Episode 9

Today was an interesting day of rehearsals. Firstly we had the morning with Yoris to make sure his dramatic arc was working and that he knew all of his material (before a full run on Monday). Always good to work with Yoris as he seems to thrive on the physical. HE also worked on a midi file of Close to You to get it into his key. Should he try and sing in an Hungarian accent or not? We will see as time porgresses.

Then after an afternoon of planning we went into the evening rehearsal with the Friends of the Pineapple Woman. This began with a costume fitting with Ann Gibb (Offspring of the Pineaaple Woman and Crocodile man). She was full of stories tonight about how her mother spoke to her father and other fun things.

Co-Director Tim Newth oversees costume fittings with Ann Gibb

Detail of giant pineapple costume

We then worked on the opening of Act 3, where everyone arrives at a huge outdoor old Darwin style party. We worked this out through a mixture of improvisation and the performers creating material, and then directing it into some shape. I enjoyed a phrase we made where the guests are sitting at the table and thumping out a rhythmical phrase.

Melinda Christopher and Freddy Baker in their disco outfits

Ann Gibb in centre during costume fitting

We then finished a market scene that has a street style parade. I was strongly influenced by the strong yet simple moves of the Sinulog Festival in Cebu, the Philippines.

This was then followed by joining together a scene where the Pretend Pineapple woman (Ruttiya McElroy nee Suansri) is carried in in a giant pineapple by bare-chested men with crocodile bullet belts, while a group of women carry in another platform. They all move into a blessing phrase mixed between Thai, Chinese and Indian. This leads into a phrase for the crocodile hunters and then the girls join in as they all start a Hungarian trance phrase. Finally this develops into a duet of Attraction between  Ruttiya As the pineapple woman, and Darren Edwards as the pretend Crocodile Man. Monday we go through the duets of cultural difference, and that concludes that scene. It is quite involved as it transitions between cultures and styles, and yet this feels very Darwin.

Tomorrow is a day away from these rehearsals to let things settle in the mind and the body. Tickets are on sale through the Darwin Entertainment Centre 08 8980 3333