Discover Desert Artists
Get ready for a sizzling showcase as Central Australia’s up-and-coming actors, playwrights, and directors light up the stage in a one-night show at Red Hots Arts in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.
By Jenna Hoare
THE LATEST COHORT of creative talent from the locally led Theatre Makers program is prepped and set to debut excerpts of their works on stage. Theatre Makers artist mentors Betty Sweetlove and Jasmine Story founded the initiative in 2023 after identifying the need to connect emerging and established artists around town.
“The most common thing we hear from applicants is they loved drama at high school. Or they just haven’t found their way to performing [yet], but they’ve always wanted to be in theatre,” Sweetlove says.
“We have pieces about personal life stories which are really moving, we’ve got pieces about aliens ... the performers are free to follow any form of creative concept and develop it into a new story.”
New works to look out for range from a piece dedicated to a mythological figure of an Irish goddess to a stand-up comedy routine called Tindergeist, delving into the ghosts of dating past in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.
The 2024 Theatre Makers performance follows last year's sell-out event, which involved three roving stage areas, and a bar activated in the Red Hot Arts theatre building.
“None of it is a traditional theatre space. It’s very kind of site-specific,” Sweetlove says.
This year, the program received 17 applicants, who were all given a place and space to develop their creative concepts under the guidance of 10 artist mentors throughout a series of workshops.
“We’ve also had accessibility mentoring from Incite Arts,” Sweetlove ads.
“They’ve undertaken an access audit of Theatre Makers and were really influential in our planning to ensure we were thinking about accessibility."
Incite Arts also directly supports disabled artists to get involved with the program for ages 18 years and over.
“We really wanted to create a space that is genuinely open to everyone," Sweetlove says.
“Our main aim is to develop performing arts in Central Australia. People are welcome to come along, and hopefully it sparks something in terms of a show or performance that they would like to get involved in.”
So, whether you're a theatre lover, looking for a fun and thought-provoking evening or seeking to support local talent – snap up those hot tickets fast.
Theatre Makers
WHEN SAT 9 NOV | 5-6.45PM
AT RED HOT ARTS
COST $5-$15
INFO theatremakersnt.com
Header, thumbnail & inset: Nico Liengme
