#bach2016

Joshua Monaghan is an actor and theatre maker who graduated from the VCA in 2015. He has trained for 13 years in singing and dancing. In 2014, Joshua was selected to perform at the 20th Performance Studies International Conference at the Shanghai Theatre Academy and was awarded the Pratt Bursary the same year. Joshua’s recent performances credits include "Smithereens" devised and performed in collaboration with Rosie Clynes, Zak Pidd, Charles Purcell and Rebekah Robertson (2015 FRISK Festival), ‘Aeotearoa Now’ directed by Murray Lynch (National Play Festival 2016), ‘Committee’ written and directed by Cameron Sievers (FRINGE Festival 2016) and ‘Neighbours’. What sparked your love of acting?

The Bold and the Beautiful. How would you describe yourself as an actor?

Full-flavoured and Epicurean. Tell us a little about BACHELORETTE.

‘Bachelorette’ is set in medieval Europe where a group of animated, gender-neutral armadillos fight to regain control of the coveted chest of Bachelorette (a mythical piece of alien technology which is said to give power to anyone who drinks from it). There's huge chorus dance numbers, pyrotechnics and I'm pretty sure Will Smith's "Get Jiggy With It" makes an appearance (still waiting on confirmation from APRA). Do you see any similarities between yourself and your character in BACHELORETTE? The fantastic thing about the casting of this play is that all of the actors have slipped, somewhat seamlessly, into their roles. So I think there are elements of our characters present in each of us. For myself, my name starts with a J and so does Jeff. What was the biggest challenge for you in taking on this role?

With a character like Jeff, I think it's incredibly easy to judge him and the decisions he makes and come away with a perception of him as being one thing. That sort of judgement is something I try very hard to abstain from though, because it oftentimes renders one-dimensional performances and also makes a character really difficult to access as an actor. Humans are multi-faceted and I think with Jeff, the flip-side to the cocksure Lothario he presents to the rest of the world is someone deeply insecure and afraid, as we begin to see in the last act of the play. So trying to explore his explore his vulnerabilities and weaknesses was a really important challenge for me, as you can quite easily write him off as a nothing more than an insensitive douche. What is the best thing about working with the rest of the BACHELORETTE cast? It certainly makes it a lot easier than the one man show that was originally planned. So it's nice from a purely logistical perspective. Unfortunately, the artistic integrity of the show has suffered as a consequence. What is your favourite line of dialogue from BACHELORETTE?

Written by BACHELORETTE Director and Twelve Angry Executive Producer: Matilda Dixon-Smith

Our journey to Leslye Headland’s Bachelorette began when I first watched the underseen (and, in my opinion, underappreciated) film adaptation, which was released back in 2012. It was just post-Bridesmaids, when the subject of women’s ability to populate the “gross-out comedy” genre (indeed, to command a comedy audience at all, or even to be considered funny) was once again a(n incredibly boring) topic of debate.

Were women funny? Was Bridesmaids as amusing and outrageous as The Hangover (and: was it allowed to be)? Could women pull off the kind of provocative humour long reserved for male comedians? These were the burning questions the entertainment world grappled with when Headland’s small independent comedy, Bachelorette, was released to VOD with very little fanfare. Nevertheless, my household watched it together, and I was transfixed.

The film became something of a joke among my friends as, within weeks of first discovering it, I had managed to watch it no less than eight times -- each round finding a new friend or family member to “introduce” it to. This was, of course, a pretext: all I wanted to do was watch it over and over again myself. When I discovered it was based on Headland’s play, which premiered in Chicago in 2008 before moving off-Broadway in 2010, a new item moved to the top of my Director’s Bucket List. I had to do this play.

What followed was four years of mishaps with rights, disbanded companies and general life roadblocks before Fiona and I grabbed onto the text as a must-do for the latter half of our 2016 season at Twelve Angry.

Looking back, I’m glad we’re doing this play in 2016 and not in 2013 as was originally planned. For a start, it’s the perfect play to polish off Twelve Angry’s inaugural season, which we began with a little trepidation (and with Fiona’s dark, clever and well-regarded [Lady] Macbeth) and has ended with us marginally more sure of ourselves and our direction. The choice to perform Headland’s Bachelorette is, I am certain, a contributing factor in our rapidly developing identity as a company.

Bachelorette is Twelve Angry’s show. It is written by a woman -- one who has fought tooth and nail to have her particular perspective aired and respected in the creative world (we at Twelve Angry love a scrappy woman). And it is centred on four very different but spectacularly “difficult” female protagonists. We were looking for a show that celebrated women onstage and off. There are desperately few plays that make women their primary focus -- fewer still that interrogate the socialisation and friendship patterns of adult women in the 21st century.

But more than being just a suitable play for a spiky young company whose focus is the voices of women onstage and off, Bachelorette remains blisteringly relevant in 2016. Perhaps even more so now, despite how some of the ideas and references stick resolutely to the post-Girl Power, post-postfeminist mid 2000s (a time when the line “That is so . . . gay!” was considered simply something inappropriate but de rigueur that a twentysomething woman would say).

As a relic of the last decade, some small elements of the show have aged poorly. But other aspects, particularly this central question of what a woman should be, how she should socialise with other women, and what are their acceptable modes of behaviour -- these things are as important as ever to deconstruct in 2016.

It seemed fitting for us to use Bachelorette, a show that unapologetically privileges the female voice (there are just two men in the cast of six, so irrelevant their names are practically interchangeable), to do some unapologetic privileging of our own. Using our newfound power as Company Power Couple, Fiona and I sought a mostly female production team and (for me, at least) a Theatre Unicorn: the all-female design team.

We got our wish: a team dominated by women and complimented by some excellent male allies in the fight to make space for the female creatives’ perspective.

It’s devastating to realise just how much female talent there is in the theatre (particularly in the more traditionally blokey realms of technical design and management) that goes underutilised or underexposed. This is an industry that, like most in the world, remains dominated by men, and those men extend their hands to other men. Men pull men up the ladder of influence, and women are frequently left behind.

So we took a leaf out of the book of other female-focused companies like The Rabble; we built our own ladder and pulled our talented female colleagues up with us. As a result we have compiled an excellent team; they are thoughtful, clever and hard-working. They do their jobs the first time they’re asked, and they don’t mind that it’s a woman who is asking. Together we run like a well-oiled machine (I have been caught exclaiming on more than one occasion that this is the smoothest production process on which I have worked).

It is the ideal team for this production of Bachelorette -- the ideal show to cap off an exciting inaugural season for Fiona and me.

Though Bachelorette has been made into a film (one starring big-name Hollywood actors like Kirsten Dunst and James Marsden), there are still a slew of people who have not experienced Headland’s essential interrogation of young womanhood (and virtually none who have met with the darker, pricklier and superior stage text). I am pleased that, however long it took, Twelve Angry is giving you the opportunity to muck in now.

pronounced JEH-nah

I’m Rebekah and I’m going to write this in the first person. I’m playing Gena in Bachelorette who is a lot more stylish than me. This is the first show I’ve performed with Twelve Angry, though I have sufficient performance experience across different forms and media. um? mediums? I don’t know.

What sparked your love of acting?

Loved telling stories, loved hearing them. Still do, they’re transformative.

How would you describe yourself as an actor?

Can’t say anything nice, won’t say anything at all.

Tell us a little about BACHELORETTE.

It is a fast paced, bleak and dark comedy about a group of people brought together at a Bachelorette party showing all the cruel ways they love each other.

Do you see any similarities between yourself and your character in BACHELORETTE?

Not really. Although, we’re both ‘fixers’.

What was the biggest challenge for you in taking on this role?

Where to start?

What is the best thing about working with the rest of the BACHELORETTE cast?

They are so talented, smart, dedicated and have different ways of working, which has been a joy. My castmates are really good, come see them.

What is your favourite line of dialogue from BACHELORETTE?

Lucie came to Melbourne in 2013 via France and South Australia where she studied Arts at the University of Adelaide and Politics at the Paris Institute of Political Sciences. She has just finished her Juris Doctor at Melbourne University. Lucie only recently discovered her passion for acting and diligently maintains a strong sense of impostor syndrome.

What sparked your love of acting?

My dream was to pursue a high earning career in corporate law but my family forced me into acting.

How would you describe yourself as an actor?

My process is in its early days yet but I like to make sure I maintain a sense of playfulness whenever possible.

Tell us a little about BACHELORETTE.

Bachelorette is a hilarious and unique look at a key time of transition in the lives of young women.

Do you see any similarities between yourself and your character in BACHELORETTE?

There are terrifying similarities between Katie and I, but also stark differences. Notably we are both susceptible to making gaffes, tripping over and getting unceremoniously plastered at inappropriate times.

What was the biggest challenge for you in taking on this role?

Trying to understand Katie’s bizarre schizophrenic preoccupation with the baby booming generation.

What is the best thing about working with the rest of the BACHELORETTE cast?

It has been really fascinating to get to know each one of them and on and off stage. I feel like I learn something new every rehearsal and very much admire the whole bunch.

What is your favourite line of dialogue from BACHELORETTE?

Conor has harboured a passion for acting for an unspecified period of time. Graduating from high school performances in shows such as Oklahoma!, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and  Seussical, he has been sighted in countless FLW Theatre shows such as: A Streetcar Named Desire (Mitch), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Padraic), and as Alex in The Inevitable Death of Cassie Summers (an original work). His involvement in the arts is not limited to acting as in 2015 he wrote, directed and performed the monologue series Landscapes for MUST’s Container Festival. He has also trained with the 16th Street Actors’ Studio and the William Esper Studio in New York.

What sparked your love of acting?

Tommy Wiseau’s The Room?

How would you describe yourself as an actor?

A work in progress.

Tell us a little about BACHELORETTE.

Women feat. shenanigans

Do you see any similarities between yourself and your character in BACHELORETTE?

Fortunately yes. Joe is a big ol’ softie and a protector; I would consider myself the same.

What was the biggest challenge for you in taking on this role?

Learning how to pack a bowl. I don’t know drugs. What they? Help.

What is the best thing about working with the rest of the BACHELORETTE cast?

The variety of personalities. Of course, everybody is an individual, but this is a group that is so distinctly individual in every way imaginable and it is an absolute honour to be working with such an exciting and surprising bunch.

What is your favourite line of dialogue from BACHELORETTE?

Sara Tabitha has just completed her Masters in Arts and Cultural Management at Melbourne University. She works in the renewable energy industry by day and pursues theatrical adventures by night. She founded Four Letter Word Theatre in 2010 and has worked on over 40 productions since moving to Melbourne in 2006. Sara Tabitha has taken on various roles in productions including actor; director; producer; writer; set, costume, lighting, sound and hair/makeup designer; stage manager; production manager and technical roles. Theatrical highlights include directing The Blue Room, A Clockwork Orange, Titus Andronicus, Phaedra's Love, Cosi, Live Acts on Stage, NINE and writing and directing Harkins, Rust and Stardust and Sparkle Tits and Glitter Nips.

What sparked your love of acting?

Meryl. Always Meryl. And Cate. <3

How would you describe yourself as an actor?

Full method. I actually put on 40kg for this role and am usually a waif-like fairy-girl.

Tell us a little about BACHELORETTE.

I still don't know if this is a comedy. Or black comedy. Or tragedy. It's fucking awful and brilliant at the same time. I hate and love all of these characters.

Do you see any similarities between yourself and your character in BACHELORETTE?

Hmm let's think: a fat girl ('but she has a pretty face!') over the moon excited to be marrying her rich handsome fiance. She's basically me – except for the rich handsome fiance. Anyone interested my number is 0409 959 7..

What was the biggest challenge for you in taking on this role?

Trying to figure out which Mean Girls character each of us are. I feel like I have the definitive answer though: Regina – Regan (Queen Bee), Karen – Katie (idiot – but she has ESPN), Gretchen – Gena (she is actually such a good friend) and Cady – Becky (really pretty – obviously – but has really bad breath in the morning.)

What is the best thing about working with the rest of the BACHELORETTE cast? These bitches are crazy – I love them. I think when you're in a show and every character is so flawed and awful, you really need to cast good people in those roles and the everyone has been so great to work with :)

What is your favourite line of dialogue from BACHELORETTE?

Holly is an actor and writer originally from Adelaide.  She trained in acting at the Flinders University Drama Centre.  After graduating, she underwent further training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the MOVEO School of Physical Theatre in Barcelona.  Holly has twice received the State Theatre Company of South Australia’s Young Playwrights Award (2015 Cat and 2013 Blue). During 2015, Holly was mentored by Ross Muller through the Australian Theatre for Young People Fresh Ink National Mentoring Program and wrote the play You Love It, programmed in the 2016 VCA Directors Season in the Zone Four event directed by Peter Blackburn.

What sparked your love of acting?

My parents took me to the theatre a lot as a child, often with blatant disregard to whether the production we were seeing was age appropriate – seeing Cabaret at age nine, the historical context went way over my head.  However, I was always charmed by the experience of watching a story unfold in front of me and wanted to be a part of that.  Also, low key narcissism.

How would you describe yourself as an actor?

I probably wouldn't.

Tell us a little about BACHELORETTE...

It's really funny and often offensive.  It features young women in lead roles who get to have conversations on stage with OTHER women not just men!  They get to behave badly and be gross and vulnerable which is a rare gift as a performer and delightful for an audience.

Do you see any similarities between yourself and your character in BACHELORETTE?

Too many.  It's quite distressing.  I identify with all the characters in the play in different ways.  Let's not discuss it.  

What was the biggest challenge for you in taking on this role?

I usually play characters who are younger than me, whereas Regan is a couple of years older than me which I find challenging.  Also, as much as I love her, Regan and I make very different style choices so it's a challenge to convince myself to enjoy wearing something other than jeans.

What is the best thing about working with the rest of the BACHELORETTE cast?

They are all utter babes.

What is your favourite line of dialogue from BACHELORETTE?