South Australian youth theatre companies take to the world stage

A host of South Australian performing arts talent is set to take to the world stage, thrilling and delighting young theatre goers all over the world as the result of their presentations at the influential IPAY theatre showcase held in the US earlier this month.

South Australia’s renowned performing youth arts companies, Patch Theatre Company, Slingsby and Windmill Theatre have recently returned from the US after staging their exceptional talent at invitation-only IPAY 2013, the annual International Performing Arts for Youth showcase.

Not only did the event give each of the three companies a chance to perform before an influential global audience, it resulted in the securing of an unprecedented number of future international touring dates.

IPAY is the premiere international organisation supporting the professional community of performing arts for young audiences. The annual showcase event, which was held in Philadelphia between January 4 and 7, is a platform for companies to showcase their work on the international stage with the aim to secure a North American tour of their work.

At IPAY 2013, there were 19 presentations from 5 countries (UK, USA, Netherlands, Canada, Australia). Three of the four Australian companies selected to attend IPAY 2013 were from South Australia – further testament to the fact that when it comes to achievement in the youth arts sector, South Australia has a long and proud tradition and punches above its weight.

Patch Theatre Company was chosen from the more than 130 international applications to showcase its entire work of the Helpmann Award-winning production of Me and My Shadow, a gentle story of the fanciful escapades of a girl who finds a way to befriend her shadow. Telling its story using paper, light, shadow, colour, water, music, sound and words, with fantastical imagery, quirky physical performances and a beautiful score, the show aims to ignite children’s imaginations through a magical experience exploring the frustrations and joys of friendship.

Patch took out the coveted Victor Award at IPAY for Best Showcase Production which they are honoured to receive.

“We were honoured to be selected to showcase Me and My Shadow at IPAY and even more thrilled to win the Victor Award,’’ says Dave Brown, Patch Theatre’s Artistic Director. “It means a great deal that the company’s artistic excellence and innovation are being acknowledged amongst our peers at an international level. We have had considerable interest in touring and a tour to the US looks likely to begin with a two week season at the New Victory in New York in October this year.

“It was fantastic to be a part of and see so many other companies equally committed and passionate about performance for children and young people”.

South Australian performer Nathan O’Keefe who helped Patch devise Me and My Shadow, performed the work at IPAY this month. He also starred in Slingsby’s spotlight presentation. No mean feat, but Nathan is passionate about performing to young audiences and has a long list of theatre credits to his name for all three companies.

IPAY 2013 was Slingsby’s fourth attendance at IPAY. It began in Cleveland 2009 with two showcase performances of The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy. This resulted in an eight-week tour of Cheeseboy in 2011 through the US and Canada including a two-week sold-out season in New York presented by The New Victory Theater in The Duke.

In 2013 Slingsby presented a 10-minute excerpt of its award-winning production Man Covets Bird. This production premiered in the 2010 Adelaide Festival and has received critical acclaim and four awards, including the 2010 Ruby Award for Best Work. Man Covets Bird was also recently nominated for a 2012 Sydney Theatre Award from the production’s 2012 Sydney Opera House season.

Slingsby’s spotlight performance in Philadelphia was enthusiastically received by presenters from across North America and around the world. In 2014, Man Covets Bird will tour Scotland and the UK and discussions are underway for a 2015 tour of North America including seasons in Cleveland, Memphis, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia and Vancouver.

“Our continued presence at IPAY over the past four years has built an audience for our work throughout North America,’’ says Andy Packer, Slingsby’s Artistic Director. “It is wonderful to have the opportunity to share our heartfelt stories with audiences around the world.

“It is particularly gratifying to see South Australian work being celebrated as work of the highest quality and to be contributing to exposing young audiences in North America to the inspiring and uplifting power of live theatre.”

Windmill Theatre has an established history with IPAY, having presented Plop! in Pittsburgh 2010 which lead to tours of New York’s Broadway, Pittsburgh and New Jersey. In Florida 2012, it presented popular children’s show Grug and was awarded the prestigious Victor Award for Best Show. The outcome generated huge interest in touring Windmill productions in the US and Canada, resulting in a six month tour set down for this year and starting this month. The tour will see 156 performances, in 13 cities, before more than 30,000 children and families.

IPAY 2013 saw Windmill present a fifteen minute Spotlight pitch of the box office hit Pinocchio to presenters from around the globe. They have secured a season in the New Victory Theatre on New York’s Broadway for 2014, and have also received expressions of interest from several other major venues around the USA and Canada.

“The success of the IPAY conference, combined with our growing reputation as producers of quality new work, has led us to lengthy and exciting tours to the US and Canada,’’ says Rosemary Myers, Windmill’s Artistic Director.

“Exporting these new Australian stories to the world stage celebrates our unique Australian spirit in the international cultural landscape and in this way, certainly takes our company to a new level.

“These successes also indicate how wide Windmill’s reach is becoming, not only to Australian children and their families, but to an ever-expanding international audience.’’

IPAY Executive Director Jeremy “Boomer” Stacey, said “I have long followed the work of the three Adelaide youth theatre companies attending Philadelphia this year, so it was no surprise to me to experience great performances by these companies and to see the coveted Victor Award go to Patch.”

“Once again Adelaide artists have done their "Team Aussie" colleagues proud in representing some of the best international performing arts for young audiences at the recent IPAY Showcase. Adelaide artists have helped to raise the bar on expectations for our field and I look forward to see where they continue to take it!”

For further information on Patch Theatre Company www.patchtheatrecompany.org.au or contact Cheree McEwin 0416 181 679 cheree.mcewin@bigpond.com

For further information on Windmill www.windmill.org.au or contact Adam Rossetto (08) 8415 5303 adam.rossetto@windmill.org.au

For further information on Slingsby www.slingsby.net.au or contact Natalie Ciccocioppo (08) 8412 4100 natalie@hughespr.com.au