Pink Ladies part of the Awesome Improv Festival, Roxbury, 16 Jun 2011

Linda Calgaro and Karina Francis.
Photograph Dennis Mitchell,
Menace Photography 2010 

Yes!!
You can see the Pink Ladies doing a version of their mockumentary upstairs at the Roxbury, 182 St John's Road, Glebe, 2037, on June 16th, 2011.
It's part of an improvisation festival running every Tuesday and Thursday in June.
Come see us!!
Cast includes: Linette Voller, Cindy Tonkin, Sophie Long, Jess Mallett, Karina Francis, Lucie Booker, Linda Calgaro,

Pink Ladies are go!



Back stage at the Pink Ladies 27 September 2010.
Cloockwise from left: Linette Voller,
Lucie Booker, Karina Francis, Sophie Long, Linda Calgaro, Erin Foy,
Cindy Tonkin, Karena Thomas



So Pink Ladies first season has come to an end.

Behind every successful woman there is sometimes a huge number of people to thank.

When all was said and done, we sent $1189 to the Breast Cancer Network and had an enormous amount of fun doing it.

And we need to thank these people who donated money directly to the BCNA because of our show:

Mario Seifreid

Lisa Every

Anne Grunseit

Rod Matthews

John Bastianon
and the 105 people who paid to see the show (we don't know all of your names, but we love you!).

And the behind the scenes people who made the production work.

John Barnier and Jon Williams and the IA Committee at Impro Australia, who donated the cost of our show's insurance, and their cut of the Roxbury Late Show door.

Jason Dunn, Jim Fishwick and Glen Bell who did our lights.

Matt Pilkington who did the door for us during the Late Show.

Our mothers and mothers everywhere, who gave us so much material for our show. We're hatching a plan for a mothers' day show in 2011, so watch this space.

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

What's the show about?

What are Pink Ladies' shows about? It's always hard to say, because we treat the themes that emerge from our brains as we play.

Michael Chabon's afterword from Gentlemen of the Road, defines the themes of other stories he had written prior:

"disappointment, misfortune, loss, hard enlightenment, moments of bleak grace. Divorce; death; illness; violence, random and domestic; divorce; bad faith; deception and self-deception; love and hate between fathers and sons, men and women, friends and lovers; the transience of beauty and desire; divorce - I guess that just about covers it. Story, more or less, of my life".

And a lot of what Pink Ladies cover in our shows are like that:

In the preview at Full Body Contact No Love Tennis and our four Sydney Fringe shows we have treated themes like:

• aging, senility, body image, delusion
• loyalty, celebrity, stalking and fading fame
• ambition, dreams and entrepreneurialism
• turkey basters
• schadenfruede (pleasure at the misfortunes of others)
• how our mothers make us (or not)
• who is God? How do you become a god? Do the gods play poker
• what lengths will you go to in order to please a mother
• organ harvesting
• when sleeping with your friends' future husband is OK (or not)
• the importance of mothering
• divorce and getting on with it

So what are our shows about? We don't know now, but we will know when it happens, and you'll be there to see it happen.

Here's what one audience member said:

"I really enjoyed the sensation of a new story unfolding right in front of me".

Photo: Linette Voller, Erin Foy, Jess Mallett, Sophie Long, Louise McManus - who's sleeping with Rick? 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.

Our First show: the cast

Our first show is at the Sydney Fringe on Thursday 16th September at 8pm at St Luke's Church Hall, 11 Stanmore Road, Enmore.

The cast for the night are:

• Erin Foy
• Jess Mallett
• Karina Francis
• Linda Calgaro
• Linette Voller
• Louise McManus
• Sophie Long.

We are pumped and full of energy and ideas for this debut night!


photo: another promo image: from left to right Chloe Paul, Louise McManus, Karina Francis, Erin Foy, Karena Thomas

Linette Voller - Onomotopoeia lives

Linette Voller has a quiet strangeness which kind of creeps up on you. She looks like an ordinary person until she begins to improvise, and then you see a mind with many dark corners and quirky side alleys. You can see them all within a few minutes - always changing!!

Here's a quick interview with Linette.

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

One that sticks out for me is a song I did with 2 of my pals that I graduated from an impro course with a year before. It was just so much fun and one of those times that things just all came together.

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

There have been so many that left me weeping with laughter!  One that comes to mind is a scene in Santa’s toy factory with Brent Hill and Rebecca de Unamuno. I could watch them for ages.

Why do you love improvising?

Because it stops me from over-thinking before the show and it's a delight to see where we all end up.

What’s your favourite colour (after pink)?

Red

What’s your favourite fruit and why?

Pineapple. What's not to love about such a jovial spiky fruit. It tries to keep you away, but eventually relents its sweet and tasty flesh.

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

Midnight Milton

What’s your ambition for pink ladies?

To take over the world!!!!!  Muhahahahah. Ahem.

Seriously though, to have a great time playing and raise some money for a seriously worthwhile cause.

Favourite word?

Moist. Cos it sounds like soggy moss on a rock by a pool when you say it. Onomatopoeia for the win! 

Cindy Tonkin - Directing and Producing...

Cindy Tonkin directs and produces this season. If she's very lucky, and all goes well, she may join in the playing by the time we get to the Roxbury in October. October 1 is in fact her birthday, and it's the first night that Pink Ladies is on at the Roxbury, so maybe she'll play then!!


Cindy produced Scared Scriptless Theatresports for several years when it was at the Clarence Hotel in Petersham. In 2009 and 2010 she was instrumental in bringing 2 Chicago improvisers to Sydney to Chicago-up the improv. Cindy from iO Theatre promoted the two seasons which resulted: the Jason Chin Project, and Improvactually (the product of the Bill Arnett Adventure).


Here are Cindy's questions turned on herself:

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

It was a very slow scene about a drought, a war and a relationship going bust. In 3 minutes. As a he said, she said. Tom Allen was in that scene and Tess Niemand. I will remember it forever!

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

I echo Karena Thomas’ vote that TJ and Dave, who are Chicago based, are pretty damn fine. I see great improvising all the time – when the players/characters are vulnerable, when the relationships are true, and it"s more than just gagging. When the comedy comes from the characters, not the words...

Why do you love improvising?

It frees up a certain part of the brain to be playful, stop thinking and start doing, and because I never laugh so much as when I improvise. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh.

What’s your favourite colour (after pink)?

Orange.

What’s your favourite fruit and why?

Pears. I'm not allergic to them.

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

Snuffy Holtermann.

What’s your ambition for pink ladies?

Make some lovely money for the Breast Cancer Network, because they do such excellent work for women going through the horror that is Breast Cancer. To create shows people will talk about in years to come as a great memory. To get women improvising together so people can remember that women can improvise too. To give Sydney Improv more options for how shows can work…. Not much, right?

Favourite word?

Potato.

Photo: Linette Voller on the left. Cindy Tonkin on the right. This is a scene from Improvactually.

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.