Local artists to take off from Creative Engine Launchpad

GEELONG Arts Centre’s inaugural Creative Engine Launchpad initiative begins on June 22, featuring the work of three local artists.

Over three nights, artists will have the opportunity to present their work in a professional theatre setting and audience, with the aim of creating more pathways for the creators.

Performances cover a range of genres, from immersive theatre through to acrobatic storytelling and comedic screenwriting.

The creative projects include Cabaret of Calm by Helen Duncan, GO/NO GO by GO/NO GO Circus and Psyched by Serah Nathan.

Serah Nathan has been working on Psyched, a comedy drama designed for television, for the past six years and will stage a developmental reading of the pilot episode on June 28 as part of the launchpad initiative.

Psyched features a woman, who in a desperate attempt to win her ex back through guilt, checks herself into a psychiatric clinic.

“I’m one of those writers that isn’t very imaginative,” Nathan said.

“Psyched is definitely inspired by a true story and lived experience of my own.

“I basically took that grain of lived experience and used the tools I have as a writer, specifically as a comedy writer, to sit down… and use that time and space to craft compelling characters that were also grounded, and each had their own journey throughout the story.”

Nathan is encouraging people to come along for a unique glimpse into the developmental process of creating a television show and to support a local writer.

A Q&A session will also take place after the reading, which will allow Nathan to get a response from the audience about the pilot episode.

“Like any writer that’s developing an original television series, I hope to be able to take Psyched to the next stage, which would be attaching a production company and pitching it out to get it into production on Australian television screens,” she said.

The story will be read by stage and screen professionals as a “labour of love” and elevated through sound and lighting.

Cabaret Of Calm, an immersive performance, will take the stage on June 22, followed by GO/NO GO, a combination of circus and theatre, on June 26.

For tickets and more information, head to geelongartscentre.org.au