Artist(s) of the Week - Paul Gilchrist and Daniela Giorgi
This is a special combined interview this week of the couple that run subtlenuance, an independent theatre company dedicated to original new Australian work.
What are you working on currently?
Paul: Subtlenuance is about to announce our 2012 season: four original works we’re very excited about. And rehearsals have begun for Blind Tasting, the show we’re producing at the Adelaide Fringe. Part performance, part wine tasting, it features the extraordinary Sylvia Keays. We’re hoping to take the audience on both a funny and moving exploration of the whole idea of judgement.
We’re also currently accepting script submissions for our Bare Boards Brave Heart festival of solo performances. We did this for the first time last year and got a great response, from both artists and audiences. The idea is to strip theatre right back – no sets, no props, no effects, just an actor owning the stage.
Daniela: I’m writing the umpteenth draft of Friday, a play we’re producing this year. It’s about politics and engagement and how we’d often rather be doing something else - but if we don’t get involved then we get stuck with a world made by the crazy people. And I don’t want to wake up to that!
I’m also trying to work out how to get our production of Blind Tasting, which we’re taking to the Adelaide Fringe, into my Jetstar carry-on luggage. Fortunately, I believe theatre is produced by imagination, which weighs nothing.
2. Who, or what, inspires you to create?
Paul: Shelley wrote “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” I think it’s true of all artists. We are culture creators. Truth telling, or holding a mirror up to society, is only part of what we do. We also make offerings. Plays are expressions of worldviews -not opinions or political posturings, that’s the job of the essay or article- but complete visions. So a play is a gift to an audience: this worldview has given me so much, I want to share it with you.
Daniela: Working artists, environmental activists, politicians, doctors in refugee camps, plumbers. People that turn up every day and get things done.
3. What was the most interesting thing you saw recently?
Paul: The Boys at Griffin. Magnificent production. If you believe that the role of the artist is either to acknowledge the suffering in the world or to offer solutions, then this play will give you a lot to talk about.
Daniela: Thyestes. A stunning visual production and wonderfully performed but seemingly unconscious of its nihilism and misogyny. Had me talking about it for hours afterwards. That’s what I call good theatre.
4. What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Paul: My dad says “Most people don’t know what they’re talking about.” He’s not being contrary. He’s simply suggesting that claims of expertise should be regarded with suspicion. As a dramatist, I say listen to everyone’s advice. Don’t necessarily act on it. Just listen. You’ll learn so much about human desires and our unacknowledged assumptions.
Anias Nin said something like: “Don’t write to gain the approval of others. Our society doesn’t need it. And neither do you.” Wanting validation puts you constantly in the power of others. And sometimes all other people want from you is your silence.
Daniela: “Take a chill pill. You’ll get nothing done if you subscribe to stress.” That piece of advice has led to a whole series of New Year’s resolutions as I try to wrench that particular monkey off my back.
5. Who, past or present, would you like to share a meal with and why?
Paul: Everyone who’s come to a subtlenuance production over the last four years and all the fantastic artists we’ve worked with. We do only original work, which is exhilarating, but you have to be especially open to risk to be part of the mix. I’m very grateful to everyone who’s been up for that. I reckon I owe a lot of people at least a meal.
Daniela: Past: Simone De Beauvoir – French existentialist philosopher and revolutionary author of The Second Sex who famously said: “One is not born a woman, but becomes one.” She hung out with Sartre at the Café Les Deux Magots in Paris. So I think I would just have the coffee.
Present: Stephanie Dowrick - Inspiring contemporary writer who says about courage: “No work of art is created without it.” I love that writers are brave enough to give voice to their ideas. I love that actors are brave enough to take risks on stage. I love that producers are brave enough to put on shows that audiences might not like. It takes courage to speak out. The old saying goes ‘Most people would rather be in the box than giving the eulogy.’ I’d rather give the eulogy.
Check out subtlenuance at their website http://www.subtlenuance.com/ or check them out on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/subtlenuancetheatre
