Theatre Onset will be holding its AGM on Sunday 21 December at High Noon. If you would like to attend the AGM, supporting our creative schedule and offering ideas, plays, shows, etc, you would be very welcome. If you would like to join the committee, please let us know before the AGM.
Agenda:
President’s report
Treasurer’s report
Any other business
Nominations and elections for the committee in 2026
Followed by a General meeting and a BBQ
Please get in touch to find out where the AGM will be held and what to bring.
Call for actors & Call for designers and makers for sets, props & costumes
Theatre Onset Auditions for “Lysistrata: A Woman’s Translation” a play by Drue Robinson.
Lysistrata is a bawdy, riotous, energetic &hilarious play, based on the Ancient Greek play of the same name by Aristophanes. It is full of sexual innuendo, strong women, ridiculous men and you will need to be bold and outspoken, not afraid to be rude and loud. And the play is written in rhyme.
3 auditions/read throughs (no preparation needed) will be held:
1. Saturday 27 September 2-4pm
2. Sunday 28 September 2-4pm
3. Monday 29 September from 5-7pm
4. Alternate date by request
RSVP for one date via email or text to Mahamati
0448 248 322 / mahamati.currie@gmail.com
Venue: Old Uniting Church, 125 Gipps St, Bega.
Cast of 24:
– 5 women 25-45 years, or able to play this age
– 3 women 18-25 years (+ will play another part)
– 1 woman – large, non-speaking, a powerful presence on stage!
– 6 older women 50-100
– 3 men 30-55 years
– 6 older men 50-100
We will also need other helpers, especially at the design stage then building sets, making props & costumes, Front of House for performances.
Rehearsals start Monday 13 October
Performances start on Friday 20 March with final matinee on Sunday 29 March.
Theatre Onset will be producing a season of short plays (ten minutes maximum) in September/ October 2026.
We are looking for 10 local playwrights/writers who would be interested in supplying a short 10 min piece for production. The show will be called Homegrown.
If you are a first time writer or have never written a play before, we are happy to help you bring the piece to performance readiness – rewrites, discussion themes, what works in terms of set, etc. This project is about sharing and learning skills as well as producing great short plays.
Timeline:
If you are interested, send us a pitch or Expression of Interest now and what support you might need. Plays must be ready for submission by 31 March 2026. After this, we will select 10 plays for performance by the end of April. May-October 2026 – rehearsal &performance period. This may vary.
We envisage using an ensemble cast for this, ie the same actors will be in all the plays. We will call auditions for this in May.
We will also call for Expressions of Interest for Directors.
You will be paid performance rights if your play is brought to production.
If you are interested in being part of this project, please get in touch now. W warmly invite you to submit a play!
And a reminder that our next exciting production, Waiting For Godot, starts i Bega in just over 2 weeks on Friday 25 July. Tix through Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/DCRAK Mahamati
Theatre Onset’s run of classic plays continues with Waiting for Godot, a tragicomedyin two acts by Irish writer, Samuel Beckett. First published in 1952 in French as Enattendant Godot and first produced in1953, Waiting for Godot was a true innovation indrama and the Theatre of the Absurd’s first theatrical success. It has been listed asone of the world’s Top 10 plays. The play consists of conversations between Vladimir and Estragon, who are waitingfor the arrival of the mysterious Godot, who continually sends word that he willappear. They encounter Lucky and Pozzo, they discuss their miseries and their lots inlife, and they wait. Directed by David StockerProduced by Becky LuptonStarringJamie ForbesDennis StantonAlex NicolJames CookLachlan Thomson Waiting for Godot will be performed at The Church Theatre, 125 Gipps St, Bega (theold Uniting Church) starting on Friday 25 July at 7pm. Matinees at 1pm on Sunday 27July and Sunday 3 August. Tickets are $30/ $25(conc & Theatre Onset members)/ $18 (High School age or Higher Education) and are available now through Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/DCRAK We look forward to sharing this classic piece of theatre with you! Cheers,Mahamati Theatre Onset
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll closes this Sunday 8 June
If you haven’t been to see Theatre Onset’s latest production, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler,there are a limited number of tickets still available this Thursday 5, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 June. We have just had a wonderful weekend with close to capacity audiences every show.
The play is directed by Eva Mills and features a stellar cast of local actors — Jodie Stevens, David Newell, Kym Hawthorne, Pete Wild, Mahamati, MayaRae Navarrete and Jack Grey.
Don’t miss out on this moving and memorable production at the Old Uniting Church, Bega.
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll opens Friday 30th May Bega Valley audiences will soon have the chance to experience one of Australia’s most powerful and enduring plays, as Theatre Onset stages Summer of the Seventeenth Doll – Ray Lawler’s unforgettable story of love, change, and the passing of time.
The play is directed by Eva Mills and features a stellar cast of local actors — Jodie Stevens, David Newell, Kym Hawthorne, Pete Wild, Mahamati, MayaRae Navarrete and Jack Grey.
Set in 1950’s Melbourne, the story follows two cane cutters who return south for their seventeenth summer, expecting the same carefree reunion they’ve always had. But this year, things are different — and what unfolds is a deeply human exploration of relationships, identity, and the cost of holding on to the past.
“What drew me to this play was the sense of truth in the relationships between the characters. For me, that’s what makes great theatre” says Mills. “ It’s raw and real, and it still resonates. This isn’t just a story from the 1950s — it’s a story about us.”
Theatre Onset invites you to experience this moving and memorable production at the Old Uniting Church, Bega, with performances running from May 30 to June 8.
Opening on May 30th, Theatre Onset will present Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, written by Ray Lawler and directed by Eva Mills.
It’s 1953, and two seasoned cane-cutters have returned to Melbourne to be reunited with their long-time companions. But this year, everything is different. Relationships begin to unravel as the harsh realities of time and change take hold…
Theatre Onset is seeking actors for their upcoming play, the Australian classic, “The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll” by Ray Lawler. At this stage, the play will be rehearsed Feb-April and performed in either Bega or Tathra with performances in early May. Rehearsal times will be worked out when the cast is finalised.
Eva Mills,well known to local audiences as singer, musician and actor, will be the Director.
The first read through/audition will be on Saturday 14th December 2024 from 2-5pmat the Uniting Church, 125 Gipps St, Bega (opposite St Vinnies,halfway up the hill).
Casting – roles are open to people of all genders and ethnicities. Following gender-inclusive and colour-conscious casting principles, we are looking for the following 7 cast members:
Bubba Ryan: womanin early 20s
Pearl Cunningham: woman, late 30s to 50s
Olive Leech: woman, late 30s to 50s
Emma Leech: woman, 60s to 70s
Barney Ibbot: man, late 30s to 50s
Roo Webber: man, late 30’s to 50s
Johnnie Dowd: man, 20s to 30s
If you are interested in coming to the read through/audition on 14th December, please contact Eva Mills on 0423 498 056 or email her on eva.matrie@gmail.com.
Theatre Onset and the Merimbula School of Music are having a reading of The Songcrafters, a new musical by Jamie Forbes and Nick Keeling (Goldilocks and the Three Bros), which is planned for production in 2025. This won’t be a casting session, just a chance to see how the script is working and who might be interested in helping to bring it to the stage.
The Songcrafters is the story of a search for the missing verses of a song which began the universe … and might end it if it falls into the wrong hands! It has great music and a big cast, with a lot of fun parts, and is quite technically ambitious.
For the reading we need at least sixteen high school-age kids and several adults (of various ages!). For the show we’ll need a fair amount of crew (lighting, backstage, tech for the screen, etc.). We’re also looking for a director! If you’d like to be involved, or at least see what it’s all about, come along to the Old Uniting Church in Bega (125 Gipps St.) on Sunday, September 29, at 2pm.
To register your interest, please call Becky on 0414812749, or drop her a line, beckylupton@gmail.com.
Theatre Onset 