The Unsaid
A new work
by Fresh Theatre
Programme
How we made The Unsaid
Thank you for attending The Unsaid.
The process of developing The Unsaid is a unique story.
One day in 2019 Jordan Stack asked the question 'What would a piece of theatre that was made in a day look like?' and thus the play in a day project (fka T-Minus1200) was born!
Jordan invited Alex Rouse, Eva McEntee, Nathan Sadeghi, Emily Tambree, Hayley Noy, Shaz Mullens & Jackson Heenan to come be the guinea pigs for this crazy idea at the MC Showroom. With the talented cast and Shaz Mullens lead them as a brilliant devising director, Jordan's crazy idea turned out to be not so crazy. In only eleven hours the team produced a complete one-act play 'The Unsaid' 6 characters related by blood and marriage reconnecting after the death of the father. The team were surprised and delighted by the depth of the character relationships and themes of this one-act play and so was the audience who raved about the work. and everyone wanted to know 'What's in the briefcase?'. If you were in that audience you'll be glad to know that question is answered this time around.
In 2020 Fresh was successful in applying for a grant from Maroondah City Council to further develop The Unsaid from a one-act play into something bigger. and that what we did. Luckily enough we had the foresight on the original day to know we were onto something good and thanks to Katherine O'Donnell we were able film and transcribe the performance. Shaz and Jordan took what the team had created, refined what existed and added a new second act.
In 2021 The Unsaid was post-poned due to Covid19 on opening night. This was obviously devastating to the team, but it did lead to further developing and refining the script. Which brings us to 2022. Emily Tambree, Alex Rouse and Eva McEntee were no longer able to commit to the project and Dominik Shields, Joe Billings and Marissa Economo have stepped into the roles of Charlee, James and Cassandra and made them their own. Jackson Heenan has also stepped into the role of Teddy, the eldest sibling that arrived too late for any stage time originally.
We hope you enjoy the destination as much as we have enjoyed the journey.
Jackson Heenan
Teddy, Sound Design
Jackson Heenan is a graduate of the National Theatre Drama School’s Advanced Diploma of Acting and studied Live Sound Production at SAE Institute. As a performer and sound designer, his credits include I Will Not Be Here Long, 40’s: A Decade of Variety, Tminus1200, and Fresh Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Since 2018 Jackson has been a cast member on Stream of Chaos, a weekly improvised livestream, where he is currently playing the role of Chaz Dederick. He produces and performs in other similar streams, and runs professional roleplaying game sessions with Dungeon Master for Hire. This is his sixth project with Fresh Theatre.
Hayley Noy
Olivia
Originally from Melbourne, Music Theatre 2017 Graduate (Federation University), Hayley began performing at the age of 6 and never looked back. Throughout her childhood she was fortunate enough to work with professionals such as Neil Gladwin, Trevor Jones and Kelly Abbey, she was a lead soloist performing Home (The Wiz) at Hisense Arena, aired on channel 7. Some of her many credits include Showtrain: A New Australian Musical (Chongy), Bye Bye Birdie (Mae Peterson), RENT (Dance Captain) and Sweeney Todd (Ensemble), Hairspray (Tracy Turnblad) as well as performing her self devised Cabaret ‘Material Girl’, at the Ballarat Cabaret Festival. Since finishing University she has worked on Playhouse Pantomimes Cinderella (Step Mother/Fairy Godmother) Sitzprobe, an UMMTA sponsered event, 40s A Decade Of Variety, TMINUS 1200 (Fringe Festival) and ‘The Grand Scheme’ a short film directed by Matt Mirams and working with the Starlight Foundation as a Captain Starlight. She is looking forward to working with Fresh Theatre on their upcoming performance ‘The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui’ and Breeding Grounds on their feature film franchise ‘Residence’.
Dominik Shields
Charlee
Dominik Shields is an Actor, Model and Writer based in Melbourne. She began performing at the age of 5 with a strong desire to tell stories and make people laugh.
You might know her from the Scary Goats Tour at MICF or on screen in Hard Times to Fall in Love, Flunk, Rostered On and Playing for Keeps. & In videos for musicians Kira Puru, Creek, Amy Pollock, Blonde Revolver and the Dianas.
She has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Drama and Performance from Deakin University and studied under the guidance of Peter Kalos at the Melbourne Actors Lab. She is currently undertaking her Masters of Arts majoring in Writing. She has trained at TAFTA with Lou Mitchell and Cinzia Coassin, with Sydney based coach Bec Watene, Brita McVeigh and at the Beverley Hills Playhouse in Los Angeles under Michael Petted, Gary Grossman and Jeremy Radin.
Jordan Stack
Michael, Director, Co-Writer
Jordan Stack, is a performer and theatre practitioner. A graduate of the National Theatre Drama School, Jordan has directed and performed in works across many acting mediums - film, TV, short film, voiceover and theatre. His most recent credits include; I Will Not Be Here Long, 40’s A Decade of Variety (director, writer and performer), Share: The Youth Issues Musical and Metamorphoses, (Silenus, Hermes, Q), Tminus1200 Season 1 (performer and producer), set designer for Bloomsday's Travesties and Fresh Theatre's Romeo and Juliet (Benvolio and Fight Choreographer) and Unsorted, directed by Tara Daniel. Jordan is a resident actor, writer, director and Executive Director for Fresh Theatre for Social Change and Resident Director at MBCTA.
Jordan is committed to producing innovative and diverse theatre experiences and brings a strong work ethic and infectious positive energy to any room. He has developed and performed in theatrical works for people from a range of age groups, experiences and abilities and is committed to providing inclusive theatre opportunities in every performance or program with which he engages.
Nathan Sadeghi
Peter
Nathan lives the double life of being a fi nancial
planner as well as involving himself in multiple creative endeavours.
Recent roles include being a part of the devising ensemble for
Thirty-Nine (Fresh Theatre for Social Change),
and Producing 40’s A Decade of Variety (Fringe
Festival). Nathan also moonlights as a board
game designer specialising in card and strategy games. Nathan has immensely enjoyed the family that a theatre
show creates and the challenge that each performance presents
Joe Billings
James
Joseph Billings was born in Melbourne and dabbled in acting throughout his teens and twenties. He finally took the plunge in 2015, starring in the feature comedy ‘Jahasra!’, which he wrote and produced with his brother Dominic. He has since branched out to theatre as a member of both the Italian Comedy Ensemble and Moment to Moment Theatre Company, performing in the latter’s inaugural season of PubTheatre, an initiative that brought several short Australian plays to pubs across Melbourne. Joseph has trained with Justin Lehmann, Fabio Motta, Charlie Cousins and Kristine Landon-Smith, among others. He has a great love of clowning and physical comedy, and in 2019 took part in the Stage Internazionale di Commedia dell'Arte with maestro Antonio Fava in Italy.
Marissa Economo
Cassandra
Marissa graduated in 2016 from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theatre. Upon graduating she was the recipient of the 2016 Hal Leonard and Music Theatre International Award. She was also a finalist in the Julie Michael Cabaret prize whilst at WAAPA.
Credits include Paris: A Rock Odyssey (Music Theatre Melbourne), William Finn’s Elegies (Crying Wolf Productions), The Protectors and The Hurting Game (Brainstorm Productions), Galapagos the Musical(Melba Spiegeltent, MICF), Die Fledermaus (GSOV), Much Ado About Nothing (GJ productions), Jack Frost: A New Musical (St Martins Theatre) and Blood and Bone (Highlight Productions). Most recently she played the role of Sibella in a joint production of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder with The Lilydale Atheneum Theatre Company and Malvern Theatre Company.
Hayley Meredith
Stage Manager, Production Design, Lighting Design
Hayley Meredith. Recently returned to Melbourne, this creative ‘Jill of all trades’ has spent the majority of her life both on and behind the stage. Hayley acted with Fresh Youth Theatre throughout high school from 2011 to 2015, with notable credit as Juliet in Romeo & Juliet (2014), among other lead roles. With her love of storytelling and creative vulnerability she naturally transitioned from acting into writing Spoken Word Poetry, which quickly became her preferred space to perform. From 2018 Hayley has gained experience as a lighting technician, stage designer, and stage manager, growing her creative repertoire alongside her career as a florist. After many years, Hayley is thrilled to be returning to Fresh Theatre in design and Stage Management with The Unsaid.
Shaz Mullens
Co-Writer
Shaz Mullens is a qualified educator, playwright
and applied theatre practitioner. She is
the current Executive Director Fresh Theatre
for Social Change, a non-profit theatre company creating performance with and for people in in crisis, new migrant or refugee people, those affected by substance abuse, mental illness, people with disabilities, addiction, and both victims and perpetrators of violence and youth facing difficult life circumstances.
Shaz was employed for five years in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University as an applied theatre industry specialist. She is a part of the International Applied Theatre Symposium and regularly partners with international applied theatre researchers and practitioners. Shaz has developed extended education experiences for students from foundation to tertiary undergraduate level as well as project partnerships with The Royal Children’s Hospital, The Alfred Accident Related Trauma Program and Berry Street Kids providing trauma assistance through drama for children affected by the Black Saturday Fires. She is a published playwright and dramatist and has developed over sixteen plays and performance programs implemented both within Australia and internationally. She was also privileged to be a baton bearer in the 2016 Commonwealth Games for her service to the arts.
