Ensemble Theatre

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OPENING NIGHT OF BUYER AND CELLAR

Wednesday 11th October

Finally the big day. Susanna was nervous and so was I. Directing is far more nerve-wracking than acting because once the theatre doors open for the audience, there is nothing more the director can do…  

But the buzz in the foyer after opening night was incredible! The show was extremely well received. Ben was utterly engaging, charming, thrilling, entertaining and the audience was swept along by the story on stage. The design elements were dazzling. The audience was delighted. (just read the reviews!). It was electric and magical and moving and hilarious. A success.

One of the wonderful design components that Susanna, Charlie and Alex came up with for a moment after Ben takes his bow, is a dazzling rainbow effect across the curtains over the stage, and the word “Yes!” across the rainbow. This was a considered and deliberate statement on the marriage equality plebiscite and an encouragement for patrons to vote “yes”. It was extremely moving on opening night with the audience clearly on the right side of history in the struggle for marriage equality. A very special moment.

Barbra Streisand’s son Jason Gould, came out as gay to his parents in 1988 (aged 21). A decade later Barbra said in an interview:

“I would never wish for my son to be anything but what he is. He is bright, kind, sensitive, caring, and a very conscientious and good person. He is a very gifted actor and filmmaker. What more could a parent ask for in their child? I have been truly blessed. Most parents feel that their child is particularly special, and I am no different. I have a wonderful son. My only wish for my son, Jason, is that he continues to experience a rich life of love, happiness, joy, and fulfillment, both creatively and personally. Nobody on this earth has the right to tell anyone that their love for another human being is morally wrong. I will never forget how it made me shudder to hear Pat Buchanan say that he stood "with George (H.W) Bush against the immoral idea that gay and lesbian couples should have the same standing in law as married men and women." Who is Pat Buchanan to pronounce anyone's love invalid? How can he deny the profound love felt by one human being for another?”

Barbra’s statement is very much in sync with Ensemble Theatre’s line on marriage equality:

"I am proud of the fact we as a theatre company jumped in to help make a Yes vote count. I cannot imagine not being able to marry the person I love. This is nothing to do with religion. This is about love and commitment. I can't think of anything better between two adults. What's gender got to do with anything. Voting YES is the only humane thing to do." - Mark Kilmurry, Artistic Director

I am proud to have been a part of the making of this show and to be working for this wonderful company. Yes. 

BUYER AND CELLAR is playing at Ensemble Theatre for 2 more weeks only and you can book your tickets here: https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/buyer-and-cellar/

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Friday 22nd September

More thorough text work today and the physicality of Ben’s characterisations is really emerging. I’ve found myself mesmerised by his work and only realised afterwards that it has only been him alone on stage, embodying whole conversations with many different characters. This is Ben’s second one-man show this year – the other being I AM MY OWN WIFE directed by my fellow Sandra Bates Director’s Award winner this year, Shaun Rennie. So Ben is what we say in the industry: show-fit.  

Today, the company put on a lunch for everyone in the building. We sat out in the glorious sunshine, with shimmering water and bobbing boats as a backdrop. It was a chance to meet (and attempt to remember names) of all the fabulous people behind the scenes here at Ensemble Theatre. I noticed even the head chef of Bayly’s Bistro was sitting down for a BBQ feast. We mingled with the team of THE KITCHEN SINK, which is rehearsing in the other room. We’ve been hearing the crooning voice of Dolly Parton echoing through the walls on occasion, and have no doubt been reciprocating by sharing Barbra’s divine warbles back through the walls to them. The resident theatre pooches, Harrison and Phoebe, politely waited in the wings, looking optimistic for scraps. I hope they were rewarded for their good manners.

Appetites sated and dosed up on vitamin D, we moved back into the Nest (the affectionate name for the small rehearsal room) for the afternoon. Ben powered on with impressive work ethic and energy. And I have a new task! I’m to compile an index of the extensive references in the play as something informative and interesting to include in the show’s program, along with pictures. As with the images, I feel compelled to first focus on the most fascinating subject matter –the vast anthology of Bab’s beaus!

- Francesca Savige

BUYER AND CELLAR is opening tomorrow night, don’t miss this hilarious one-man show - https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/buyer-and-cellar/

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Thursday 21st September

Assistant stage manager, Slade Blanch, has brought a rehearsal chaise longue into the room, along with an elegant side-table, on which sits Barbra Streisand’s MY PASSION FOR DESIGN (the inspiration for Jonathan Tolins’ BUYER AND CELLAR). Having set elements like furniture in the room, adds another level to Ben’s work in rehearsal today. It’s as though he has a real playground now. He’s finding more and more moments to use these elements as well as the space around them. He joyfully bounces on the chaise, elegantly peruses the book, dances around the room and bumps into the side table! There’s a reason we use the term “bump-in” in theatre. In the meantime, I’m still finding more references in the play that I had missed.

In the afternoon, the real chaise arrived! The designer, Charlie, is letting us play with it for a few days before it gets taken away to be reupholstered and painted. It’s already gorgeous, but it’s going to be even more gorgeous. (I’m hearing the word ‘gorgeous’ in Barbra’s voice now). Charlie also gave us a little celebrity gossip relating to our side table… Someone else had bought two of the very same side-tables on the very same day – for Elton John’s dressing room on tour! Well, he must have good taste then.

- Francesca Savige

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WEEK 2

Wednesday 20th September

I finally completed my task of collecting references. We put them up on the walls just in time for the rehearsal room photography. The photographer takes snaps of us all standing around looking at the images, discussing them. She snaps Ben in action with the colourful world of the play as wallpaper behind him. The world feels full and rich now. And I’ve learnt a great deal about American pop culture this week. But wait, there’s more! I had missed some references. I have never encountered a play with so many references. Stage Manager, Bec Poulter, (who has been sitting beside me while I googled away) is in agreement. It’s a huge amount of cultural references that Ben must know and embrace imaginatively. These images will help Ben’s imaginative internal life on this journey. Having a pictorial reference is extremely useful when an actor is mentioning a real life place/person/object. If the actor knows and understands the reference, the better they can harness their character’s attitude to it, thereby communicating richly to an audience even if the audience is unfamiliar with a particular reference. I like to think that the actor’s imagination and the audience’s imagination dance a beautiful tango.

Whilst I was swallowed up in google land, Bec has been following the text hawk-like, to make sure Ben is word-perfect. Susanna continues her rigorous dissection of the play, and Ben, with remarkable stamina and focus, takes it all on and continues to delight and entertain us in each moment.

At lunchtime, a production meeting. As an actor, I was always curious about what went on in these secret meetings, and now I am in on them! There was no secret spy password, disappointingly, but it was very insightful. Production manager Simon Greer deftly moved us through the agenda. Sound designer Marty Jamieson and lighting designer Alex Berlage discussed technical things that went right over my head (mental note- learn more about technical things). Designer Charlie Davis had brought samples of the curtain material and the flooring so Alex grabbed a big light from the storage shelf and pointed it at the samples so we could see how the textures and colours will really appear under stage lighting. I am fascinated by this side of the industry and am thrilled the Sandra Bates Director’s Award gives me the opportunity to learn more about it all. I’m in the inner circle at MI6!

- Francesca Savige

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Monday 18th September

The detailing of text continues. Life imitates art. Ben speaks the lines of his character, Alex:

And then Barbra and I worked through the show line by line. She picked apart every sentence, every word, every syllable. “Why does she say it like that? What does she mean?”

I have been assigned a task for the day. I am to research and collect images for every reference in the play: the real life people who are mentioned, the movies, the places, everything. I went through the script with a highlighter. There’s A LOT of them. By the end of the day I had only managed to gather images for all of Barbra’s lovers and partners. THERE’S A LOT OF THEM. How did she have so many boyfriends?! I’m impressed. I am going to call this collection ‘Bab’s beaus’. It becomes apparent this task may take longer than I initially thought.

- Francesca Savige

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Saturday 16th September

Today, I switch back to being an actor, performing in CYRANO DE BERGARAC at Merrigong Theatre in Wollongong. As I sit on the train I reflect on beauty and insecurity. Almost all of Barbra’s films from FUNNY GIRL to THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES, have a common theme or storyline, an issue which is brought up in our play by Alex’s boyfriend Barry. Barbra appears to have had a life-long all-consuming insecurity about her appearance. “My stepfather used to say I couldn’t have ice cream because I was too ugly.” That wouldn’t have helped.

It suddenly occurs to me, that there is a connection between Barbra Streisand and Cyrano de Bergerac: they are two amazing, awe-inspiring humans who have suffered from deep insecurities which have resulted in an over-compensation. Barbara has made film after film in which she requires validation of her appearance. Cyrano had a bravado, a panache, which hid his aching heart. And they both had big noses! Their noses are their pride and their insecurity. Insecurity is a fundamentally human experience. We discussed in the rehearsal room the wounds we had each received in childhood that had impacted on our lives. Everyone has a story. In BUYER AND CELLAR, the character Alex empathises with Barbra’s story, and so do we through osmosis. It’s a universal theme which ensures that audiences will be both entertained and moved by this story. I’ve already had a few moments during rehearsals when my eyes have welled up with emotion. It’s a comedy with a big heart!

- Francesca Savige

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Friday 15th September

Back in the rehearsal room, and we started the day reading from THE BOOK. My Passion for Design by Barbra Streisand. It is a hoot. Her writing style is very stream-of-consciousness. Perhaps she dictated all the text for her book? It seems the most likely explanation. Also, how could she possibly type or write with those sensational fingernails?! She takes the reader on a journey through her ridiculously extravagant home, and we found ourselves laughing at how outrageous her acquisition (hoarding) is, and how rich (in every way) her taste is. It is hilarious, sometimes concerning, but also endearing. This is the balance that Jonathan Tolins has captured in the play. It occasionally pokes fun at Barbra Streisand, or addresses her ‘bad’ qualities, but it’s not snarky at all. It comes from a place of deep love and admiration. Who doesn’t love and admire Babs??

Then the detailed work began. Susanna is working Ben through the play, in minute detail. “You just have to really look at things and have a nose for details” – Barbra says in the play. Accuracy in the words, clarity in the line, inflection, meaning, it is all analysed under Susanna and Ben’s bright mental microscope and even when I thought it couldn’t get much better, this specificity is resulting in a very nuanced and layered performance.

- Francesca Savige

More information: https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/buyer-and-cellar/

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Wednesday 13th September

Day one and we began with a meet and greet, at which I attempted to memorise as many names as possible. One of the reasons I have loved visiting Ensemble Theatre as a patron is that the energy in the foyer and amongst audiences is extremely lovely. People smile at each other, talk to each other – even strangers! It’s a feeling of community and a shared love of theatre without pretension or attitude. I recall when I was watching BLOOD BANK two years ago and had tears streaming down my face, the lady next to me reached into her handbag and pulled out a little packet of tissues and gave me one! There is a genuine warm-heartedness at Ensemble Theatre. It is now obvious that this welcoming feeling of loveliness exudes from within the foundations of the company. I already feel like I am part of the family…though I might wait a week before I ask if I can take a clipping from the succulent plant outside the rehearsal room.

The first read of the play was exhilarating. The lead actor (in fact the only actor in this one man show), Ben Gerrard, is already brilliant. Mark Kilmurry said to me later in the day “What will you do for the next three weeks?”. I wonder too! Ben has been working with director Susanna Dowling for the past 4 months in the lead up to this day. A one-man show must be an immense memory task. Not only is it many, many, pages of lines to learn (80 pages in fact), but there is no one else to drive the story or bounce off. Ben will be on his own on stage, and if he forgets a line there will be nobody there to help him get back on track. A consummate professional, Ben has got his lines learnt AND, as he plays several different characters, he has also developed different voices and accents. I’m as impressed with Ben as I am with Barbra.

After the read, we spent time watching interviews with Barbra Streisand on YouTube and discussed this enigma. And then the text work commenced. Being “off-book”, means Ben and Susanna can jump straight into working in a very detailed way on the text. If we are already starting at this level, this performance is going to be a tour-de-force.

- Francesca Savige

More info on the play: https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/buyer-and-cellar/

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DIARY OF AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Tuesday 11th September

This week I commence my first role as part of the Sandra Bates Directors Award 2017. I’ll be assistant directing Susanna Dowling on BUYER AND CELLAR, a delightful contemporary comedy by Jonathan Tolins. Without giving too much away, BUYER AND CELLAR is the fictional story of a young man working as a shopkeeper in Barbra Streisand’s basement mall - the basement mall is non-fictional!! So, in preparation for day 1 of rehearsals, I’ve been expanding my knowledge and appreciation of Barbra Streisand. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with her and understand why she is one of the biggest stars in the world. One viewing of FUNNY GIRL and I’m hooked on Babs. She’s an extraordinary singer (we knew that already, right?) As an actor, she’s “warm, spontaneous, hilarious” (Tolins said it perfectly). As a celebrity, she’s a strong, resilient and charismatic woman.  But even more fascinating is what Jonathan Tolin’s play is revealing to me – Barbra Streisand is a very complex, vulnerable and considerably quirky character too!

It seems apt to me that I was getting to know Barbra – the famous gay icon- on the same weekend that I rallied for marriage equality with so many of my friends. In the play, Barbra says to Alex (our play’s narrator), who is gay, “God, there are so many of you. I know it’s supposed to be 10 percent of the population, but not in my life. Feels more like 70.” (just a taste of Tolins’ very funny dialogue). Marching on Saturday from Town Hall to Circular Quay, it tickled my fancy to think that I was walking in a group of hundreds of thousands who all love Barbra too. A cliché yes, but as Alex says in the play “I appreciated this stuff as part of my gay birthright, my heritage” Barbra herself has been a long-time advocate for gay rights. Here’s a love letter she wrote at the beginning of this year for Pride month in the U.S:

“The first time I ever sang for a paying audience was at a gay club, The Lion, in Greenwich Village. I was 18 years old and had never been in a nightclub before. The gay community supported me from the start, and I will always be grateful.”

Decades later, I remember sitting in a theater and watching Larry Kramer’s play, THE NORMAL HEART, with tears running down my cheeks. It was 1985 and Ronald Reagan was president and it was heartbreaking to know people were dying while he refused to even say the word AIDS. I wanted more people to see this powerful story about everyone’s right to love, so I tried for 25 years to get it made as a movie. No one would touch it, but thank God times have changed.

“Marriage equality is the law and that deserves a toast... to all of us, because we’re all unique and beautiful in our own way and entitled to love and be loved by whomever we choose”

Tomorrow we start rehearsals. But tonight, I can’t get Barbra singing ‘People’ from FUNNY GIRL out of my head.

- Francesca Savige