Prue Clark

Season: Melbourne Theatre Company Education Season (May 2019) and regional tour (May/June)

Connor is 16 and angry. He doesn’t know why. Lately everything and everyone is annoying him. He’s slamming doors, flipping desks and always fighting. But, when he takes his rage one step too far, his parents decide to leave him in the forest for a week, alone. That should sort him out. Until he meets Lotte – also 16, also angry, but maybe just the friend Connor needs.

As unpredictable as Connor himself, The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You tackles the ticking time bomb of adolescence with humour and heart. Multi-award-winning playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer is renowned internationally as a leading figure in theatre for young people. His smart, sweet and fiery tale about two offbeat kids at war with the world will resonate with teenagers, and anyone who has ever been one.

Reviews:

“Theatre for young people of this quality doesn’t come around very often, and it is refreshing and exciting when it does.”
Laura Hartnell | Theatre People

“The Violent Outburst is a superb production …The production is infused with energy and vitriol. I was utterly absorbed and mesmerised.”
Alex First | The Blurb

“The play is entertaining and enjoyable – made more so by Prue Clark’s fine inventive direction.”
Michael Brindley | Stage Whispers

Listen to me speaking to Nicholas Waxman on The Aside Podcast.

Read Hannah Reich’s ABC article Melbourne Theatre Company tour takes mainstage theatre to young people in regional Victoria and Tasmania.

Writer: Finegan Kruckemeyer
Director: Prue Clark
Set & Costume Design: Romanie Harper
Lighting Design: Amelia Lever-Davidson
Sound Design: Ian Moorhead
Cast: Josh Price, Harry Tseng and Izabella Yena
Stage Manager: Lisette Drew
Photo credit: James Henry

Season: Monash Centre for Theatre and Performance (Sep 2018)

“Be careful how you interpret the world; it’s like that.” – Erich Heller

A celebration of compassion and hope and the stuff that makes the world all right. All That is Right responds to acclaimed Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed’s All That Is Wrong. Presented as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival in 2013, All That Is Wrong created a devastating picture of all that is wrong in the world.

All That is Right is the other half of the story - a counter-balance to the negativity bias of modern media and the idea the world has gone to the dogs. Because if we see and believe only the bad, what kind of life are we living? And how will we ever get the energy to do anything good?

Directors note: One of the main impetuses for making this show came from the warning of psychotherapist Philippa Perry: "If you do not know how to draw positive meaning from what happens in life, the neural pathways you need to appreciate good news will never fire up." It's a sobering thought. In making this show, we went a small way to rewiring our own neural pathways to let in the good. As we discussed in rehearsal, this does not mean ignoring or obliterating the bad. But in a world in which we are bombarded with the wrong and the bad, it seems to require a conscious and concerted effort to let in the right. To carve out a little space for hope. And, if Perry is right, this is important - otherwise we will lose our ability to find the good entirely.

We decided to focus on imagining a future that is right because if change starts first in the imagination then envisaging a right world is the first step to creating it. We quickly found out that it is much easier to say what you don't want in a right world, than what you do. But the latter is our job. It's not enough to point out the wrong, or to complain. We have to know what we're fighting for.

This show was a lot of fun to make and, as you will soon see, involved a lot of dancing! But it wasn't always easy or comfortable. Generating masses of content about what is right sometimes showed up how far we are from it. When someone says: "when everything is right there will be no sexual harassment" they are also saying that sexual harassment exists. We wish for it because it isn't yet reality. It also shed light on our biases, showed up contradictions in our thought, gaps in knowledge, and how much easier it is to talk about race relations and politics in the US than it is to talk about race relations and politics at home...

And of course what is 'right' is not universal, as Turquoise points out in the show. These are the beliefs of a small group of people - all female, all in their 20s, all university educated.

Ultimately I hope that this is a work of protest. Surely hope and joy are more effective than despair and defeatism in getting us to feel that this world is ours, and what we do matters.

Thanks to the amazing cast, creatives and crew for their commitment and kindness and to Monash for giving us the opportunity to make this together.

Created by: Morgan Rose Aldrich & Prue Clark together with Monash students
Designer and co-creator: Nathan Burmeister
Cast: Kimberley Albert-Bailey, Angela Duncan, Molly Forshaw, Gabriella Heathcote, Turquoise Monnoyeur, Beth Raywood-Cross, Abigail Tonis and Stella Webster.
Production Manager: Sophie Ashkanasy
Assistant Production Manager: Kathleen Kiddell
Producer: Fleur Kilpatrick

Season: Darebin Arts’ Speakeasy (July-Aug 2018).

I don’t know when I first saw it.
In a memory, a premonition, or a dream.
It was a house and it was on fire.
I was the house and I was on fire.

A suburban netball team. A new player. Cass says she wants to fit in but if she won’t play by their rules why does she bother coming at all? She claims to see something they cannot, a warning of sorts. All the other women want to do is play. But this player will push each of them to a point of furious revelation. Nothing will be left on the court once these women are done with their reckoning.

A sweaty play about the petty and the profound, the mundane and the mythic, Contest asks how we might be with each other if we don’t have to win.

Contest was presented in association with New Working Group and Bureau of Works.

Reviews:

"Netball as Homeric battlefield: In Contest…the world created by writer Emilie Collyer and director Prue Clark is remarkable: an epic battle worthy of Homer that spills out of, and perfectly captures, formalised physical contest."
Robert Reid | Witness Performance

"Collyer’s writing arcs from brutally unromantic to gruffly ­poetic with some exquisitely confessional exchanges along the way. Jousting dialogue unravels into contemplative soliloquies ... the design sharply — and magically — counterpoints the narrative reality ... production elements resolve and coalesce into something remarkable, even ecstatic."
Chris Boyd | The Australian

“An unsettling tragicomic vision from a talented local playwright, brought to life with buckets of grunt and style."
Cameron Woodhead | The Sydney Morning Herald

"Contest (the very title open to multiple interpretations) is a highly intelligent, perceptive and deeply felt work, performed by an excellent cast. They bring out all the buried or repressed fears and emotions of their characters, layered into them by the playwright. I hope I won’t put anyone off by saying this is genuinely feminist play which makes its convincing case by being so believable."
Michael Brindley | Stage Whispers

"It is simply spellbinding."
Olga Tolkacheva | Bohemian Rhapsody Club 

"Emilie Collyer’s ‘Contest’ … is an incisive and moving portrait of five women on a netball team ... The real strength of ‘Contest’ is its physicality. There is something cathartic but also unsettling in seeing women’s sweat pour down their faces, and their muscles shake with effort. This, combined with Collyer’s writing, makes for a dynamic conversation between mind and body, language and motion ... The performers work brilliantly together as an ensemble."
Laura Hartnell | Theatre People

“It leaves a deep impression."
Sam Richards | Weekend Notes

Writer: Emilie Collyer
Director: Prue Clark
Movement Direction: Nat Cursio and Alice Dixon
Set and Costume: Romanie Harper
Lighting: Amelia Lever-Davidson
Sound: Emah Fox
Script Dramaturg: Mark Pritchard
Producer: Erin Milne (Bureau of Works)
Cast: Alice Ansara, Natasha Herbert, Kate Hood, Sonya Suares and Emily Tomlins
Production and Stage Manager: Adelaide Harney
Assistant Stage Manager: Harriet Wallace-Mead

Seasons: Brisbane Festival (Sep 2018), Melbourne Fringe (Sep, 2017), Melbourne Comedy Festival (March, 2017), Blue Room Theatre Perth (April, 2017).

A farewell to men in 14 chapters.

Ode to Man blends storytelling, poetry and projected animation to critique our economic ambitions and romantic futures in a world where women dare dream to have it all.

NOMINATION: Best Performance (Melbourne Fringe 2017)

Reviews:

"I’ll be damned if I can recall a more creatively executed... focused one-person show... a rich tapestry: part stand-up, part history lesson, part lamentation, part primal scream... highly ambitious, excellently executed, and fearless"
Rhys Tarling | Perth Arts Live

"A powerful piece of performance theatre that challenges what masculinity was, is and should be and what it takes to be a 'real' man... a standout performance in this original, stirring work"
Myron My | My About Town

★★★★★ "Wonderful... poignant... sharp"
Will Erskine | MICF Funny Tonne

Writer & Performer: Emma Hall
Director: Prue Clark
Projection & Animation: Lindsay Cox
Sound: Chris Wenn
Set: Ruby Smedley (Perth)
Set construction: Fleur Dean & Marcus Cook (Melbourne Fringe)
Costume: Nicola Gunn
Mentor: Bagryana Popov
Publicist: Jamie Breen (Very Serious)
Production Manager: Piper Huynh (Melbourne Fringe)

St Michael's Grammar School Oct 2016
Years 7-9 Contemporary Play

Plays From the Top of the Stairs is 3 short plays developed by playwright Matthew Ryan in consultation with young performers at Backbone Youth Arts (Brisbane).

Matthew's plays are a lot of fun and pretty silly, but at their heart is a gentleness, kindness and the common thematic thread of accepting change and overcoming fear.

The plays demanded each of the 18 cast members transform swiftly from one character to the next, with some cast members playing as many as 10 characters. As well as performing multiple characters, the cast was involved in solving theatrical challenges including amputating a foot, demolishing a house, performing heart surgery, and disappearing into a postcard. The set was made up of eight moveable chalkboards that were assembled, endowed and drawn on to indicate different settings.

I received excellent feedback on the production with audience members remarking on its charm, inventive staging, and the commitment of the cast and crew. 

Director: Prue Clark
Performers: Noah Crusi, Sweeney Crabb, Ponie Curtis, Josh Graham, Lucy Grant, Henry Heydon, Lola Hewison, Tom Hill, Darya Mohseni, Saskia Permezel, Oli Pizzey-Straford, Gillie Redmon, Anica Renner, Eliza Scott-Caranza, Netta Sherman, Che Talbot, Jack Twiss, and Alexander Wolnizer.
Set Design:  Scott Crozier
Sound Composition and Design: Ben TD
Costume Design & Construction: Susan Baksheev
Lighting Design: Bronwyn Pringle
Production Manager: Lauren Taylor
Stage Manager: Hamish Lee
Assistant Stage Manager: Kiera Tonkin Hill
Crew: Tara Sarandopoulos

Seasons: 2017: Auckland Fringe, NZ Fringe. 2016: Brisbane Festival, La Mama (Melbourne), Perth Fringe World. 2015: Melbourne Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, Forest Fringe (Edinburgh), Adelaide Fringe.

An experimental work written and performed by Emma Hall.

We may have to choose is a monologue of sorts. Inspired by Tim Etchells’ Sight is the Sense, it is a study of what it is to speak one's mind - in all its maddening logic and insanity. 620 opinions delivered in 45 minutes. The result is a darkly humorous, eerie reflection on how we navigate life.

AUCKLAND FRINGE BEST THEATRE

AUCKLAND FRINGE BEST DIRECTOR

ADELAIDE FRINGE 2015 WEEKLY AWARD - BEST THEATRE

MELBOURNE FESTIVAL 2015 DISCOVERY AWARD (EMMA HALL) - MELBOURNE FRINGE

2015 WA TOUR READY AWARD - MELBOURNE FRINGE

NOMINATION BEST PERFORMER NEW ZEALAND FRINGE

NOMINATION WEST AUSTRALIAN ARTS EDITOR AWARD

NOMINATION GREEN ROOM AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE IN CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE

NOMINATION GREEN ROOM AWARD FOR BEST CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE TEXT

Reviews:

"Brain-prodding, riveting theatre... genius"
Anne Marie-Peard, Sydney Morning Herald/The Age

"Strangely gripping, and absolutely irresistible"
Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman

★★★★★ "5/5 - beautifully simple, intensely clever... intimate, funny, honest and unlike anything I've seen at the Fringe this year"
ThreeWeeks

"This is a show which deserves ... tracking down... an esoteric and considered piece... wonderfully precise"
The Scotsman

"Incredibly beautiful.... captivating"
Fresh Air

 "This is clever writing and convincing performance. At the risk of adding one more opinion to an already over-loaded world, see this show."
Talk Fringe

"Refreshingly experimental performance … We May Have To Choose is an ideological mission statement that shows the value of coherent and remorseless opinion. Some may struggle to remain quiet when faced with uncompromising opinions but the audience is rewarded for it. This performance will make you more aware of where you stand and the importance of knowing it." Buzzcuts

Writer & Performer: Emma Hall
Director: Prue Clark
Mentor: Bagryana Popov
Lighting & Set Design: Amelia Lever Davidson
Sound design: SS. Sebastian
Producer: Cameron Stewart

Radio Adelaide interview:
https://radio.adelaide.edu.au/interview-we-may-have-to-choose-emma-hall-prue-clark/

Seasons: 2016: Roola Boola Children's Art Festival (Melbourne), Perth Blue Room Summer Nights. 2015: Melbourne Fringe Festival.

A new work for kids by Katy Warner about anxiety and friendship.

Pedro used to run and skateboard and play soccer and go to school … Not anymore. Pedro stays inside now.

His best friend, Flora, thinks that's boring. But Pedro doesn't care. He’s building a pillow fort and it's getting bigger and bigger every day. Every day it's getting harder and harder for Flora to reach him.

Pedro has the best reasons to stay inside, but Flora knows what he’s missing and she will do whatever it takes to get her best friend to come outside.

WINNER BEST KIDS CATEGORY AT MELBOURNE FRINGE 2015
WINNER AWGIE FOR CHILDREN'S THEATRE 2016 (KATY WARNER)
NOMINATION WEST AUSTRALIAN ARTS EDITOR AWARD

"...it's a moment that won't be bettered this fringe." The West Australian, 4.5 / 5 STARS

"Cute, cute, cute.  A small person’s version of Briony Kimmings’s Fake It ‘Til You Make It." Perth Arts Live

"Prue Clark is having a killer Fringe." David Zampatti, West Australian

Writer & Producer: Katy Warner
Performers: Emma Annand & Oliver Coleman
Lighting Design: Amelia Lever-Davidson
Set, Costume & Prop Design: Yvette Turnbull
Sound Design: Lachlan Millsom
Stage Manager: Luke Preer

St Michael's Grammar School Oct 2015
Years 7-9 Contemporary Play

Stories in the Dark is a relatively new work by Debra Oswald commissioned by atyp (Australian Theatre for Young People). It is a complex script that requires the creation of a war-torn world as well as 6 distinct stories/worlds.

The demands of the script and my interpretation provided the cast with the opportunity to not only play characters but explore form. We employed theatre-making techniques including puppetry, shadow puppetry and slapstick to create distinct styles for each story.

The production was well received and I've been invited to direct again for St Michael's Grammar School in 2016.

Director: Prue Clark
Assistant Director: Jennifer Wenlock
Performers: Eliza Scott-Caranza, Samuel Tomlinson, Nathan Singe, Sweeney Crabb, Hunter Sandford, Max Marioli, Ed Krutsch, Lily Manning, Ruby Eppelstun, Stella Courtney, Elodie Lempriere.
Set Design: Lauren Taylor
Costume Design: Susan Handasyde
Lighting Design: Tom Willis
Stage Manager: Hamish Lee

La Mama: Mar 26 – April 6 2014

A new play by Katy Warner that pays homage to Beckett and takes inspiration from the ongoing war in Afghanistan. Two female soldiers have been left to man a base with only their imaginations, questionable memories and an empty bottle of vodka between them, and a terrible reality.

Dropped received a highly commended award in the Best Emerging Writer category at the 2013 Melbourne Fringe Festival awards for Katy Warner.

Dropped was also nominated for two Green Room Awards; Prue Clark for Best Direction and Amelia Lever-Davidson for Best Lighting Design.

“The acting by Brigid Gllacher and Matilda Reed is natural and accomplished, likewise Prue Clark’s direction is superb, present in every detail and yet not intrusive...Dropped is a complex and thought provoking play and lingers in the mind. A highly worthwhile theatre going experience.”
Catherine McGregor – Melbourne Observer

Performers: Brigid Gallacher & Matilda Reed
Director: Prue Clark
Writer: Katy Warner
Set Design: Lucy Thornett
Lighting Design: Amelia Lever-Davidson
Sound Design: Kahra Scott-James
Stage Manager: Lyndie Li Wan Po

Melbourne Fringe Festival: 28 Sep-5 Oct 2013

A new play by Katy Warner that pays homage to Beckett and takes inspiration from the ongoing war in Afghanistan. Two female soldiers have been left to man a base with only their imaginations, questionable memories and an empty bottle of vodka between them, and a terrible reality.

Dropped received a highly commended award in the Best Emerging Writer category at the 2013 Melbourne Fringe Festival awards for Katy Warner.

Dropped was also nominated for two Green Room Awards; Prue Clark for Best Direction and Amelia Lever-Davidson for Best Lighting Design.

Reviews

“Dropped is a very strong piece of theatre. Katy Warner’s script is brutal and moving in turns, and Matilda Reed and Olivia Monticciolo both give great performances.”
Crikey

“A post-apocalyptic setting, absurdist influences and visually stunning design combine to make a transfixing performance….Dropped provides a theatre experience not to be missed at this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival; creating satisfying entertainment for theatre-goers who are up for the unusual and thought provoking.” 4 ½ out of 5 stars
Joshua Allen – Arts Hub

Performers: Olivia Monticciolo & Matilda Reed
Director: Prue Clark
Writer: Katy Warner
Set Design: Lucy Thornett
Lighting Design: Amelia Lever-Davidson
Sound Design: Kahra Scott-James
Stage Manager: Jemima Hogg

Grant Theatre VCA: Oct 2013

An adaptation of the work of one of America’s most renowned experimental theatre makers.

Presented as part of VCA’s Contemporary Plays season with company 2013.

Director: Richard Murphet
Assistant Director: Prue Clark
Set Design - Laura Hicks
Lighting Design - Steve Hendy
Costume Design: Rebecca Dunn
Sound Design: Rowan Farbrother
Stage Manager: Lyndie Li Wan Po
Photos - Jeff Busby
Cast: Tristan Barr, Ben Clements, James Cook, Brianagh Curran, Sam Duncan, Alistair Frearson, Rory Godbold, Daniel Last, Rachel Perks, Emma Smith, Laura Jane Turner, Chelsea Zellar.

fortyfivedownstairs: Aug 2013

A bold look at masculinity and misogyny in Australia.

Savages was chosen by Time Out as the best theatre show of 2013 and nominated for several 2013 Green Room awards including Best Direction.

Cast: Lyall Brooks, Luke Elliot, James O'Connell, Mark Tregonning.
Director: Susie Dee
Assistant Director: Prue Clark
Playwright: Patricia Cornelius
Set & Costume Design: Marg Horwell
Lighting Design: Andy Turner
Sound Design: Kelly Ryall
Stage Manager: Claire Shepherd

Northcote Town Hall (Darebin Speakeasy): March 2013

Five short works by new and emerging Australian female playwrights Nakkiah Lui, Bridget Mackay, Chloe Martin, Maxine Mellor and Leila Rodgers.

Ghosts compare stars signs; a life in a share house in a bowl of spaghetti becomes dramatic; love games are played down by the train tracks; people with heads the shape of shapes have a cocktail party in the 50s; and racist pornstars look for love in all the wrong places.

“Their direction of Group Show is, without doubt, the best direction of a short-play season that I’ve seen”
Anne-Marie Peard, Aussie Theatre

Producer: MKA
Co-Directors: Prue Clark & Luke Kerridge
Set & Costume Design: Lucy Thornett
Lighting Design: Amelia Lever-Davidson
Sound Design: Raya Slavin
Choreographer: Jordine Cornish
Cast: Amy Jones, Ryan Jones, Devon Lang-Wilton, Annabel Marshall-Roth, Alex McQueen, Aaron Walton.

Victorian College of the Arts Directors’ One-Act season: Oct 2012.

Angela Carter’s re-interpretation of Bluebeard adapted by playwright Bryony Lavery. The Bloody Chamber is an exploration of sexuality at its most fresh and titillating as well as in its darkest manifestations.

This was Prue’s final assessment for the VCA Postgraduate Diploma in Performance Creation (Directing).

Cast: Brianagh Curran, Alistair Frearson, Daniel Last, Rachel Perks.
Director: Prue Clark
Set & Costume Design: Soma Garner
Lighting Design: Amy Lever-Davidson
Sound Design: Claire Deak and Ashley Stirling
Stage Manager: Chloe Woodman