June 2010

Full report

The drama started early this month, with 50+ participants stuck outside due to a minor door error (it was locked). We made it inside eventually and things went smoothly, especially considering the quantity of slippery cardboard strewn across the set.

First up was 200 Classic Hits, written and directed by Pete Greenaway, a play which amazingly included 200 song titles. The puns were flying left, right and centre and Pete missed out on the audience runner-up award by just one vote. Some excellent comic timing from Michael McC, Aaron N and Robert Z.

Next was Here Comes The Bride, written by Andrew Shepard and directed by Adrian Bitel. In this drama, Matt T played the a man pining the loss of his best friend to the married life. The changes we go through in life and love were explored through Andrew’s often-poignant script with solid performances by Matt and Barton W.

Honey came next, written and directed by Dona Parise and saucily (stickily?) performed by Alastair B, Katie A, Doody J and Alana W. A young couple’s erotic evening is rudely interrupted by a distressed friend trying to hide from his psychotic girlfriend. Dona was awarded the audience favourite for this play and is coming back for the finals!

Then was Eviction, written by Deborah Mulhall and directed by Garth Campbell. Adam and Eve – played by Steven M and Susan Y – question God’s harsh and unforgiving punishment of them in the Garden of Eden. For an interesting twist on a classic story, Deborah was awarded our Playwrights Encouragement Award.

After the interval came Alex Broun’s 50 Guns, a powerful monologue exploring guns and the international tragedies that have arisen from their use. Sylvia K was awarded best actress for her compelling performance. The play was penalised for being more than 2 mintues overtime and was inelligible for the judges' award.

Sixth for the night was Mortgage, Aaron Nilan’s hilarious play about a young couple visiting their local mortgage broker / dog de-sexer. Best actor winner Rory P and Michela C were duped into a very high-interest mortgage by a scarily-convincing Graham Y, with a cameo from Colleen H and excellent direction from Craig Delahoy. Aaron’s play could have been in equal-second place according to the audience had it not been penalised a massive 25 votes for being over 15 minutes long!

Longing by Fiona Clarke was next, directed by Liam Burgess and starring Nir S and Ro D as the lawyers, Lisa K as the judge, and Felicity B and Crash Test coordinator Lincoln H as the clients. Fiona’s clever play set in a futuristic court also ran over the time limit and was penalised by 10 votes.

Finally, Frank Davidson’s Three In A Departure Lounge cleaned up the night, with awards for best play, best director, and runner-up best actress. Mauritzio D and Kim P played the couple stuck at an airport in Asia, with Kristy-Lea P as the opportunistic drug dealer. Protegee director Melissa Lee did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life, with support from supervising director Uma Kali Shakti, and we'll see them all back in the finals on August 2nd!

The Results

Judges Christine Greenough, Jackie Greenland and Gerry Greenland pooled their expertise and mental resources to select the winning actors, play, and for the first time ever, director.

Judges' Choice: Three in a Departure Lounge

Wins a place in the Crash Test finals on 2nd August 2010

Written by Frank Davidson

Popular Vote First Place: Honey

Wins a place in the Crash Test finals on 2nd August 2010

Written by Dona Parise

Popular Vote Runner Up: Three in a Departure Lounge

Written by Frank Davidson

Best Actor: Rory Pie

Best Actor Runner-Up: Alastair Buchanan

Best Actress: Sylvia Keays

Best Actress Runner-Up: Kim Parrish

Best Director: Melissa Lee

Playwright's Encouragement Award: ‘Eviction’ by Deborah Mulhall

Last show before the finals: July 5th!

Hope to see you there.

Best regards,

Pete Malicki and Lincoln Hall

Crash Test Drama coordinators