A Wrap on Felafel

I had planned oh-so-many in-depth, behind-the-scenes, special-extras type of posts about He Died With a Felafel in His Hand.

Then the whole thing sort of sprang up, and before you know it, it was October 6 and the whole bally show was done and dusted.

It wasn't that the production and performance week was a blur; more that it would've been nice to slow time down just a little. Just a smidge. Just a fraction.



The adventure began, of course, about six months ago, when I confirmed production dates with the Brisbane Powerhouse.

It continued throughout the warm winter, rehearsing every Saturday, then ramping it up through September.

On Sunday September 29 we bumped into the beautiful Visy Theatre, following it up with rehearsals all day Monday and Tuesday, before the Tuesday evening preview.

Having an audience was a blessed relief and a joy. Their energy fed us, boosted us, made us work harder and hit our comedic beats even better. The actors revelled in their roles, and I delighted in watching them squeeze every last laugh, giggle, groan, howl and squeal out of their audiences.

We then had wonderful houses all week, including sell-outs on both Friday and Saturday nights.

So many people supported the show by coming along. I'm yet to get all the final figures, but at this stage I'm confident I will make the money I invested back. That makes me so proud: of Brisbane theatre-goers, of the cast and crew, and even of myself.

The experiment has given me some faith that I can apply myself to fairly ambitious projects and, with the help of good people, make them happen. Don't get me wrong - I have many skills still to acquire. I remain too easily stressed and upset when problems arise, and some of my technical and budgeting knowledge needs to be improved.

But still, it all got done in the end. So while I'm not launching into another theatre show straightaway, who knows what the future might hold?

Dressing room wig shenanigans.

Finally, I'd like to throw up some links to people who helped along the way:

Author John Birmingham, obviously - his Cheeseburger Gothic website now also comes complete with a podcast.

My friends Dan and Aurelie Beeston let me abuse their talents in the way of graphic design and photography. Do check them out at CivicNet and Elysee Photography. Their level of talent should be illegal.

Heath Carney generously took fantastic production shots of the show; you can see them and more at his website.

Despite my renovations being finished, my builder Craig generously donated his time and expertise to help build our set pieces. I would highly recommend Corella Construction.

The lovely Heena from The Blue Lotus Retreat came and gave the cast massages and professional make-up on our final day. She is just a gorgeous lady, and I can recommend her if you're looking for a beauty treat.

Ben Tantari is a local Brisbane filmmaker who put together our teaser trailer.

One of our actors, Michael Fitzhywel, is a talented artist who has cool designs for sale on Red Bubble.

Another actor, Elizabeth Best, runs a great movie review site called Super Quick Reviews.

Thank you, once again, to everyone who supported the show. Thank you so much.

Lying on the Visy Theatre stage.
Didn't want to leave.