What the Show was about - a review from Whatsonsydney

Philippa Bird of Whatsonsydney reviewed the Pink Ladies show on October 8th.

There are still 3 more weeks in October to see our watchable show - October 15, 22, 29 2010 Upstairs at the Roxbury, 182 St John's Road, Glebe, from 10pm for 45 minutes.

Be there or be surprised!

This Friday 15th October 2010 our cast includes Chloe Paul, Lucie Booker, Jane Simmons (as the documentary maker), Jess Mallett, Louise McManus, Karina Francis and Linda Calgaro.

Photo: Taken at one of our Sydney Fringe shows: Linette Voller lights a fire in a forest. Photographer Michelle Ho

So you want to see someone specific? When they're playing

So perhaps you want to see someone special, someone specific, play in Pink Ladies.

Here is a list of who is playing when, so you can cross-reference it with your diary and do good while having a great time seeing your favourite improvisers:

Lucie Booker: 18/09, 26/09, 1/10, 15/10, 22/10, 29/10
Linda Calgaro: 16/09, 25/09, 26/09, 1/10, 15/10
Erin Foy: 16/09, 25/09, 26/09, 8/10, 22/10, 29/10
Karina Francis: 16/09, 15/10, 29/10, 25/09, 26/09, 22/10
Sophie Long: 16/09, 18/09, 25/09, 26/09, 1/10, 22/10, 29/10
Louise McManus: 16/09, 18/09, 1/10, 8/10, 15/10, 29/10
Jess Mallett: 16/09, 25/09, 8/10, 15/10, 22/10
Chloe Paul: 25/9, 8/10, 15/10, 22/10
Jane Simmons: 1/10, 8/10, 15/10
Karena Thomas: 25/09, 26/09, 1/10, 8/10, 22/10, 29/10
Cindy Tonkin: 18/09, 1/10, 29/10
Linette Voller: 16/09, 18/09, 26/09, 8/10, 22/10

Click on the Cast page to get info about each of these daring women!

photo: Erin Foy gets tough!

Linette and Jane - Size Four(teen)

Pink Ladies: Women Make it Up's first fringe shows (16th and 18th September at 8pm) are fast approaching. (Book your tix now!)

Essentially, we're making up a mockumentary. Each night will have a different improvising "producer" whose documentary you will see created before your very eyes. In rehearsal we have had themes like Breaking the Cycle of Habits, Frenemies, the inside story, and Loneliness.

Pink Ladies is long form improvisation.

Sydney is well-acquainted with short form improvisation in the form of Theatresports. Long form differs from the Theatresports  because it is more theatrical. Long form has less audience participation so you, the audience, are safe to enjoy the show. And with long form there are no time limits.

With Pink Ladies you will see improvisation which is closer to traditional theatre in its story telling and its relationships. And yet we maintain the thrill that improvisation gives to both players and the audience - the high-wire, anything might happen feeling of 6 women's minds taking you on a journey, through drama, comedy and characters devised on the fly. 

Many of the Pink Ladies were part of the cast of Improvactually a series of 9 improvised shows in March and April 2010, which followed some intensive workshops. The video clips you see on this site so far are from those shows.

Here, Linette Voller and Jane Simmons have a retail exchange:


Music by Anne Maree Wilshire.
Filmed by Susan Brown in April 2010.

Book your tickets to the Sydney Fringe Shows now - all profits to Breast Cancer Network Australia.

The Bechdel Test - can we pass it?

One of the interesting conundrums we face with our show is creating scenes with all-women.

Women make it up - from left Jess Mallett, Linda Calgaro,
Jane Simmons, Karina Francis, Sophie Long.

With all women characters in our Pink Ladies show, we knew that women could play any profession (from architect to dentist to construction worker to policewoman to prime minister...), and found that when we played men (for love interests, for example), we would often refer to the male characters as "she" later in the show. 


We tried playing only women, since the gender of the character wasn't sticking. But this was avoiding what we thought were 2 problems: Firstly that our male characters were not manly enough (!) or that we were talking about previous scenes rather than creating new ones.


The problem of the "he/she" referring to characters disappears if we talk to each other about something besides the man (or about something that's IN the scene we're playing, rather than talking about a scene we've already seen!).


Which fits with the Bechdel test. Alison Bechdel laid down three criteria for movies she wanted to see:

1. It has to have at least two (named) women in it

2. Who talk to each other

3. About something besides a man.

It's a discussion for another day whether this is a worthy way to evaluate a show or a movie. In our improvisation practice we've noticed that when the women in a scene talk about how they feel, the narrative can move forward. When they are purely advancing the narrative by giving information, then it can stagnate (or move forward, but who cares?).

So come see our Fringe shows in September or our Roxbury shows in October 2010 and judge for yourself. Do we pass the Bechdel test?   

p.s. it's actually quite surprising how few films and television shows pass the Bechdel test. You can read which ones do pass (or pass some of the criteria) at the site!

Jess Mallett learns from a crush...

Jess Mallett is famous in the improvising world for her ability to say just the right thing at just the right time. She has a sharp expertise in loquacious characters (see the final question to discover why!). We welcome her into our cast, and look forward to her inventive contribution to the Pink Ladies.

What's your all time favourite improvised scene that you were in? why?

A simultaneously daunting and exhilarating scene that I played in Impromance with Bill Arnett from Chicago. Bill was a man oblivious to people with crushes on him, and I was the friend with a crush on him. I think it was the first time I truly understood the 'game of the scene' concept, with everything he did heightening the frustration of the situation. At one point he even patted me on the head. We played the scene for the reality, not for laughs, but the audience loved it. I had a great time in the scene, and learned a lot so it stands out in my memory. 

What's your all time favourite you witnessed but weren't in, and why?

At a Cranston cup final Simon, Jordan, and some other people improvised a scene in a fridge. I remember that I found it hilarious because of their commitment and I was quoting it for days but I don't remember the specifics. 

Why do you love improvising?

Because it allows you to exist in the moment, turn off your inner critic and just say yes to stuff. 

What's your favourite colour (after pink)?

Purple, deep regal purple, none of this namby-pamby purple, but the pure purpliest of purples.
What's your favourite fruit and why?

Tomatoes, because I hate most other fruit, but I eat these on at least a daily basis.What's your porn name? (first pet + first street you ever lived in)

Ripper East (which sounds more like a set of instructions than a name).What's your ambition for pink ladies?

To rule the world... and raise heaps of cash for the Breast Cancer Network Australia.Favourite word?

Loquacious. 

Photo: Jane Simmons in a rare cranky character, being comforted by the amazing Jess Mallett.

Our cast: Jane Simmons - who is ON HOLIDAYS!!!

Welcome to the first in a series of profiles on our cast.

From these questions you'll get a sense of the kind of drama, comedy, farce or even poetry you can expect in our pink lady shows. 

What’s your all time favourite improvised scene that you were in? why?

My all time-favourite scene was a game with Steve Lynch, Gep Blake and Adam Gelin in the original 'Unlimited Soundburger' in the Theatresports Cranston Cup years ago. It was set in a prison and it just all came together as if we had all planned a little piece of the puzzle that fitted perfectly. We hadn't gone for the gags or stereotypes - we all played it for truth and against all odds, it was gold. Loved that team. Sailed all the way to the Grand Final with such joy.

(Director's note: I saw that scene. It was indeed a narrative joy. An opening scene which seemed to have too many threads to pull together which ended in a way which tied everything together - pure improvisational joy!)

What’s your all time favourite improvised scene that you witnessed but weren’t in, and why? 

Another truth scene is my favourite actually. When I first started watching Theatresports in the 90's at Belvoir. The scene was set at a grave site and was played beautifully by Monique Dykstra and Nigel Sutton. Fabulous.

Why do you love improvising? Well the flippant answer for why I love improvising would be the lack of learning lines is very attractive but the real answer is the nature of working with great ensembles and discovering narratives, characters, tilts and possibilities as you go and never knowing where you'll end up. What scares you about improv is also what thrills you!

What’s your favourite colour (after pink)?

Is there another colour apart from pink? Developing a liking for purple at the moment.

What’s your favourite fruit and why?

Banana. It'll never let you down in the potassium stakes.

What’s your porn name? (first pet + first street you ever lived in)

I recently heard the Real Estate phrase 'Sunset Clause' and I want to use that name. But using the criteria above it would be Selina Pozieres.

What’s your ambition for pink ladies?

To play with joy, risk, strength, energy and integrity- just as we would with the boys but like an all girls super group. Watch out boys. Kevin Rudd thought he was safe too...

Favourite word?

Holidays. If I could have three it would be Long Service Leave!!

Pink Ladies - Women Make it up

Rehearsals and auditions for the first season of Pink Ladies - Women make it up are underway.
Cutting the improvising community down to just women has created some interesting dynamics and we are all very excited!


So far we have reinvented a format pilfered from New York's Upright Citizens' Brigade, and updated it for our own purposes.
The idea is that we improvise a documentary for you every night. So far we have in rehearsal created A Day in the life of Glebe Markets, a documentary on Pride (and how it goeth before the inevitable fall), and Polka Dots.
While rehearsing for an improvised show is somewhat of a mystery to the non-improvising world, essentially what we aim to do is build trust with each other, create a group mind. While there are a considerable number of women who improvise, it's rare for them all to be on a stage together!
But it will happen in September and October 2010.

Photos in this posting: Linette Voller and Cindy Tonkin arm wrestling; a group scene: Karina Francis, Sophie Long, Jane Simmons and Jess Mallett; Linette Voller conducts.
Photos Sus Brown.