Audience asked for stage support

July 30, 2023 BY Tim Bottams

Artful: Playwright, Marty MonStar, has been creating in Ballarat since last year after moving from Melbourne. Photo: TIM BOTTAMS

A BALLARAT-based playwright is calling out for donations to help bring to life his next production.

With his previous works entirely self-funded, creative Marty MonStar is aiming to have his next Melbourne-based production Madrina made with the support of the community.

Campaigning for the cash through fundraising platform the Australian Cultural Fund, MonStar said the initiative will give his audience a greater connection to the work.

“It gives them a sense of ownership in a way, if they’re contributing or donating funds,” he said.

“It’ll give them a sense of input and the pleasure in investing in something that is uniquely Australian and colloquially Melbourne.

“I have a firm belief in paying every creative involved. It’s important for the actors, director, set designer, stagehands. I’ve always paid everyone which doesn’t always happen with independent plays.

“This is my first time raising money through the Australian Cultural Fund.”

With a goal of more than $28,000, MonStar aims to hold a play-reading session for Madrina in around September to attract further investment.

He said he plans to have the production debut in Melbourne during the second half of 2024.

Set in Coburg in 1976, Madrina centres around the duality of Paloma Gilfano, a second-hand car dealership owner, and her eponymous identity as a mafia boss.

“It’s comedic, it’s dramatic, it’s suspenseful,” MonStar said. “The audience will fall in love with Madrina, or Paloma.

“They may not like what she does. She’s a very caring, comforting woman but she’s also a ruthless killer. The duplicity in her personality and what she does in her life is engaging.

“I think people love that sort of thing, and I definitely do, the fact that there’s a dark side and a light side to people.”

Though yet to showcase one of his plays in Ballarat, MonStar said he aims to make his local debut early next year with a production of his original work The Hang Up.

MonStar’s campaign page can be found at the Australian Cultural Fund website.