Award-winning Sydney-based creator and performer Nat Randall seeks 100 men to perform a short scene live in The Second Woman, a 24-hour cinematic performance work, as part of the 2016 Next Wave Festival.
Playing the female lead in a short scene inspired by the cult film, Opening Night (dir. John Cassavetes, 1977), Randall will repeat the exchange continuously over a 24 hour period with each of the 100 male leads, to explore the trade of emotion, intimacy and chemistry in performance.
Audiences are invited to enter and exit the performance space throughout the duration of the performance and are encouraged to return multiple times over the 24 hour performance. Randall and her character will begin to unravel as time passes, while new, fresh male leads are welcomed onstage at each repetition to perform the short scripted scene.
The Second Woman is inspired by the rich performance lineage of Gena Rowlands, the American film and stage actress famous for her role in John Cassavetes’ film Opening Night, a meta-theatrical-film.
The performative style of The Second Woman will emulate that of Cassavetes in both live and live-feed forms, exploring the blurred lines between scripted dialogue and improvised moments, the meta-quality of the dialogue and the focus on emotional, physical and relational connections, above action and narrative.
The scene lasts no longer than 3 mins, with the whole experience totalling approximately 20 mins. No experience necessary, all ages and backgrounds welcome and each performer will receive an honorarium. For more information, visit: 2016.nextwave.org.au for details.
The Second Woman
Studio One – ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne
Performance: 1.00pm Friday 20 May until 1.00pm Saturday 21 May 2016 (24 hours continuous)
Free admission – no bookings required
For more information, visit: 2016.nextwave.org.au for details.
Image: Nat Randall, The Second Woman – photo by Kate Blackmore