Who is Georgia Ketels?
Georgia Ketels is a writer and a crafter, with an ever-growing collection of fabrics, tools and trims that will definitely come in handy one day.
What would you do differently from what you do now?
I have a quiet voice and tend to mumble when I’m nervous. Something I’m trying to work on is improving my speech volume and clarity, for everyone’s sake! I admire people with confident, clear voices, and I’m starting to feel bad about how often people ask me “what did you say?”
Who inspires you and why?
Right in this minute I am thinking about Christopher Lee. He was just undeniably awesome: an actual knight, an actual spy, spoke 6 languages, made a metal album. On top of this he was also Dracula and Saruman and Count Dooku. He did everything with style and spookiness. That is inspiring.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
I would teach people how to fix things to the best of my knowledge, learn how other people fix things, and then pass that knowledge on. It’s pretty small, but it’s good in a lot of ways – we can use things for longer, save resources, keep our hands and minds busy, do tasks collectively and come out more stylish or custom-fitted than we were before.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
I spent a long weekend in Dja Dja Wurrung Country/Hepburn Springs recently, which was just exceptional. I know it’s not exactly a secret, but the morning air was supernaturally restorative.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
I would probably take them to a nice movie at The Astor, maybe an old one. Against the odds, The Astor is still standing, and the people still love strange movies; that atmosphere is infectious. I even love the kinda uncomfortable chairs.
What are you currently reading?
I am slowly chipping my way through House of Leaves, which is as much literature as it is collage. It does every crazy thing you could think of: upside-down text, mirror-image, braille, pages and pages of footnotes telling their own story. It’s a dense tome but it’s remarkable. I’m balancing it out with a healthy amount of ‘lighter’ fiction.
What are you currently listening to?
I love Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross’ soundtrack to Challengers, which reminds me of Thomas Bangalter’s soundtrack to Climax. I would describe these both as ‘evil disco’ music, which is excellent to listen to when working on a deadline… Otherwise the answer is always Joanna Newsom.
Happiness is?
‘Lowered expectations’, haha. No. That’s not happiness. Happiness is a state of being I think. When it’s warm outside and you’re sharing a meal with friends.
What does the future hold for you?
Right after Recollection, I’m looking forward to attacking my mending pile and working on an elaborate geeky historical costume. I am trying to write a second play, slowly… It’s going to be super weird and I don’t know if it will work. But I’m having fun thinking about it.
Georgia is the playwright of Recollection – which will be presented by Pot Kettle Black at fortyfivedownstairs from 26 June – 7 July 2024. For more information, visit: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com for details.
Image: Georgia Ketels (supplied)