Kiss Me Like You Mean It

Phew!

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Since the frenzy of Kiss Me Like You Mean It, I’ve bumped into many you and heard your feedback. Inevitably, I’ve been asked the same two questions: “How’d it go?” and “What are you doing next?”

To answer the first; it went really well. We got great reviews and good audiences. We sold out four nights and had a successful opening night attended by industry guests, friends and family. You can read some of the reviews here. Being a well-seasoned project manager, I set our “key success factors” with Rob when we started in July. We achieved all of those and nearly three months out, I’ve recovered from the adrenalin overload and can smile about it!

In response to the second question, “what’s next?” well, it’s a little more fluid…

MARC Up was recently awarded a two-week residency at HotHouse Theatre in Albury to further develop an original work My Pet, My Love. This piece has been brewing since 2010, so later in the year Rob will be heading up to HotHouse with a team of artists and we are very excited to get the opportunity to develop the piece further.

Before that, Rob is about to make his appearance on stage at La Mama in Unconditioned Heart directed by Suze Smith, and then will be heading off to New York. He’ll be building on his Meisner training and attending Wendy Ward’s studio for six weeks. Then he’s off to party in Canada with his best mate.

My actor child is feeling neglected and needs some love. So I’m auditioning around the place and training with Director Nadia Tass.

But I just can’t stay away from producing! I’m producing Yarn, for Melbourne Fringe Festival, a one-woman show starring the very talented Lily Fish. Let me know if you want to know more.

Creating MARC Up was an opportunity for Rob and I to act and get our work in front of audiences. But for the moment, we’re doing our own bits and pieces while we are on the hunt look for the next project. So MARC Up is “in development” for now…

A big thank you for supporting us and telling us what you think on facebook, twitter and in person. Let’s keep the conversation going…

Carly x

Two down, eight to go!

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Earlier this week we bumped the show into the theatre, rigged the lights, set up the set (doesn’t sound right, but I’m sure it is), had a tech run, a dress rehearsal and then we opened! Phew! Somehow in amongst those crazy few days we ran around doing last-minute publicity, including a great radio interview on SYN FM (click here to listen), made a few props and did a hell of a lot of painting and gaffing. There were tears and frustrations, but we made it. Our opening night – a night Carly and I had been thinking of for many many months. And what an opening it was. To say that our opening was flawless would be a lie – some things don’t go entirely to plan. But our audience was so supportive. They laughed, they cried, they cheered, and most importantly, they made us feel that it was all worthwhile and I couldn’t have been happier.

Yesterday was Valentine’s day. Before the show, our extremely talented sound designer Lore Burns set the mood by playing her original compositions on the piano, and with champagne and chocolates in hand, our audience entered the theatre for a night of fun and laughs. It was sweet to see people on their date night – we all felt the love in the room!

Our first review came out this morning. Alex Paige from Stage Whispers had this to say “Rob Gaetano as Tony is engaging while self-deprecating. Chloe Reid as Ruth gives us a cool exterior with a nice spark of genuine warmth beneath, which gradually emerges as the play progresses. Kirk Alexander as Don is full of bluster, passion and infectious energy. And a special mention must be made of Carrie Moczynski, whose genuine, touching and multi-layered Edie was a standout.” Click here to read more of this fantastic review!

Bonnie Moir from Storybottle who filmed our fantastic trailer, took these photos at our final dress rehearsal. Thanks again Bonnie for all your support – you’ve been amazing!

Tony  Edie  Tony and Don  Ruth and Tony  Ruth  Don and Edie  ChloeReid_Ruth  Tony and Ruth

There are eight more shows to go and tickets are selling fast. If you haven’t booked yet, I encourage you to do so soon. Just follow the link at www.marcupproductions.com.

Hope to see you at the theatre!

Rob

x

In the mood for love

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With two weeks to go till opening night and ticket sales moving along nicely, I decided to step back and have a think about the play and what initially inspired me to put it on.

It all began in July 2011…

I was frantically searching for a monologue to perform as part of my graduating showcase at drama school. After scouring libraries and reading countless number of plays I came across a monologue written by a British writer Chris Chibnall. I had never heard of him but I soon found out that after writing this play he went on to carve out his career writing for Doctor Who and Torchwood. The character speaking the monologue was Tony and without giving too much away, it was touching, humorous, weird and interesting. I was so amazed that I had found this monologue and yet knew nothing about the play it came from, Kiss Me Like You Mean It. What I loved most about the monologue was that I felt  the character was speaking my thoughts – that  I was Tony. And nearly two years later, after reading and rehearsing the play over and over, I still see  much of Tony in myself.

It wasn’t just about Tony; I  loved the other characters too. Ruth, Edie and Don are  people we can relate to. Tony and Ruth resonate strongly with me. They’re in their late twenties, stuck in a rut, trying desperately to escape their circumstances and both want to love and be loved. How many of us feel that way? And Don and Edie, the elderly couple who live upstairs, fight and love like any ordinary couple who’ve been married for over 40 years.

While this play is about love it’s also about making the most out of every opportunity that life presents you.

As Don says to Tony, “You lot, you think you can get everything if you’ve got a credit card and a remote control. Anything trickier than that and you start getting panicked. So you miss your pivotal moments…the time to grasp life by the collar and say you’re flamin’ coming with me!”

This really resonated with me, grasping life by the collar, or as I prefer, grabbing life by the balls! This is why I had to put this play on. This is what I hope our audience will take away.

So for those of you  planning to  see the show I encourage you to book your tickets sooner rather than later. Follow the link on our homepage www.marcupproductions.com.

For those who adore love as much as I do, we’re offering a special package on Valentines Day, which includes bubbles, chocolates and some pre-show music to get you in the mood for love.

See you at the show!

Rob x

Chloe Reid and Rob Gaetano as Ruth and Tony

Chloe Reid and Rob Gaetano as Ruth and Tony