Hell Hath no Fury: Elektra, Medea and Phaedra features in the AIM Dramatic Arts performance season.
The forthcoming 2014 performance season from AIM’s Dramatic Arts department will feature a stunning mix of classical, contemporary and new works, brought to life by the Bachelor of Performance students under the guidance of some of Australia’s most talented theatre artists.
Each year the Dramatic Arts department invites a group of professional working directors, designers and technical managers to join the Sydney-based school to mentor the students as they stage full-length theatrical works for the public.
The first production Hell Hath No Fury: Elektra, Medea & Phaedra will open the performance season on 3 May at Australian Hall in Elizabeth Street, Sydney.
Directed by Shane Anthony, Kate Gaul and Stefanos Rassios and featuring Stage 4 (second year) students, the production is a contemporary re-telling of three classic Greek tales about seduction, murder and revenge.
Collaborating on Hell Hath No Fury will be Set and Costume Designer Megan Venhoek, Lighting Designer Martin Kinnane and Sound Designer Nate Edmondson.
Head of AIM Dramatic Arts Peta Downes says the production promises to be exciting and engaging for audiences. ‘Elektra, Medea and Phaedra are all women who have been wronged in some way by members of their family and who seek revenge against these acts.’
‘Greek tragedies like these offer students the opportunity to explore dramatic structure and different performance styles in the telling of them. The directors working with the graduating students on these three short works have very distinctive, physical styles, so I think audiences will enjoy the visual feast that has been prepared for them,’ she said.
Opening at the Pilgrim Theatre on 23 August will be Her Naked Skin, a play written in 2008 by award-winning British Playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz.
Directed by Downes, and designed, produced and performed by Stage 5 (second year) Bachelor of Performance students, Her Naked Skin is a character-based drama set in 1913 that explores the changing role of women in society, set against the beginnings of women’s rights in early 20th century Britain.
Every year, the Bachelor of Performance graduating student company presents a season of new short works which showcases their acting, creating and producing skills. This year the Emerge New Short Works Festival will premiere at Australian Hall on 29 November, and feature four new works that have been developed, written, created, designed, produced and will be performed by the Bachelor of Performance Graduating Company.
The first public performance by the continuing Bachelor of Performance students will finish the year and the 2014 season. Opening at the Pilgrim Theatre on 10 December will be Urban Myths, which features the plays The Jungle by Louis Nowra and Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? by Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves, Christos Tsiolkas and Irine Vela.
This Australian retrospective features some of Australia’s best writers in a side-by-side exploration of urban life and survival from the slick streets of Sydney to the outer reaches of suburbia.
The performance season is an annual highlight of the Bachelor of Performance program, a two year, full-time intensive program that provides students with a unique opportunity to train professionally as actors, theatre-makers and producers.
Students learn the craft of acting while gaining fundamental theatre making skills in the areas of directing, design and technical production essential for a sustainable and professional career in the Australian performing arts.
Applicants are now invited to submit for the 19 May intake of the Bachelor of Performance Program.
Hell Hath No Fury: Elektra, Medea & Phaedra
Directed by Shane Anthony, Kate Gaul and Stefanos Rassios
Where: Australian Hall, 150 Elizabeth Street, Sydney
When: Saturday 3 to Saturday 10 May, Matinee & Evenings
Her Naked Skin by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Directed by Peta Downes
Where: Pilgrim Theatre, 262 Pitt Street, Sydney
When: Sat 23 – Sat 30 August, Matinees & Evenings
Emerge New Short Works Festival
Where: Australian Hall, 150 Elizabeth Street
When: Sat 29 November – Sat 5 December, Matinees & Evenings
Urban Myths: The Jungle by Louis Nowra and Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? by Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves, Christos Tsiolkas & Irine Vela
Where: Pilgrim Theatre, 262 Pitt Street, Sydney
When: Wed 10 – Sun 14 December, Matinees and Evenings
Tickets for the AIM Dramatic Arts 2014 Season are free for teachers and students and $15 for general admission.
Applications are now invited for the 19 May intake of the Bachelor of Performance Program.
Visit the AIM Dramatic Arts website for more information.
