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INTERVIEWS |
| Talking to the Stars: Wayne
Tunks Over the past few years, one man has been quietly working away, pumping out play after play on Sydney's thriving independent theatre scene. Wayne Tunks, a Blacktown boy who has made it in the big city, sits down with AussieTheatre.com Editor Troy Dodds to discuss his rising profile....  TD:
Wayne, you’re currently presenting Birthdays, Christmas & Other Family
Disasters. Tell me about the play. WT: It’s a play about all those family get togethers that we equally love and hate. The play is one year in the life of the Church family, a typical Aussie family, who this year are about to see a sudden change in their get togethers. It is directed by the superb Louise Fischer and has an amazing cast that includes Brett Nevill, Janine Penfold, Rebecca Clay, Emma Wood, Gus Murray, Lynden Jones, Shannon McCauley, Rick Cosnett and of course myself. Audiences have been loving it, its funny, moving and very relatable to everyone’s own families. TD: You’d have to be the most work-a-holic playwright I know. How do you manage to write so many plays? WT: You have to get the ideas out while you’ve got them or they may just dry up on you! And I guess I’m lucky that the actual writing process doesn’t take very long for me, but I do spend a considerable amount of time processing ideas first, which quite often means I have a few scripts being planned at one time. And writing is my great passion in life, and I feel so honoured that people really seem to be responding so well to my scripts. TD: You often write, star in and direct your plays. How come you don’t want to concentrate on one area? WT: I could blame ego, but instead I’ll say that when I first started in the business I really knew no one, I was just a boy from Blacktown. So the best way for me to get my work out there was to write, direct and produce myself and to do my projects the way I wanted them done. And it just seemed to continue. And as for the acting, my theory has always been, if you can’t cast yourself, who is going to cast you! But I am moving away from doing everything. This play is directed by Louise Fischer, she’ll do another for me next year, she is an amazing director, and I’m looking for more directors to work on some of my plays. And my new piece for my usual Newtown Theatre June/July slot will be for 16 women, so won’t be acting in that one. The constant for me will always be writing, that is my number one. TD: You obviously work extensively in the fringe season, is there a wish to work on a much higher level? WT: Most certainly. I love fringe theatre, it has this amazing honesty, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to make that next leap. I have always been such a big Williamson fan, and I guess that’s where I’d like to be, having major theatre companies produce my work on a regular basis. And for good measure, lets just say I’d love a show on Broadway, and the West End. But touring is something I am now looking at, love to get more of Australia to start to see my work. TD: Do you agree that fringe theatre is challenging the big boys these days as far as quality is concerned? WT: Without a doubt. Fringe is so accessible today to the average theatre goer. It is cost effective and the work being produced is of a truly high standard. There are incredible people working in fringe, other work is scarce, and so fringe is able to attract amazing actors, writers, directors and actors. And fringe has an incredible realness to its work. People always tell me that seeing shows at the Newtown Theatre is so intimate and they feel a part of the show, and that is what fringe seems to be best at doing. TD: I worked with you on Go West – which was a wonderful play – how much have you learned since then? WT: Go West will be making a welcome return next year. It was my first play that really caught everyone’s attention with a sellout season at the Riverside and a successful season at the Stables, and my brother has been upset I haven’t cast him in anything lately, so he’s dying to do this play again. But I have learnt so much since then, I have evolved in fringe and I’m starting to learn more and more about this beast. But the best thing I learnt from that play, which I still implement today, personal projects always engage and capture the audience's attention. TD: Do you have any other plays in the works at the moment? WT: Next up for me is a return season of my 2004 play, The Bridesmaid must Die! at the Newtown Theatre from October 18 to November 11. We’re going interactive this time, the audience gets to decide which bridesmaid gets it. And I’m also planning my 2007 season at the moment with some very exciting projects in mind, which will hopefully include a city run of Birthdays, Christmas & other family disasters. |