HOTA has commissioned local company, White Rabbit Theatre to create a new theatre work for families, FISH!
White Rabbit Theatre is an independent company based on the Gold Coast who make new collaborative work for theatre which is bold, joyful, innovative and surprising.
Here we talk to White Rabbit Theatre’s Co-Artistic Directors Lisa Smith and Ainslee Palmer about this new work which brings together stories of courage, imagination and friendship in ways that speak to young audiences and families.
Tell us about your concept for FISH!
FISH! is a new theatre work for young audiences aged 4-7 and their families. It takes place at a local swimming pool, where 6 year old Gus has come to try out swimming lessons for the very first time. Gus doesn’t really like trying new things. He prefers his old routine. But his Mum has told him how important it is to be confident in the water so, reluctantly, he has agreed to give lessons a try.
There he meets Pim, who is easily one of the best swimmers who comes to the swim school. Across a series of Saturday mornings, Gus tries to find the courage to get into the pool for the very first time, and during that time he starts to notice there is something fishy about Pim. She’s not just a good swimmer. She is almost TOO good. Something sparkles when she gets in the water. Did you see it? It’s almost like she’s really a …
What’s involved with making a new theatre work from scratch?
Our process for making new theatre is all about collaboration! We will have plenty of ideas and a first draft of the script when we come into the creative development studio, and then it’s all about testing things out! The playwright/director will work with our actors, dramaturg and sound designer to create the world of the play, to discover the characters and their relationships, and to find, shape and refine the story. Then we will be inviting in test audiences to share what we’ve made and get some feedback to take into the next phase of making the show!
Who are the creative team behind the work?
White Rabbit Theatre is an independent company based on the beautiful Gold Coast, and we are all about making new work for theatre. We work collaboratively as an ensemble to make theatre that is bold, joyful, innovative and surprising. A lot of the work we have made in the past is for older audiences, but this is the second work we have made especially for young audiences. For this play, we have WRT Co-Artistic Director Lisa Smith taking on dual roles of playwright and director, WRT Co-Artistic Director Ainslee Palmer taking on dual roles of actor and movement director, long time collaborators Zac Boulton as ‘Gus’ and Victoria Carless as our dramaturg and we are delighted to welcome new collaborator Mike Johnson as our sound designer, composer and Voice Over artist.
What are you most excited about as you head into your first creative development for the work?
We are so excited to have been invited by HOTA to make a new work for young audiences, and to have the support of this commission is an amazing opportunity. We are very much looking forward to creating a fictional world that is both familiar and fantastical, grounded in reality, and also playful and whimsical. We are excited to find the ways we can explore the themes of courage, imagination and friendship in ways that speak to our young audiences and also entertain and delight the adults they bring with them to the theatre. Most of all, we are excited to share what we have made by the end of the process and for Gold Coast audiences to come with us on the journey, from this first creative development all the way through to its premiere season!
Follow the journey of FISH! as the work evolves and develops and stay tuned with White Rabbit Theatre at White Rabbit Theatre.com.au.
FISH! has been proudly commissioned by HOTA, Home of the Arts
Images by Jorge Serra
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