OUTBACK THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE & TRAX PRESENT

THE
COL OLDE
UMB
U
UNDER ME SKIN
SER
IVA S STR O
V
A site-specific adventure of digital art & live performance
NHO EET
E

A preview performance of Under Me Skin by

award-winning writer Gayle Kennedy,
conceived & developed by Brian Cohen &
Tara Prowse in partnership with the remote
outback town of Ivanhoe, NSW.
Image 1 by Brian Cohen

“She knows what time all the trains pass through.
All she wants ta do is be on one of em goin to
anywhere but here. She’s smart, but she’s a
dreamer. It takes more than dreams to git outta
here. I know that for sure. Me dad reckons this is
the kinda place that fullas run to, run from or
stand still in.”
Under Me Skin is a show of grand proportions and subtle
magic which will stop a town, ignite debate and make you
wonder why most theatre is done in dark black boxes.
The darkly comic tale of a boy who mysteriously appears
in a remote bush town, sparks a chain of events that even
the children find incredible. But the one person most in
need of a miracle doesn’t even see him arrive. In a town so
small it’s hard not to know what happens behind closed
doors, the children will take you on an adventure where the
stage is the main street and the backdrop the bush. Filled
with awe inspiring projections, wonderful low-tech special
effects and plenty of red dust, Under Me Skin promises to be
the outback adventure you’ll want to travel a thousand
kilometers to see.
This collaboration between young people, multimedia
artists and an award-winning Indigenous writer is one of
the outcomes of The Ivanhoe Chronicles, a two year multi-arts
project by Outback Theatre for Young People and TRAX.
Throughout the winter of 2009, the young people have
been working with Melbourne artists Brian Cohen & Tara
Prowse to think about the world they live in through
theatre making, digital film, & photography.
Young people are exploring their community and
celebrating their stories, presenting this work through the
installation of television sets and night time projections in
the abandoned shopfront windows along the main street,
giving colour and life, and an ever-changing art gallery.
Turning the idea of an old style photo booth on its head,
they have also worked to create a storybooth which uses
digital media technology and custom-designed software
specifically commissioned for the project. Locals, visitors
and audience are invited to record short testimonials in the
safety & comfort of a lavishly decorated porta-loo. The
stories, memories and revelations collected, have formed
part of the artistic content of the project and are becoming
an invaluable record of this community.
The 2009 presentation of Under Me Skin is just the first
installment of The Ivanhoe Chronicles. Building on the
strength of this preview, the project will have its major
outcome in October 2010. The curious and adventurous
are invited to Ivanhoe for a two day arts festival, including
the fully realized production of Under Me Skin. The event
will include an interactive multimedia exhibition,
conference panels, a live broadcast & a bush camp where
audience members from all over the country can enjoy the
welcome of this unique community.

Suzanne Hauser, PO Box 1359 Deniliquin NSW 2710 | 0438 398 629 | suzannehauser@outbacktheatre.com
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PRODUCTION DETAILS OUTBACK THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

What From our beginnings in 1989 working from the
Outback Theatre for Young People & TRAX back of a ute, OTYP has grown into a dynamic
present Under Me Skin and innovative young people’s theatre
written by Gayle Kennedy recognised by the Australia Council as an
developed by Brian Cohen + Tara Prowse outstanding youth arts company. OTYP is “See people from
dedicated to engaging young people from
cities and big towns
Where regional and remote communities to make
distinctive contemporary theatre through reckon nothin goes on
The Old Servo
Columbus Street collaborative processes. in little places like
Ivanhoe, NSW TRAX this. But that aint
Tara Prowse & Brian Cohen began TRAX in
2004. TRAX initiates innovative multi-art &
true. We got all the
When
Saturday 22nd August 2009 site-specific projects often in partnership with lyin and cheatin, and
5.30pm Exhibition communities and curious individuals. We are stealin and broken
6.30pm Performance equally rooted in the arts, community & social
7.30pm Post-show discussion justice and seek to build authentic relationships hearts. We also got
through cultural enquiry and creative process. the good times, the
Tickets are Free new born babies, the
More information GAYLE KENNEDY
0438 398 629 Gayle Kennedy was born in Ivanhoe NSW. She music and the
suzannehauser@outbacktheatre.com is a member of the Wongaiibon Clan of the laughter.”
Ngiyaampaa speaking Nation of South West
Blog NSW. She has had stories published in
newspapers and magazines and broadcast on
www.trax.org/outbackblog
radio. In 2006 she was the winner of the
prestigious David Uniapon Literary award and
INTERVIEW & PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES
Interview and photo opportunities may be she has spoken in Australia and internationally
arranged with: on the issue of disability and culture.
– Gayle Kennedy, writer, Under Me Skin
– Cast, Under Me Skin PUBLICITY IMAGES
High and low resolution publicity and
– Artistic directors, Tara Prowse & Brian Cohen
production images are available for publication.

Image 2 by Adrian Forbes Image 3 by Brian Cohen