By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
PLAYWRIGHT Mary Anne Butler feels as though she has come full circle.
The Darwin author is back in Geelong, where she spent four years at Geelong Grammar and had her career in theatre sparked by an impromptu performance in a school play.
Not only is she back with her latest work, Highway of Lost Hearts, she is back treading the boards after rediscovering the joy in acting.
“At school the lead actor got sick, so they pulled me in to replace her. I was 17 and it was my first brush with the theatre,” Mary Anne explained.
“That impromptu performance was so significant I decided to audition for the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
“I didn’t get in because I was too young but I received a lot of encouragement and five years later I ended up going to the Victorian College of the Arts.
“It was funny because after that I lost the joy of acting and my transition to writing happened pretty quickly, I was a lot happier.
“But I’m performing in this play and having a ball because the director, Lee Lewis, really encouragement me to get back on the boards.
“It’s bizarre because I found the joy of acting again. It’s been an interesting circle to come around.
“I spent my pivotal years here and remember it well.”
Geelong Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) describes Highway of Lost Hearts as a heart-warming play about a woman, a dog, a campervan and 4500-kilometres of wide open road.
Central character Mot wakes to find her heart missing from her chest, so she sets out in search of it with her dog as “co-pilot”.
Together they travel the Highway of Lost Hearts into outback Australia, where Mot discovers many others missing “some vital part of themselves”.
Including a dog in the play arose from Mary Anne’s own love of dogs.
“They love you unconditionally. They need you but what else wags its tail and smiles and wants to do everything with you.
“Dogs love being in a group and it’s a bit like being part of a collaborative in the theatre.”
The play is at GPAC this weekend.
