Never Ender Productions

The Loose Five: FRINGE PICKS: Theatre!

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 08:32:50 -0500

The Loose Five: FRINGE PICKS: Theatre! :

The theatre section of the Fringe guide can sometimes scare people off who might be afraid of something ordinary, something wanky, something they don’t get or something too dour or dramatic but don’t be frightened! There are loads of things that sound cool in the guide for 2013 but those…

The Fringe Check-List

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 03:22:11 -0400

It’s that time again.

Think up a name. Choose a genre. Pitch a concept. Get your synopsis down to fifty words. Find some cash. Make a budget. Find a venue. Change your mind. Find another venue. Lock it in. Sign a contract. Change the name of your show. Name your ticket price. Consider the quality of your show. Lower your ticket price. Make it affordable but not too cheap. Re-assess your budget. Raise your ticket prices. Get excited. Get worried. Second guess yourself. Change the name of the show back to the original. Decide whether its original enough. Sign up for the Fringe Awards. Wonder if your show will be award-worthy. Start fundraising. Start begging. Start stealing. Re-evaluate the pros and cons of theft in the name of art. Ponder the definition of art. Start putting pen to page and page to stage. Pay your registration fees. Pay your deposit on the venue. Pay attention to your to-do list. Don’t expect to make money. Expect to make friends and try not lose them. Expect to work hard. Expect to make memories both good and bad. Expect the unexpected. Mess with expectation and turn the inside out.

The Adelaide Fringe is over but the comedy continues. Check out...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 20:53:56 -0400

The Adelaide Fringe is over but the comedy continues. Check out Marcel and friends of Never Ender Productions down at Open Mic at the Rhino Room as well as comedy every night of the week. More gig announcements soon.

Useful advice as I try and fight against writer’s block.

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:51:39 -0400

Useful advice as I try and fight against writer’s block.

Ramblings of a Film and Theatre Man: A Theatre Festival in Adelaide?

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 01:46:49 -0400

Ramblings of a Film and Theatre Man: A Theatre Festival in Adelaide? :

neverenderdirector:

A recent post on the group page for Adelaide Theatre Collective regarding the potential of a festival solely centred around theatre has caused quite a stir in the local arts community.

Any opportunity for an artist to showcase their work is an exciting one with every artist eager to have a…

Very excited about how these photos from Fät Wânk (our parody...

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 23:23:03 -0400

Very excited about how these photos from Fät Wânk (our parody play on pretentious art) turned out. Click through to the facebook album.

The end of another great Adelaide Fringe Festival. Been having...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:30:04 -0400

The end of another great Adelaide Fringe Festival. Been having awesome times with awesome people since 2008.

Thanks team. Looking forward to new challenges and good times in 2013.

Amuse-Bouche Finale!

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:02:14 -0400

It’s the final Amuse-Bouche tonight and its going to be a big one!

With mere days remaining at the Festival, this is the best way to get a good dose of Festival goodness. Tonight on the show we have cabaret and two big helpings of stand-up from an Aussie and an Englishman from NZ.

WrongTown

Reuben Lee

… and our super secret guest who has appeared on Rove, SKIThouse and written for many a comedy show.

Come on down to Gluttony at 10:45pm tonight for a late show to end all late shows. In no other place will you get this kind of variety for so cheap a price. Only $10!

A snap from Amuse-Bouche which only has two shows left! You...

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:33:03 -0400

A snap from Amuse-Bouche which only has two shows left! You still have time to catch the hilarious Sound & Fury too! Courtesy of the delightful and ever-so-lovely Jenelle Witty.

Fringe Diary: The Festival is in full-swing!

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:21:28 -0500

The Fringe is in full-swing which means before you know it, it will all be over! No better time to run around to try and soak up as much culture and enjoy as much entertainment as possible. You’ll be exhausted afterwards but it will be worth it!

Last night was the premiere of my show, Fät Wânk, and things went fantastically. Good crowd and good laughs, I’m very proud of my team. If you find out what all the fuss is about, there’s five more opportunities to see the show that critics haven’t reviewed yet but will probably say something that features adjectives. Fät Wânk is a response to ‘wanky’ theatre, high art and stuck-up Thespians.

Then it was time to enjoy a beer or two at the venue itself, the World’s End, while the next show began, The Golden Phung, who scored a great crowd for their hilarious sketch show. You can catch their show right after ours this weekend (Fri 9th, Sat 10th). Hurry though, they only have two shows left! Everyone loves a comedy double bill.

Off to the Crown & Anchor, another venue run by Ross Voss and Matt Vecchio (who run The World’s End and Funny Pork at Gluttony) to see Anya Anastasia’s The Upside-Down Girl. You can read my review for Heckler when it is posted soon.

Then it was time to dance up a storm with some of the Fät Wânk gang, Natalia, Craig, Miranda and Nathan. Good times.

This weekend you can also catch me and friends (Paul Stalenhoef, Pires Eddy, Graham Self, Bridget Fahey and Todd Gray) at Taking the Piss at the World’s End. Why not make a night of it and see all the comedy available at the World’s End in one night?

Another of the Must-See Shows (Music)

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 08:50:18 -0500

The Jazz Hop Experiment & New Coat of Paint

The folks over at So What Media return with CabFringe hits Jazz Hop and New Coat of Paint both shows that have proved themselves hits in festivals past. Jazz Hop sees Sam Cherry on vocals lead a band of awesome musicians with compositions of classic hip-hop in awesome jazz stylings. This is beyond a novelty band, they are fantastic arrangements that should have fans and non-fans dancing the night away. New Coat of Paint will make a Tom Waits fan of you (if you’re not already) as Alison Coppe turns Waits’ grinding timbre to angelic tones. Catch them both at the Promethean.

You can catch a taste of this act (and many more!) on Amuse-Bouche this Wednesday, 8:15pm at Gluttony. Their shows start Friday at the Promethean.

Amuse-Bouche runs Monday through Wednesday for the rest of the Fringe.

A Few of the Fringe Shows on My Must-See List (Comedy)

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:47:12 -0500

Comedy (Physical)

Truth

The Hermitude of Angus, Ecstatic was my favourite Fringe show last year so I could not be more pumped to see what SlowClap’s Vachel Spirason and Steph Brotchie have come up with this year. No doubt another blend of colourful characters and impressive physical comedy.

Comedy (Music)

Mager and Smythe: In Search of Atlantis

These guys were guests on Amuse-Bouche and truly impressed me with their blend of song and story-telling while being incredibly funny. I’ve got to hurry along to their show because there’s only a few shows left.

Comedy (Sketch)

The Golden Phung: Encyclopaedia of Everything

These local favourites are in their third year and they never fail to impress. Can’t wait to check out their awesome brand of sketch comedy that combines so many classic influences from Monty Python to Micallef.

Comedy (Stand-Up)

Amos Gill: UnFamos

The buzz about this guy’s show has been seriously great so I’m looking forward to seeing what all the fuss in about in Amos’ solo debut. Word has it that audiences young and old are digging his comic stylings.

More to come…!

Fringe Diary #1

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 23:52:59 -0500

The Fringe has already gotten off to an incredible start with Adelaide buzzing with energy. The festival officially kicked off last Friday with people around town eager to be a part of the excitement. Some of the crowd were keen to take in a show, have a drink and celebrate the occasion while there were inevitably others (mostly teenagers, bogans and teenage bogans) who were just going with the crowd, walking into venue hubs like Gluttony and asking a series of confused questions, “Is this the Garden?”, “Where are we?”, “Can we drink here?”

But meanwhile at Amuse-Bouche (the Fringe preview show) we were entertaining a packed house despite the chaos and searing heat outside.

We perform at Gluttony which is a pretty awesome Fringe hub but in the last few days I’ve made a point to visit a few others too.

Gluttony
Very much focused on the venues with a relaxed atmosphere, two big bars and some eateries. The people chilling out here have been very happy to hear about what shows are on and see something at the last minute. I like those kinds of people. There’s also the silent disco and some great variety shows and late night comedy on the weekend.

The Garden of Unearthly Delights
Hardly requires a mention because everyone knows it quite well. I prefer the Garden during the week when its not overloaded with people. I enjoy having a place to sit on the grass thinking about what show I’m going to see that night while enjoying a beer, a donut and maybe even a yoghurt smoothie (with all the fruit flavours mixed in together.) I’m not a big fan of the fair rides at the Garden but it looks pretty from a distance.

Shimmering West
Similar to Gluttony, a nice place to hang out with a chance to hear live music on the main stage. Right next to AC Arts, Higher Ground and the World’s End, its a perfect place to chill out between shows and good escape from the east end. There’s loads of good shows around here especially the theatre options at AC Arts including The Year of Magical Wanking (reviewed below) and comedy at the World’s End such as The Golden Phung and Fät Wânk (coming soon.)

Tuxedo Cat
The Tuxedo Cat always receives plenty of praise for their venue and this year is no different. There’s plenty of performance spaces and the hub looks excellent. A great place to hang out with plenty of awesome shows. Will be heading there again soon.

REVIEWS
It’s still early days but I have gotten along to a few shows so far, you can read the reviews at TalkFringe here: http://talkfringe.com/?author=3163

Bloggers and photographers can get free tickets to Amuse-Bouche....

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:11:00 -0500

Bloggers and photographers can get free tickets to Amuse-Bouche. Just e-mail marcel@neverenders.net #adlfringe

4 Survival Tips For Fringe Artists

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:05:25 -0500

For Adelaide, the Fringe is a time when the city comes alive. Thousands of interstate theatre revellers, comedy jokesters, and circus lovers come pouring into the state, bringing with them laughter, smiles and plenty of money for the state’s coffers. For the artists, the Fringe is often a month filled with Mi Goreng dinners and booze.

For the artist on the go, here are a few handy tips for surviving the Fringe!

4) Make Friends (with everyone!):

The Artist Bar is one of the perks of being a Fringe performer. Here you get your own little space with like-minded peers. You’re all artists so you all know that you’re poor so you don’t have to hide the fact that you’ve been wearing the same outfit for a month without getting it washed. Win! Try to chat to everyone and anyone here, and if you share enough beers and tales of festivals past, you might be able to score yourself some free tickets to a show! Do the artists a favour and plug the act where ever you can.

3) Eat at home:

Hopefully your diet consists of more than just pre-packaged, instant noodles and cups of just-sniff-it-and-see milk, but even if it doesn’t, do all your eating at home. Fringe nights are notorious for dragging on well into the night, especially when there’s so many fantastic acts out there. You might see an early show like The Magnets then head along to Amuse-Bouche to see what guests are on the show and what to see next like the late show at Funny Pork. Before you know it, you’ve seen three shows and consumed three times as much in alcohol. The midnight hunger zone is likely to strike, and there’s nothing more appealing than a burrito or Yiros late in the night. Resist the temptation and save your bank account from the strain, and your jeans from the grease drippings. Remember, those jeans have to last you the whole festival season.

2) Become a performing monkey:
Fringe time sees every man and his dog hit Rundle Mall and suddenly transform from a regular Joe, to a modern day Marcel Marceau, or if passer-by’s are unlucky enough, a less than perfect Whitney Houston. If you need some cash in the lead up to the Fringe, why not help get the city in the mood and hit the mall. Bring a guitar, bring some juggling balls or just show up in your underwear and strut your stuff. A great way to start flyering the bajeezers out of your show and make people feel uncomfortable. Don’t forget that this year will see the return of the Fringe Caravan in the Mall where you can see acts promoting their shows throughout the day. Send their hearts aflutter by stopping by for a look!

1) Move back in with Mum:

While there’s nothing wrong with living with your oldest and dearests, it’s safe to say that most people enjoy the freedom of independence. Fringe time means extra expenses though, so it might be time to swallow that pride, pack the bags, and move onto the couch in your parent’s living-room. Not only will you save on rent, but you’ll also be more likely to satisfy your recommended daily nutritional intake. Everyone wins! Also, before get into such a sad state about living with the elderlies, keep in mind, they probably want you there even less.

Pires Eddy

Starving Fringe Artist and Mi Goreng Enthusiast

5 Steps to Make the Most of the Fringe

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:16:05 -0500

There’s over 900 events at this year’s Fringe. How could you do your share? How can you see more than a handful of shows?

5. Budget
Might be easy for some who have been saving every dollar in the lead-up to the festival but for the average punter, how can you ever expect to see a dozen shows at the festival and still have enough for beer afterwards? Easy, just sell your possessions! Follow Tyler Durden’s example in Fight Club and get rid of everything you own and suddenly your wallet will have some extra cash in it for a Nutella crepe at the end of your entertainment-filled night. Also keep an eye out for cheap tickets (RushTix, BankSA, Opening Night $5.) There’s plenty of performers out there that whose desperation you can exploit to save on admission. Don’t feel bad about not paying full price, most acts just want to perform to someone - and if you dig the show - tell your full price-paying mates!

4. Book
It sounds simple, but booking tickets so you’re committed to seeing a show at a certain time is always a good idea. Buy another ticket at the same time and then find a friend to fill it. No friends? No problem! A lot of shows come with at least one fellow audience member that will happily be your friend. A Fringe performer feels a lot less anxious knowing thatthey have sold tickets on the night. You might be responsible for saving someone from a (financial/ spiritual/ mental) meltdown! Even though I’m recommending that you support as many acts as you can, I don’t want to make it sound like Fringe acts are sad charity cases begging for coin, they’re performers looking to put on a friggin’ awesome show. Most of these guys perform for a living. Tumble Circus even named their show after that fact.

3. Make Time
You’ve got cash and you know what you want to go see but there just isn’t enough hours in the day. Well you can do what a lot of Fringe-oholics/ Fringe-Maniacs do and make a timetable or you can take the easier route and quit your day job. You’ll find quitting your 9 to 5 work day really frees up the time required to recover from a big night of seeing shows and hanging at the Fringe Club or one of the Fringe hubs (The Big Slapple, Gluttony, Tuxedo Cat, Shimmering West.) You’ll also discover that you can now get along to matinées like Jason Chong’s Festival Fishbowl at the Rhino Room. Sure, post-festival, you might regret ditching your job but in the meantime you will be distracted by entertaining stuff like bright pretty lights and acrobats.

2. Take a Risk
There’s a lot of great shows at the Fringe that go unnoticed but they could be the show just for you. You don’t even have to wait for the reviews from the Advertiser to come in, after all you can see reviews from the audience members themselves on TalkFringe. Why not try to discover the next Cantina, Tom Tom Club or The Boy With Tape on His Face rather than waiting for 5 star reviews to come along? There’s no such thing as a perfect act and everyone is going to see at least one questionable performance (the guy who can breathe through his eyes?) Take a risk and book something that intrigues you. You can even go outside of the Garden! Check out the Tour of The Unexpected.

1. Don’t Miss Out
People don’t realise how much cheap (and free!) awesome entertainment is on offer during the festival. It really is a case of “If you never never go, you’ll never never know.” Live performance has a knack for leaving a lasting impact. Find a Fringe buddy that won’t be a drag when you present the concept of seeing a second (or maybe even a third) show in the same night. If you don’t make the most of the Fringe then you don’t get to complain about nothing ever happening in Adelaide and you may as well take ‘SA- The Festival State’ off your license plate. There’s so much talent in town from around the world. Between February and March, Adelaide exists.

Don’t know what to see? Amuse-Bouche, Gluttony’s talk-show previews three Fringe acts from different genres every night. Circus, stand-up, cabaret? We’ll point you in the right direction and you can even win tickets to their shows. Amuse-Bouche aims to give you a taste of the Fringe to whet your appetite.

Photo

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:27:52 -0500

The Ten Types of People at Fringe Time

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:12:06 -0500

The Festively Drunk
’We just came from the Clipsal! If I’m not enjoying this show, you’re going to know about it.”

The Nostalgic
“Fringe? Yeah, I’ve been meaning to go to that. I went and saw Jimeoin there about ten years ago. He was great!”

The Critic
”I can’t wait to tell people to avoid seeing this show. I hope I see a great show so I can give it five stars and they quote me on their next poster.”

The Gardener
“Yeah, I had a great time at the Fringe. I went to the Garden once. I had some corn. A show? Nah, I didn’t see a show. I needed money for beer.”

Jimmy ‘One-Show’ McFringe
“We went to see that five star show that that critic raved about as if he had something to do with it. It had been so well reviewed that me and the wife just had to go see it. Well, that’s my Fringe done.”

The Family Man
”’Fät Wânk’, eh? Is it suitable for kids? Just a few drug references, a murder scene or two and a rather indecent scene with a pie, eh? Do you do family prices?”

The Easily-Swayed
“I liked the look of the flyer and now I’m here… Where am I?”

Fringe-Maniac
“I’m going to see another four shows tonight. I can just nap at work tomorrow. Just put me on the Tour of the Unexpected… I trust this bus will take me where I need to go.”

The Fringe Artist
”I’ll see yours if you see mine.”

The Un-Fringey Friend
“I’ve never been to the Fringe. You’re doing a show? What’s it called? Amuse-Bouche? What does that mean? When’s it on? Maybe I’ll come along. Cool. I’ll see you there. What’s it called again? When is it? Oh, did I miss it? Oops, sorry.”

by Marcel Blanch- de Wilt
Artistic Director
Performer/Producer

Amuse-Bouche
Where you can see guests from around the festival interviewed, be silly and preview their act in classic talk-show style.

… and Fät Wânk
The wankiest show at the Fringe. A parody of all things high-art. With a cast of awesome local talent.

So You Want to Make a Fringe Show?

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:59:00 -0500

I’m hardly the expert on the subject, but if you’ve ever wondered what’s involved and what it takes to produce a (hopefully) successful Fringe show, check out this top ~~ten~~ seven.

7. Knowing What Show You Want to Make…

It sounds simple but having a clear vision of your show is a great place to start. It’s sure to get a little blurry at times but if you’re confident about the concept, then you’ll have a much easier time explaining it to potential cast members and audience. Trying to convey what a show called Fät Wânk is all about is going to be difficult enough.

6. Consider More (or Less) Nudity

So rehearsals are going well but there seems to be something a little amiss with the show. Maybe its because in the show’s fifty minute duration, there is hardly an inch of bare-skin on display. Does that sound like a show people are going to talk about? I don’t think so! If it is the opposite and there is nothing but constant nudity, you might want to add a scene with some clothing to add an alluring element that will surely drive audiences wild.

5. Be Passionate about the Production

Give a shit about the show you’re producing; passion is contagious and it should serve as fuel in the times your Auntie tries to get you down about pursuing that ‘acting thing’ and concentrate on your work at the cinema. Seriously, my Uncle and Aunt walked out of my first show. It was during the scene where the two characters discussed the etiquette of wanking in the shower when you’re a guest in somebody’s home. If that’s not an important piece of theatre, I don’t know what is!

4. Surround Yourself With Awesomely Supportive People

Live up to the first few tips and you should attract people to your project. Avoid downers or divas and concentrate on people that are keen on sharing the weight of the show in exchange for credit. Don’t get people on board that are doing it out of obligation or as a favour to you. Those people will only end up grumpy at late night rehearsals in your backyard. Having a cast of people whose company you enjoy can make all the difference. Even better, do a solo show and know that if you have an argument, it’s your own fault, but hey, there’s always make-up sex.

3. Don’t Be in it for the Money

Knowing what you can get away with spending is everything. At the Odeon for our 2009 Fringe show, it cost us $7000 to hire the venue for the week but we got away with it thanks to healthy audiences (there was around twenty people in the cast) and we had a bar. Try taking a gamble doing a solo show with no booze for sale? You’re in strife. Consider how much gold velvet curtain you really need and if you really need 300 left over posters gathering dust in your house.

2. Schedule Plenty of Promo Time

Don’t find yourself depending on friends and family to spread the word. They’ll probably mention it to their best mate and your uncle. Most people are not game to take a gamble on a Fringe show and we’ll need plenty of convincing to come to your show, let alone take their friends along (they get the blame if your show is bad, mind.) Do something beyond flyering people in the mall. Tattoo the name of the show to your forehead, promise celebrity guests on your show that will never turn up, or sign up to promo opportunities like the Fringe Caravan in the Mall, Festival Fishbowl or Amuse-Bouche Adelaide Fringe our talk-show with previews, interviews, games and give-aways, or even write a blog and subtly insert your shows into the text.

1. Make an Awesome Show that People will Want to Go See…

So you might not know whether you show is any good until it is graced by an audience or a reviewer (Advertiser ‘critics’ don’t really count) but taking a moment to consider whether your show has an audience or if its just a egotistical endeavour where you recite the best of Plato while spinning plates and making sculptures from kids clay. While Plato, Plates and Playdoh might sound amazing, it might not sell tickets. Then again, even the best show can fail so be prepared to make no money and have four people in the audience (including your lighting guy.) It can happen! But it shouldn’t if you remember to give a shit about your show. It feeds off the love of the audience as if the applause was sunlight and your show could photosynthesise. Don’t spend months on your show only to let it die. Have an awesome season at the festival instead.

Audio

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:54:00 -0500