New directions for Company O?
2020 was an interesting year for Company O. By the time the year had finished, Company O had been involved in theatre, education, ballet, and film projects.
In 2020, we were fortunate to be able to go through with our production of professional premises, a new Australian play written and directed by Company O Artistic Director, Andrew O’Connell. The play was about a series of ill-fated rehearsals, ironically! We had to stop rehearsing in March, when we all went into lockdown, but our fortunate position, here in Western Australia, allowed us to resume rehearsals in August, and in October, professional premises had its world premiere in Perth (professional premises has since been long-listed for a Performing Arts WA award).
Tensions rise as ‘Lindsay’ (Lauren Beeton) and ‘Dave’ (Ron Arthurs) try to rehearse Shakespeare’s The Tempest in ‘professional premises’.
Shortly after, Andrew O’Connell was back into acting, cast, as an actor, as ‘Don Quixote’ in the Youth Ballet WA production of Don Quixote. Says Andrew: “I was nervous about having to act on stage with a whole bunch of ballerinas but the part was an acting role - not a dancing role - so I had to back myself as an actor…I couldn’t do a pirouette to save my life! It was a great experience - a lot of stylised movement was required, in time with the music, so it was as challenging as any play I’ve ever done!”
Andrew O’Connell as Don Quixote in the Youth Ballet WA production of Don Quixote.
Towards the end of 2020, Company O made its first foray into education partnering up with Hooked on Humanities to offer workshops for teachers: ‘Lives: a dramatic look at history: how to teach history through drama’ in 2021.
And if that wasn’t enough, film is on the horizon with Company O going into production with Red Light Film WA to produce the short film of Death and the Little Girl, based on the short story written by Andrew O’Connell.
The short story Death and the Little Girl is set to become a short film.
So, we’d be lying if we said that the ‘clouds’ of 2020 did not have any silver linings.
Exciting times ahead!
