Cinderella is making its way onto the Javeenbah Stage, but not how you think!
Javeenbah Theatre’s second main stage production of the year is the story of Cinderella! But not in the traditional sense
This Cinderella isn’t about princes and princesses. It’s about a single woman in her early 40s trying to go on a date, and a single guy who has an unreasonable fear of not being heard over loud music in bars. There may not be any ugly sisters, but there’s the occasional mysterious animal. There’s Midnight. There’s a show. There’s dancing. And there’s beautiful transformation.Director Jocelyn Moore-Carter is no stranger to the Javeenbah Theatre family, not only is she the current president of the theatre but is also a life member! Moore-Carter’s journey with Javeenbah Theatre began many years ago sparking a life long dream and career in the arts, Moore-Carter is currently a long standing Drama Teacher at Trinity Lutheran Collage combining her passion for the arts and education. Javeenbah sees many of Moore-Carter’s students through their doors both as onstage actors and audience members. Why not come and meet the legend!
Moore-Carter shares her story on finding this play, ‘In 2019, I took some senior students to see this play’s premier production by Myths Made Here (a Brisbane theatre collective). It was stunningly directed, but also a fresh and exciting new play in a style that engaged audience’s empathy and imagination. Since then, I bought the script and use excerpts in teaching my senior classes. The play is rich in all things I love about theatre: great characters, a heart-moving story and endless creative possibilities. I was scheduled to direct it last year, but Covid pushed back my school production, and by extension, my time and ability to direct a production here, at Javeenbah.She goes on,
‘The script itself is a very loose adaptation of the original fairy tale. There are intersections of symbol and plot which the audience will enjoy identifying. Some of these include the countdown to midnight, the lost shoe and a search for our lead girl, Ashley’s ‘prince charming’. As far as Whittet’s text is concerned, we have 3 casts with an ensemble, which has allowed us to present more depth of Ashley’s inner thoughts and turmoils, whilst offering our audiences a choice of cast to see. Of course, all three casts are stellar, and I am hoping audiences take advantage of Javeenbah’s special offer of 3 shows for the price of two, and that they come along to see all three casts in action. We have two straight and one queer interpretation, which together, show that the need and search for love encompasses all people.’
‘The cast of six are a combination of vastly different but all delightful people. Early challenges were blocking the scenes with each cast separately, so they had the freedom to create their own interpretations of the characters and develop a unique interpretation without their performance being coloured or affected by their counterparts. But it has all worked, and the show, together with the generous spirits and humility of the whole cast, prove Stanislavski’s adage, there are no small parts, only small actors.’Cinderella is a fantastic production strutting its way onto the Javeenbah stage this march!Cinderella runs for 9 performances from Friday 10 March to Saturday 25 March 2023.
Book online at www.javeenbah.org.au or phone 0417 004 466.
