Thank Yous from the Gut - By Oleg Puposheep

Cue Music

Announcer: The Academy would like to congratulate A Gut Feeling Productions on their first victory, in as many nominations. To accept the award on the team's behalf, here is Oleg Puposap...

Applause. Oleg steps on stage and aproaches the microphone.

Oleg Pupocrap: Oh wow. I can't oh my god. Yes. Thank you.

Applause itensifies. The crowd stands.

Thank you, thank you. Please be seated, please.

Ok. I would firstly like to thank my team: Ian Zammit, Carrie Hardie and Tara Clark for making this possible. Without them I would have never gotten off my ass and put pen to paper. Without them I would only be dreaming to one day have a production, I've helped write, go on stage in a professional venue. Without them I would have locked myself away at home watching The Wire instead of attending boring ass production meetings. Without them and their inspiration and hard work I wouldn't be standing here thanking you all.

Which brings me to you; on behalf of the team, I would like to thank you, the audience.

the crowd erupts

Without you we wouldn't have sold out both nights. Without you we wouldn't have gotten those laughs and gasps on the night. Without you, really, there would be no In Stereo; it would have been performed to dead space and empty chairs. With you there you were able to realize our dream and bring it to life. And for that we are in debt to you.

One minute is up. Que music.

And although there are too many names to mention we thank each and everyone of you; whether you were a family member, friend, "contact", lighting designer (yeah that's right, you Susie), sponsor or just a theatre goer with a keen interest in Australian Theatre; you were all greatly appreciated and loved for the entire hour of the show.

And lastly, I would like to thank actors. Our amazing actors. The ones who usually take most of the credit for a show's success but don't see a penny in the end. The ones who put in hours of work; rehearsing, learning lines and ques, dealing with other actors and all this while keeping a "proper" job. In a cooperative production they are the producers, stage hands, directors, writers, stage managers, voice coaches and actors. Ultimately it is because of them that the show does well and, in this case, we were lucky to have on board some of the finest in Salman Shad, Victoria Greiner and Kieran Foster. Only having read the script exactly a month before opening night, they have pulled together to deliver amazing performances and bring our dream to life.

The music gets louder. The microphone starts lowering.

Thank you to the actors for their patience and hard work.

Oleg, now almost on his hands and knees, continues to follow the microphone. Two men, dressed in black, start approaching him.

A Gut Feeling Productions would like to thank each and every person for their love and support!

The two men swiftly escort Oleg from the stage.

The Characters - By Oleg Pupodapolous

Since we have officially introduced oursleves to you, and, since our show is less than a week away we thought we could give you a little sneak preview and introduce you to our characters with some direct quotes from the play.

Cuz we're just that fucking unbelievable.

In order of sexiest to hardly passable even with beer goggles on a Friday night, meet...



Konrad



"...But if you ask me I say he just felt like pulling a Chuck Norris on a bitch."

Janet

"That was too eager wasn’t it?"

Maggie

"I didn’t realise I was selling myself at all. "

David


"What did you get up to with your bad self last night?"


Luke


"You always were a smart girl. "

And with that folks we hope to see you there. If you have booked tickets than you are a valued friend, if you haven't then you should do so now and if you are not going to then you can kindly go screw yourself.

No really. Give it a shot.

We love you.

Rehearsin' - By Oleg Puposcoop

You like the appostrophe on Rehearsin'?

Oh yeah.

Ok, business time. Over the weekend we did our first ever run of the whole show and got our lovely photographer, Kendall, to snap away while we were 'in the zone'.

Oh yes dear reader, in the zone.

Now I won't make cheesy comments on the side of each photo as not to take away from the sheer awesomeness and intensity of our performances. Hope you enjoy the pictures and we hope to see you at our show because seriously, you'd have to be crazy to miss it.

Quite frankly you'd have to be an idiot.

Enjoy!

Interview with our director, Ian Zammit - By Oleg Pupoflap

Hello fellow following followers,

Our director, Ian, was lucky enough to be interviewed by Claire Hargreave at CarriageWorks about his new amazing play, In Stereo.

The interview will be issued in Carriageworks' next monthly E-News but just in case you are not a subscriber we have the link for you! What a bargain!

http://carriageworks.tumblr.com/

Enjoy folks!

Tara's (and the rest of the gang's) Bio - By Oleg Pupowhat?

Nice one Tara, way to make someone else sing your praises for you. If there was anyone who could talk you up it would be me. See, aside from being a fabulous actor and a Jugoslav (thanks for making me sound like a "I've seen some things man" kinda guy Tara) I've been harboring a mad crush on her in the past four years. So without further adoo:

Tara Clark (no 'e') :

Tara graduated from the Actors College for Theatre and Television in 2008 where she was oh-my-god-i-can't-believe-i-have-tears-in-my-eyes amazing as Olive in Louis Nowra's The Jungle. Acting in short and feature films from a young age she developed a nous for film at 19 while the rest of us were still telling ourselves "just don't look into the lens, just don't look into the lens..." She was the lead in the critically acclaimed short Eve and earned a nomination at The Los Angeles International Film Festival for Outstanding Supporting Role In A Short Film for her portrayal of Kate in Charlie & Ginger.

She also has a portfolio as a stylist and model, and makes pretty vintage dresses whenever she can. She paints and is quite handy with a hammer and nail.

In her (very little) spare time she loves playing Lego Indiana Jones on her Nintendo Wii, baking goodness and watching dumb DVDs while eating Grain Waves. Sour cream & chives flavour.

Her major influences are me and The Beatles. In that order.


And while I'm at it, let me introduce you to the rest of our gang; the In Stereo posse of wonderfully talented actors:

In order of darkest skin complexion to lightest:

Salman Shad:

That's Sal-mahn not Salmon.

Salman Shad graduated from The Actors College for Theatre and Television in 2008 when he defied all odds by playing Miss Jemima Pinkerton in Declan Donnellan's Vanity Fair and nailed the shit out of his role as Potts in Jez Butterworth's Mojo. Since graduating he has played the lead in Louis Nowra's Cosi and done a bunch of awesome monologues in his shower.

Salman (or if you know him well enough, Sal) was born in Karachi, Pakistan. He was raised in Australia and spent a few high school years in Dubai where he learned to appreciate the rich Arab man's life that he knew would forever be denied to him as an actor in Sydney.

He enjoys spending time with his lovely and supporting girlfriend, Kendall, who is also our magnificently wonderful photographer and strong follower (groupie). She also has a huge crush on one of the co-writers of our play.

Along with being tipped to be nominated for all sorts of awards for his portrayal of David in In Stereo, Sal is currently lined up to star in two short films set to shoot in September.

He is a perfect example of actors in Sydney not getting a fair go because of their ethnicity, being such a supremely talented actor one wonders why it even matters. He's out to change the scene and change it we shall.

Kieran Foster:

Kieran graduated from the Actor's College for Theatre and Television in 2008 where he played Baby in Jez Butterworth's Mojo and grew a set of mean handlebars for the Cabaret show. Immediately following his graduation he was cast in the Zenith theatre's production of The Laramie Project which was followed by touring with theatre company Brainstorm for nine months.

While writing a play of his own he is also a trained singer and loves nothing else than dancing like a true Backstreet Boy. He is, what we call in the biz, a triple threat.

Kieran has a chin line that can make grown men (such as myself) fall in love with him instantly. Add to that his angelic voice and firm body you've got a turned man.

Kieran is a hard working actor who is always prepared and on time and one who will never leave you out to dry on stage. He is the reason why you show up to rehearsals with your A game.


Victoria Greiner:

Victoria graduated from, you guessed it, Actors College for Theatre and Television in 2009 where she was a stand out in Louis Nowra's Our Country's Good and played a (too) convincing Matt Damon in Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers' Matt & Ben.

Not even a year out from graduation Victoria (or if she lets you, Tori) is keeping busy in the next coming months with her involvement in three plays at the Fringe Festival in September.

Oh and she can sing. Correction; she can sang. You'll be looking at her thinking "jeez, she doesn't look black".

Tori, like all actors, keeps a "real" job on top of singing lessons and countless acting roles. The only difference with Tori is, she makes it look so easy.


Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to present to you our official cast of In Stereo for our two shows at the Old Fitz on 25th and 26th of July and at the Fringe Festival in September. Hope you can make it. And with a line up like this, you'd be crazy to miss out!

The gang - by Tara Clark

I always struggle when asked to write a bio. I hate talking about myself. It's a delicate balance that I find difficult to achieve. If I shopping list my contributions to the Sydney arts community I look like a wanker. If I write about myself too personally I look too self involved. If I take the tongue in cheek approach I look like I don't take the exercise seriously. And I do. So...(you can thank me for it later guys)...here's a little bit about the gang. Written by me. So that they don't have to:

Oleg Pupovac

It's Poop-o-vats. Not Poop-o-vac.

Oleg is a Jugoslavian, born in Italy and raised largely in the Middle East. From a very small and sadly, war-torn, village in Croatia, he's seen a lot. He knows a lot about people. A lot of people find his forthrightness confronting. It's not that he's trying to insult you. He's just not concerned with political correctness. He calls a spade a spade.

Oleg graduated from The Actor's College of Theatre and Television in 2008. He shone as Mickey in Jezz Butterworth's Mojo, and gave an exceptional performance as Nicolae in The Jungle by Louis Nowra. It was also the first, (and only time to date) that he kissed a boy.

Oleg's passion for the theatre and the cinema is intense. His influences include Emir Kustarica, David Mamet, Pharoah Monch and Tara Clark.

Ian Zammit

Ian lives with his incredibly supportive wife Michelle in "The Riff", or Penrith as you may know it. Having returned recently from the UK, where he lived and studied for a few years, Ian is a force to be reckoned with. Between his full time job with Carriageworks, his daily commute from The Riff to the Big Smoke and his commitment to the NRL Fantasy League, Ian still finds the time to write, direct and produce a number of projects at once. He's a madman.

It would be Ian's dream to direct a production of Dr. Faustus. He'd also love to direct Mother Courage. Needless to say, the man can multi task.

On top of all his hard work and commitment to the theatre, Ian is just an all round top bloke. We like him. You will too.

Carrie Hardie

Carrie Bonnie Hardie is the youngest of two, but the oldest of souls. She grew up largely in Castle Hill, travelling to Balmain for school for a number of years, until she enrolled at Newtown Highschool for the Perfoming Arts as a drama student for years 11 and 12. Tara had a huge girl-crush on her at school. After they auditioned for Newtown together (where they met) Tara told her mother, "There was this girl, Carrie. She was exceptional. I don't care if i don't get in, so long as she does. It would be a travesty if she didn't..."

On her ipod you'll find Nick Cave. In her dvd collection you'll find Dr. Who (she hosts Dr Who nights from time to time) and on her computer you'll find the entire Alfred Hitchcock collection.

Although very creative, Carrie is innately pragmatic. She's thorough. She's analytical. She's a make-it-happen kind of girl. There was no better person we could have asked to be our producer.

And that's the gang, by Tara.

Do me! Do me!

In Stereo - The story behind the script

Oleg, Ian and I (I'm Tara, by the way) are sitting in The Landsdowne Hotel one day talking about putting on a play. Oleg and I have been tossing with the idea of producing our favourite piece of theatrical brilliance, David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and we've taken the idea to our favourite director, friend and NRL Fantasy league fantasmo Ian Zammit. We've already had a read of the play with actors who we think would potentially be cast. I'm just waiting for Mamet's literary agent to get back to me re: rights. (To this day, he still hasn't.)


Ian shuffles in his seat. Cocks his head to the left. Squints a little through his specs and says,
"Now I've got an idea. It's a little left field but, just hear me out."

I inhale deeply and hold my breath. I do not like change. I am a Capricorn. I turn to Oleg. He's doing his usual languid recline, sipping on his (diet) coke.

Ian continues, "Sex (our abbreviation of Sexual Perversity in Chicago) is a fantastic play. But let's face it, it's very American. It's very 70's. We are not in America and this is not the 70's."

I make a mental note. "It's not the 70's. Go home and throw out your yellow bell bottoms."

"We should write our own play. Set in Sydney. Set now."

Ian's declaration scares me at first. Oleg and I have been talking about producing Sex for a very long time now. Oleg and I are trained actors. We are not writers. And I have a lot of respect for writers. Being in a short film does not make you an actor. Putting pen to paper does not make you a writer. But hey, Ian's a smart guy. He makes a point.

"Umm..." I begin, "Why not?"

Oleg shrugs in agreeance. Thanks Oleg.

And thus, the seed of In Stereo was planted. Inspired by the brilliance of David Mamet and his sexually political comedy Sexual Perversity in Chicago, but more relevant to our audience. A play by us, for us. Hmm...why didn't we think of that before?