GIRL SHUT YOUR MOUTH
BY GITA BEZARD
Photographer: Don Brice
"Bad things happen to girls who go out after dark."
Gita Bezard's (The Last Great Hunt) 'Girl Shut Your Mouth' is an exciting dark comedy about ordinary living under extraordinary circumstances. When the world you know has been ripped away, what lengths will you go to just to survive?
Katie, Grace, Mia and Darcy are your average young girls. They love boys and dresses and the idea of a feminist future. Everything about them is normal.
Except their friends die on a monthly basis. Except their lives are in danger if they go out after dark. Except they aren't really your average young girls at all.
When Katie is shot in yet another attack on their freedoms, her bullet quickly becomes her ticket out and over to a world rumoured to be free of prejudices, rules and restrictions. But is anywhere really that perfect? And how can her friends go too?
A poignant new Australian work that comments on the crisis' facing refugees through the lense of young, fiesty women ready to take their futures in their own hands.
PRODUCTIONS:
10 - 14 March 2020
Bakehouse Theatre Company, Adelaide
Produced as part of the 2020 Adelaide Fringe Festival
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Reviews
MIA
Kaylee is currently studying a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Theatre) at University of Wollongong, balancing her love for both acting and technical aspects of theatre! Kaylee has also been trained in dance and voice in both Adelaide and Sydney. She has loved being involved in the Illawarra theatre scene so far, performing in Rising Arts Productions’ sold out season of ‘Heathers: The Musical’; directing and acting in multiple short plays at the 2018 and 2019 Short + Sweet Illawarra Festivals, several of which were selected to be staged at Short + Sweet Sydney; and is currently rehearsing for her most recent production, ‘Picasso at the Lapin Agile’, written by Steve Martin, at the Wollongong Workshop Theatre. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Kaylee is also experienced in Stage Managing, Sound Design and Costume Design, often taking on multiple roles within a single production.
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Kaylee is very excited to make her debut for a Sydney based theatre company in her home town of Adelaide.⠀⠀⠀
DARCY
Antonia is a Sydney-based Theatre and Screen actor who is currently studying Biomedical Engineering at the University of Technology, Sydney, and has over ten years of dance and acting training. For the past two years, Antonia has performed at multiple Revues for her university, including Women’s Revue, which headed to the Sydney Comedy Festival this year after an extremely successful run. Passionate about female-driven theatre, Antonia is looking forward to bringing Girl Shut Your Mouth to an Adelaide audience, and is excited to be working on an Australian play that showcases the best of what this country has to offer. ⠀⠀⠀
GRACE
Sophie is an actor, comedian and solo performance artist who graduated from the University of New South Wales with first-class honours in Theatre and Performance. Most recently, she performed with Eye Contact Theatre in Hairworm at the Old 505. She has also appeared with Ratcatch in Van de Maar Papers and ATYP in Intersection: 2019 Arrival at the SBW Stables Theatre. Some of her other credits include Play On at the NIDA Luminous Theatre, Punk Rock at Studio 1 and Love and Information with the Creative Practice Lab. Sophie is also a sketch comedy writer and performer, and her group, the Lazy Susans is encoring their production, The Day That Changed Potato Bay at the 2020 Sydney Comedy Festival.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
KATIE
Kobi is a Sydney based actor and theatre maker. While completing her BA in Performance from the University of Wollongong, Kobi developed a passion for blurring the lines between contemporary, political and musical theatre. She is passionate about performances that come from truth, and that play with dramatic aesthetics and themes.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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During her time at university, Kobi made her directorial debut with ‘No Doubt, ’ staged in 2017 for UOW’s Student Productions. She is also currently developing ‘Angry Girl,’ a one woman show for those facing a quarter life crisis. She hopes to take this to festivals, theatre companies and residencies around Australia.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In recent years, Kobi has continued her education, completing a year long screen acting course at Screenwise Australia. Kobi also made her Sydney acting debut in Gom Jabbar’s ‘Monument’ , as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival in 2018. She is currently part of the creative development of ‘A Farewell to Arms: A Lovecraftian Sex Comedy’ for Merrigong Theatre Company.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Kobi is thrilled to be taking part in her first Theatre Travels show for Adelaide Fringe
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
Carly is the Founder and Artistic Director of Theatre Travels. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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For the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2020, Carly is Directing and Producing Girl Shut Your Mouth by Gita Bezard, as well as Producing and Stage Managing Bleach by Dan Ireland Reeves.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Most recently, Carly Produced and Co-Curated the inaugural NO : INTERMISSION festival, Sydney’s new one-act play festival designed to create equal opportunities for emerging Artists across the disciplines of the Theatre industry. NO : INTERMISSION is now gearing up for its second season in April and May of 2020. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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For the 2019 N:I festival, Carly Directed Final Placement by Ara Watson, Falling Skies by Brayden Frascone and Co-Directed Albumen by Mishka Lavigne. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Carly Produced and Co-Directed Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Companies’ The Laramie Project and the Laramie Project:10 Years Later at the Seymour Centre in 2018. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In 2019, Carly was selected to be part of the Broadway Evolved Program for an intensive course in New York City. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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With the company's biggest season yet right around the corner, Carly cannot wait to share Theatre Travels' 2020 season with you all!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Read Carly's full bio here
SOUND DESIGNER
Georgia is a Sydney-based sound designer and composer, specialising in theatre and film. She made her sound-design debut with Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS) three years ago. Over those three years, she has worked on twenty four projects with various production groups, including: NO:INTERMISSION Theatre Festival 2019; SUDS; Perrenial Theatre Company; The New Theatre; Gensian Theatre Company; Queen's University Theatre Company; and various Sydney Fringe Festival productions. Some of these shows include: And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie); The Aliens (Annie Baker); The Birthday Party (Harold Pinter); Botticellli and the Sodom (Jordan Tannahill); Venus In Fur (David Ives); What The Butler Saw (Joe Orton); and A Bright New Boisie (Samuel Hunter).⠀⠀⠀⠀
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Stephen believes that lighting has as much importance to a theatre piece as the performers. He also works as a venue technician and writes for CX magazine and Ramblings of a Techie Blog. Stephen’s recent lighting designs include STARC’s “A Night at the theatre”, SA Playwrights “Bordertown” and “The Double Bass” presented by Cranking Hog Productions , just to name a few out of dozens. He has designed for several companies including Factory Space theatre in Sydney - including Macbeth, How I met my mother and Devil’s Caress -and the Hunter Valley Summer Theatre. He has worked in Edinburgh, London, and Sydney. Stephen is also resident Lighting Designer/Technical Manager for all of the Bakehouse Theatre Fringe shows. He has his own production company, BallyHoo Productions, technical services for theatre. His latest design for “Brilliant Traces” by Joh Hartog productions received rave reviews. He is also currently designing the lighting and audio for “Seventeen” for the Theatre Guild. He is looking forward to the 2020 Fringe.⠀
PLAYWRIGHT
GITA BEZARD is a playwright, director, performer and theatre maker, living between Melbourne and Perth.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In 2016 she was nominated for The Victorian Premier’s Award for her play Girl Shut Your Mouth, which premiered at Black Swan State Theatre Company. She has twice won the Black Swan Emerging Writers Award. She has been commissioned in 2017 by Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, in 2019 and 2015 by Curtin University and in 2013 by Perth Theatre Company to adapt two short plays by Eugene Ionesco.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In 2012 she received a DCA Fellowship to do professional development in the UK and USA.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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For The Last Great Hunt: Perpetual Wake, Le Nor (Perth Festival), Stay With Us, Improvement Club, The Talk, The Advisors, Price Tag, Monroe and Associates, All That Glitters, Minnie and Mona Play Dead.⠀
STAGE MANAGER & ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Rosie is a Sydney-based Director with a portfolio that focuses on LGBT and female-driven works. She is passionate about working with young people and emerging artists to create greater access for everyone in the Australian theatre community, and currently sits as the Marketing Manager for Theatre Travels.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Rosie graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Performance Studies. During this time, Rosie worked with the New South Wales University Theatrical Society (NUTS) to Direct/Assistant Direct a number of shows, including Angela Betzien's War Crimes (2016), for which she was awarded Best Direction.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Rosie has Directed a number of works in Sydney, including Oleanna in conjunction with Maltman Lab and White Ribbon (2016), Deadline for Sydney Fringe (2017), The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later at the Seymour Centre (2018), and Preserving Jars as part of Mardi Gras’ PLAYLIST (2019). This year Rosie co-curated Theatre Travels' inaugural one-act play festival No : Intermission, choosing eight works that celebrate emerging artists and groundbreaking work across the globe. Within that festival, she Directed the Australian Premiere of Bleach (also coming to Adelaide Fringe in 2020) and the World Premiere of Queenslander. Most recently she Directed Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. for Sydney Fringe, which was nominated for an Emerging Artist Award. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Rosie is excited to be bringing another brilliant female-driven work to the stage.
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Tess is a young theatre-creator based in Sydney who is exploring opportunities to learn and work in all aspects of theatre production. She is passionate about theatre that promotes diversity and inclusivity, and enjoys non-theatre related hobbies such as learning languages and specialising in portrait photography.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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She will be working as Production Assistant with Theatre Travels Adelaide Fringe Festival production of Bleach, and is also the Stage Manager of Piano Production's Schapelle, Schapelle (also playing at the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2020) after a sold out season of the same show in 2019 at the Factory Theatre, Sydney. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Other credits include backstage roles with Manly Musical Societies Jekyll and Hyde, 2018 (Follow Spot Caller), Be More Chill Return Season, 2018 (Follow Spot Caller), Les Miserables, 2019 (Lighting Operator and Props Co-Ordinator), Willoughby Theatre Company’s Shrek The Musical, 2018 (Crew), Fiddler on the Roof, 2019 (Assistant Stage Manager) and MUSE’s Tuck Everlasting, 2019 (Crew) and Edges: A Song Cycle, 2019 (Lighting Operator).⠀⠀
DESIGN ASSISTANT
Kaylee is also playing Mia in this production. See her full bio at the top of the page.