Patreon Preview: Megan J Riedl - The Voice Of A City

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Hey friends, and welcome to this
preview of our latest Patreon

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exclusive episode.
To continue the conversation and

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listen to the full episode, head
on over to the I Think Therefore

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I Slam Patreon and sign up to be
part of the Slam fam.

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The link is in the show notes.
It's true what they say.

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There is only one thing in life
worse than being talked about,

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and that is not being talked
about.

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Thank you, Oscar Wilde, and
today we're gonna talk about

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stuff.
All right, welcome to I Think

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Therefore I Slam, the podcast
bringing you the best spoken

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word and slam poetry artists
from Australia and beyond.

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My name is Andrew and my guest
today comes highly recommended

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from former guest Mary
Williamson.

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My guest today is a nationally
recognized spoken word

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performer.
She was awarded QLD Poetry's

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2021 XYZ Innovation in Spoken
Word prize and the Bob McKinnon

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the Memorial prize at Cloon's
Booktown Poetry Slam in 2025.

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My guest was also an Australian
Poetry Slam Victorian state

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finalist for three years running
and a finalist for the 2019

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Melbourne Spoken Word Prize
where I first got to see her

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perform.
Her poetry's been commissioned

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by Creative City, Ballarat,
Crezfest, the Ballarat Greens,

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Let's Talk Peace, Ballarat and
for the inaugural Seed Pod

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Ballarat residency program with
Ponctum Inc.

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Megan Jay Riddle, my guest Cats
Out of the Bag, has performed

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Smoking Word across the state
from Eureka Centre to Fed Square

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and exhibited work from the
Immigration Museum to a vending

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machine at Geelong Library.
I hope there was some nice

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snacks in that one.
She has writing, directing and

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producing credits with
independent and community

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theatre companies across
Victoria and is a regular

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facilitator for Melbourne
Writers Theatre.

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She's a proud autistic woman and
parent of two neurodivergent

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children.
She holds a graduate certificate

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in Arts and Entertainment
Management and a Bachelor of

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Arts, Bachelor of Teaching in
Secondary, majoring in

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Australian History and Drama.
Before focusing on her creative

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practice, my guest worked as a
creative health promotion

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facilitator and administrator at
a circus training institution

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and actors agency receptionist.
What a impressive CV.

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Megan J Reidel, welcome to the
show.

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Oh, hello Andrea.
Thank you so much for having me.

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No worries.
It is nice to have some voices

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from the regions, I must say.
I know that's what is that I

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know that we we tend to get a
little bit, a little bit, you

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know, what do we say?
A little bit of tunnel.

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Vision, yeah.
Yeah, that's right.

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But you're, you're coming to us
from Bendigo today, is that?

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Right.
I'm in Bendigo today, yes, but I

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am from Ballarat, so yeah, all
around Central Victoria is my

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Janet.
Are there plans for a quick trip

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to the the Goldfields while
you're out and abouts or do you

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think it's all been found by
now?

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Yeah, look, I've got goldfields
coming out my arse in Ballarat,

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so that's not particularly
interesting to me.

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No, it is that I'm like my whole
body of work at the moment is

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about goldfields Ballarat.
So yeah.

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That's right, there was a big
like regional festival in

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Ballarat recently, wasn't there?
Yeah, Ballarat Heritage Festival

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is every day.
So yeah, I was out in the street

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in like heritage 1850s garb
doing puppetry on a soapbox,

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which was quite fun.
That's so cool.

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Spitting some like rhyming
couplets at people and rallying

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the, you know, revolution for
the miners, right?

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So it was great.
Yeah, love that there's a castle

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out that way as well where I
think they have kind of like a a

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Renaissance fairy.
Kind of, yes.

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Cryo Castle, people might know
it's been there since the 70s or

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something.
Like it's been there for a

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while.
And yeah, it's, it's full like

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Dungeons and Dragons kind of
Knights in shining armour stuff.

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They have some, they have a
Unicorn festival.

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They have like all sorts of
stuff out there now, including

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like live music and, and things.
So yeah, medieval renaissance,

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get your, get your gear on
there.

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But we also have Sovereign Hill,
which is like the yeah, Gold

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Rush era outdoor museum.
Yeah, living museum.

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I love that I, I know there's,
there's so much advertising

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plastered out there about like
only in the city, you know, but

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I mean, there's so much cool
stuff going on all around, all

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around our state.
So you gotta look out for it.

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Megan, we are keen to hear the
first wonderful piece that

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you've prepped for us today.
Yeah, OK, I thought I would

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start with some new shit.
New shit, as we say at the

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games.
And this is just one of those

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like I got feelings I need to
put it on the page kind of

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poems.
It's called Poseidon.

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If I'm such a witch casting
storms across the gentle sea.

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If my tentacles sucker punch
victims into the deep and I

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render them voiceless in the
back of my cave, like you say.

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If I'm such a bitch on a
malevolent path, super sizing

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imaginary slides with a magic
magnifying glass, not caring

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which vulnerable damsels I
trample, like you say.

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If I'm such a villain,
villainess no less, using my

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feminine Wiles to siren song you
to my nest of Vipers catfishing,

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wishing you to wipe yourself out
on a sharp rock like you say,

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then where's my Poseidon?
Chest muscles rippling, waves

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between his thighs.
Triton astride 2 dolphins,

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Trident shining in the
moonlight, gunning for a fight

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against the tidal wave of my
rage.

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A hero who never falters, always
brave, who can breathe

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underwater and counter each
wave.

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Steadfast, he greets me in the
eye of the storm, saying,

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Remember who you were before.
This isn't the mission for which

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you were born.
Yet I love you.

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Recognizing that I have never
needed him more.

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A Titanic lighthouse leading me
to crash up on the shore.

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I thought you were my Poseidon,
that you would find the secret

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thing, Magic thing.
Bull's eye shot to stop me in my

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tracks and take me back home.
But you could never match me,

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and you always knew this.
You broke your own contract, you

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whiny little fish.
You're not Poseidon, you're not

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a God like me.
You're Jetsam, useless, adrift

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in the ocean and happy to be
clueless.

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Driftwood when I needed Triton,
crying shark into the wind when

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I'm a woman turned hurricane who
needed a man to hold out his

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hand, to lay down his life and
make landfall for this villain,

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this witch, this bitch to come
home to.

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And yet I loved you.
Oh hell yeah.

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Come on.
Oh, I loved that Megan.

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I was.
I was getting a real like the

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little.
It was very like Little Mermaid

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at first, and then there was a
bit of like that song I need a

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hero in there.
And then the twist was was just

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oh, tasty the.
Shivers Yeah, yeah.

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I was like, it's that thing
about I think lots of little

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girls like, oh, at one point you
were like, oh, I like The Little

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Mermaid.
And then at some point in your

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life, you're like, Oh, no,
Ursula is is like, she's my

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person in that mood.
I totally, I totally get her

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point of view.
Yeah.

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She's like, I told you what was
gonna happen and now it's

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happening.
Like, you can't be mad at me.

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But if you need a villain, I
guess I'm here it.

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It's a little bit of, you know,
she's kinda, she's kinda telling

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Ariel, you know, fuck around and
find out really like I'm.

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Trying to find out.
And also like, the fact that she

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can shape shift is like, you
know, she's deliberately

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choosing to be a big fat, like,
sea witch lady.

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Yeah.
Like, that's her form of choice.

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Yeah, she's a badass.
Yeah, yeah.

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She wears it well.
She wears it well.

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That is wonderful.
Wonderful to hear new shit from

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yourself.
Thank you.

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Now that is just one of your Y
your many amazing pieces that

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that I've had the privilege O of
hearing.

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I wanna know more, Megan, about
how you first got started with

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sharing your creative work,
which obviously is not just

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limited to to spoken words.
So what?

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I don't know what came first for
you.

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What came first was rewriting
all the words to songs that my

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grandparents knew and performing
them in our lounge room with my

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dad as musical director and all
of my family dressed up as

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characters, my auntie playing my
grandma and my uncle playing my

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grandpa and making fun of their
lives in a loving way through

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musical theatre in in the lounge
room.

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So this was like a typical like
family event, birthday or like

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Christmas or anniversary.
Like the one we did for my

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grandparents was their 30th
wedding anniversary.

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So we like basically put on a
show about her lives.

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And I'm 3 or 4, you know, and
this is, this is my normal.

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So yeah, very creative family,
very musical family.

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Just that was normal for us.
Like at my 21st my family did a

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show and my drama student
friends like this is the best

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thing that's ever happened.
And my non drama students

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friends were like what the fuck
is happening?

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But yeah, that that's just it's
always been a thing to just be

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creative and put it out there
and have fun.

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But yeah, cryptic crosswords and
changing the lyrics of songs or

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my parents played this game at
breakfast, which is like, you

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choose a theme and then you
could think of all the song

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lyrics you can think of with
that word in it and stuff.

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So word play has always been a
big part of my life.

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Always been writing poetry, like
that girl with like got lots of

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feelings.
I got to get them out, you know,

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after school I won, I reckon I
won a poetry prize for a little

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haiku I wrote at school and
stuff.

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So.
Yeah, right.

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Writing's always been big for
me, but sharing spoken word and

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realizing that it was its own
kind of art form was when I

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moved to Ballarat actually.
So it's like 8 years ago now.

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I've been a theatre student, you
know, I've done theatre at uni

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and stuff and been a teacher and
I kind of didn't realize that

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like I could read my work aloud
in a performative way.

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And then I went to an open mic
in Ballarat trying to, like,

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meet new people in a new town.
And it was so welcoming.

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And I read some poetry that I'd
written on the bus as a student

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because the thing was transport.
And people loved it.

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And I loved it.
And I was like, oh, shit, this

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is the thing.
Yes.

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I And then I just haven't
stopped since then.

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Yeah.
I'll tell you what, that that

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breakfast table game sounds like
my kind of game.

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You know what?
I.

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Mean right.
Yeah.

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Probably our equivalent was
just, you know, waiting every

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Tuesday to do the, the Super
quiz in the, in the Herald Sun,

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the, the local paper or
something.

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You know the big fifty question
one with the with The Who am I

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and all that?
Yeah, nice.

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Yeah, one do the quiz.
Everyone gather around.

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Yeah, that's it.
That's it, That's it.

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We're all trying to yell the
answer first.

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It sounds to me, Megan, like you
know you, you might have been

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attracted to spoken word in a
similar way that I was because,

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you know, I was a bit of a, a
theatre kid as well.

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And I've always enjoyed the more
performative, you know, almost

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larger than life aspects of
performance poetry.

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I, I'm actually, I, I consider
myself a bit of a hack.

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I don't, I don't read a lot of
poetry, you know, I do, I do

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have a preference for, I
suppose, seeing it, you know,

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come to life with, with some,
some the zest, the natural zest

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that comes from from embodying
it on stage.

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Is that what you find?
Yeah, I, I do.

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I've never been a big reader of
poetry.

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I, I write because I have things
I want to say.

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Yeah, in terms of like the way I
write.

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And my style naturally
gravitates towards something

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performative anyway, because of
my theatre background, I think.

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Yeah.
So I think it's just, for me,

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it's like all about the way it
sounds, the way it kind of is

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going to come up as a
performance.

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I write with that in mind, which
I didn't realise until I started

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00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:04,080
reading stuff aloud.
And I'm like, oh, everything of

225
00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:08,160
mine is meant to be read aloud.
And I actually find it really

226
00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:12,120
hard to just have a thing on the
page and, and have it be there

227
00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:17,160
like with its literary merit,
like kind of as a page piece.

228
00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:19,080
I'm like, why are you reading
this on the page?

229
00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,480
You gotta, you gotta hear it.
You gotta get up and hear it.

230
00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:23,320
Yeah.
And the, and the, the fact that

231
00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:25,640
it's embodied as well.
I think the fact that you can

232
00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,960
and viscerally feel the words
coming out of the person, like

233
00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:34,280
there's nothing quiet like live
performance for that kind of

234
00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:40,280
emotive like expression and
being together in a room.

235
00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:44,920
Like even over Zoom, it doesn't
quite cut it Like to feel the

236
00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:48,240
stuff from the performer in the
space.

237
00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,360
It's visceral and it's so
moving, you know?

238
00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:54,960
And you just don't get that when
you're reading it on a page, I

239
00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,040
don't think.
I mean, maybe you get something

240
00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:00,120
else, but you don't get that.
Yeah, for sure.

241
00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:02,560
It's it's, I don't know, maybe
it's a different kind of

242
00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,040
experience or intimacy.
Totally.

243
00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,840
And as a performer, you know,
you would know there's nothing

244
00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:11,280
like a packed crowd you know, to
to perform to.

245
00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,480
That's hooter hooting and.
Hollering yeah, it's because it

246
00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:17,440
feel like you can feel everybody
in the room and you can feel

247
00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,680
their reactions and you can feel
like kind of the mood and you

248
00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:23,680
can feel when the tension builds
and, you know, like it's it's

249
00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:26,720
kind of a little bit like a
little bit of a God complex

250
00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:28,680
going on because you can kind of
control that, You know, if

251
00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:31,480
you've planned it and you've
you've, you know, written it in

252
00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:33,240
a way that, you know, you're
going to, you know, build

253
00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:36,680
tension here, release it here.
Kind of, you know, the pacing

254
00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,560
has an effect on people in the
space and you can, you know, do

255
00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:42,960
twist and people get excited and
stuff.

256
00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:45,400
Like it's, yeah, you can craft
that.

257
00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:49,560
To have that response from
people in the audience, which is

258
00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:51,840
really it.
It's really cool and exciting.

259
00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:54,680
And it's great to be like, oh,
I'm affecting people and I can,

260
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,680
you know, have them feel, think
and feel the way that I want

261
00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:00,280
them to be in this moment.
And Speaking of packed houses,

262
00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:04,320
you know, we first crossed paths
at the 2019 Melbourne Spoken

263
00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,640
Word Prize.
Like, like many of my guests, it

264
00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,880
was a significant night for
sure.

265
00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:12,560
For, for the scene.
What, what kind of brought you

266
00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:15,680
to that moment?
Had had you been doing SLAM for

267
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,480
a while by that point?
Were you still quite new?

268
00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,760
2019 I was pretty new to the
scene actually.

269
00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,640
Like I reckon I did.
My first ever poetry slam

270
00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,600
competition was the like Geelong
heat of the Australian Poetry

271
00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:35,280
Slam. 2018 maybe.
And I got through to the state

272
00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:41,440
final that year and again in
2019, I got through as well.

273
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,840
And so, or maybe that was the
first year, I don't remember.

274
00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,040
Anyway, pre COVID, things are
all a bit of a blur, aren't

275
00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,120
they?
But yeah, I hadn't done slam

276
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,440
itself for very long at all at
that point.

277
00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,720
And that night was the first
time I had memorized my piece

278
00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:00,480
and read it in for and or, you
know, performed it without a bit

279
00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,360
of paper if I mean, I was
shitting bricks.

280
00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,200
I was really like, it was really
nerve wracking because it was a

281
00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,920
huge crowd as well, you know,
and I'm, I live country girl and

282
00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:13,440
I've been performing to 20
people.

283
00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,400
And then I was like, Oh my God.
I've shared the story on the

284
00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,360
podcast, but I, I went last out
of 25 performers.

285
00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,800
It was a very long night.
And I was, I was in the wing

286
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,600
kind of doing some, some deep
breaths and whatever.

287
00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:29,200
And I think I can't remember who
the host was, but he looked over

288
00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,840
at me and just gave me a
reassuring little thumbs up.

289
00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,800
And I was like, right, let's go.
And I was trying to be a funny

290
00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:36,640
bastard.
Once I got on the microphone, I

291
00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,240
said something to the effect of
like, oh, this has been the

292
00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,480
longest night of my life, and I
didn't mean for it to come

293
00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:46,360
across like I was an asshole.
I I'm afraid I did.

294
00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:48,680
I've been sitting through.
Everyone else is terrible.

295
00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:52,280
Part I was loving all of it, but
at the same time I was just.

296
00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:54,160
I did wish I was on early.
I mean, I think.

297
00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:55,640
Yeah, and that's the thing about
slams.

298
00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:59,120
You can't appreciate other
people's work until you've been

299
00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:00,680
what?
Yeah.

300
00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:02,560
So there's a part of you that's
like, I really want to be early

301
00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:04,880
in the night so I can like,
really enjoy the rest of the

302
00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:06,800
night.
But then you get that, like,

303
00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,480
school creep situation.
So it's actually more beneficial

304
00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,760
to go later in the night because
you get up at school.

305
00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:14,240
This is true.
Potentially, you know, that

306
00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:16,200
doesn't happen.
But they, you know, it does.

307
00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:18,680
But they try not to make it
happen.

308
00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:20,080
But it totally does.
Oh.

309
00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:21,520
For sure, for sure.
Yeah.

310
00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,880
So it's it's tricky because
you're like, you want to go

311
00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:30,080
later and have that big impact,
but also you don't because you

312
00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:32,360
want to be there and support
other peers poetry, but you're

313
00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,800
too like nervous.
Oh, it's so funny.

314
00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:37,000
It's great.
It's great.

315
00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,360
May there be many more nights
like that in in the future.

316
00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:42,840
Yeah.
I, I'd like to know more about

317
00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,680
your involvement in local
theatre if we could, because you

318
00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:51,280
are, you are an accomplished
playwright in in your own

319
00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:55,280
respect with with several
projects under your belt.

320
00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:56,920
Could you tell us about some of
them?

321
00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:01,080
Yeah, sure, yeah, I've done a
fair bit of work with Ballarat

322
00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,960
National Theatre here in town.
They're the community theatre

323
00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,839
company that one of three in
Ballarat 2 do musical theatre

324
00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:12,200
and Ballarat National Theatre
does straight plays and so yeah,

325
00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:14,560
I've done a few directing gigs
with them.

326
00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:17,000
I've also been on their board
making community theatre, which

327
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:21,960
is always fun but tiring.
It takes a lot of energy to make

328
00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:23,640
theatre.
It takes a lot of collaboration

329
00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,480
to make theatre, but I find
directing really rewarding.

330
00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:28,920
I really like being that
facilitator for people.

331
00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:34,360
Actors are amazing and they come
with like fantastic skills and

332
00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:37,520
just kind of, yeah, allowing
them that playground to, to kind

333
00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:40,880
of create their characters.
And again, it's about like world

334
00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,880
building for me.
So it's always about, you know,

335
00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:48,200
how can I make the world of the
play come to life in, in reality

336
00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,080
on stage and thinking about, you
know, what it looks like, what

337
00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:53,480
it feels like, what it sounds
like and all of that stuff.

338
00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:57,040
And putting it all together is
is really cool playwriting.

339
00:17:57,760 --> 00:17:59,480
Yeah, I've written a fair bit of
stuff.

340
00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:05,320
I've had some things produced
like independently just off my

341
00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:09,200
own bat because I've always
believed in like if you want

342
00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,960
work to be made, no one's, you
know, you're not waiting by the

343
00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,120
phone for opportunities, you've
got to go out and make them.

344
00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:19,080
Yeah, so I had a really great
play that's had a season and

345
00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:21,800
then it's been redeveloped since
then and I'm hoping for a future

346
00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:23,480
season.
I'm kind of planning that to

347
00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:25,400
happen.
But you know, things have got to

348
00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,240
align perfectly to get a theatre
off the ground.

349
00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,360
But it's called Travels with My
Black Dog.

350
00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,840
And it's a play I Co wrote
actually with a friend.

351
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:38,040
And the premise is that it's a,
a man in a van who lives in a

352
00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:39,840
van.
And it's just kind of going

353
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,560
around Australia and doing
anything that they live with

354
00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,800
depression and their only
company is a, is a dog, a

355
00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:49,200
literal dog.
So they're pet dog, but the dog

356
00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,600
talks to the audience directly
about what it's like to be the

357
00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,400
carer, you know, essentially of
a person with depression.

358
00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:58,960
But they are a dog.
So they act like a dog, and they

359
00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,080
interact with the audience and
they get Pats.

360
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:04,360
And they're just silly things.
And there's lots of physical

361
00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:07,760
comedy, lots of silly, like, you
know, slapstick stuff with the

362
00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:10,480
lead and throwing the ball and
different things.

363
00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:14,760
And then the man monologues a
lot to the dog, you know, as if

364
00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:16,800
you lived alone with a dog, you
would talk to your dog.

365
00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,120
So yeah, the man and talks to
the dog as if it's a dog, but

366
00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:21,760
the dog talks it to the
audience.

367
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,400
And yeah, so it's quite an
interesting premise and very

368
00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,600
funny.
It is a comedy about depression.

369
00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:33,160
And so, yeah, we produced that
show with a with a company that

370
00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:36,360
I created.
It's no longer, but it was a

371
00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:39,600
good time we had for a few years
making shows and we did actually

372
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,920
toured it with a real life combi
band as the set.

373
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:48,520
So we drove into a park and the
van was out set and people came

374
00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,440
with their picnics and people
brought their real life dogs and

375
00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:54,920
sat and in the park and and
watched the show and that was

376
00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:56,280
really cool.
Yeah, that was one of my

377
00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:00,280
favorite things I've ever done.
Oh wow, what a what a fantastic

378
00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,440
like creative premise, but also
to have it, you know, in in

379
00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:06,280
outdoors as well where people
could.

380
00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:09,080
We wanted to make it accessible
because obviously, you know,

381
00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:14,080
people like that man are not
coming to Her Majesty's Theatre

382
00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:17,880
and, you know, to see a show.
But I can go down the park and

383
00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,440
watch some funny weird thing and
bring my dog and sit up the back

384
00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:23,280
and slink off if I need to.
Right now.

385
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,440
I don't like it.
And there's no kind of pressure,

386
00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:31,600
there's no sort of kind of
stigma around like the theatre's

387
00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:34,200
elitist or whatever.
It was just kind of there, it

388
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:35,360
was happening.
It was free.

389
00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:37,880
Come watch.
And yeah, we had a great

390
00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:42,440
response from the audience.
Yeah, and I guess it has a a low

391
00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,000
barrier of entry, like people
can kind of come and go if they

392
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,280
go back a day.
Did you did you have sound

393
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:49,920
equipment outdoors?
Or did you just do it?

394
00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,520
We had, yeah, we had the actors
mugged up.

395
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,000
So yeah, they could be heard.
But you know, the crowds weren't

396
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,880
massive, that we were kind of
really needed a huge PA system.

397
00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:02,880
But yeah, you never know without
outdoor stuff.

398
00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:04,280
There could be a drill or
something.

399
00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:05,000
I was.
Going to say.

400
00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:07,160
If there's a kid, like if
there's a kid.

401
00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:09,960
Having the time of their life on
the swing or whatever you might.

402
00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:13,280
You might get in trouble.
I mean, it was summer, so like,

403
00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:15,240
we were, you know, the weather
was OK.

404
00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:18,880
We did get rained on a little
bit actually here in Bendigo.

405
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,760
But yeah, it was a good time.
Good stuff.

406
00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:25,480
So, you know, it sounds like
these projects that you do are

407
00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,080
obviously like highly
collaborative.

408
00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:30,040
You know, if you're, if you're
writing something, if you're

409
00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:32,920
directing something, you're,
you're looking for the right

410
00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:36,760
person or people to fulfil the,
the vision and, and to bring it

411
00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:38,520
to life.
You know, it's, it's not always

412
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,680
something that you can do on
your own.

413
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:45,640
I want to know what do you find
makes a collaboration like work

414
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,160
or what makes it truly
fulfilling to you?

415
00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:50,640
I mean, theatre is inherently
collaborative.

416
00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,080
You have to collaborate with
other people to make theatre,

417
00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:54,640
even if you're doing a solo
show.

418
00:21:55,120 --> 00:22:00,880
Yeah, I think making at work is
having, having a shared set of

419
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:05,160
values and a shared vision and
success for me in collaboration

420
00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:09,160
looks like that people have felt
safe and supported in working

421
00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:13,280
together, that people's ideas
were, you know, included.

422
00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,120
And even if they weren't
included because they couldn't

423
00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:19,440
be or they, you know, didn't
work or whatever, they still

424
00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:23,840
felt valued and and nurtured in
that process.

425
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,480
I mean, being a director, you,
yes, you're in charge of

426
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:31,080
everything and it's your vision,
but bringing people along with

427
00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:35,480
that vision and, and also making
a container of safety for those

428
00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,680
people to play within that
vision, Yeah, that's really

429
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:42,040
important for me, collaborating
on theatre stuff.

430
00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:45,840
And yeah, yeah, the most
successful thing that I have

431
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,520
I've collaborated on haven't
been like, oh, it's a sell out

432
00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,560
show, so that's success.
It's been like an actor who I

433
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,480
know has worked with loads of
people has gone.

434
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,680
This is the best backstage
experience I've ever had, you

435
00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:01,680
know?
So yeah, that's or, you know,

436
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:04,960
this is I felt the most at home
in the rehearsal room here.

437
00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:08,360
Yeah.
So that's what I find fulfilling

438
00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:12,560
is that people have felt valued
and safe in their work.

439
00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:14,640
Yeah.
And that would all flow through

440
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:17,600
obviously to whatever you do in
the future in terms of your,

441
00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:20,640
your, your name and your
reputation of, of what you'll

442
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:22,600
like to work with and what
they'll like to work with.

443
00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:25,320
Yeah, I well, I hope so.
Yeah, Yeah.

444
00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,920
And you mentioned like safety.
Do you find a lot of that is is

445
00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,320
like letting people or letting
people know that it's OK to kind

446
00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:38,160
of, you know, speak, speak their
mind on certain choices or bring

447
00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,160
their own, their own flavour to
their character or

448
00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:42,480
interpretation?
Yeah, for sure.

449
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:46,800
I mean, when I work with actors,
I trust that the actor is the

450
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:48,480
expert on their character and
they should be.

451
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:52,760
That's their job.
My job is to is is sort of over

452
00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,680
a big picture view of what we're
doing in the play.

453
00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:00,080
But the actor is the expert on
their character, so they would

454
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,840
know if what they're trying to
do in this scene feels true for

455
00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,200
their character or not.
Obviously they also they can't

456
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,080
see themselves though in the
space.

457
00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:12,040
So there's a bit of a
collaboration there between like

458
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:14,720
they're making choices with what
they want to do with their body

459
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,440
or their words or, you know,
what they're doing in the space.

460
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,280
And I'm looking from the outside
and going, actually that

461
00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,560
doesn't, you know, that doesn't
make sense here or that looks

462
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,480
weird or, you know, there's some
maybe technical reason we can't

463
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:29,720
do that.
But generally, I trust actors a

464
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:31,720
lot.
And, you know, they're really

465
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:36,520
amazing people who have an
ability to process information

466
00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:38,320
from the page and bring it to
life.

467
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:42,520
And so, you know, that's a real
skill set that they bring.

468
00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,040
So yeah, totally.
It's about giving people

469
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:49,560
ownership over their role within
the within the show, but also

470
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:53,720
trust going the other way that
they know I've got their back

471
00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:57,640
and that I'll make a decision.
Because actors love to play as

472
00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:00,880
well and they love to change and
they love to like try the next

473
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,000
thing.
And so at some point, sometimes

474
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,600
you're just going to be like,
and now the time for ideas and

475
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,280
play time is finished.
We have to actually just decide.

476
00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,600
Yeah, it's, it's bump in week,
you know.

477
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:16,600
I'll be the well, yeah, I'll be
the I'll, I'll be the hard ass

478
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,760
when I need to be.
And I've, I've got you and I'll

479
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:21,720
kind of be like, this is the
final thing.

480
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:25,160
This is what we're going with
when I need to be in it.

481
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:29,080
And that's also a sense of
safety and trust that someone's

482
00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:32,440
gonna, like, give you the
directive when you need it

483
00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,520
because there's nothing worth
than working with a director

484
00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:37,760
who's, like, can't make up their
mind.

485
00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,120
And they're like, yeah,
anything's great.

486
00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:42,280
Everything, whatever you want to
do, you, like, actually know.

487
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:44,200
I need structure.
Yeah.

488
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:45,560
The.
Amount of anxiety that that

489
00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:46,800
would.
Oh, it's the same thing as,

490
00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:48,600
like, you know, you go to a
writing thing and they're like,

491
00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:49,920
write whatever you want.
You're like that.

492
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,080
I need boundaries.
Yeah.

493
00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:55,240
Like I, I want to be able to
play within the fenced

494
00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:56,920
playground.
You know, I don't want to play

495
00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:00,120
on the road.
I want to play, like, where I

496
00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:02,680
know it's safe to play and that
someone's watching and that

497
00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:05,440
they've got my back.
I don't want to play in, like,

498
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:10,400
the expanse of the desert.
Like, that's too much freedom,

499
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:12,880
too much creative freedom.
Yeah.

500
00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:17,320
So yeah, it's a delicate balance
to to give people a sense of

501
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:20,520
ownership over what you're doing
in a collaboration, but also

502
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:23,280
like, I'm going to lead when I
need to lead.

503
00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:26,040
Hope you enjoyed this preview
clip.

504
00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:29,520
To continue the conversation and
listen to the entire episode,

505
00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:32,360
head over to the I Think
Therefore I Slam Patreon.

506
00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:34,160
The link is in the show notes.