March 2011

Crash Test Drama kicked off with its first show for 2011 on Monday 14th March. We staged nine brand new plays from Sydney writers, with the help of 30 actors and a handful of directors.

Kicking off the night was Tuesday Night Newtown, a cute little satire on the Short+Sweet scene written and directed by David Attrill and starring Matt Thomson (otherwise known as That Guy). Matt won Best Actor for his efforts and there were many knowing laughs from the audience; David's play certainly struck a few chords with the Short+Sweet crowd!

Graham Yates' The Department was next, starring Richard Adams as Peebles, Damian Hannan as Rammstein and Todd Harper as Slithering. This clever satire on bureaucracies was well executed but was unfortunately penalised for busting the time limit.

Third was Dr Eruliaf, written and directed by Crash Test newcomer Andrew Kingsford-Smith. The play came third in the Popular Vote and won Andrew a box of toffifees, as well as the Playwright's Encouragement Award. Garreth Cruikshank, Jack Martin and the convincing corpse of Ricky Klein were our very competent cast.

Next came A Childlike Encounter, written by Pat Brennan and directed by Jacque Vickers. Debbie Tilley played the woman in the park meeting a little girl, Holly Butler, who both put in strong performances (despite Holly being older than 8!).

My World Is Empty Without You in action

Last up in the first act was Uma Kali Shakti and Beth Eldridge's My World Is Empty Without You. Directed by Uma herself, this play featured a cast of eight, with Sarah Connor and Amanda Porter as Hell's overlords, Ngahiiti Faulkner and James Hartley as Diesel and Ernest, and Amelia Tranter, Maite Carvell, Sasha Delaney and Mikaela Franco as the lie-down comediennes the Sloth Sisters. There were four more plays after the interval, starting with Crash Test MC Alex Broun's text messages hurt more when you're sitting at the airport. This play cleaned up on the night, winning a raft of awards including Best Director for Kingsley, Best Actor Runner-Up for Michael Howlett, Best Actress for Sandra Campbell, Judge's Choice Winner and Popular Vote Winner. We'll be all happy to see it again at the Crash Test Finals in July(ish).50 came next, written by Peter Shelley and directed by Dave Farland. This neat drama about a woman turning 50 was well acted, with a nice twist at the end. Richard Mason, Cheryl Pomering and Rhonda Rourke were our actors for this one. Second last for the night was Vee Malnar's Venus In The Shower, directed by Crash Test regular Craig Delahoy. Samantha Roylance won Best Actress Runner-Up for her portrayal of the Female Friend, with Tony Bradley as the archeologist and Clare Martin as the German student in need of a shower curtain. As the Popular Vote and Judge's Choice were the same, Vee's play has won a spot in the Crash Test Finals as the Judge's Second Choice.

Finally, we had Stars And Science, written by our show's Coordinator, Pete Malicki. Con Nats stepped in at the last minute to direct this piece about a sceptical bloke and his spiritual girlfriend, played by Barton Williams and Lucy Apoyan respectively.

A warm thank you to all the actors, writers and directors who gave up their time to put on a great first show for the year. The standard across the board has been improving steadily over the years and it's great to see so many new and familar faces. Let me give a special mention to our wonderful MC Alex Broun and our Assistant Coordinator Georgie Edwards (who is aleady making my life so much easier!).

And an extra-special thank you to Newtown Theatre for supporting Crash Test and donating their space for us. Please support their activities as they support ours: www.newtowntheatre.com.au

The Results

Short+Sweet's General Manager, Fiona Beattie, kindly offered her expertise as our judge for the night.

Popular Vote First Place: text messages hurt more when you're sitting at the airport

Wins a place in Crash Test Drama 2011 Season One Finals

Written by Alex Broun

Directed by Kingsley

Popular Vote Runner Up: Venus in the Shower

Written by Vee Malnar

Directed by Craig Delahoy

Judge's Choice: text messages hurt more when you're sitting at the airport

Written by Alex Broun

Directed by Kingsley

Judge's Second Choice: Venus in the Shower

Wins a place in Crash Test Drama 2011 Season One Finals

Written by Vee Malnar

Directed by Craig Delahoy The winning play: text messages hurt more when you're sitting at the airport

Best Actor: Matt Thomson (from Tuesday Night Newtown)Best Actor Runner-Up: Michael Howlett (from text messages hurt more when you're sitting at the airport)Best Actress: Sandra Campbell (from text messages hurt more when you're sitting at the airport)Best Actress Runner-Up: Samantha Roylance (from Venus in the Shower)Best Director: Kingsley (from text messages hurt more when you're sitting at the airport)Playwright's Encouragement Award: Dr Eruliaf by Andrew Kingsford-Smith Thanks to everyone who came along and I hope to see you back again on the 11th April 2011. Best regards, Pete Malicki Coordinator - Crash Test Dramawww.petemalicki.com