Aria review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/103243

A Day In The Life Of A Production Manager

A day in the life of... A PRODUCTION MANAGER:

Load in day.

6am – check that extra copies of plans and schedules have been made, and that you have all paperwork, petty cash, and tools required to get you through the day (including food as it is unlikely you will get any meal breaks).

7am – Drive 3 tonne truck to theatre – truck is filled with set, props, costumes, programs, and technical equipment required for the show.

8am – check that all crew have arrived and gather them for venue safety induction.

8:15 am – Ensure that venue heads of departments are able to start work as per your production schedule (final draft after 10 amended drafts have been published, consulted on, and then reworked).  If crew are missing or deliveries haven’t arrived, follow up immediately and develop a strategy to absorb the impact of the deficit within the schedule.  Ensure that venue OHS requirements are being complied with including the use of PPE, management of space use, and restricted access.

8:30 – Supervise unloading of truck and dispersal of contents.

9:30 – Check items that have been unloaded for damage and/or appropriate certifications.  Consult with Venue technician to arrange testing and tagging of portable electrical appliances.  Consult with head mechanist to arrange any set repairs and any specific installation requirements and safety issues.  Consult with stage management about the supply and set up of dressing rooms and props.

10:30 – Manage the rotation of coffee breaks for crews, and specialised use of space to maximise use of time.  Liaise with the heads of departments about progress, impediments, and any required adjustments to schedules.

11:30 – Supervise the rigging of stage elements such as masking, flown scenery, and anything that requires specialist rigging skills and equipment.

1pm – Manage the rotation of lunch breaks for crew, and specialist use of time on stage to maximise efficiency.  Assess crewing requirements for the rest of the day in liaison with heads of departments and with an eye to budget allocations.  Action as appropriate and/or amend schedule and budget as required.  Liaise with Venue manager and General Manager on impact of changes.

2pm – Negotiate use of stage for the afternoon with Heads of Departments with regard to the production schedule, safety, and information that has been gained over the course of the morning.  Make adjustments as required and reallocate priorities where necessary.  Advise all crew that from this point they will be working in low light conditions.  Inspect the stage to ensure safety and organise tidying and sign posting where required.  Check with Stage Management that they have set up their office and are prepared for the week ahead.  Help problem solve any advised concerns.  Ensure a first aid station is established.  Ensure all security arrangements are in place i.e. a lock up for fire arms if required, space for children if required, facilities for animals if required, etc.

2:30 – Run errands such as shopping for extra lighting or rigging equipment or picking up items that could not be delivered.  Report to General Manager and/or Artistic Director regarding the progress of the load in and check that media appointments have been attended.

4:30 – Return to theatre and check with department heads that things are progressing and that no new difficulties have arisen.  Assist in problem solving and schedule adjustments as required.  Ensure that crew have taken their break.  If not, supervise breaks.

5pm – Liaise with stage management and front of house management about venue procedures, dissemination of programs, and opening night function arrangements.  Ensure that all signage is in place.

6pm – Manage the rotation of dinner break for crews and specialist use of time on stage.  Discuss crewing requirements for the rest of the day and the likely requirements for the next morning with heads of departments.  Action as appropriate.  Meet with the director and discuss progress, issues, delays and schedule changes.

7pm – Inspect stage area for safety before the next work sessions begin.  Supervise stage management in organising the back stage areas.  Liaise with department heads regarding what can be done during the next work session without interrupting the prioritised activity for the evening. At this point the lighting plot will most likely begin so this will usually mean working in low light and quiet conditions with frequent stoppages due to unexpected black outs, and no calling out or making loud noises permitted.

10:30pm – Call a halt to all work and supervise cleaning of the work space and powering down of all equipment.

11pm – Clear the building and drive truck home so that you can return it to the hire place the next morning before returning to the theatre.

A Day In The Life Of A Stage Manager

A day in the life of...A STAGE MANAGER:

Rehearsals

6am – Check that you have all props or costumes that you took home to make or repair ready to go. Finish anything that still needs to be done. Organise food because you probably won’t get a meal break.

7am – Go into company office to photocopy scripts and print out signage.  Buy coffee/tea items and any consumable props on the way.

8am – Go to rehearsal space.  Unlock everything, turn on heating and put up signage as required.  Update notice boards, sweep floor, check coffee/tea supplies and empty bins.  Set up costumes and props as required for the morning rehearsal and ensure that the rehearsal space is safe.  Turn on computer and check emails and deal with the most urgent.

9am – Liaise with Director regarding the intentions for the morning session.  Ensure cast sign in and follow up on anyone who is late.  Distribute schedules, contact lists, and scripts as required.  Check that the information disseminated is accurate and make updates if necessary.  Make any changes to the rehearsal space requested by the Director for the intended activities.

9:30 – Observe, record, and support rehearsal activities.  This may include operating sound cues, reading out lines for actors, moving props or set pieces around, making or receiving phone calls from the Production Manager or marketing and publicity manager or administrator. 

11am – Ensure that a tea break is taken.  Liaise with the Director about any requirements for the upcoming session.  Set up the rehearsal space for the next session. Liaise with performers regarding their requirements or upcoming absences.  Update the rehearsals schedule as required and update rehearsal notes.

11:15 – Support rehearsal activities as before.  May need to make phone calls to source props or costumes.

1pm – Organise lunch break for the cast.  Go to shops for any requirements that have emerged during the rehearsal (new props for example).  Liaise with designers (set, costume, lighting, sound, av) regarding their attendance in the rehearsal space and requirements they may have including work space, access to power, equipment set up.  Liaise with Production Manager regarding pick ups and deliveries.  Liaise with Marketing Manager regarding media calls.  Check emails and action as appropriate.  Reset rehearsals space for next session and tidy coffee/tea facilities.

2pm – Support rehearsal activities as before.

3:30 – Organise tea break.  Schedule media calls with Director and performers.  Discuss design requirements with designers.  Update rehearsal report.

5pm – Call an end to rehearsals.  Liaise with Director about following day’s activities.  Remind cast of rehearsal calls and costume fittings for the following day.  Complete rehearsal report which includes information regarding – rehearsal activities, attendance, OHS issues, upcoming meetings (production meetings, costume fittings, media calls, site visits, filming schedules, etc), rehearsal and design requirements, repairs and maintenance of set/props/costumes, and intentions for following day.  Disseminate report to Director, designers, Production Manager, Marketing Manager, General Manager, Artistic Director and Administrator to action as appropriate.  Organise petty cash receipts.  Tidy up show file (prompt script) and update props and costume lists. Tidy rehearsal space and wash dishes.  Inspect props and costumes for repairs and maintenance.  Power down all electrical items and heating and lock up the space.

6:30pm – Go home and have dinner.

7:30pm – make props or do repairs as required. 

Close To The Bone review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/102961

Who Is PoshLopez? review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/102855

The Merger review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/102711

Circus Oz and Acrobat are cutting it Close To The Bone

http://www.melbartsfash.com/102562

Traces of Transformation - Mapping Melbourne

http://www.melbartsfash.com/102444

Preparing for interviews

So, as you can see by my posts over the last couple of months, I have been doing some journalism for Melbourne.Arts.Fashion.  It began with theatre reviewing which is moderately comfortable ground for me.  I then expanded into sub-editing - again it is kind of a slightly more complex form of cutting and pasting, so not a huge stretch.  Most recently though, my editor has been sending me out to do interviews.

This freaked me out!  It feels like there is quite a lot of responsibility in reporting interviews.  First of all there is the research.  You have to research for reviews too, though, so that part was easy.  The difference is that you have to try and sift through the research to discover the questions you want to ask.

It is not that I want to be earth-shatteringly original, but I do kind of want to ask questions that are meaningful and will give the reader an insight to the artist or the work or the project.  I keep thinking about what people say about Oprah Winfrey and why she was so successful.  Almost without variation the commentary asserts that Oprah asks questions that people want to know the answer too.  That is what I want to do.

My first interview was with Jade Lillie.  I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and was petrified.  Luckily I did assume that would be the case and carefully prepared and wrote down my questions so I didn't really have to think.  I had also recently downloaded a recording app to my phone, so even though I took notes I didn't have to rely on them.

The other scary thing was that I had to take the photo to accompany the article.  I have never been into photography - even casual, personal photography.  It would not be an exaggeration to say that I went for at least 5 years without taking any photos.  Then all of a sudden I had to take some publicity shots for shows, and then take production photos because photographers didn't turn up.  Now my photos are being published with my articles.  I should point out that this is not any endorsement on my skills or 'eye', and my apparatus is a Sony Xperia phone.  It is probably more of a commentary on my journalistic status.

My second interview was a phone interview with Ash Grunwald.  I know nothing about music and even less about how to record whilst using a telephone.  I had two pieces of luck going for me with that one though.  Firstly, I have a Microsoft Surface tablet, so I could use that to record the interview.  All I had to do was put my phone in speaker mode.  Secondly, it was a phone interview so no photography was required.  I got really good feedback on that interview.

Suddenly things change though.  Tomorrow I have an interview with the creative team for the new Circus Oz show and guess what?  A photographer (a real one with equipment and everything!) is coming with me.

So, no pressure!  Today as I sit here researching and trying to come up with questions I realise that the content of the interview will have to be as exciting as the photographs which will accompany the piece. Aaargghhhhh.  The big question will be how much of their souls can I get them to bear in a piddly little half hour slot?  I guess we will know the answer to that question tomorrow...

Tinserella - Keeping Christmas Safe Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/102072

The House Of Yes review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/101960

Game On! Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/101587

Melbourne Music Week focuses on Little Bands

http://www.melbartsfash.com/101547

Nowhere review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/101487

Collaboration at MPavilion

http://www.melbartsfash.com/100818

The Red Stitch 2015 season launch

http://www.melbartsfash.com/100727

Manifesta 10

Melbourne Knowledge Week 2014 has kicked off with a program of more than 90 events showcasing the ideas, innovation and institutions that make Melbourne a leading knowledge city.  The week-long festival allows you to discover Victoria’s supercomputer, explore behind the scenes at Melbourne’s greatest medical institutions, tour Melbourne’s most futuristic workplaces, talk to entrepreneurs, and discover the big ideas driving our economy.

As part of my personal discovery tour of some of the events taking place over the week, I decided to sample the free talks.  There is an extensive program of free lectures and talks across the city, covering a broad range of topics from David Ritter on Being Free to The Concept of God in an Islam Society.  Perhaps a presentation from the Women’s Federation for World Peace is more up your alley.

I decided to pop into the National Gallery of Victoria to listen to Jane Devery talk about her experience at the Manifesta 10 Biennale which was held in St Petersburg, Russia this year.  This talk was presented by the International Specialised Skills Institute.

Devery is the curator of contemporary art at the NGV.  She participated in the St Petersburg-Melbourne 25^th Anniversary Sister City Fellowship which enabled her to attend the opening week of Manifesta 10 – the European Biennale of Contemporary Art. 

This year the Biennale was held in collaboration with the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. Apparently, this association was quite controversial on a number of levels.  Firstly, the Biennale is rarely engaged in a traditional and formal arts establishment.  Secondly, the political climate in Russia at the moment – with the Pussy Riot history, new laws regarding homosexuality, and the Ukraine crisis – led to a range of protests which very nearly meant the festival wouldn’t happen. The festival did, however, go ahead and Devery hopped on her plane with great relief. 

As mentioned earlier, Manifesta 10 took place at the Hermitage Museum.  This museum comprises the Winter Palace which used to be the home of the Tsars, and the General Staff Building.  These two massive edifices encircle Palace square where parades and performances take place continuously.  The Hermitage buildings were commissioned by Catherine the Great and she is the one who commissioned the first collections they housed. 

The General staff building used to be the offices of the various ministries, but this year it was officially declared as their museum of contemporary art, so it is fitting that Manifesta 10 should take place there.  Devery told us a fantastic story about the hundreds of cats who inhabit the basement tunnels.  Cats have been living in the basement tunnels since the buildings were first erected.  Their job was to control the rodent population.  They had their own personal staff and were very well taken care of until around 1917 – the time of the revolution.  The cats remained there however, until WWII, when they all died in the siege of Leningrad (the new name given to St Petersburg after the Russian Revolution).  After the war, the basements were repopulated with cats and it is still their home today.

Engaging with this story was Dutch artist Erik van Lieshout.  He spent nine weeks living with the cats in the basement and then created an installation for Manifesta 10 called Basement.  During his time down there, van Lieshout built better facilities for the cats and then put on an exhibition just for them.  What a wonderful project!

Devery showed us slides and talked us through her journey.  She visited both the General Staff building which is now the home of contemporary art, and also showed us some of the Winter Palace collection.  These had also been cunningly interspersed with contemporary art which juxtaposed itself in this classical environment.

It was a wonderful talk, and Devery had great anecdotes as well as a wealth of art and art history knowledge.  One of the things I came away with was the understanding that when art commentators describe a work as being ‘elusive’, what they really mean is they have no clue what the work is or is supposed to mean.

Interview with Ash Grunwald

http://www.melbartsfash.com/100150

Interview with Jade Lillie, CEO of FCAC

http://www.melbartsfash.com/99544

Hell Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/99677

Monologue For A Murderer Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/99540

Melbourne Knowledge Week Workshops

http://www.melbartsfash.com/99543

The Summersalt Outdoor Arts Festival launch

http://www.melbartsfash.com/99420

The Things We Get Ourselves Into

Somehow or other, I have managed to become involved in a project without really having any reason for being there.  This is slightly different than my usual habit of sticking my nose in where I am not wanted.

As many of you know, I have spent the year investigating Vorticism as a performance making technique.  As part of that investigation, I gathered a group of actors, a dramaturg, and a designer to engage in some workshops.  It went well and I have almost finished my second play.  You can read Entropia, the first short play by clicking on that page at the side of the screen.

The designer who was working with me on the project was El Lindberg, who was the devisor and producer of Self Contained Spaces - details of which can also been seen by clicking on the page at the side of the screen.  El contacted me a few weeks ago and told me she was about to undertake the creative development of a new project, and would I be willing to come in and direct a few rehearsals from a Vorticist perspective.

This sounded very exciting and I agreed.  I didn't hear anything more for a while, but then we suddenly kept running into each other at random places like on the tram.

Anyway, she invited me to a rehearsal where I could see what they had been doing, but when I got there, nothing was achieved because one of the performers was late (this is a very small ensemble).  When he finally got there, the last hour ended up being a discussion about content.  Apparently no concept or content had been explored yet.  They had spent the last couple of sessions just exploring physically, and creating pretty 'pictures'.

I should point out that I don't think there is anything wrong with that, and in many ways, that is what a creative development is for.  The difficulty is that a showing is planned for the 15th November and they are only rehearsing/exploring for a few hours every Sunday.  I did the math and that is only 8 working hours before showing this to people - I assume people of some significance.  The other complication is that El won't be there for the Sunday prior to presentation.

Another complication is that I am unavailable that Sunday too, because I am doing audio describer training at Vision Australia that day.  I actually haven't told El that yet.  I lost my diary and wasn't entirely sure.  I have only reconstructed my November commitments this afternoon.

The way I figure it, in this time frame there is no point in even beginning a discussion about Vorticism because the performers are starting to freak out about structure and content.  El seems either unable or unwilling to really take any leadership in this regard which is not really helping.

I attended rehearsals today, thinking I was going to see some of the physical stuff they had been playing with, but one of the actors has decided to take charge and drive a narrative for performance.  Today I ended up spending a lot of time speaking on behalf of El to try and keep the project in line with what I am hearing her saying.

We had a chat on the phone last week and I suggested that really my best role for this project would be dramaturgical, so I tried to focus on that today.  Of course, it's not as simple as that, because the show revolves around 4 people. and El only has three.

We started with El playing one of the characters, but halfway through the session I swapped with her because it was becoming a bit too much like I was directing, and if anyone should be doing that it should be her.  Now my big fear is that I will have to end up performing.

This is problematic on a number of levels.  The first is the rehearsal I can't attend.  The second is a concern about the physical demands as the others are working quite strenuously.  The final one is that if they call a rehearsal before the showing on the 15th, I won't be able to attend until late because I have audio describer training on that day too.

So here I am, not working with Vorticism and having an ambiguous role within a project I have no background for and questionable right to inform.  How did I get myself into this mess???

The Trouble With Harry Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/98598

Hipbone Sticking Out Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/98447

My Lover's Bones Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/98195

Eavesdropping On Artists

http://www.melbartsfash.com/98047

Have I No Mouth Review

What: Have I No Mouth

Where: The Coopers Malthouse – part of the 2014 Melbourne Festival

When: October 10 – 13

Written & Directed by: Feidlim Cannon & Gary Keegan

Performed by: Ann Cannon, Feidlim Cannon, and Erich Keller

Costumes by: Emma Downey

Lighting by: Sarah Jane Shiels

Sound by: Jack Cawley

Video by: Kilian Waters

Have I No Mouth is being presented as part of the Melbourne Festival at the Coopers Malthouse until October 13.  This play is the creation of the Irish company BrokenTalkers which formed in 2001 and who have gone on to impress the world with their innovative approach to theatre making.

BrokenTalkers are all about making accessible theatre.  For them that means performing works in diverse places but more importantly, creating work with a diverse group of collaborators.  They source their skills and stories from the real world around them and although they do work with other professional artists, their main aim is to bring authenticity to the work which means they also use people who are not connected to performance making or even the arts when it is appropriate.

Have I No Mouth is the perfect example of this.  The story is that of Feidlim Cannon and his Mum, Ann, as they struggle to come to terms with the death firstly of Feidlim’s baby brother and then his father.

Rather than write a play and have actors perform, the protagonists are the real people involved.  Thus, the cast consists of Feidlim, his Mum Ann, and their real therapist, Keller.

Do not misunderstand.  This is an incredibly well structured and well performed work.  The tone of the piece is that of being a part of the therapy process. As such it does not require heightened emotions or any formal acting form.  The point is the story being told and the relationships being examined. The inherent naturalism and reserve that comes from not just non-performers, but the real people involved, sets exactly the right tone for the work. 

The staging itself is a fairly standard modern configuration with clusters of furniture around the stage which will evidently become acting spaces for various scenes.  There are random props on each of the three tables, a microphone on a stand, two cardboard cut outs of children, and a wall which becomes the projection screen.  However, right from the start of the show, we realise that this is not going to be quite the traditional theatre event we may have come to expect.

A film begins with a glass of Guinness in every shot.  We don’t know how to interpret this although it seems humorous and then Feidlim walks out and explains that this is a film he made to commemorate his father’s death.  Then we get all serious but he has built in a humorous exchange with the film and this allows the audience to understand that we are allowed to laugh even in serious moments.  This is perhaps the moment we really understand that these are Dubliners before us.

Feidlim then introduces us to his mother and his therapist.  Before the story kicks in the therapist takes us through some relaxation techniques, and later he teaches us about anger balloons.  The sound of a room full of balloons ‘farting’ as the air is released may very well be the funniest bit of audience interaction I have ever been a part of!

We are then placed inside the therapy sessions with Feidlim and Ann.  The reason this works so well is that they have managed to retain the immediacy and spontaneity of the mother and son interactions so you do not feel like you are watching a rehearsed piece of theatre.  This is voyeurism at its best and without the guilt.  We are given permission to listen in and are spoken to directly at various points.  We are the witnesses to the pain and, potentially, healing.

As the show progresses we come to understand many things about grief, but one of the most poignant lessons is the sense of betrayal and distrust which is engendered in children by the death of a family member.  The anger lies on so many levels: anger that the person has gone away, anger that others let it happen, anger about how and when you are told.  The saddest part is that it doesn’t really go away.  You just have to learn to let it out slowly like a farting balloon, rather than letting it ‘pop’ destructively.

The most illuminating and climactic moments are in the ‘Frankenstein’ scenes.  Enacting transference, the therapist becomes the missing father, and Feidlim orders him about and fights with him, and pours Guinness on him, and dances with him, and asks to be hugged.  It is here that we understand the true depth of loss and pain.

Cannon and Keegan have created a real masterpiece with Have I No Mouth.  The balance of fact and pathos is just perfect and it avoids that hairy trap of indulging in overemotionalism.  The production elements are also perfectly balanced. 

Cirkopolis Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/97744

Tanderrum & Murra

http://www.melbartsfash.com/97687

Framed Movements Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/97604

Who Are You Supposed To Be Review

Theatre Review by Samsara Dunston

What:  Who Are You Supposed To Be

Where:  The Owl & The Pussycat – part of the 2014 Fringe Festival

When:  September 23 – October 5

Written by:  Keith Gow

Performed by: Rob Lloyd and Jennifer Lusk

Who Are You Supposed To Be is the current show in production for playwright Keith Gow and is playing at The Owl and The Pussycat in Richmond until October 5.

This play is a two-hander comedy, with some serious social dialogue underpinning the repartee.  Two science fiction geeks meet in the foyer of a convention called Nerd-vana Con, and through the less than subtle use of costuming which occurs in those environments, recognise each other as Dr Who fanatics.

The original season for this play was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013.  The subject matter and timing were apropos as the world was waiting with bated breath for the official announcement of who the new (12^th) Doctor would be.

There was a lot of public debate at the time about whether the new Doctor would – or could – be female and this is the discussion which opens the play.  Lusk (as Ash) enters in full costume as Peter Davison (the 5^th Doctor), and Lloyd (as Gene) comes up to her affronted that she has chosen to dress as a Doctor rather than one of his endless line of female companions.

This leads to a discussion about the relative merits of the companions and then to the presence of women in science fiction universes in general.  The banter is quick and clever and light, but pointed when it needs to be.

It turns out these two people know each other from the twittersphere and the bloggoverse so there becomes a reason and connection for them to continue to run into each other throughout the conference and  maintain contact and develop a relationship.  This is a great addition of detail.  It means we don’t spend the rest of the show wondering why on earth they wouldn’t just ignore each other after that initial meeting.

The structure of the play is in four parts, one scene for each day of the conference.  This works well because it allows for the use of anticipation and then completion along the course of the play in a way which rarely happens in the theatre form.  We also get to see the conference programme on the wall right from the start, so we can constantly refer to it to confirm timelines and anticipate what is coming up.  It gives us a bit of a feeling that we are actually at the convention ourselves.

The witty references, to not just Dr Who but the entire science fiction and fantasy multiverse collection, are quick and multitudinous and it becomes a little game for the audience to see if we can keep up.  Oh, yes, there are Monty Python jokes in there too...

As well as all this geek fetish fun there is still the gender discussion happening.  Lusk ‘can’t’ dress as a Doctor, not only because the Doctor has never been a woman, but also because women can’t be real science fiction fans.  There is a panel discussion on ‘fake geek females’ who only come to these conferences to dress as ‘slave’ Princess Leias in order to show off their bodies.  At one point Ash asks what their nefarious might be after doing that...Gene has no answer.

Lusk plays a feisty woman who treks across the world to meet ‘her’ Doctor.  It nearly doesn’t happen as she suffers from an anxiety disorder and has a panic attack just at the moment her dream would be realised. 

I have to say, I didn’t think this part of the story line was convincing or particularly pertinent.  Shyness would have been enough to foil the meeting, and Lusk does not play the anxiety with any sense of true understanding so it kind of falls flat. 

Lusk has been playing this role since the beginning and her energy and timing are superb, but she is starting to anticipate what is coming next, which means we as the audience loose the element of surprise in the journey ourselves.  Her performance is a bit too much like a well worked routine.

Lloyd is fun as the blogging geek, and has found mannerisms that are certainly cliché, but also establish his status socially and personally very quickly and easily.  The journey for this character is to stop hiding in these make believe worlds developed as a shield since adolescence.  He learns that he needs to be real with the people around him every so often if he doesn’t want to be lonely or a loner his whole life.

Lloyd actually looks a bit like David Tennant and has a performance history of playing the 10^th Doctor.  It is wonderful when, in the final scene, he comes out in that costume.  Nerdy fun, but really satisfying.

The show ends with a wonderful reference duel reminiscent of magic fights between Merlin and Morgana, or Harry and Voldemort.  It is like a fast money round in a game show, and was the perfect rounding off.

Gow has crafted a really witty play here, full of accurately researched trivia and a true understanding of the nature of people involved in these mega-conventions.  He demonstrates an awareness of the various layers of social impact these parallel fantasy universes have on people as individuals and also of how they impact and reinforce societal structures.

The show only runs until Sunday, so make sure you go and see it if you love this stuff.  They have a con-play discount in place.  If you go in costume you get your ticket half price.  It can be any costume, they are not discriminating.

Everyman and the Pole Dancers Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/96972

Gough Review

Theatre Review by Samsara Dunston

What:  Gough

Where:  Long Play – part of the 2014 Fringe Festival

When:  October 1-5

Written and Directed by:  James Cunningham

Performed by:  Warwick Merry

Gough is a one man show being performed at Long Play in North Fitzroy for this, the final week of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.  Written by James Cunningham, Gough is his second foray into Melbourne Fringe, having written and directed The Sheds last year.

The programme notes say that this show is ‘...a personal, intimate portrait...’ of the closed door shenanigans during the 1975 Constitutional crisis.  The theatre at the back of Long Play is like an elegant small bunker, so there was an aura of expectation that we would be hearing some dark and dirty secrets about this famous moment in Australian history which has left everlasting effects on our political psyche.

I was seven years old when this event happened, and one of my most enduring memories of that time is of my mother sitting on the sidewalk crying into the night.  This event broke the trust of the Australian people and left us with suspicion about politics and politicians.  What was unthinkable in those times – a double dissolution – is now common parlance every budget session.

One of the great examples Cunningham provides in the script is Winston Churchill’s response when, on being questioned about the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, he was asked why he didn’t consider that the great guns of Singapore were able to be pointed both north and south, so they could be turned and used to defend the island.  Churchill defended his decisions on the basis that ‘...it never occurred to me for a moment...that the gorge...was not entirely fortified against attack from the northward.’

This position is the one taken by the narrative of Gough.  Cunningham makes the argument that, although everyone agrees that Whitlam was the architect of his own demise by appointing Kerr as Governor General, he himself could not have anticipated how it would happen as it was so beyond understanding that such a fatal flaw existed and, more importantly, would be actioned.  This was our national loss of innocence.

Possibly the one great revelation I had from this show was on this point.  We really don’t get much insight into either Gough the man or Gough the politician apart from that.  Cunningham has basically written a university lecture (or half of one as it only runs for thirty minutes).  Every time he gets near a personal revelation or a quote, he shies away from it keeping everything very formal and detached.

Cunningham apparently got script input from journalists and a speech writer, but I wouldn’t even call this a speech.  Most speeches – the political ones at least – are delivered with passion and emotional hooks.  This script always closes the door on the audience just when you think you are being invited inside.

Merry’s performance doesn’t help either.  Merry is a corporate MC and character impersonator, so I admit that I expected a good caricature of Whitlam.  What we got was a cardboard cut out.  Far too focussed on presenting the speech, Merry never let down the facade to let us see the real man underneath – his passions, his fears, his paranoia, his anger.  We got none of that.  All we got was slow measured talking.  Even his vocal work failed to capture that odd hybrid Whitlam has of learned vowels with Aussie drawl.

The show was interesting in that we learn a little bit about how Frazer and Kerr were able to do what they did and a bit of a look at the mechanisms put in place, but there are no deep insights.  The play is just too short to get us there.  I actually had to ask another audience member if the show was over or if it was just interval.

Overall, it is a nice wander down memory lane.  We get to see the ‘It’s Time’ TV ad, and we see Whitlam’s concession speech on the steps of parliament.  The show just doesn’t have enough depth.  Whitlam comes off as naive, if not stupid, and there is no sense of personal ownership of the events.

This is an inoffensive evening of theatre, and the Long Play bar is a really cool and groovy place to have a top shelf drink and listen to funky tunes on a record player before and after the show.

All The Single Ladies review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/96734

Honey Pot review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/96424

Spellbound Illusion Spectacular review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/96163

Invitation To A Revolution review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/96163

Bombshells review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/96011

Ethel Has A Pianist review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/95957

Is It Because I'm Indian? review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/95854

The YouTube Comment Orchestra Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/95808

The Birdmann in Momentous Timing Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/95806

Death of a Salesman The Sitcom Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/95635

Almost Face To Face - Review

http://www.melbartsfash.com/95569

Henry IV (Enrico IV) Review

Here is my review for 'Henry IV(Enrico IV)'
http://www.melbartsfash.com/94496

Automatic Writing #7

This reminds me of when I was a sound tech.  My head buried in the back of electronic equipment, buried in tangled cables.  Hours, days, years of my life spent chasing signals down wires.  Imagining each pulse as an act of life and liveliness.  Like the heart it should never cease.  Like a heart surgeon, looking for the blockage or the hole.  Patching up the engine of life (or sound).  Looking for the problem, trying to find a solution.  Pumping knobs and buttons and pots in the same way doctors pump the heart.  The sound signal is the blood of life to the audio engineer.

The cables are thick and insulated.  You can't really see the wires, and you definitely can't see the signals.  It is like a sixth sense though.  A psychic awareness of the electrical highway.  If you know what to look for, what to listen for, what to feel for, you will find it.

They say, in this age of digital consoles, that you can't mix sound with your eyes.  Well I say you can't just mix sound with your ears either.  You have to feel it.  Just as the signal flows down the wire, the soundwaves vibrate through your body.

You don't just hear that base beat, you feel it.  That 'money note' isn't a sound.  It is the goose bumps felt when it is sung.  Music is a feeling.  All sound is feeling.  As your ears vibrate, your other internal organs are vibrating as well.

It is not just your body vibrating with the sound.  It is the world vibrating with you too.  It is a movement of universal synchronicity, that driving doof, getting your intestines worked up is also shaking the tables and chairs, rocking the glasses, and rattling the door.  Your vibrations are at one with the universe.

There Are Trees That Are Dancers Review

Here is my review for 'There Are Trees That Are Dancers'.
http://www.melbartsfash.com/93466

Found Writing

35 years. 35 years. 35 long years.  Long, long, years.  35 years of wishing.  Wishing.  Wishing for... what?  Sitting, wishing, reading.  Wishing for adventure.  Reading about adventure.  A library full of adventure.  Book after book after book after book of lives, loves, travails, hopes, dreams, hardships, failures, joy, glory, dragons, spells, wonder, and truth.  All of it written down.  All of it to be shared.  And here I sit.  Surrounded.  Surrounded for 35 years by adventure.  Reading about it, longing for it, dreaming of it, but never, ever doing anything about it.

I can't go.  I have my job.  I have my house to look after.  My possessions.  What will happen to my dog?  Besides, the bread would go mouldy.  I can't go.  I have to clean my bathroom first.  I can leave my house in a mess.  I don't really have anything suitable to wear.  I need to go shopping first.  And what would I buy?  Will it be hot or cold?  Will there be snow?  Do I need an umbrella or a bikini?  This is ridiculous!  No.  I can't go yet.  35 years isn't so long.  I do think I need another book though.  It might give me some ideas...

As I walk down the street I notice a travel agent,  I hesitate at the window, looking in.  Maybe I could make an enquiry.  It couldn't hurt.  It's not as if I am actually going right now.  Look!  They're having a sale - 35 years of adventure ON SALE!  That sounds exciting.  A bit long perhaps.  Maybe they have a shorter option.  Even full price, 10 years has to be cheaper than 35 years at a discount.  Although... you do always get better value for money when buying in bulk...  There might be quite a lot of savings by buying the full 35 years.  I will ask.  It can't hurt to ask...

I step inside and it looks rather more like a book store than a travel agency.  Stacks and stacks of books and magazines.  I browse and wander and then I see it!  The Book of GO.  I hesitate or just a moment but then I grab it quickly off the shelf before I can change my mind.  The money exchanges hands and then - I am GONE!

Coranderrk Review

Here is my review for Coranderrk
http://www.melbartsfash.com/93210

The Two-Character Play Review

Here is my review for 'The Two-Character Play'
http://www.melbartsfash.com/93171

Missfits Review

Here is my review for Missfits.
http://www.melbartsfash.com/92990

Collage Writing

Tired
The end of a long day
Clasping at my face
Clutching at straws
Writing a letter
Admitting responsibility
Remembering
Spinning back through time
Stopped at the moment
They take a drag
A long thick drag
Getting high
I am working with children
It's not in the right place
Fuck you
It's not in the right place
We'll fix it then
I am not OCD
It is not in the right place
Feeling destructive
We'll knock it down then
They exit.

Automatic Writing #6

I am so cool.  Everybody thinks so.  Do you know how they can tell?  Well, I guess if I had tl tell, you it wouldn't be true.  You can just see it for yourself.  I am always having problems with my friends because they are always so jealous.  They say they aren't, but how could they not be?  I mean, seriously!  Once, Jenna tried to tell me that she thought her hair was better than mine.  I laughed.  There is no point in getting upset because I know it is absurd and they are just trying to feel better about their imperfections.  It must be hard to have a friend like me.  Imagine always being compared to me and to be shown wanting.  I guess it would be easier for them if I had some flaws, but I really don't.  Usually, people who are this gorgeous are quite dumb.  Not me.  Dux of the School.  If they are not dumb, they are mean and bitchy, but I never say a bad word about anyone.  I never even mentioned it when I noticed that Jenna's last eyebrow wax was uneven.  And when Kurt spilled pasta sauce down his white pants, I was the first person to stand up and yell for a waiter.  Jenna said I should have been more discreet, but I know what I did was right.  Pasta sauce stains, and I couldn't be seen walking around with a guy with sauce down his pants.  I don't understand why Kurt dropped me that night.  I guess it's even harder to date perfection than it is to be a friend to it.  That's alright though.  Everyone either wants to be my boyfriend or my best friend.  I have warned Jenna that there is a lot of competition out there.  She once said she didn't want to be my friend anymore because I was so self-centred.  Self-centred?  Silly girl!  I had to explain to her that she was just not seeing things the way they truly are and she is confusing confidence and knowledge with ego.  I don't blame her for her confusion.  She isn't me.

Automatic Writing #5

RON:  Hup, 2, 3, 4.  Hup, 2, 3, 4.  Hup, 2, 3, 4.  Hup, 2, 3, 4.  Hup, clomp, clomp, comp. Hup, clomp, clomp, clomp.  Hup, clomp, clomp, ...

HARRY:  Ouch!

RON:  Wait a minute.  Wait a minute!  What is going on?

HARRY:  I keep tripping over these stupid pom poms.

RON:  Get it together soldier!

HARRY:  I am not a soldier, I'm an actor.  And even if I was, the enemy would win in five seconds.  Who ever heard of going to war in pom poms?

RON:  Come on, Harry.  Pull yourself together.  Rehearsals are already behind schedule.  Pick up your feet - literally, mate.

HARRY:  I would have to lift my feet to the ceiling to walk in these shoes.  What kind of army are we supposed to be in anyway? The clown army of east circusia?

RON:  Don't be stupid.

HARRY:  I'm not being stupid, Ron.  Look at these tights, and garters, and a skirt!  Are we playing girls?

Automatic Writing #4

Walls crumbling
Stone falling brick by brick
A precipice
The way ahead lost
The path behind disappearing
What to do?
Stay and be buried
Or take one step forward
Knowing you will fall
Is it an abyss?
Or is there a ledge?
A tree branch?
Something to catch you
To save you
A soft fall?
Is it all over now?
All that is left is the choice
How to die?
Or is one choice
A decision of hope?
A certain death
More an act of faith?
Either way
The only option not available
Is stasis
Inertia
No change
Is no possibility
Making no choice
Is a choice of it's own

You still have time
The end is nigh
But you are at the centre
Of the Apocalypse
You look out
Sweat beading your brow
Breathe coming in desperate gasps
Exhausted from running
Away from the destruction
Only to be halted
By the absence
Nowhere else to run
Head turning
Back and forth
Rivulets seeping
Down your body
Is it getting hotter?
Your heart beats like crazy
Thump, thump, thump
Panic rises

Automatic Writing #3

Closed in walls
Looking through glass
Safe from the world
Structure
Solidity
Regularity
Conformity
Protection
Escape
Architecture
Shape
Regularity

Cut off
Shut in
Peering
Peeking
Seeking
Searching
Afraid
Wanting
Yearning
Sharp angles
Intersections
Cold geometry
Height
Distance
Afar

Walking Into The Bigness review

Here is my review for 'Walking Into The Bigness'
http://www.melbartsfash.com/92591

Automatic Writing #2

Families
Lineage
Generation upon generation
Piles of bodies
Death
Decay
Smiling faces
Warm embraces
Loving stares
People who care
Living a lifetime
Some lives are short
Some lives are longer
People die naturally
People die with violence
Ashes to ashes
Dust to dust
All end up in the ground
On the ground
Worm food
Fertilizer
Giving new life

But sometimes
The bodies are stacked
So high
Mass graves
Cover mass crimes
Masses of humanity
The bones of civilization
The archaeology of dominion
People look at bricks
And stones
Piled upon each other
And say 'this is history'
It is truer perhaps
To look at the bones
This is the history
Of mankind

Automatic Writing #1

The sun is shining
The sky is open
The world is alive

It is a lie
Yesterday was grey
Closed and cold

The earth hints at summer
Warmth and play
A tease, a glimpse

But winter is still around
The cold and wet
Just waiting

Hidden behind trees
Behind buildings
Beyond the horizon

Lurking, peeking
Wating for us to relax
Watching as we loose the layers

As soon as t-shirts emerge
It will show it's face
Winter will reappear

The freezing cold winds
Hail stones and icy frost
Bare skin pummeled by nature

Cruel, cruel nature
Ever the prankster
Keeping secrets from the unprepared

Puny mortals
Living the lives of gods
Yet controlling nothing

Pawns in a galactic game of chess
Tossed and tugged
Whipped and beaten

Slaves to the end.

The Magic Hour review

My review for 'The Magic Hour'
http://www.melbartsfash.com/92327

I Heart John McEnroe review

Here is my review for 'I Heart John McEnroe'.
http://www.melbartsfash.com/92211

North West of Nowhere Review

Here is my review of Ilbijerri's 'North West of Nowhere'
http://www.melbartsfash.com/92159

ENTROPIA revealed

You have all been hearing me rabbit on about this vorticist play, Entropia, I have been trying to write for the last couple of months.  Well, it is finally completed and I have published an excerpt below for you all to have a look at.  I need to acknowledge my grateful thanks to the wonderful creatives who worked with me to understand Vorticism and then turn it into something performative.  My team inlcuded:  Scott Knight, Idha Kurniasih, Luke Rogers, Zeynep Incir, Eleanor Lindberg, Elizabeth Paterson, and Odile Gotts.  I also have to give a shout out to Ben Rogan, my residency mentor for his support and encouragement:)

CHARACTERS

REPORTER 1

REPORTER 2

REPORTER 3 (Alice)

TONY ABBOTT

LITTLE TONY ABBOTT

MOTHER

KING RICHARD III

JOE HOCKEY

PROFESSOR

CHORUS

This is a play for 5 actors or more. 

This play is written in the Vorticist tradition.  The stage can be any configuration (end stage, round, thrust, pros arch, etc), but the placement and direction of the characters cannot change.  All stage directions are from a specific POV and should be blocked accordingly. The lighting should be angular and sharp, with a clear understanding of who is the focus of the scene (indicated through the script as the character having a spot light on them).  The sound should be violent and stacatic.  Three hand held radio microphones are required.

Centre stage is a lectern with a working microphone. There are two stools and one armchair (all TV style).  There are a set of steps (at least 4), and a small hillock.  These items can be placed anywhere to begin. 

There are placards littered around the stage. The placards read ‘Block the budget’, ‘Too many Abbott lies’, ‘We’re marching for a fairer Australia’, ‘We love our ABC and we vote’, ‘$3 billion for drones, not enough for Medicare?’, ‘Budget by the fat cats for the fat cats’.

Tony Abbott stands on the hillock, with a spotlight on him.  The rest of the cast sit together in a close group staring at the audience.

TONY ABBOTT:  Politicians should not, should not say one thing before an election and do the opposite, the opposite afterwards.  This election is about trust. 

A explosion and everyone falls to the ground, dead.  Tony Abbott stands at lectern facing the audience and Joe Hockey stands behind his left shoulder nodding continuously.  Reporter 2 stands close, but not looking at him, using a microphone, and Reporter 3 upstage of Joe but facing the back wall and using a microphone. The chorus sit facing Reporter 3.  There is a spot light on the two reporters.

REPORTER 2:  Mr Abbott was sworn in by Governor-General Quentin Bryce at Government House today, with wife Margie and daughters Louise, Bridget and Frances looking on.  Mr Abbott said he would govern

TONY:  For all Australians.  Including…including those who didn’t vote for us.  We won’t forget those who are often marginalised, people…people…er…um...and women struggling to combine career and family.

REPORTER 3:  he said.

TONY:  We will not spare ourselves, we will not spare ourselves, in order to deserve the trust placed in us this day.

REPORTER 2:  Mr Abbott said it was an honour to serve the nation.

TONY:  We  will do our best not to leave anyone behind.

REPORTER 3:  he said. (turns 90 degrees)

TONY:  We aim…we aim… to be a calm, measured, steady and purposeful government that says what it means and does what it says.

REPORTER 2:  Mr Abbott is a Rhodes Scholar who briefly trained as a Catholic priest. Before entering politics in 1994, he worked as a journalist and liberal advisor and also served as the executive director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy.  He promises a ‘no surprises’ government that seeks a happy marriage between liberal and conservative traditions.

TONY:  I give you all this assurance:  we will not let you down.

REPORTER 3:  On the eve of the 2013 federal election Tony Abbott promised no cuts to education, health, or the ABC and SBS, and no changes to pensions. 

REPORTER 2 & 3:  Having run a successful smear campaign whilst in opposition about the Gillard governments carbon tax ‘lie’, it was a big risk for Tony Abbott to make such significant promises of his own.  Keeping the faith of the Australian people after such a divisive period will be Mr Abbott’s biggest challenge.

An explosion and they all fall down dead.  The chorus circle the stage slowly, holding placards chanting loudly and with passion. 

CHORUS:   When everyone is under attack, what to we do?  Stand up.  Fight back!

One member of the chorus pulls out of the crowd, places their placard against the back wall and stands at lectern as a professor. The chorus sit in a line parallel to the lectern but facing the audience taking notes. The ‘students’ are spotlit.

PROFESSOR:  Good morning everyone, welcome to Oxford.  This semester we will be commencing your studies by discussing the concept of entropy and its socio-political interpretion.  I assume you have all completed the required reading for this unit.  Mr Abbott, please remind the class what entropy is.

TONY ABBOTT:  (standing) Er, er, Entropy…er… um, that is, entropy is the second.  That is to say, er, entropy is, er the second, the second.  Er.  Entropy is the second law.  It is the second law of, e…of…, er, the second law of thermo, er,..er…er… of thermodynamics.  Entropy is, er, the third – I mean the second – entropy is the second law of thermo…thermodynamics.

PROFESSOR:  Thank you Mr Abbott, you may sit now.  Humpty Dumpty has often been used to demonstrate entropy. Entropy is a measure of the number of specific ways in which a system may be arranged, often taken to be a measure of "disorder". The higher the entropy, the higher the disorder. After his fall, and subsequent shattering, the inability to put Humpty Dumpty together again, back to his original state of order, is representative of this principle.  

TONY ABBOTT:  Uh, sir... I don’t think I understand.

PROFESSOR:  I know you don’t, Mr Abbott.  Think of entropy as what happens when you shake a person.  If you hold a poor person upsided down and shake a poor, no matter how hard you shake, very few coins will fall out of his pocket.  This person is a low entropy system.  Whereas, if you shake a rich person – a mining mogul, for example - a lot of coins will fall all over the place causing a system of high entropy, i.e a lot of ways they can be picked up and rearranged. 

TONY ABBOTT:  Er...why are we shaking people?

PROFESSOR:  You are getting sidetracked Mr Abbott.  The important thing to understand is that nature always organises energy so as to ensure it’s greatest chance of existence.  Entropy is precisely those number of ways the energy can be organised, and the entropy of an isolated system never decreases.

TONY ABBOTT:  I am confused.

PROFESSOR:  That does not surprise me Mr Abbott.  Now, in the socio-political arena we have a whole spectrum of how a society of people can be organised.  The best example of the regular reorganisation of entropic political systems is democracy.  Every time an election is held, the political elements of a community are reorganised within itself.

A ricochet of gun fire.  Everyone ducks.  Tony sits on the armchair.  Little Tony and the reporter sit together on the stairs.  The reporter has a microphone.

REPORTER 2:  Just Following on from what you said, I’ll play back to you something, you said on ABC radio before the election.

TONY ABBOTT:       I’ve...seen...the disaster that this government has created for itself and...I don’t wanna be like that.  I really don’t, and if we do win the election and...we immediately say “oh...um...we got it all wrong.  We’ve now gotta do these different things”, we will instantly be just as bad as the current government has been and...I just...refuse to be like that.

REPORTER 2:         With respect, Prime Minister, you are being like that.

LITTLE TONY:          Well, that’s for the people to judge!  (blows a raspberry).

An explosion and everyone falls dead.  The chorus circle the stage with the placards chanting.

CHORUS:  You say cut back, we say fight back.

A reporter steps out, places placard down, then crosses to the edge of the stage and picks up a microphone.  She is in the way of the protesters and gets jostled about and pushed around in the hubbub. 

REPORTER 1: It has not been a good year for Mr Abbott, with his popularity plummeting in the polls.  The austerity budget was recently released last week, and there is extreme outrage over his wink whilst on talk back radio and listening to a pensioner with chronic illnesses as she explained having to undertake phone sex work to make ends meet already – without the proposed changes.  People are saying this is exactly the lack of empathy and care for the ordinary Australian demonstrated by his draconian budget.  Today we are seeing mass marches around Australia yesterday, in Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth.  The largest attendance is here in Melbourne with over 10 000 people marching down Swanston street causing traffic chaos.  The nationwide protests demonstrate the sentiment that the budget burden is not being shared equally at all, but is being carried by the poorest in our country.   

The sound of an automatic machine gun and everyone falls dead.  A mother and Little Tony place placards down near the audience They sit opposite each other and play with building blocks together.

MUM:  Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall

            Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

            All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

            Couldn’t put Humpty together again.  (She repeats the song with little Tony)

King Richard puts placard down and stands on one side of the lectern, as if standing at it, but offset, mouthing the following words in synch with a voice over recording (which has ‘Best Budget Ever’ responses mixed in).  There is a spotlight on King Richard.

VOICE OVER:          “Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this sun of York;

And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house

In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.”

MOTHER:    Do you know what Humpty Dumpty is, Tony?

LITTLE TONY:  Yes.  Egg.  Picture at kinder.

MOTHER:  And how do we know he’s an egg?

LITTLE TONY:  He falls, the horsies and soldiers come – bam! Bam! – can’t fix.  (rifle fire sounds as he says bam, and he knocks down the wall) Like you drop egg on floor, was all gooey and smooshie, and shell  broken.

MOTHER:  (She starts the game again).  That is right Tony.  What do you think this nursery rhyme means?

LITTLE TONY:  I know!  I know!  Can’t cook eggs when fall ‘cause dirty and make you sick!

MOTHER:  (Laughing) Well, yes, that is true Tony, but it means something more important than that.

LITTLE TONY:  No it don’t.  You’re fibbing Mum. (giggling)

Richard turns to face in the direction of the lectern, although still standing beside it, and repeats the lines after the voice over, line by line.  His voice is now picked up by the lectern microphone.

V/O & (RICHARD):  “What do I fear? Myself?

                                    (What do I fear?  Myself?)

There’s none else by.

(There’s none else by.)

Richard loves Richard, that is, I and I.
(Tony loves Tony; that is, I and I.)

(Together) Is there a liar here? No. Yes, I am.

MOTHER:  No Tony, I’m not fibbing.  What Humpty Dumpty means is that

sometimes, when you drop  something, or break something, it can’t be fixed.

LITTLE TONY:  God fix everything!

MOTHER:  Er, well, yes, that is to say, uh, yes, God can fix everything, but, er, only

things… only things that… only things that go up to heaven.  Things like…things

like… us, and… animals.  Not eggs, or toys, that sort of thing.

LITTLE TONY:  Daddy fixes toys.  Ask him, he fix you egg.

MOTHER:  Yes son.  I am sure he can. Can you name something that can’t be fixed

once it is broken? 

LITTLE TONY:  (Tony smacks her hands away)  Nope.  Bored.  Stop now.

MOTHER:  Okay, Tony we can stop playing this game now.  The answer, though, is

trust.  Trust can’t be fixed once you break it.  Never ever lie, Tony.