The Comic Box - Interview with Tess on How to be a Lady

Below is the episode of The Comic Box (Channel 31 - Melbourne) that I was interviewed on last week. I'm on 4th (at the 29min mark) in case you want to skip forward :)

Minstrels Win 2009 Fringe Award

The Minstrels of the Revolution won the Melbourne Cabaret Festival Award at the Melbourne Fringe Awards on Sunday night for their premier show 'In Search of Atlantis'.

(Kai with the space invader shaped award!)

2010 will mark the first ever Melbourne Cabaret Festival hosted by The Butterfly Club and City of Port Phillip (amongst others), and is sure to be an event not to be missed. Kai Smythe and Tim Mager are the first ever to receive the award which offers them open access to the 2010 Festival as well as professional development support for the show and the opportunity to present the show at The Butterfly Club.

It came as a complete surprise, Kai was the only one who heard the announcement me and Tim were too busy talking about how we weren't going to win, hah!

The ever gracious David Read presented the award.

Watch this space for further development for 'In Search of Atlantis' at Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne Comedy and more!!

Beautiful words for Lady

Amelia Swan came to 'How to be a Lady' at the Loft, on Wednesday night and this is what she had to say in her review. I feel really honored by the care and insight she invested in writing this review and sums up the overwhelming support that the show has received over the festival

"At the Loft at The Lithuanian Club Tess Waters is performing a fabulous comedy show called How to be a Lady. It is a solo, 60- minute show which is delighting audience after audience night after night. It is a show full of superb physical theatre, perfect comic-timing, a rare generosity of spirit with a bit of deeper social meaning to give the audience something to chew on."

Read full review at Artshub.com.au

Reviews and Perspective

I woke up feeling very excited this morning after only a few hours sleep, then got a message from a friend saying my review had come out. Now the age old saying is 'don't put too much weight in reviews', but come on we all do.

It's the equivalent of sitting by the phone waiting for 'johnny' to call after that 'swell time' you had, and if he doesn't call we all feel a little sad/let down/lame and if he does then...well...if your me...you wake up everyone in the house at some un-godly hour and laugh yourself silly!

Yep I'm keeping some perspective. Below are the two reviews I have received for 'How to be a Lady', I personally like the second one best, although 'hilarious mime and innovative use of puppetry' is a quote I will be definitely be using in future ;)

BuzzCuts - by Sarah Coull

How to be a Lady is a quirky take on charm

school for thirty-something’s – those who have woken one day to realise their life is beginning to resemble that of Bridget Jones’ far more than they would like. Created and performed by Tess Waters, this physical theatre show depicts the journey of a modern woman trading the vodka and undies for an apron and corset, in an attempt to find one’s ‘inner lady’.Stumbling into the audience at the beginning of the show, this woman far from resembles ladylike. Waters isn’t afraid to let it all hang out, quite literally. In the intimate space of The Loft, the audience is left cringing and feeling slightly voyeuristic when she drunkenly strips down to her underwear, unaware of being watched.

The majority of the show is dedicated to her attempt to become a lady, which is supposedly easily achieved by listening to an instructive cassette. The voiceover of a proper English woman teaching the dos and don’ts’ launches Waters into a medley of how to wear the right bra, find a husband, and be a good wife. This 1950s housewife theme, however, feels a little uninspired and overdone, even with Waters’ hilarious mime and innovative use of puppetry.
Going from trash-bag, to 1950s housewife, to Germaine Greer in less than an hour, this show leaves you slightly confused, slightly nauseated, and left wondering whether modern day women can be both independent, and ladylike. Whilst it was good for a laugh, the bizarre performance would probably only appeal to those who related to Bridget Jones’s Diary, or simply enjoyed its honesty.

The Age - Helen Razer - 4.5 Stars

"In the instant our heroine emerges from a nimbus of vodka, cheap perfume and despair, I was fairly smitten. If the spectacle of a lush being sick into the void is your idea of a good night out, you'll be infatuated too.

The slapstick narrative sees Waters crawl out of a hangover and into ladylike ambition. A series of self-help and motivational cassettes provide the soundtrack to an internal war. Then, there is the matter of a mambo with a marital aid. This is far better viewed than described

Via means of top-drawer physical comedy, Waters easily succeeds in achieving that which eludes more earnest feminist performers. To wit: she reminds us that femininity is a performance; a set of protocols. And she manages to do this with her tights half off. Waters may of may not be conversant with post-feminist theory. It doesn't really matter because she's funny as hell."

Perspective is a good thing....then again so is enjoying the spoils and getting to second base with johnny!

Audience Feedback Vid

The Buzz from the weekend

Well I'm officially half way through the season and feeling goooood. Tonight marks the end of the middle weekend and the start of the home stretch.

The audience is getting bigger each night and the possibility of a 'sell out' is actually looking like a possibility (fingers enthusiastically crossed)!

Here's some responses from the Audience over the past couple of days

"This show was just brilliant. Tess is a beautiful performer with an ability to make the audience laugh with a look, or a stumble! Wonderful physicality, pace of show & way of story telling. Hope you get heaps more audience and you take it comedy fest/adelaide and beyond!" - Alex Desabrok

"Tess, I just wanted to say again how wonderfully funny i thought your show was and i didn't even realise it was you i was going to see!! (your promo pictures are deceiving + dont know your last name....til NOW!) anyway it was ridiculously funny, and i have to say parts of it was like looking into a mirror. congrats love and i bless you with large audience numbers for your run!!!!" - Lauren B

"Tess you and Claudia O'Doherty have re-instilled my faith in female comedians" - Mz Lola

"I loved your show, so original I've never seen anything quite like it" - Dave O