• Behind The Scenes,  Project Updates,  Video

    Shakespeare Republic Season One Launch – new video released!

    We are so excited to share the above video with all of you, which gives you a bit of a preview of the other content we have coming up from the night, including interviews with all the cast! But before we get ahead of ourselves, for those who may have missed it, we launched Season One of Shakespeare Republic on Tuesday night this week at the fabulous Courthouse Hotel in North Melbourne to a packed house – and we had a ball (as you can likely tell from the above vid). We were especially grateful to have the wonderful Shane Savage step in to do the vox pop/doorstop interviews with…

  • Michala Banas on set for her episode, clapper board in hand (Photo: Sally McLean)
    Behind The Scenes,  Project Updates

    Michala Banas on drunk texting and boy trouble … it must be our penultimate shoot day!

    Please Note: to our knowledge, Michala hasn’t actually drunk texted – not around us anyway!  But as far as her character is concerned … well, you’ll just have to see the episode to see what we mean!! On one of the coldest nights in August in Melbourne, the Shakespeare Republic team embarked on our latest filming adventure – Michala Banas’ episode tackling the Bard!  Filming in my and Billy Smedley’s lounge room in Melbourne, Michala gamely jumped in the deep end with both feet and brimming with some rather brilliant ideas.  My strongest memory from Monday’s shoot will be the laughter.  I do love all my Republic peeps, but especially when we’re…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Project Updates

    Ben Steel in shirt and tie with a webcam … Day 4 is complete!

    Before I write anything else, I’d like to say: Happy Birthday Juliet!  Juliet’s birthday is one of the few exact birth dates Shakespeare gave us in the text of his works. According to his play Romeo & Juliet, she was born on “Lammas Eve at night” (August 1), so her birthday in Shakespeare’s play is July 31st … which is today! Day four of filming was actually our first night shoot of the season, filming the wonderful Ben Steel as he wrangled a laptop and webcam for his episode of Shakespeare Republic.  Of course, I had the bright idea of trying to catch the dying light through the windows in the opening…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Behind The Scenes: How To Clear A Set In 15 Mins, or That’s A Wrap For Ep 3!

    Today we bring you a fun short clip from our most recent shoot at The Courthouse Hotel, North Melbourne, featuring Director, Sally McLean, Director of Photography, James Dene, Sound Recordist, Tim McCormick and Ensemble member, Billy Smedley – showing how team work can clear a set in 15 minutes – shown in under 1 minute, due to the wonder of time lapse photography. Enjoy! Camera: Sally McLean Music: Kevin MacLeod Featuring: Billy Smedley, Sally McLean, James Dene & Tim McCormick With thanks to: The Courthouse Hotel, North Melbourne (http://www.courthouseonerrol.com.au)

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Musing On The Bard: Sally McLean On Shakespeare

    As part of our Musing On The Bard series, we sat down with each of our ensemble members to find out what their thoughts are on Shakespeare, the challenges they face when working with Shakespeare text and any other thoughts they might like to share with you and us as they embark on this journey into our new Republic. Our final video in the series focuses on Shakespeare Republic founder and Director, Sally McLean, who shares her feelings on approaching Shakespeare as someone who deals with dyslexia, the challenges of finding the meaning in the text and her thoughts on how Shakespeare should be first experienced.  Interviewed by fellow Republic ensemble member, Michala Banas,…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Project Updates

    Updates: Billy Smedley in a Red Room, wearing a suit with a silver tea service … 50 Shades of Shakespeare, anyone?*

    *DISCLAIMER: Sorry guys, the scene Billy shot yesterday has nothing to do with that other Red Room stuff … we just thought it was funny that he was in a suit in a Red Room with expensive silverware – completely by accident … but we’re not entirely convinced that Shakespeare is ready for that other kind of treatment … yet 😉 It was with great anticipation that we headed off yesterday morning to the north side of town to shoot our third episode for Shakespeare Republic, this time featuring Republic member, Billy Smedley in a suit, a red room and my rather leaky silver service (nothing that some gaffer tape couldn’t fix…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Musing On The Bard: Billy Smedley On Shakespeare

    As part of our Musing On The Bard series, we sat down with each of our ensemble members to find out what their thoughts are on Shakespeare, the challenges they face when working with Shakespeare text and any other thoughts they might like to share with you and us as they embark on this journey into our new Republic. Our next video in the series focuses on Republic member, Billy Smedley, who shares his feelings on the staging of Shakespeare’s works in the 21st Century, what the challenges are, and the love he has for Shakespeare’s works in general. WARNING: Billy shares all this in his usual direct manner, and while we have…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Musing On The Bard: Michala Banas On Shakespeare

    As part of our Musing On The Bard series, we sat down with each of our ensemble members to find out what their thoughts are on Shakespeare, the challenges they face when working with Shakespeare text and any other thoughts they might like to share with you and us as they embark on this journey into our new Republic. Our next video in the series focuses on Republic member, Michala Banas, who shares her feelings on playing Shakespeare 400 years after he lived, the language and how she feels about taking on the Bard for the first time in her career.  Michala’s sense of humour is evident in this piece, as well…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Musing On The Bard: Rowena Hutson On Shakespeare

    As part of our Musing On The Bard series, we sat down with each of our ensemble members to find out what their thoughts are on Shakespeare, the challenges they face when working with Shakespeare text and any other thoughts they might like to share with you and us as they embark on this journey into our new Republic. Our third video in the series focuses on Republic member, Rowena Hutson, who shares her feelings on playing Shakespeare, the language and how she feels about the Bard in general.  You’ll also see a cameo appearance from Alan Fletcher, who managed to turn getting everyone coffee during the shoot into an ode to the…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Musing On The Bard: Alan Fletcher On Shakespeare

    As part of our Musing On The Bard series, we sat down with each of our ensemble members to find out what their thoughts are on Shakespeare, the challenges they face when working with Shakespeare text and any other thoughts they might like to share with you and us as they embark on this journey into our new Republic. Our second video in the series focuses on Republic member, Alan Fletcher, who shares his feelings about Shakespeare and the work in a contemporary context, as well as his general thoughts on Shakespeare as a writer and Shakespeare’s contribution to the world of literature.  Through this interview, we get just how much Alan loves…