Shout outs and Gratuitous Plugs, Part 2

Yes, it's that time again when I throw some love the way of people doing good things, in these cases on stage or on mountains. It's all a matter of scale I guess... or incline perhaps?

First off - go see the play Animal.

No, stop reading, just go. Now. Right now. Immediately!

Brilliantly written, superbly acted it is a tale about human drug experimentation in a time of civil unrest. I know what you're thinking, "that old hoary chestnut?" No, seriously, it is brutal, provocative, thought provoking with a sly sense of black humour. Even seeing it on a Friday night after a week of work and three stubbies of cider, I was on the edge of my seat absolutely rapt. On at the Pakenham Street Art Space (PSAS) by the Upstart Theatre Company it's running Tuesday through Saturday of this week.

The facebook event page is here or you can book tickets here.

Up next, the hilarious musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Koorliny Arts Centre in Kwinana. You can read my review and learn about my onstage disappointment as I bombed out... on a made up word *shakes fist* "There was a real buzz from the audience after the show ended and it is genuinely laugh out loud funny. But do you dare volunteer to go on stage?"

Bookings here but be quick as there are only three shows left this weekend!

Thrice, it is nearly time to witness the West Australian Youth Theatre Company's production of Another Twin. The cream of Perth's young acting talent will be on stage exploring the hot button topic of the internet so what's not to like? I shall be there opening night with reward tickets from their successful Pozible campaign. Two older model mobiles have been sacrificed for the cause as well.

The event page is here or book tickets here.

Which brings us to the mountain. A local actress and her partner are "...climb(ing) Mt Kinabalu (Borneo) on behalf of Coalition Duchenne, to raise awareness and much needed research funds for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy." They are looking for donations to support this worthy cause and have set up a facebook page. They hope to... oh, look, let me let them tell it in their own windblown (sorry, Jess, couldn't resist!) words:



Three fantastic pieces of entertainment and one worthy cause. What more could you ask for? Get to it Perth... and beyond.

WA Youth Theatre Company needs your help!

The WA Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) have a new production coming up - Another Twin - written by American award-winning playwright Lally Katz and directed by the fabulous Kirsty Hillhouse. Appointed as Artistic Director of WAYTCo in December, I was fortunate enough to have Kirsty read one of the leads in my feature at PAC Script Lab recently.

The tagline for the play: Is the Internet taking over your life?

Described as "Fear, Faith and Obsession tangle as science and spirituality confront. It’s head vs heart, thought vs emotion, machine vs God in a winner-takes-all conflict that threatens to tear the world in two."

Featuring 17 talented actors under the age of 27 and staged at the Dolphin Theatre on the UWA campus, this should be quite the show. Meet the cast here.

Thematically the play is right up my alley, particularly given I have an unproduced screenplay called The Tangled Web that I suspect deals with similar issues. So I'm really looking forward to seeing Another Twin.

But let's get to the crux of the matter! WAYTCo have a crowdfunding campaign on Pozible to raise $2000 to help make the show even more awesome. With a month left to run they're looking for donations and I'm happy to spruik for them.

Why?

This is a company that promotes excellence in our local young actors and always tackles interesting and challenging material. The two WAYTCo productions I've seen - Mine and the self-devised Wind - were very good. Indeed, Mine made it to my top ten list of plays/musicals of 2012 coming in at #5. There is a deserved expectation of excellence attached to their shows.

I have seen some of these actors before in WAYTCo productions and worked with one through another great youth organisation, Filmbites. Again, I expect the acting to be uniformly strong and I'm positive Kirsty will get the very best out of the cast.

Plus it sounds like it will be a ripping good yarn!

If you have a few dollars to spare, love thought provoking theatre and the idea of supporting upcoming local talent, please donate. There are great rewards on offer (I have already secured opening night tickets with my donation) and if the internet is truly taking over your life what better link to click on than HERE!

If you'd like to know more about WAYTCo you can also click on the following links:

Facebook page; Vimeo; Blog

Richard Hyde