Theatre troupes set for stage

Experienced and budding performers will take to the stage as part of Anglesea’s One Act Play Festival (OAPF) to battle it out for cash prizes and accolades.

In its 27th year, Anglesea Performing Arts OAPF welcomes Victorian theatre companies to town across the August 18-19 weekend to perform a delightful repertoire of shows, including comedy, drama and monologues.

“This year boasts an impressive 19 plays across one weekend. If you like your theatre short and sharp then this is the weekend for you,” Nikki Watson from Anglesea Performing Arts (APA) said.

“Tickets range from $10 to $20 depending on the session, if you want a flexi pass for the entire weekend grab yourself a bargain, only $40.”

Ms Watson said Dan Giovannoni, a renowned playwright and theatre maker from Melbourne, will be given the difficult task of Adjudication.

“He is currently a writer in residence at Melbourne Theatre Company as part of the NEXT STAGE writers program,” Ms Watson said.

“Anglesea will have two entries in the competition: Love, Loss and What I Wore, which follows fragmented stories about the nostalgic power of women’s clothing and I am a Refugee, a beautifully penned piece about what it means to be human from the heart and the minds of the displaced.”

Having won the best actress award last year, APA member Julie Fryman said she was once again looking forward to the opportunity to bring another character and script (Love, Loss and What I Wore) to life.

“There are six of us in the play and it’s divided up into sections. Some are ensembles and monologues – we’re still just working out exactly how we’re going to do it,” she said.

“It goes for roughly 40 minutes, we’re talking about items of clothing and the significance of the clothing. I’ve always been interested in performing since high school, I’m quite shy but I have found theatre and drama to be a great outlet.”

Ms Fryman said she was blown away after winning last year’s best actress award and loved the opportunity to watch other talented performers across the weekend.

“It was hugely amazing and shocking, I was not expecting it and was amazed by the response my performance got. The writing was fantastic by Melinda Chapman, my character Polly was in a strained marriage,” she said.

“I really got to flex my acting muscles and it was a challenging role. This year will be the fourth year that I’ve been involved. Over the last couple of years, we’ve had some really amazing original works which people have written.

“This event is a fantastic opportunity to showcase original work. Even though it’s a competition people come with little to no acting experience and have a go because it’s such a nice, supportive environment.”

Ms Watson said the weekend comes complete with affordable café style catering and a wine bar in the evenings.

“Snuggle up in the cosy atmosphere of the Anglesea Memorial Hall and see a “bunch of shorts”,” she said.

For tickets and more information go to angleseaperformers.org.au.

If you can’t make it on the weekend, Torquay Theatre Troupe and Anglesea Performing Arts will be doing a preview night at the Torquay Senior Citizens Hall August 16 and 17, for tickets and more information go to trybooking.com and search Torquay Theatre Troupe.

Ticketing, weekend schedule and any further information can all be found on the Anglesea Performing Arts website at angleseaperformers.org.au.