THEATRE: EMERGENCY
BY CARLIN HURDIS
For six years, Imara Savage was the stranger whose kindness was depended on. But after working locally for Oxfam and in third-world communities for AusAID, she could no longer suppress her ambition to work in theatre.
She made the transition in 2006, enrolling at the NIDA Playwrights’ Studio, and now it is Savage who is throwing herself at the mercy of strangers, audiences and critics alike, as she graduates from the institute’s directors’ course, which culminates with a season of six short plays, at the end of November.
She is directing This Property is Condemned, making her one of two graduates to choose a work by Tennessee Williams. ‘There’s a poetry, and a musicality, to his work,’ she says. The six graduating directors have formed a collective, Theatre Forward, which will create an environment for the graduates to assist, and to challenge, each other.
‘As a director, you need to understand the world around you,’ Savage, explaining the relevance of her experience, says. ‘That means having a sense of compassion and knowing how people use power and politics.’ Emergency opens next week at NIDA.
Emergency: A season of six short plays from the NIDA graduating directors
November 26-29
Parade Theatres, NIDA, Anzac Parade Kensington
Tickets: $15-$25, 1300 795 012 or www.ticketek.com.au
