By MICHELLE HERBISON
PLAYWRIGHTS Ross Mueller and Georgina Capper took their four Fony 2013 cast-members on a journey as they wrote the production specifically for the actorsâ talents.
Mueller, Courthouse ARTSâ artistic director, told the Independent the team chose their cast-members prior to finalising the details of the play.
âIt was a really different process for them to have been really present in the making. During the audition process we could say, âThis is what the playâs about but we donât know if this characterâs male or female until we get the right people in the roomâ,â Mueller recalled.
Fony 2013 was a comic mystery set in a school room that dealt with topical issues of young people, he said.
âThere are essentially four young people in a room and we know the principal is going to be back in 60 minutes. At the end of the play thereâs going to be an answer to who was responsible for this disaster that happened yesterday,â Mueller explained.
The content touched on the issue of bullying but Mueller and Capper avoided writing âa piece of theatre educationâ, instead using the issue as a framework for the play.
âWe know bullying is bad and we should stop so thereâs no point putting that on stage. But itâs a perfect starting point for a piece of drama involving people under the age of 26 nowadays,â Mueller said
The content reflected the ârapid pace of developmentâ of culture in the last decade.
âAnybody whoâs ever been to school or used the internet will be able to understand this play.â
Mueller said cast-members Jesse Bickerton, Didem Caia, Charlie McIntyre and Thomas Russell Shears met the criteria for the Courthouse ARTS ensemble project of being over 18 and available to tour to Sydney in June.
âTwo of the four are studying and one is pretty much working full time. Theyâve all had to sacrifice some things to be involved,â Mueller said.
The team met twice a week for six weeks to rehearse the production in the lead-up to its Geelong season between 29 May and 8 June.
