MEEKA: Premières at fortyfivedownstairs | 3 -14 February

Meeka @fortyfivedownstairs | promo from Dan Walls on Vimeo.
MEEKA proudly presented by Hoy Polloy, Act-O-Matic 3000 and fortyfivedownstairs

“gripping to its end… a fascinating Australian true-crime story”
– Theatrepeople

“An exceptionally well-written and executed play.”

– Theatrepress

MEEKA MEDIA:
Read an interview in The Age with Meeka writer here.

One morning at a Western Australian school in the outback town of Meekatharra, an Education Department auditor’s head is smashed in with a hammer. The night before, the teachers hit the piss at a barbie.
Tensions rise. 

Why’s the auditor here? 

The missing money? 
To find out why the school was set on fire - twice? 
Or is something else going on? 
And what are we going to do about it?
In the days leading up to the fight, pressure builds. Principal McDonald’s unorthodox bookkeeping and managerial style is questioned. The two suspicious fires that struck the school over two weeks take on a new light. And why has an auditor flown in to appraise the school? Tensions rise amongst his isolated staff and loyalties are tested.

Country pragmatism versus city-based bureaucracy when the implications of McDonald’s leadership and the staffs' complicity come to a violent head in Meeka.

Bad behaviour isn’t confined to the school yard in Meeka.

A new play based on a true story. Book here!

Playwright: Dan Walls 

Director: Shaun Kingma 

Dramaturgy: Bridgette Burton

Featuring Keith Brockett, Christina Costigan, Liam Gillespie, Kelly Nash, Claire Pearson and Kevin Summers 

Sound Design and Composition: Craig Tracy

Lighting Design: Jason Bovaird
Lighting Operator: Lindon Blakey
Audio Operator: Mitch Street
Costumes: Cathy Kohlen

dates: 3-14 February 2016

preview: Wednesday 3 February 8pm $25

opening night: Thursday 4 February 8pm

times: Tuesday to Saturday 8pm | Sunday 3pm

full: $38

concession (Pensioners/Full-time students/MEAA members): $33

groups 6+: $33

bookings: 03 9662 9966

Book online here

Welcome to Meeka

PLAY READING @ FORTYFIVEDOWNSTAIRS

Meeka

written by Dan Walls

dramaturgy by Bridgette Burton

directed by Wayne Pearn

read by: Kevin Summers, Brett Whittingham, Bridgette Burton, Christina Costigan, Heidi Valkenburg, Liam Gillespie

Tuesday 28 April @ 7.30pm

fortyfivedownstairs

45 Flinders Lane free event!

bookings: 03 9662 9966

info@fortyfivedownstairs.com

“I opened the door and there was red everywhere. On the desk, on the carpet. About half a metre away, was this hammer. F***ing red as.”

One morning at a remote Western Australian school in Meekatharra, an Education Department auditor’s head is bashed in with a hammer. The night before, a pack of teachers have a blinder at a barbie, tensions building about all that school equipment they’ve borrowed. Two weeks before that, the school caught fire. Twice.

In the years before any of this, Headmaster and Aussie larrikin John McDonald became an upstanding pillar of the community, one good deed at a time.

At the end of the day, a small town will be hit hard by a shocking act of violence no one will forget.

Bad behaviour isn’t confined to the school yard in Meeka.

Based on a true story.

The Woodsman | "beautifully presented, compelling theatre"

Week Two of The Woodsman is here and feedback has been excellent.

"...excellent actors embody their roles to admirably deliver naturalistic performances within close scrutiny of the audience - beautifully presented, compelling theatre"

- Melbourne Observer
FULL REVIEW HERE

"The play is really confronting and icky and absolutely worth seeing. Just maybe line up a kitten to pat and comfort food to eat for after."

- Spook Magazine

FULL REVIEW HERE

Facebook and Twitter says:

We really enjoyed the play good to see such challenging and themes handled so well. Hope you have a bumper season.

Brave, bold and vital theatre. Go see it folks

Great show guys! Tough subject matter - you did it well.

Intense, challenging...NOT to be missed

harrowing, unsettling in the extreme and absolutely brilliant. A great ensemble cast.

We're back tonight (Wednesday through Saturday) and remember tickets only $15 Wednesday!

WEEK TWO: Wed 12 – Sat 15 June

WEEK THREE: Wed 19 – Sat 22 June

All shows commence at 8pm

Tickets:

$15 Wednesdays (12 & 19 June)

$20 Concession (pension, f/t student, MEAA)

$25 Full

Bookings:

www.trybooking.com/49098

ph: 9005 7870

actomatic3000@gmail.com

Tix at the door

The Woodsman Opening Night | Production shots

The Australian première of The Woodsman is hours away. The cast and crew have worked hard to have ready Steven Fechter's confronting and thoughtful play. The Woodsman takes a very real and human look at a man who is trying to return to society after being imprisoned for an unthinkable crime.
www.trybooking.com/49098

Venue: Mechanics Institute Performing Arts Centre, 270 Sydney Road, Brunswick
(cnr Sydney and Glenlyon Road) 

View Larger Map

Performances:

WEEK ONE: Thurs 6, Fri 7 & Sat 8 June

WEEK TWO: Wed 12 – Sat 15 June

WEEK THREE: Wed 19 – Sat 22 June

All shows commence at 8pm

Tickets:

$15 Wednesdays (12 & 19 June)

$20 Concession (pension, f/t student, MEAA)

$25 Full

Bookings:

www.trybooking.com/49098

ph: 9005 7870

actomatic3000@gmail.com

Tix at the door

Get social:
Find us on Facebook | www.facebook.com/actomatic3000
Tweak us on Twitter | twitter.com/actomatic3000

The Woodsman | promo video

The Woodsman video

click the poster to book tickets online NOW!

The Woodsman | June 2013

by Steven Fechter

"The Woodsman" reminds us that any soul, even the most troubled, might be worth saving.
 – The Washington Times

Evil. Sick. Monstrous.

David Passmore as Walter. Libby Brockman as Robin

After 12 years in jail, Walter is released back into community. His existence is quiet despair and therapy sessions. The police keep a hard eye on him. He tries to keep his urges under control. A one-night stand with a co-worker breaks him out of his self-imposed exile, and he reveals his troubled history. Then Walter meets Robin. She’s 11 years old. Will he let history repeat?

Green Room Award winning theatre company Act-O-Matic 3000 is proud to present the Australian premiere of The Woodsman by Stephen Fechter at the Mechanics Institute Performing Arts Centre, Brunswick. The Woodsman is a look behind the headlines to see what becomes of a man who has paid his debt for an unforgivable crime.

The basis of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee starring Kevin Bacon, The Woodsman is an unflinching drama which will surprise Melbourne audiences.

Director Dan Walls

Cast  David Passmore, Adam Rafferty, Catherine Kohlen, Kevin Summers & Libby Brockman

Venue: Mechanics Institute Performing Arts Centre, 270 Sydney Road, Brunswick
(cnr Sydney and Glenlyon Road) 

View Larger Map

Performances:

WEEK ONE: Thurs 6, Fri 7 & Sat 8 June

WEEK TWO: Wed 12 – Sat 15 June

WEEK THREE: Wed 19 – Sat 22 June

All shows commence at 8pm

Tickets:

$15 Wednesdays (12 & 19 June)

$20 Concession (pension, f/t student, MEAA)

$25 Full

Bookings:

www.trybooking.com/49098

ph: 9005 7870

actomatic3000@gmail.com

Tix at the door


Get social:
Find us on Facebook | www.facebook.com/actomatic3000
Tweak us on Twitter | twitter.com/actomatic3000

The Modern International Dead | thanking you

photo: Ben Fon

From the cast and crew of The Modern International Dead, we would like to sincerely thank everyone who came and supported the show. 

We all feel incredibly proud at having taken on a monumental Australian work. The Modern International Dead carries emotional and political weight, says something important about Australia's place in the global community, and how our interaction as human beings has a certain degree of "stoichiometry" about it. The accolades attributed to Damien Millar's script are truly deserved. 

We are also very proud to be donating the profit to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) after recouping our own very slight production costs. These costs were kept low thanks to the generous assistance of the Mechanics Institute Performing Arts Centre, Damien Millar and Currency Press, Ben Fon Photography, the Costume Factory and LX Productions.

If you still want to help the ASRC in "making a difference to the lives of some of our community’s most vulnerable people with 100% of all proceeds will help provide direct, critical services to asylum seekers" check out their Christmas catalogue here.

We'd also like to thank the critics from Theatre Press and Arts Hub who came and provided their feedback. Their  considered responses appeared within days of viewing the play, thus contributing enormously to their actual worth.

So again, thank you for supporting the production, the ASRC and us - Act-O-Matic 3000. After two exceptional productions of fresh and exciting theatre in 2012, we'll be back in 2013. 


Whether it be to support a great cause, to see some great theatre, or to peek into the curious world of international development, The Modern International Dead is a highly recommended evening out.
-www.theatrepress.com.au