Crash Test Drama 2017 Finals - 7 November
With just one season of Crash Test this year, we held five rounds and put a total of 10 plays into our Finals. This made for a wonderful night of theatre.
Kicking off the evening was “‘Manor’ Of Speaking”, written by Pheona Mulligan and directed by Brinley Meyer. This fun comedy takes a dramatic twist when character Scott enters, revealing the play’s deeper meaning. Bretton Reis, Evelyn Schubert and Graham Yates starred.
Second was Gerry Greenland’s “I Want A Divorce”, directed by Craig Delahoy. A very fun play with Gerry’s usual tight and clever writing, it featured Davo Hardy, Esther Adelhardt and Best Actor Runner Up Edric Hong. Gerry was awarded the Playwright’s Encouragement Award in acknowledgement of his excellence in the craft.
Third was long-term Crash Test veteran Uma Kali Shakti’s monologue “Movies With Nani”. Elisa Cristallo directed Clare Langsford as Nani. Congrats to the team for bringing us a well-rounded piece in under six minutes.
Fourth up was “The Eye Clinic” by Darren Rich. Glenn Levett was awarded Best Director for his work on this one, with Simon Walker and Mark Fowler as the clinic patients and Trisha Hennessy as the receptionist.
Closing act one was “Close To Home”, written by Jess Davis and directed by Molly Haddon. Some nice juxtaposition sat in this play about the effects of war and terrorism in far-flung countries and our own homeland. Mei Bookluck and Ted Crosby performed in this play, with writer Jess offering us a couple of great screams.
The first play in act two was Lee O’Dowd Austen’s “The Completely Fictitious History Of The Naming Of The Walnutmeg”, which Jess Davis directed. Best Actor winner Isaac Owen starred alongside Graham Yates and Beau Ferret.
The seventh play was “The Spanish Room”, written by Craig Delahoy and directed by Larry Kelly. This play smashed the audience vote, with a stunning 58% of all audience members voting for it. Rizcel Gagawanan won Best Actress for her performance, with Liz Hovey, Mark Fowler and Duncan Armitage starring alongside her. “The Spanish Room” has won a spot in the Top 80 of Short+Sweet Sydney 2018 as both the Popular Vote and Judge’s Choice Winner.
Eighth was Pete Greenaway’s “Waiting For Convo”, with original direction from Lisa Kelaher who wasn’t able to join us for the Finals. This play starred Isaac Owen, Jess Davis (who was an actor, writer and director in the Finals!), Michael Cornell and Clare Hattersley.
Nearing the end was Sonal Moore’s “Chocolate Towers”. This moving play about the surviving family of a texting-while-driving victim starred Best Actress Runner Up Margaret Olive, Capri Walsh and Terry Spencer. Margaret Fitzgerald directed.
Finally, we had “Equality” by Terry Bourke. Uma Kali Shakti directed a cast of Dean Nash, Donalda Brown and that Best Actor guy Isaac Owen. As the Judge’s Best Play Runner Up, this play has also earned a spot in Short+Sweet Sydney 2018.
The results
Our judge for this evening was new Short+Sweet Coordinator Anna Cominos. Her picks, alongside the audience faves, were:
Best Actor Runner Up: Edric Hong
Best Actor: Isaac Owen
Best Actress Runner Up: Margaret Olive
Best Actress: Rizcel Gagawanan
Best Director: Glenn Levett
Best Play: The Spanish Room
Best Play Runner Up: Equality
Popular Vote Winner: The Spanish Room
Popular Vote Runner Up: Equality
Congrats to “Equality” and “The Spanish Room” which won spots in the Top 80 of Short+Sweet Theatre Sydney 2018.
And thank you for a great season, to all of our actors, writers, directors and audience members who make the event possible.