Next year the STC Actors Company will finish their time with us. The War Of The Roses, their last production, will be playing at both the Sydney Festival and Perth International Arts Festival. Their work for Sydney Theatre Company has been tireless and has produced some amazing pieces of theatre. Thanks and a standing ovation as they move on…
With the opportunity to evolve the model, we asked ourselves – what can a permanent company of actors offer? The most exciting answer we came up with was to put them at the core of the Company’s work on every level, from our Education Program and Next Stage to the Main Stage. The guiding principle becoming the development, the exploration, shaping and fine-tuning of new Australian works, before they are delivered up. They offer the place to try ideas and see if they will fly, to take important risks, to cook shows properly before putting them in front of our hungry audience…
The all new Residents will start in June 2009. Comprising Theatre Makers who may bring skills additional to performance (musical, physical or other), the group will work on voice and movement daily. Their development slate will allow several 3- or 4-week phases working on projects that are not expected to come to fruition until further down the track. This will allow all involved to investigate thoroughly a number of new Australian works a year. Such an opportunity will prove invaluable to directors, designers and choreographers, as well as writers.
In terms of output you’ll still encounter The Residents on the Main Stage, in Next Stage and in our Education Program. Much of their work, however, will be invisible to the naked eye as they undertake the invaluable work of refining new pieces in the rehearsal room. Mind you, part of that development process might include public readings or showings. When it does, we’ll invite you along. The voice and movement training that The Residents engage in each day will be made available to the other actors working in the Company, so there will be a real sense that what this resident company offers is at the very heart of all our theatrical endeavour. We believe this evolution of the permanent company may well offer a tectonic shift in the development and creation of new Australian Theatre.
