a lot. But then there's other "investigative journalism" that is aired on current affairs. 

A Current Affair - Scientology Ship of Shame (2012/01/17)

Bank Bashing on A Current Affair

A Current Affair is not journalism. They do the worst reports. I hate it. That is all.

Set me up.

*Lecture 10

The media has so much power that most people don't even notice. I didn't realise that agenda settings even existed, looking back now it becomes obvious that the media does have this power, but I don't think most of the public know of it. Agenda Setting was what this lecture was all about, and the idea that the media has the power to promote to the public what topics of the news is 'important'. Essentially what Agenda Setting is, is how much time an item of news has on the television/in the media, then the more perceived importance it has in the world.

'The media filters and shapes reality'

This scares me a little bit. The media portrays their view, their world, and their perception of what is important in the news and what they deem the public should be concerned about. Their opinion and view point are by effect, being transferred to the public.

Two levels of Agenda Settings was discussed in the lecture,

• Level One:
• What the public should focus on
• Level Two:
• How the people should think about an issue

And there are many methods in which the media does this, through covering stories (Agenda Cutting), filtering certain stories (Media Gate Keeping), trends in the media (Agenda Surfing) and other methods, the media is able to create a perceived notion of what is important in the news.

As Bruce says that this theory of agenda settings is fairly obvious, but only is when thought about. When looking back in the media, whenever a big event happens, the media apply the techniques and tell the public what is important. 

A big event or disaster can be an example of this. 9/11, Bali Bombings, the Queensland Floods, such events doominate the news at the time, with a clear importance being placed in the media. However, at the moment the ongoing agenda setting seen in the media is the Marriage Equality debate and same-sex couples in general. The front page of today's paper is a story on homophobia, top story on Brisbanetimes.com.au is the possibility that the LNP may overturn the same-sex civil unions in Queensland, one of the main stories on The Age's website is death threats to a 'pro-gay' politician. There is a clear setting of agenda in the media at the moment, and with such an issue there is cause for opinion to become evident in the stories. With such importance, and prominence marriage equality has in the media, the bias in the stories can influence, I try to recognize this bias when reading articles, to avoid being influenced by author opinion, but thing is, that's what agenda setting does, it influences, that's what the media does.