For the last two months, I have been traipsing around metro and regional Victoria with a troupe of actors, on tour. We have been performing for high school students who are preparing for their final English assessment, which is to compare two texts: The Crucible by Arthur Miller and Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. In other words, a Puritan romp.
My weekdays have fallen into a lovely routine of 10 shows a week, 2 shows a day, quite often with 5am wake-ups, which I am growing more and more accustomed to.
I love being on the road, especially with such wonderful humans to keep me company. It's a good excuse to take in the beautiful Victorian countryside, drink bucket loads of coffee and hopefully influence the lives and educations of thousands of students across the state. Occasionally there are those that don't listen and don't care, but then out of the blue, you get a standing ovation and your audience is in tears. So you learn to take the good with the bad.
I took my camera along to document some of the journey. Shooting in black and white is new for me, and it allowed me to use and see light in a way I haven't before. So basically, black and white photography is my new favourite thing, and you can expect to see more of it from here on in.
There's no better way to form some pretty firm friendships than spending the better part of two months driving in a van, eating snacks, doing quizzes, laughing hysterically, drinking coffee, eating bagels and taking a million wrong turns together. These four humans pictured below are not only incredible actors (and models. Maybe they should consider a career change...), but also decent people. It didn't bother them to constantly have a camera up in their grill, and that is a true sign of patience, tolerance and grace.
Thanks for putting up with me, pals. Until next time <3
