Hello. My name is Glenn Hayden.
Welcome to my Pozible Campaign.
My Web Page is HERE
Email address: ad@glennhaydencreates.com
(all pics are shows and workshops directed by Glenn Hayden)
A two-play season in Mumbai India of the Australian plays A Solitary Choice by Sheila Duncan and Ruby Moon by Matt Cameron, Directed by Glenn Hayden working with Mumbai actors Ramneeka Dhillon Lobo, Kyla D’Souza and Tavish Bhattacharyya and the Peas and Carrots Theatre Co.
For the past five years, I have been travelling between Australia and India to forge sustainable creative relationships between the two countries. I have been blessed to be directing, teaching and learning in a stimulating environment that inspires me to create, provokes me to take creative risks and has led me to commit to further developing meaningful and long-lasting opportunities for artists of Australia and India to collaborate and create a global theatre. To date, I have invested my own finances to accomplish these aims.
Drama School Mumbai Workshop
The Peas and Carrots Theatre Co. is an emerging Mumbai-based company that has at its core a desire to create a ‘globally minded’ theatre company that exposes international texts of excellence to its local audience.
I have known and worked with Peas and Carrots’ Artistic Director Kyla D’Souza since 2009 when I first toured an Australian play to Mumbai, and together we have been strategising long term plans to bring Australian texts of excellence to an Indian audience.
Rehearsing with Peas and Carrots in Mumbai, India
To date, I have gained approval from writers Andrew Bovell, Sheila Duncan, Matt Cameron, Monkey Baa Theatre and the management of Tim Winton to produce their works in India. Recently, Peas and Carrots and I were accepted into the TATA International Literature Festival (pending future funding).
This campaign is seeking financial support from you to assist me to travel to India this year to:
The requested amount of this campaign: $4,989.00AU
If this campaign surpasses its target, all donations will be applied to the productions budgets.
If I am able to raise my target and get to Indian, I will also be able to:
I am a 1986 Graduate of WA Academy of Performing Arts/Edith Cowan University and have been working consistently in the arts industry for 30+ years as Artistic Director, Director, Actor, Festivals Director, Facilitator and Producer.
I am a respected and award-winning arts leader and have directed over 70 professional theatre productions and community development arts projects including the artistic directorship of three major arts and community festivals and the development and direction of large-scale community and sporting events and ceremonies for audiences of up to 50,000.
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I have been instrumental in the establishment of theatre organisations such as Perth’s The Blue Room Theatre and I mentor emerging artists and companies in Australia and India.
As well as creating, facilitating and teaching theatre throughout Australia, Indonesia and India, prominent in my working life has been the use of theatre ‘as a tool’ to work with corporates and varying communities and sectors. I consistently work in the fields of the Not-For-Profit and Corporate sectors incorporating the philosophies and practice of Community Cultural Development. I have worked extensively alongside people from sectors such as disabilities, aged care, reform, rural and regional, disadvantaged and disenfranchised youth. I utilise theatre as a platform for investigations to inspire professional and personal development and to create performance and events that encourage defined outcomes for communities and their members.
Some of the achievements I am most proud include:
I have worked with superb industry professionals in Australia such as Nick Garsden, Renato Musolino, Finigan Kruckemeyer, Michael Hill, New York Cellist Julia Kent, Patricia Cornelius, Roz Hammond, Irene Vella, Rachael Maza, Angela Chaplin, Dean Hills, Dave Gadsden, Niven Barlow, Suzie Dee, Sean Riley, Kerry Reid, Caroline Reid, Brian Woltjen, Achilleas Yiangoulli, Murray Dowsett, Francis Italiano, Pat Rix, Sandie Eldridge, Timothy McGarry, Melissa Reeves, Carol Young, Jo Mercurio, Peter Docker and many many more.
I have had the joy to create opportunities for artists and arts workers in their emerging years such as Corey McMahon, Nescha Jelk, Guy O’Grady, Edwin Kemp Attrill, Emma Beech, Dave Hurst, Ben Fin, Tamara Lee, Phil Kavanagh, and literally hundreds of other emerging artists and students.
The Prithvi Theatre where we performed The Pirates Ship in 2009
In India, I have had the honour to work professionally with accomplished artists such as Vijay Crishna, Shubhangi Joshi, Gerson Da’Cunha, Denzil Smith, Ramneeka Dhillon Lobo, Jigar Mehta, Kyla D’Souza, Ashey Lobo, Max Fernandes and with many emerging artists and students and educators of the arts.
My career has been one that is dedicated to relationship-building and capacity-building of the arts and artists and to consistently striving for excellence through collaboration and shared methodology.
Since 2014, I have invested resources to return annually to India for five to six months a time in my capacity as Creative Director of The Peas and Carrots Theatre Co. based in Mumbai to direct theatre and facilitate theatre programs and to deliver Corporate Training Programs. I have become a regular guest faculty member of the Goa Institute of Management and a regular guest artist of the Thespo Theatre Festival and Danceworx Dance Academy. In 2016, I represented WAAPA in the facilitation of a Corporate Theatre Training day with Mahindra Finance.
Workshop with the Dancers of Danceworx
The Peas & Carrots Theatre Co. was started by Kyla D’Souza on her return to India from New York where she studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute.
Kyla’s aim for the company is ‘To bring foreign productions to India and perform foreign scripts without localising them as other theatre companies in the country are currently doing,’ she says. ‘We believe that a playwright writes a script with a very specific use of place, name and time and it is our responsibility to stay true to that vision. This approach opens Indian audiences up to a whole new world of international work.’
Slawomir Mrozek’s Out at Sea
Sitara Studio, Mumbai
I first went to India with my Urban Myth Theatre Company production of The Pirates’ Ship which we collaborated with Monkey Baa Theatre Company to adapt from Gillian Rubenstein’s treasured Aussie children’s book. We toured with a cast of 7 emerging actors from Adelaide, performing as international guests of the Thespo Theatre Festival and toured to local primary schools. The Pirates’ Ship, an incredibly ‘Aussie’ production, was received with all the joy and celebration that we hoped for.
The Pirates’ Ship in India 2009. An Aussie story is seen by a new audience
Since then, my love of India has grown and I now regard Mumbai as my second home. My first home remains Australia. My desire is to see these two incredible and creative environments learn from and share with each other to make great theatre and to make great artists. I was fortunate to direct Howard Barker’s Victory with the second year acting students of WAAPA in 2016 and was able to put into practice my combined methodolgies that I have developed derived from these two incredibly gifted countries; the ‘guts’ and instinctual bravery of the Indian artist and the analytical prowess of the western actor’s training environment.
Howard Barker’s VICTORY: WAAPA 2016
Professional productions of A Solitary Choice and Ruby Moon in Mumbai are a continuation of five years work of Peas and Carrots and myself and are a tip-of-the-iceberg-beginning of a new and thrilling stage of our two country’s creative relations.
I thank you in advance for your support and if you’d like to stay in touch and find out how this adventure is progressing then please subscribe to my website at www.glennhaydencreates.com
National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai where I directed Stimulating Voices for the Thespo Festival
All proceeds from this campaign will be utilised for my:
Return Airfares (Perth-Mumbai-Perth) = $1,200.00 (rp57,775.00)
Visa and Insurances = $1,300.00 (rp62,590.00)
4 Months Accommodation and utilities = $2,489.00 (rp119,835.00)
Total support requested from you = $4,989.00 (rp240,200.90)
Australian and Indian individuals or organisations that would like to support this venture further can contact me at ad@glennhaydencreates.com to discuss appropriate recognitions and or naming rights. There are no tax deductable donation benefits available.
Total budget for the project = $36,328.00 (rp1,749,051.00)
Other funds applied for and/or committed plus projected income streams
WA Dept Culture and The Arts
Australia Council for the Arts
Peas and Carrots Investment
Local Indian Sponsorship
Sales – Tickets
Sales – Workshops
The challenges of this endeavour are, like most arts endeavours, financial.
The added challenge is India.
WORKSHOP WITH DANCERS IN MUMBAI
To put things into context for potential western supporters, 10,000 rupee was my last trip’s MONTHLY rent. This translates to $260 Australian Dollars MONTHLY. Now, when on Australian pay, this is luxurious. But when in India, do as the Indians do and I have never charged Australian rates to my Indian colleagues. For this project, I have applied for Australian State and Federal funding for any of my Australian rates.
The other element of the financial challenge is that India does not have the luxury of a funding system to support their arts. This, on the one hand, is why they are such great arts-business people and I learn a lot. On the other hand, it makes it incredibly difficult to build and produce a show with resources that ensure excellence. In particular, venue rents are enormous. Mumbai is the ‘Sydney’ of India in regard to real-estate.
Sitara Studio in Dadar where we performed Out at Sea.
Your support will ensure that I can travel to India without adding any burden to my professional hosts.
The support I am requesting through this Pozible campaign ensures that two great Australian plays and their writers will be exposed to an amazing part of the world that I know will welcome these stories with open arms.
Thank you in advance for any support you can offer this exciting international exchange and theatre event.
For those that want to read a little more, I’m happy to share the following information.
THE ACTORS
KYLA D’SOUZA – Actor, Director and Artistic Director of The Pease and Carrots Theatre CompanyD’SOUZA – Actor, Director and Artistic Director of The Pease and Carrots Theatre Company
Kyla is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Peas and Carrots Theatre Co. which produces plays that have timeless themes and speak a universal language that can be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere.
Peas and Carrots made it’s debut in 2013 with Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love and in 2014 performed Slawomir Mrozek’s Out at Sea under the direction of Glenn Hayden. In April 2016, Peas and Carrots premiered in Goa with 2 short plays: David Ive’s Sure Thing and Sarah Provost’s A No Play. In October, the company performed Officially Speaking. Peas and Carrots designs and conducts workshops for emerging and established artists, schools, colleges and corporates interested in experiential learning through theatre.
Kyla is a graduate of the 2-year acting programme at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, New York. While in the US, she acted in Frog & Peach Theatre Company’s off-Broadway productions Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and stage managed for their productions of Two Gentleman of Verona, Hamlet, Julius Caesar and King Lear.
In India, she has acted, written, directed, choreographed, taught and stage managed for several theatre companies including Balancing Act Productions, Work in Progress Theatre Company and Theatre Professionals. She also trained in jazz and contemporary dance with The Danceworx Performing Arts Academy and toured India and the Netherlands with A Passage to Amsterdam. In 2015 and 2016, she played the role of ‘Babette’ in Disney India’s Beauty and the Beast.
Currently, Kyla is guest faculty at the Goa Institute of Management, Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts and a regular facilitator at J’s Paradigm – The Performing Arts Academy in Mumbai.
Kyla says, ‘Matt Cameron’s Ruby Moon and Shelia Duncan’s A Solitary Choice are important plays for Indian actors and audiences to experience as they deal with issues that are not only relevant to Indian culture and society but reveal the strength with which women rely on to tackle life-altering situations. Playing an Indian woman speaking lines written by an Australian playwright is something that excites me beyond compare.’
RAMNEEKA DHILLON LOBO
Ramneeka is an experienced Indian actress of theatre, television and film. Her theatre work includes main cast roles in plays like Me & My Girl, Rumours, Fiddler on the Roof, Post-mortem, Don’t Dress For Dinner and Glenn Hayden’s production of Out at Sea. Her television work includes lead roles in series such as Bhanwar, Newsline, Geetika, Metro Club. Her film credits include Un + Une directed by Claude Lelouch and starring Jean Dujardin, My Sun Sets to Rise Again by Director/Writer/Producer Dana Offenbach, Brothers by Karan Malhotra and Parchhai by Jeffrey Goldberg.
Ramneeka is also a voice-over professional and has voiced programs and promos for channels – Fox Traveller, TLC, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, History Channel, Star Sports, ESPN, Zee Cafe, Star Plus.
Ramneeka is married to film and stage choreographer and Artistic Director of Danceworx and Navdhara India Dance Theatre Ashley Lobo. Ramneeka and Ashley have one son, Jordon.
TAVISH BHATTACHARYYA
Tavish is an award winning Indian actor, director, voice artist and musician and has been working in the industry for the last 10 years in theatre, film and radio. From 2012-2016 he ran Dramanon Theatre Company, based in Bangalore. Dramanon has been listed by Broadway World as one of the top 20 theatre groups in India.
Over the years he has acted in over 50 plays. Highlights include LeFou for Disney India’s Beauty and the Beast, Giovanni in Can’t Pay Won’t Pay, Aston in The Caretaker and Youskevitch in Fools. Tavish has also directed over 20 plays.
As a music composer, He has composed advertisement jingles and composed music for the Cambodian Circus for their international touring show. He has voiced over 50 radio and TV commercials and is currently the station voice for an international radio channel.
In 2015, while working as an actor on Beauty And The Beast Tavish had the opportunity to meet Kyla D’Souza and Glenn Hayden of the Peas and Carrots Theatre Company and decided to join the company the following year. Since 2016, he has been working as an Associate Artist with the Company.
Tavish says, ‘I think Ruby Moon and Solitary Choice are great choices for scripts as they tackle very real issues that are extremely relevant to India with its current political and social situation. Glenn is extremely committed to spreading awareness about Australia and Australian culture but what I find really beautiful is his ability to understand, assimilate and absorb Indian culture – and that’s not an easy thing to do.’