Ian graduated as an actor from NIDA in 1975

Ian has acted for Melbourne Theatre Company in plays 1996 Cheery Soul by Patrick White. Dir: Neil Armfield

1996 The Last Yankee by Arthur Miller. Dir: Jenny Kemp,Hedda Gabler by Ibsen. Dir: Roger Hodgeman.

Ian was a regular performer with Anthill Theatre from 1987 to 1994 (directed by Jean Pierre Mignon and Suzanne Chaundy) in many plays by the following writers: Moliere - 1992 School for Wives. Imaginary Invalid..

Samuel Beckett - Waiting for Godot, and Endgame. Brecht – Mother Courage. Chekov – Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanyaand theThree Sisters. For Playbox at the Malthouse he has appeared in such works as:

Nightfallby Joanna Murray Smith. Dir: Jenny Kemp 1999 Natural Life Dir: Michael Kantor. 1998

Black Sequin DressWriter & Dir: Jenny Kemp. 1996 King Lear Dir: Lech Machiewizs 1994.

He has worked on many occasions at Theatreworks and La Mama. He has written and directed 4 of his own 6 plays, for La Mama. He has performed in many many Independent productions in Melbourne.

In 2004 and 2005 Ian toured SA and then Nationally in Mainstreet Theatre's The Lightkeeperwritten by Verity Laughton and directed by Teresa Bell.

Closer to home, Ian has performed for 'Punctum' based in Castlemaine in 'Shed' 'Shack' and other productions during the last few years and appeared in 'Precipice' at the last Castlemaine Festival. Precipice was written by Cath Ryan and directed by Laurence Strangio.

Filmwork includes:

Holidays on the River Yarra, Life, and What I have Written, Ian has worked on many Television series and telemovies including Blue Heelers, Neighbours, Infinity Limited, Carson's Law, Bluey, ABC'sSecrets, 1995Halifax, 2002MDA (ABC),Fergus McPhail. 1999Sea-change,1999Stingersand more.

Geoff has an incredible depth of experience as a performer and creator of work. The skills he has gained from his eclectic performance history place him uniquely within the industry as an artistic collaborator and performer. As a performer, acrobat, musician, writer, technician and administrator, Geoff has consistently pushed the boundaries of his art. Geoffrey has performed with companies as diverse as Chamber Made Opera, Snuff Puppets, QTC, MTC, Circus Oz, Rock’n’Roll Circus and Horned Moon Productions. For the past decade Geoffrey has (in collaboration with Kate Fryer) managed Acrobatic theatre Company Dislocate.

Nicci Wilkes - Mother

Photo Pandora Caravan

Nicci has been working in circus and theatre for 28 years now. She began her career with the Flying Fruit Fly Circus. She has strutted her skills on every continent in the world bar one and performed in 10 different languages. Some companies Nicci has worked with over the years include Circus Oz, Melbourne Theatre Company, Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus, Hothouse Theatre, Circus Monoxide, Melbourne Workers Theatre, Born in A Taxi, Dislocate, The Famous Spiegel Tent, The Tiny Top, 56 Inch Circus and The Humour Foundation (Clown Doctors). Nicci has trained in circus, theatre and clowning with teachers from all over the globe including TheNanjing Acrobatic Troupe, the John Palacy Trapeze Volant School in Paris, La Fura Del Baus, New York based dance company “Witness Relocation”, Italian clown master Giovanni Fusetti, in Montreal on the “Rim” (Single Wheel/ Roué Cyr), and with world champions in Norway and Germany on the ‘Rhoenrad’ (Wheel). In 2011 Nicci was Assistant Director and performer in a site-specific work called ‘Taxi’ for Big West Festival, which was nominated for 4 Green Room awards and won most Outstanding Production and best Mise-en-Scene in Alternative and Hybrid Theatre 2011. Most recently Nicci returned from performing the “Teensy Top” at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and went straight to studying in France with renowned clown and theatre master Philippe Gaulier. Nicci is/has been a Circus artiste, Clown Doctor, wheel enthusiast, drag king, tent boss, Shakespearean actor (Hermia), singer in a band and a musical, Stage Manager, Production Manager, Tour Manager, Cathy Freeman’s trainer, waitress in a cafe for three days...

Freda Paten - 12 yr old Viola

Carl Kurrajong - 12 yr old Cosimo

 Wayne Macauley – Writer

Wayne studied at the VCA School of Drama and has worked extensively in the theatre as a writer, director and dramaturg. He wrote the Melbourne Workers Theatre production of Tower Of Light, performed at the 1999 Melbourne Festival (Winner: 1999 Victorian Green Room Award for Innovation/New Form) and wrote and associate-directed Gravel Pit Opera set in a disused quarry, for the 2001 Festival Of The Southern Ocean. He wrote the independent site-specific work, The Teratology Project, a futuristic exploration of genetic science, performed in a disused hospital (2002 double Green Room Award nominee) and Transit Camp, a site-specific event for the 2003 BigWest Festival. Wayne is also a widely published fiction writer with stories in Meanjin, Overland, Westerly, Island, Griffith Review and other magazines. He won The Age Short Story Competition in 1995 and has appeared in the Best Australian Stories and New Australian Stories anthologies. His debut novel, Blueprints for a Barbed-Wire Canoe, was published in 2004 to wide acclaim and was included on the Victorian secondary schools’ VCE English reading list. His second novel, Caravan Story, was nominated a 2007 Readings Book of the Year. His third book, Other Stories, a collection of short fiction, was released in 2010 and was shortlisted for a 2011 Queensland Premiers Literary Award. His latest novel, The Cook, was released by Text Publishing in October 2011. It has received broad critical acclaim (see reviews at waynemacauley.com) and will be published in the UK and Canada in September. The Age has called him ‘a compelling voice in contemporary Australian literature’.

Dan Mitchell Director/Producer/Designer

Dan has established a varied background in the arts from festivals and events, circus and physical theatre, street theatre, performance and public art. Over 23 years Mitchell has worked as Director, Producer, Performer and Creator with companies such as Circus Oz (Vic), Ihos Opera (Tas), Bizircus ,(W.A), Melbourne Fringe Festival, QuarterAcreBlock Street Theatre (W.A.), Theatre De La Unity (France), Antic Disposition (U.K.), Dislocate Physical Theatre (VIC), Flying Fruit Fly Circus (NSW), Ran Dan Club (W.A.) and various others. In 2006 Mitchell initiated the first stage of the development of the adaptation of Italo Calvino’s, “Baron in the Trees” as a site-specific tree based arboreal theatre project. In 2003 Mitchell held the position of Guest Director with the Melbourne Fringe Festival where he developed the Fringe Shrouds public art project. Mitchell has been both Director and Co-director for the Moomba Festival Tram Parade from 2000 to 2002, the Moonee Valley Festival River Spectacular 2003, Southern Edge Arts Screaming Cow Festival for Young People (W.A.), Kununurra Arts Festival 1997(W.A) and the Christmas Island Arts Festival. Dan is a resident of the Castlemaine Region. Since 2006 Mitchell has established a series of specialized events including the 2010/11/12 MoreArt Public Art Shows, 2008/2009/10 Quiet Music Festivals and aRtECYCLE whilst continuing his freelance directing on various shows including -Memoirs of Human Cannonball (Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne Comedy Festival) and Dislocate Physical Theatre The Key (Arts Centre)

 Freda Paten 12 Year Old Viola

Carl Kurrajong  12 Year Cosimo

A site specific, multi art-form adaptation of Italo Calvino’s Baron in the Trees

Baron in the Trees is the story of Cosimo, a 12 year-old boy, who after an argument with his father, chooses to live out his life in the trees. Cosimo’s life story, lived from tree to tree and country to country, is full of adventure – from the swashbuckling variety through to the intellectual and the amorous.

The project’s creative team seeks to make full use of what is so extraordinary about Cosimo’s tale: that all his adventures take place exclusively in the trees - at times more than six meters above ground. Sets are positioned within the canopy and lighting and sound make full use of the depth of field that the multi-dimensional tree-scape offers. This represents a unique performance approach we call Arboreal Theatre.

The work is the recipient of the Castlemaine State Festival's prestigious 2012 George Fairfax New Theatre Award and will premiere at the opening of the 2013 Castlemaine State Festival. (The selection panel for the Award included actor John Stanton, author Cate Kennedy and artistic director Martin Paten)

The project will be performed at Vaughan Springs, a site that represents a remarkable opportunity to realise this story. The adaptation of this work and the process of marrying it to the site are key elements of the project.

The productions aims are to:

· Create a uniquely Australian and site-specific adaptation of Italo Calvino’s, Baron in the Trees.

· Engage the local community in realising the work through participation and story sharing.

· Collaborate and engage local organizations in the development of the project such as Guildford Upper Loddon Land Care Group, Friends of Vaughan Springs and Parks Victoria.

· Create an environmentally sustainable and community relevant work that draws attention to the local history and environment.

· Utilise local resources for the project, (e.g. poplar tree harvested out of the Fryers Creek in Vaughan as base material for the set.)

Republic of the Trees is a unique marriage of professional theatre making, community engagement and site investigation. It will invite the audience into a rare and beautiful site with many layers of history and geology impacting on their experience. It will use the promenade theatre framework, rarely experienced by theatre-goers in Australia, and explore the work as installation for the duration of the season.

Creative Development

In 2006 an ensemble of artists took part in an intensive creative development of a production of Cosimo’s story. This was sponsored by the Australia Council and culminated in a brief showing of the draft script, concepts and updated Synopsis (select script and synopsis attached - working Title “In The Trees.)

The concept and site model can be adapted to any site or region for future presentations across Australia and abroad.

Design and Site adaptation - see site tour here - https://vimeo.com/41333320

The production is being adapted to the Vaughan Springs Reserve. This site is a 150 year old Arboretum set in the central Goldfields National Heritage Park approximately 10mins from Castlemaine. The site has an extraordinary history both culturally and geologically. The natural beauty of the site and its combination of introduced species and recovering native habitat provides the perfect canvas for the adaptation.

The arboretum acts as a perfect metaphor for the colonisation of the region by Europeans whilst the encroaching native bushlands highlights the tension between the old and new worlds. The adaptation seeks to universalise the very European specific original novella (Baron in the Trees) by creating a timeless and borderless story that infers and conjures much of this very local history into the work.

In a design sense the landscape is the canvas upon which this work is painted.

Therefore the project is a collaborative design process between the various skilled specialists in the team.

As the recipient of the Castlemaine State Festival's '2012 George Fairfax New Theatre Award', the team has already substantially adapted the synopsis to the site and through this identified the major design elements required to help drive the narrative.

Materiality and Design

The site at Vaughan Springs Reserve has provided a unique opportunity in respect to the accessibility of local materials for use in the project. Parks Victoria has given unfettered access to stands of poplar tree in the nearby river systems for use as material for physical aspects of the production.

The intention is to minimise the quantity of introduced materials from outside the region for both practical and sustainability purposes.

Poplar is an introduced weed that causes major problems in the local river systems. By using this material we plan to explore its uses as a temporary installation and structural material whilst also highlighting local land care initiatives seeking to eradicate it from certain areas.

This exploration is being done through a series of design workshops and prototype exercises in the middle of 2012.

Lighting Design

The project is exploring different techniques to develop natural/hand held /mobile lighting for the promenade section of the presentation. This includes hand held diffused spotlights, the common lantern and specially designed candle lanterns. In 'Area 4' of the site, powered lighting will be employed to assist in the realisation of larger scale visual scenes of the story. The design will seek to enhance the natural landscape and highlight the contrasts that the design will bring to the site.

Music/Sound Concept/Vision - Chris Lewis & Jenny Thomas Composers

The musical & sound score aims to imbue the piece with timelessness, referencing the story’s European links, but giving them a contemporary treatment and sensibility. This will be done by the use of live instruments, especially strings and percussion in combination with electronic and sound design elements, giving the audience an aural experience of both the old and new worlds explored in the production. The location offers many possibilities for the placement of instrumentalists and sound sources that will emphasise the connections/pathways of the narrative and the extraordinary physical and environmental features within the Vaughan Springs. Thomas & Lewis have explored these sonic concepts deeply in their work with Jenny M. Thomas & the System, where Thomas has taken traditional Australian folk songs and “hauled them kicking & screaming into the 21st Century”. Referencing aspects of Australia’s bleak history and colonial past.

Above. Jenny Thomas and Chris Lewis sing and read at on-site script reading.

Practical Considerations

Permission has been given to use the parklands at Vaughan Springs Reserve as venue for the production.

Above. Research at Trees Adventure, Belgrave, Victoria  who are providing expertise and equipment for the production.

The uncommon nature of this project brings a variety of rare skill sets into the same project providing a rich environment for the development of unique technical and creative outcomes. There are few, if any, artists bringing together the arboreal space with physical theatre, design and installation. The collaborators in this project will have not only developed a how to guide for this kind of process but also exciting developments in the use of materials, community collaboration and site adaptation.

Other Key Artists

Rod Primrose – Puppetry/animation/co designer. Heidelburg West Victoria

For the past 25 years Rod has been dedicated to the art of puppetry and visual theatre, excelling as a diverse artist who has worked in theatre, film and television. He is well known throughout Australia as a performer of merit, a maker, designer, puppetry director, collaborator and consultant. His expertise in the art form ranges from rod and glove puppetry, shadow and black theatre, to experimental applications and advanced animatronics. He was a long time member and artist with Handspan Theatre, and a founding member and artist for Black Hole Theatre.

Jenny Thomas - Composer/Musician Thornbury Victoria

Jenny has composed music and performed with Circus Oz, toured Europe with chamber pop band Naked Raven and as a fiddle-singer soloist, composed film scores for The Australian War Memorial and earned a Golden Fiddle Award plus an ARIA nomination for her CD releases.

Her latest work is leading a post-modern bush band, Jenny M. Thomas and The System. Their debut release, ‘Bush Gothic’ is a collection of traditional Australian folk songs re-imagined for the 21st Century.

Dr Francesca Bussey – Researcher/Co Creator. Coburg Victoria

Francesca is a writer and academic with a background in performance. She wrote Manfred Flail for the Melbourne Fringe Festival 2003, has performed in the U.S. and throughout Australia in a number of bands and is the co-author of a volume on medieval women’s history. Francesca is an emerging writer/creative.

Chris Lewis - Composer/Sound Design/Performer – Brunswick Victoria

Chris Lewis is a Melbourne based musician , teacher & composer who has worked extensively in Australia and internationally. He was Musical Director & performing musician for Circus Oz from 1993 –2002 and has been Percussionist/Drummer for Paul Capsis , Frank Yamma, Kerry Anne Cox, Bucketrider, Sweet Gary’s Show of Respect and is currently working on his own project “Dirty Lounge”.

He won the award for best sound design at the 2003 Melbourne Fringe Festival for the production Next Night ,which also received a Green Room Award nomination, and has composed for Dislocate, Platform Youth Theatre, & as well as his own projects with Melbourne based performer Margaret Trail (Next Night & Four Nights Dark room ).Chris is presently collaborating with Jenny Thomas and the System.

Nicholas Dansin Director Trees Adventure Belgrave – Arboreal Rigging Specialist – Apparatus Design St Kilda Victoria. www.treesadventure.com.au/