By Kyrilee Johnstone
The week of November 11th, I found myself packing my suitcase and heading off to Melbourne for the week where I was one of six lucky regional people to get into the program Small Scale, Big Fish at the Malthouse Theatre. We were all staying at the Medina Executive in St.Kilda where it seemed no one ever slept. We were all due at the Malthouse at 2.30pm where we were invited to join the greening forum with Malthouse and Sydney Theatre Company. I was sitting in the audience two metres from the amazing Cate Blanchett; this week was heading off to a great start. We then gathered in the Shell Room of the Malthouse where we had introductory drinks with the organizers of our program and the five other participants. It was interesting to meet these people some of which really lived in the sticks, and to hear about the amazing things they do with what little they have. I found myself being very grateful for the one theatre we have in Bendigo, but it also taught me that it is possible to put on great shows with anything you are provided with. We were then rushed into the Malthouse Season Launch for 2008 which was great. I was excited to see the space with all the magic of theatre going, including a huge projector screen. Afterwards we continued with drinks and then it was back to the hotel.  We all crammed on to the tram and got to know each other better over dinner at the Vietnamese restaurant next door where I was taught how to use chopsticks.
From Monday to Friday the week went by like a blur the program was as follows:
- Tour of Malthouse including their painted garden roof top
- Projects and community Liason - with performer, writer. Director Donna Jackson
Who was just an inspirational performer
- Audio Visual - with Baird McKenna
We got to play with projectors and learn about its role in theatre
- Risk Management and OH&S - with Frank Stoffels
An absolute legend. Frank got me interested in the importance of OH&S which you would think of as dull, but when you realise how much is involved it's unbelievable.
- Audio - with Russell Goldsmith Malthouse
He knows his stuff and I was really interested as Audio was an element I didn't know very well, but it is so important to the life of a show.
- Stage Management - with Leonie Dixon
I Love Stage Management and listening to Leonie and hearing about her experiences was fascinating. You can read more about her in the professional questions area as well as Frank.
- Lighting - with Mikkel Mynster
This guy was a visitor to Malthouse but as you can probably tell by his name is one very cool guy. Lighting has always been a great element in theatre for me, so it was good to hear all about it and learn about the different lights including moving lights, boards and programs.
- Touring - with Kane Forbes from Regional Arts Victoria
This was a new one for me, I'd never actually realized what was involved and the amount of work that goes on. It was just unbelievable and highly interesting.
- Touring Production Visit of the Spaghetti Western Orchestra - Carly Heard
The beauties of touring a highly instrumental performance all over the world and having to worry about finding the prop cornflakes. It was crazy.
- A night at the Athenaeum Theatre - Spaghetti Western Orchestra
Fantastic Show, really entertaining.
- Production Management - with Emma Anderson
Fitting everything together just nicely and what a job!
I learnt so much and heard so many good stories which I would love to share with you but this would then become a novel. I will however share some of the highlights, one of which was after being involved with all the different aspects of theatre my enthusiasm was re-ignited and I was looking forward to the crazy times that would be waiting ahead.
The ridiculous hours, the hard work, the constant change and turnover and the multiple jobs you actually need to handle when involved in theatre is a world all of its own.
I really enjoyed watching the performance at the Athenaeum after having a tour of the venue and speaking through the tour process I think I appreciated the work so much more. Usually when you've been involved with theatre, you tend to find yourself looking at how all the lights work, where props are coming from etc but this show I just found myself enjoying.
The schedule worked really well. We were getting tastes of many different things and as the week went on everything started to weave its way in and make more sense.
The speakers were just amazing. I think what I really enjoyed about the week was the people I met and the professionals who were so willing to share their work and help us understand it better. They were so genuine and helpful. If there was absolutely anything I wanted to know more about, they were more than happy to be stopped in the hallway.
If I had to pick a downfall it would be that it would have been great to see them all at work and see more performances and people in action. There was so much talking and some showing, but not as many visuals like seeing the spaghetti western come together.
I must also add at the start of the week I felt there was a real divide between the three younger participants and the three older. The older people were interested in seeing how it could better their situation in their town and how to help with touring companies. While as much as we enjoyed learning that, we also wanted to learn more about getting into the industry and taking that step to bigger things. I guess the program was to educate regional people so we can tour more shows to regional towns which would be great. I would love to see more opportunities for smaller regional towns to experience the art of theatre.
Overall the week was fantastic and by Thursday night I think all our brains were close to overload and getting very tired. The excitement of the city can get too much by the end of the week, but the people I met and the things I learnt will never be forgotten. It was a very worthwhile experience and I encourage anyone looking to learn more to start asking questions. The Malthouse do run programs but it's best to check their website regularly. One ongoing program is the Besen Family Artist Program-it's for emerging theatre workers as well as those wanting to get a bit more experience under their belt. Found under Dramaturgy (Opportunities) on the website www,malthousetheatre.com.au.
Check out their 2008 program while you're there as there are some great shows coming up. See as much theatre as you can and soak it in, it's a very worthwhile experience.
Thanks to Malthouse, Megafun and Regional Arts Victoria for the opportunity to be involved with Small Scale, Big Fish it really is a great program.
