LA BELLA FIGURA

A new musical dramedy by Frank Dangelico, Roz Pappalardo and Kathryn Ash

SYNOPSIS

La Bella Figura (meaning, the beautiful image) is a new musical dramedy by second-generation, Italian-Aussies Frank Dangelico and Roz Pappalardo, and local playwright Kathryn Ash.

Directed by JUTE’s Artistic Director, Suellen Maunder, herself a fourth generation Italian, with set design by Simona Cosentini and Simone Tesorieri, our resident Italian-Australian first-generation migrants, the play unpacks the complexities of being an Italian-Australian; steeped in the fading family legends of immigration, driven by family expectation to do well, and feeling challenged between the notion they have ‘made it’ into mainstream Aussie culture and the need to keep that which is precious and meaningful about their heritage.

La Bella Figura is an authentic theatre experience, filled with warmth, comedy and deeply moving moments. It will have you going from toe-tapping original songs by local composer Rubina Kimiia, to fighting back tears over the poignant storytelling.

CAST

Frank Dangelico
Roz Pappalardo

GENRE

Musical Dramedy

RUNNING TIME

Approximately 1 hr 50 min plus 20 minute intermission

AUDIENCE INFORMATION

Rated PG: includes a scene with mild coarse language

MEDIA LINKS AND BACKGROUND STORIES

A selection of media coverage with background stories and interviews:

Tropic Now: Italian Australian community asked to submit family photos for new theatre production (as used in set design)

Tropic Now: Cairns theatre production to feature Italian migration to the Far North (about the production, cast and story line)

Cairns Local News (p.15): Frank sings from his heart in community chorus (about community chorus and what concept of La Bella Figura means to chorus member Frank Lanza)

SBS Radio (Italian): Interview with Frank Dangelico about the story and the background of the play.

ABC Far North: Breakfast
1 September (about 15 minutes in) chat with Frank Lanza about the concept of La Bella Figura and his role in the chorus
6 October (about 48 minutes in) chat with Roz Pappalardo about how the production came about and role of music in the production.
13 October (about 11 minutes in) chat with Roz Pappalardo and Suellen Maunder
14 October (about 46 minutes in) a chat with Rubina Kimiia about her involvement as composer, choir master and musical director.

Cairns 89.1FM: Interview with director Suellen Maunder about what it’s been like to direct this production, working with Italians and JUTE’s investment in telling local stories.

PLAYWRIGHTS

Kathryn Ash

As JUTE Theatre Company’s Creative Producer, Kathryn Ash is a Cairns-based playwright and dramaturg, working with the company writing development. She is a published playwright, having her scripts selected three times for workshopping within national theatre conferences, with an award-winning play Bag O’Marbles and over 25 produced plays to date including Cake!, Paradise is Singing and Here We All Are. Assembled. She was playwright and writing mentor on an extensive Arts Festival program for Cairns City Council and Commonwealth Games in 2018 and co-writer of a highly acclaimed musical drama of Polynesian, Melanesian, and Indigenous Australian women in Woven by AustrNesia Choir in 2019. In that same year, she worked as dramaturg on the 2019 Matilda Award-Winning play The Longest Minute by Rob Kronk and Nadine MacDonald-Dowd.

During 2020, Kathryn was selected to participate in two national writing projects, Dear Australia for Playwriting Australia and Come To Where I Am by Critical Stages, both of which resulted in online presentation of her work through those two peak playwrighting bodies. She was also the driving force behind JUTE’s award-winning dramaturgical script development program, Enter Stage Write, which operated for 16 years, and opened long-term career pathways for over 25 regional playwrights, and she currently delivers the company’s script development program, Write Sparks.

As a founding member of JUTE and continues her long relationship with a company that has grown to be a regional force in performance writing and theatre production.

Roz Pappalardo

Gutsy, powerful, tender and highly passionate – Roz Pappalardo is known throughout Australia for her prolific music and songwriting career, most notably with independent champagne folk act, women in docs, and her solo work as a strong country roots musician. Highly passionate about local arts and culture, she developed the only regional Queensland livestream TV show, during COVID, The Kitchen Sessions, with compadres Sam Gibb and Mick Allen to keep bands and visuals artists from Far North Queensland on the map during lockdown, raising a significant fund for those artists who performed. She works tirelessly with diverse communities to bring forth their voices in song.
She has recorded approximately 10 albums of original songs, winning various songwriting, self-management and music business awards for her efforts. She programs Tanks Arts Centre, Munro Martin Parklands, Cairns Festival and Cairns Performing Arts Centre. She has performed acting roles in Paronella Park’s breakthrough new work, The Impossible Dream as Margarita Paronella, JUTE Theatre Company new works – What are the Odds (Angela Murphy), Rosa (Roz Pappalardo), Paradise is Singing (Kathryn Ash) and Alice in the Antipathies (Sasi Victoire), has written and acted in two works which she has toured nationally and internationally (Banging on the Door and Rosa). She has co-commissioned and co-produced two significant works in this regional community – Beginnings; a 300 + musical theatre work about the township of Cairns for Festival 2018, and Woven; an all female, First Nations musical theatre work conceived and developed by Rubina Kimiia, based on the unique female experience.

Frank Dangelico

Frank was born in Sydney in 1967 to Vito and Antonia Dangelico, Italian migrants from Puglia in the south who met at a migrants hostel in Ultimo and who were active community members, with his mother also a keen folk singer. Frank established various organisations and hosted and organised countless events to help ensure the preservation of Italian culture in Australia. In 2016 he performed in the Opera Queensland production of “The Barber of Seville” at the grand opening of the Munro Martin Parklands. Frank also performed two roles in “”Beginnings” – one as a singing Italian cane cutter called Giovanni, and one as Jeremiah the landlord in the Malaytown scene. He trained with Opera Queensland in Brisbane in 2017. In 2018 he performed in the Opera Queensland production of “Ruddigore” in the Munro Martin Parklands and co-produced “Sunday at Six”, a presentation artworks and songs featured on the TV show “Countdown”. In his spare time, Frank is the lead singer and guitarist with the band “The Southside Project” which performs regularly in Cairns.

DIRECTOR

Suellen Maunder

Suellen is the Artistic Director and CEO of JUTE Theatre Company and is one of the founding members of the Company. Suellen is also an actor and director and has extensive experience in the development and direction of new work. Directing credits include: Insignificance, Slave, Demolition Pile Driving Hard Hats and Donkey Dick (Assistant to Hilary Beaton), Black White & Shades of Brown (BWASOB). Her Creative Development and Productions include: Bedtime Stories by Aunty Dee, Dad & I, Fetish and Junk Rooms. At the JUTE Theatre, Suellen has directed Flutter, Surviving Jonah Salt, Crackle Snap Pop, The Boathouse, Summaris is a Tropical Paradise on Top of a Shoe Factory in Footscray, Victor & Sass, Gods of Spicy Things, Cancelled by Popular Demand, Rosa, At Sea, Staring Up, Soph and the Real World, Half & Half, Propelled, Delirium and Is My Lipstick on Straight. Her skills in large-scale stage direction were demonstrated with the Commonwealth Games celebration community musical production in 2018, ‘Beginnings’. Suellen has also directed and nurtured multiple creative developments within JUTE’s script development programs.

MUSICAL DIRECTOR / COMPOSER / CHOIR MASTER

Rubina Kimiia

Of Pacific Island descent, Rubina is a music educator who specialises in song-writing, arranging, producing music and shows. Her diverse skills are sought after for a wide range of projects. As vocalist and arranger, she has contributed to many albums including Aria Award Winners, finalists from X-Factor and Australia’s Got Talent. As a songwriter, she is known for her prowess across genres writing songs you ‘can’t get out of your head’. As an educator for 6 years in the Torres Strait, she was recipient of 3 Australia Day Awards for musical service to that community. She pioneered the unique concept and partnered in developing the brand ‘AustraNesia’ who have performed with international, national and state icons. She has and continues to be honoured with arranging a diverse number of languages and dialects into song. A career highlight was orchestrating two original pieces for a sixty piece Queensland Symphony Orchestra and conducting them as well. Add to that a few String Quintet arrangements too. Musical Theatre is a new medium for Rubina who since 2018 is now on her fourth production as Musical Director, Composer, Arranger and Orchestrator: Beginnings based on a concept she offered, Commonwealth Games/Festival Cairns (2018); Woven, featuring 11 of AustraNesia’s First Nations and Multi-cultural female artists (2019); Italian dramedy with music, La Bella Figura (2021) and another musical targeted for 2023. Rubina strives to use her experience and skills, towards meaningful works that contribute to the bettering of humanity.

SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER

Simona Cosentini

Simona is a set and costume designer, scenic designer, and artist who blends traditional artforms and techniques with technologies. Before arriving in Australia in 2012, Simona trained and worked in professional theatre while graduating with honours at the fine Art Academy in Bologna in Scenic design. Simona started off in Opera Theatre in several capacities. She was a costume designer for Teatro Comunale di Bologna and OperaOvunque, an AV designer with Teatro Bonci di Cesena, Scuola del Melodramma, Accademia di Belle Arti and also a scenic artist with the latter. She has also freelanced as decorator and scenic artist in the interior design and events industries. Since her arrival in Cairns in 2012, Simona has worked as set/costume designer for JUTE Theatre Company (To Kill a Cassowary, Here we all are. Assembled,The Longest minute-Matilda awards). She currently is also working with Queensland Theatre as costume designer on Othello (at Bulmba-ja this November) and previously worked for them as set designer (City of Gold, My Name is Jimi-Matilda Awards nominee in Best design). Simona is developing and producing “Lucky” a new children’s production in collaboration with Grin and Tonic, and JUTE Theatre Company, working as designer and puppeteer.

SET AND PROPS DESIGNER

Simone Tesorieri

Born in Bologna (Italy), Simone started off as a sculptor, trained in Conservation, fresco and ornamental design. Passionate for the Opera theatre, he completed his academic studies in Scenic design at the Fine Art Academy of Bologna, the School of Melodrama and Teatro Bonci in Cesena. He designed his first Madama Butterfly at 22 years. He developed his knowledge and skills in years of training, and contracted work with major theatre companies such as Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Rossini Festival, Regio di Parma, Teatro la Scala, Piccolo, to name a few. He worked with internationally awarded directors as Peter and Irina Brooks, Luca Ronconi, Pier’Alli, Yoshi Oida and iconic artists such as Dario Fo. Since he moved to Cairns in 2012, he has designed for the major local theatre companies and entities like JUTE productions To Kill A Cassowary, Here We All Are. Assembled, and the Matilda award-winning The Longest Minute; Queensland Theatre as costume designer on Othello, as designer on City of Gold , My Name is Jimi (Matilda Awards nominee Best design in 2017) and Commonwealth Games production Beginnings. Since COVID-19 he has developed his own work with his wife Simona, writing, producing and designing for a new children production Lucky, in collaboration with Grin and Tonic, and JUTE Theatre Company.

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Jason Glenwright

Jason Glenwright has designed over 240 productions specialising in theatre, music theatre, opera, orchestral concerts, cabaret, dance and puppetry with many touring nationally and internationally. He won a Matilda Award for best Lighting Design in 2015 and 2016, a Gold Matilda Award in 2013 as well as further nominations in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2017, two for 2018 plus and eleven Del Arte Chart awards. Jason collaborates alongside nationally renowned companies including Bell Shakespeare, Queensland Theatre, Opera Queensland, shake & stir, La Boite, Griffin Theatre Company, QLD Camerata, Harvest Rain, Expressions Dance Company, Queensland Music Festival, QPAC, Brisbane Powerhouse, QLD Conservatorium, QUT, The Good Room, Little Red and Hothouse to name a few. Most recent highlights with JUTE include To Kill A Cassowary, Bukal, The Longest Minute (Co-Pro with Debase and Queensland Theatre), Here We All Are. Assembled. Joh for PM and The Salt Remains. Other recent credits include Beginnings (Cairns Regional Council/Festival 2018), Laser Beak Man (Dead Puppet Society), Voices of Remembrance (Queensland Music Festival).

SOUND DESIGNER

Guy Webster

Guy is a composer, sound designer, sound artist and music producer working across the mediums of theatre, dance, circus, sound art, installation and new media. His broad body of work has featured in theatres, festivals and galleries throughout Australia, Japan, Europe, UK, USA and China and his live performances have seen him share the stage with the likes of Beth Orton, Ed Harcourt, Powderfinger, The Cruel Sea, Mad Professor and Sarah Blasko. Guy trained and worked as a dancer & choreographer early in his professional career while developing his practice as a composer and musician. He has since worked on many theatre & dance productions with companies and independent artists including Qld Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Brisbane Festival, Bleach Festival, La Boite Theatre Company, Shake & Stir Theatre, Dance North, State Library of Qld, Shock Therapy Productions, Gogi Dance Collective, Tammy Zarb & Co, Circus Corridor, Jute Theatre Company, Out of the Box Festival. Recent works with JUTE include To Kill A Cassowary, Here We Are All Assembled & The Salt Remains.

PROJECTION DESIGNER

Nathan Sibthorpe

Nathan Sibthorpe is an award-winning contemporary performance-maker and AV Designer based in Brisbane, Australia. Currently, he is the director of Counterpilot – the collective of techno-troublemakers responsible for interactive transmedia performance works like Crunch Time (2018) and Truthmachine (2019). Nathan was previously Queensland Theatre Company’s Geek-In-Residence in 2012-14; the Festival Director of Short+Sweet Queensland from 2013-16; an Australia Council JUMP artist in 2012; and the Creative Director for Markwell Presents Cinematic Theatre Company from 2016-18. Nathan has been nominated for eight Matilda Awards, receiving the award for Best AV Design in 2017 (Blue Bones) and the Lord Mayor’s Award for Best New Australian Work in 2018 (Crunch Time). In 2011 he received a Green Room Groundling Award and in 2017 he was the recipient of the Dr Don Batchelor Award for Drama Research at QUT. Nathan teaches performance studies at QUT, where he holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with distinction, and a Masters Degree in contemporary performance. His recent Theatre work with JUTE Theatre Company was the stage hit To Kill A Cassowary (2020) and remounted post-COVID in 2021.

CHOREOGRAPHY

Rachel Terry

Rachel’s love for dance and theatre began at age 5 on the Cairns Civic Centre stage to the song ‘Macho Duck’, where the only thing better than the applause was the Polywaffle chocolate she received after her performance. She then went on to complete her advanced studies in RAD Ballet and ISTD Modern dance. After finishing high school Rachel swapped art forms and pursued acting in Sydney where she completed her Bachelor of Dramatic Art in acting at NIDA.
Rachel returned to Cairns in 2013 where she worked with JUTE on The Impossible Dream, Paradise is Singing, The Breast Project and The Salt Remains in acting, choreographing and directing roles. She has since created her own company Box Jelly Theatre Co. which tours shows to primary and high schools across FNQ. Box Jelly has collaborated on several community projects with the Cairns Museum, Cairns Regional Council, Cairns Family History where Rachel has taken on the roles of director, choreographer and producer.
Rachel recently worked as the Dance Captain for The Inaugural Annual Dance Affair for Cairns Festival. She is currently the dance teacher at Smithfield State High and runs her own 80’s Dance Classes for the public.

STAGE MANAGER

Rachel Bradley

Rachel Bradley is a Cairns local and a graduate of The Victorian College of the Arts with a Diploma of Arts in Dramatic Arts, specialising in Stage management, set and costume design, props and set construction and lighting and sound production. Rachel went on to work as Resident Stage Manager for Cabaret Theatre Restaurant Dracula’s for 10 years. Here she developed her skills in theatre production and performance, becoming one of the principal cast members of the show, swapping her overalls and gaffa tape for under-alls and sequins. Dracula’s sponsored Rachel to obtain a Diploma in Makeup Artistry focusing on Special Effects. A makeup artist was born. For the past 25 years Rachel has worked professionally as a Makeup Artist, A Roaming Character Entertainer, Children’s Entertainer, Singer, Songwriter and Musician. Rachel is Owner Operator of Cairns Costume Hire and Makeup and works as an Entertainment Consultant and Arts Facilitator. Life has now come full circle and taken Rachel back to her roots and back to the observatory – Bio Box.

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Sam Gibb

With a professional career spanning over 20 years, Sam has managed and designed for countless national and international theatre productions / events / festivals / productions in a variety of roles. Sam has worked in a freelance capacity as production manager, event operations manager, technical manager, technical designer, stage manager, tour manager, technical operator, theme designer, FOH audio engineer, audio monitor engineer and lighting designer. Sam continues to tour extensively around the country and overseas in a variety of technical, design, tour management and production management roles Sam has worked in a variety of dynamic and challenging venues around Australia. Working on events within the Rainforest to the Sydney Opera House, sometimes working around the clock to ensure nothing but the best outcome is realised. Sam is currently working on creating an online Technical Production program for JUTE which will become available in 2022 for those wishing to pursue a working knowledge of this exciting and demanding field of theatre work. Sam has worked on over 20 JUTE Theatre Company productions.