Interview: Clemence Williams talks UNFINISHED WORKS at Seymour Centre

By: Mar. 28, 2016
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Now showing at Seymour Centre, I sat down with director Clemence Williams to discuss her second new work Unfinished Works and how it engages gender stereotypes, the art industry, and the separation of craft from self.

If you could pick five words to describe Unfinished Works, what would they be?
I would say it's new, it's captivating, it's refreshing, it's challenging and beautiful

I'd like to hear about the third word you picked (refreshing)
Well, one of the many things that I'm invested in, that really got me invested in this production is that before we cast we changed the gender of the protagonist, Frank, from a man to a woman. I think it's really refreshing to see a woman playing a woman on stage that was written as a man's role because the emotional arc isn't so obvious and expected. So we actually get to see two women doing very different things and with different expectations upon them, and challenged in different ways as opposed to 'in this story this is how a woman should be'.

How did that decision come about?
Primarily in the discussions surrounding casting. Obviously before you cast you need to have a really good understanding of all the characters and of the actors I knew, there wasn't really an actor that I thought could pull Frank off, well a male actor. But I was like 'there's this Lucy Goleby who I actually think would do a really great job as Frank, we should audition her, I think she actually would bring a really interesting strength and considered nature to Frank that I think Frank requires'. There was also a discussion I had with Thomas (De Angelis, playwright) about some of the scenes between Frank and her agent, well at that stage his agent, which was essentially two men yelling at each other on stage. As a female director that's not something I really want to work on and to perpetuate in a world. So it was a combination of those two things.

Shows about art are often accused of being self-indulgent, exclusive to the creative community. What do you think the real message is that any audience could pick up from the show?
Art should be accessible to everyone and anyone and the process of art making should be accessible to anyone and everyone. I have people saying 'I don't know how you do what you do, I don't know how actors do what they do', and it's sort of this idolised thing. I don't think it should be. I think it's 'I'm doing work to try and explore ideas and that's my job'. The play helps to elucidate that process as opposed to glorify it: the idea of what it means to become an artist and how our society is viewing art especially in the wake of the funding cuts.

How did you go about casting these roles?
It was different from other processes for me because we really reduced the auditions to a few people that we knew, rather than having open auditions. That's because of what we're able to pay people. This is a great project and it's getting people invested. I always look for openness and playfulness and chemistry which I think is quite a general thing but my process is very collaborative - I think many people's is - the more open and comfortable people are with one another the better show you're going to have.

BONTOM Productions are known for fostering emerging artists...
We have, I think it's an exclusively NIDA cast, but we have Deborah Galanos, and Rhett Walton who both went through NIDA and both had periods of not acting and are coming back into acting. They're a really interesting brand of emerging artist because they're returning. Lucy Goleby has been working with Darlinghurst Theatre Company last year and with QTC. Contessa (Treffone) is making her way onto STC main stages again this year and did so two years ago. We're all very much on the verge, in fact all the actors are far ahead of myself which is strange. Kyle (Kazmarzik) it's his first year out of NIDA and he's done some work with Darlinghurst Theatre Company as well. Everyone's quite fresh and new, Thomas and I it's our first production outside of drama school so it's our first baby.

How does Unfinished Works encourage perseverance in the industry and give that understanding of what it means to be artists?
It shows two artists that come from different backgrounds. It shows one who opts out of privilege and is therefore able to make art in that way, and shows how ridiculously successful she becomes from opting out of privilege which I think is the harsh reality of where art is at, as opposed to Frank the protagonist who has had to work really hard to get to her position. It demonstrates how privileged one has to be to be an artist and shows that in a critical light.

What was your favourite moment to direct?
I think one of my favourite moments has been something that I haven't directed! We've been lucky enough to work with an artist who has come in and taught Contessa and Lucy to emulate his style and talk about the gesture of painting and his process. Witnessing them learning from him has been a really special moment in the rehearsal room even though it wasn't really me doing anything! Watching him bring that authenticity to the room was really special.

Unfinished Works is a play about unlikely partnerships. Who in the Australian art scene would you be most bemused yet excited to work with?
Like Molly Meldrum?! (laughs) I'm trying to think of the most bizarre! I'd kill to work with Neil Armfield.

Was there ever a project you have left unfinished?
Yeah, before I studied at NIDA I studied music - classical singing - but I composed music that isn't classical. A lot of the music that I write remains unfinished because I don't like the classical voice that I have inside that music.

If you could compare your life to a work of art, what would it be?
Right now? Directing two shows at once? The Scream!

'The Scream' by Edvard Munch


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