26 Jul - 27 Jul 2024
75 Minutes
$20 - $35

Originate 2024: The Eternal Quest to Make Yourself Happy (Or Die Trying)

Join us to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our annual hallmark project!

Van, Aisling, and Lucy are all at a crossroads. Overwhelmed by pressure to choose between the lives they dream of living or conforming to what’s expected of them, they seek comfort by immersing themselves in the legendary film, Magna Dedito: The Great Surrender. Tuning in from across different eras and continents, will the magic of cinema help them to slay their personal demons and seize their destinies?

The Eternal Quest to Make Yourself Happy (Or Die Trying) is an enchanting, funny and heartfelt theatrical journey and a love letter to the films that guide us through life’s toughest moments.

About Originate
Led and supported by the Q Theatre team and leading industry professionals, Originate is a six-month theatre training program for pre-professional and emerging artists (aged 18+) within the first five years of their practice. It enables participants to build their collaborative performance skills through training, experimentation and creative problem-solving. The program culminates in the presentation of a new work, devised by the ensemble.

Proudly supported by Celestino.


AUDIENCE INFORMATION

General Public: Suitable for Ages 15+. This production contains coarse language and drug use.
Schools: Suitable for Years 10 – 12, VET – Entertainment Industry and Tertiary Students. Please see the ‘Schools Bookings and Resources’ section below for more information, to apply or to book.

Duration: 75 minutes (No interval plus 15-minute Q&A following the matinee performance).


POST-SHOW Q&A

Enhance your theatrical experience – Don’t miss the post-show Q&A with our Originate 2024 ensemble on Saturday afternoon. During this exclusive event, the artists will discuss their experiences across our six-month theatre training program, Originate, and provide insight into their process for devising the show. A fantastic opportunity for young and emerging artists interested in pursuing a career in performing arts or taking their theatrical skills to the next level.

Date & Time: Saturday 27 July at 3:30pm.
Tickets: Free, bookings essential. Add a post-show Q&A ticket to your booking at checkout or click the button below.

Cast & Creatives

Shy Magsalin / Director

Rowan Bate / Dramaturg

Stephanie Laarakkers / Deviser and Performer

Josephine Lee / Deviser and Performer

Terence Nguyen / Deviser and Performer

Jony Teperski / Deviser and Performer

Performances
Friday 26 July at 7:30pm
Saturday 27 July at 2pm & 7:30pm

PERFORMANCES – Click Here to Book Now

Post-Show Q&A
Saturday 27 July at 3:30pm

POST-SHOW Q&A – CLICK HERE TO BOOK NOW

Watch the Trailer

Originate 2024: The Eternal Quest to Make Yourself Happy (Or Die Trying) Play

Schools Bookings and Resources

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Curriculum Links
Creative Arts – Drama (Stages 5 – 6) and VET – Entertainment Industry.
Click here to download a full version of the NSW State Curriculum Links.

Free Post-Show Q&A Session
A free Q&A session with the artists will be held following the performance on Saturday 27 July at 2pm.


PLAN AND BOOK YOUR EXCURSION

Getting Here
Click here for information about our venue and getting here.

Risk Assessment
Click here to download The Joan’s Risk Assessment.

Booking Form

Meet the Cast and Creatives

Shy Magsalin - Director

Shy Magsalin is the Co-Creative Director of Q Theatre and has an arts practice spanning over 20 years in theatre-making, performing, physical dramaturgy and intimacy direction. She is also the founder and Artistic Director of Ninefold, a theatre group committed to examining rigorous performance-making and pedagogy. Through Q Theatre, Shy is dedicated to creating more opportunities for emerging Western Sydney artists to train and work locally.

Rowan Bate - Dramaturg

Rowan is a theatre practitioner, director and Co-Creative Director of Q Theatre. A graduate of Theatre Nepean and the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), he has directed works for Q Theatre, Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP), Arbour Theatre Company, as well as independently. He is also practising dramaturgy working with some of Sydney’s best independent and emerging playwrights. Rowan has worked extensively in youth arts creating and delivering artistic programs that connect young people with theatre in inspiring ways. An advocate for the transformative power of drama in education contexts, he has driven innovative programs that promote the use of creative pedagogies in classrooms and has spoken at theatre and education conferences locally and overseas about the benefits of embedding arts-focussed learning across the curriculum.

Stephanie Laarakkers - Deviser and Performer

After completing the Adult Actors Beginners Course at Sydney Theatre School, Stephanie landed a role in the ensemble of The Appleton Ladies Potato Race (Arts Theatre Cronulla). Since then, she has undertaken voice and dialect lessons at the Actors Pulse, drama classes at the Arts Theatre Cronulla. Stephanie has been taking singing lessons for the past four years and violin lessons for six months and is currently studying Level 3 Improvisation at Improv Theatre Sydney. She says that Originate 2024 is the “best acting course I have ever taken”. She is sad that the program is nearing the end but is excited for the final performances and to continue to put all the new skills she has learnt into practice as she pursues her career in the performing arts.

Josephine Lee - Deviser and Performer

Josephine Lee is an actor, theatre and audio producer, director and videographer and director who aspires to combine their passion of theatre, film and science within their storytelling. They aim to create thought-provoking works that speak to the hearts of diverse communities in Australia and to enhance science communication. Their acting credits include Boom (Slanted Theatre), Attempts On Her Life (Montague Basement), As You Like It (Sport for Jove Theatre Company), Julius Caesar (Little Spirits Theatre Company), The Glass Menagerie (Sydney University Dramatic Society), Girl Band (New Ghosts Theatre Company), Shakeflix and A Time of Change (Sport for Jove Second Age Project). Their directing credits include My Lord, The Queen, Is Dead (Sydney University Dramatic Society), Nostalgia (Sydney University Dramatic Society) and they have been an assistant director for Atlantic (New Theatre) and As You Like It (Sport for Jove Theatre Company).

Terence Nguyen - Deviser and Performer

Terence Nguyen is a proud Vietnamese-Australian artist based in Western Sydney’s Cabramatta. His passion for acting began in 2022 with television and film. He is currently expanding his artistic repertoire by immersing himself in theatre work. Terence’s career highlights include TV series, The Last of the Cross, which streamed on Paramount+, and rom-com film, Anyone but You. Recently, he co-devised and starred in PYT Fairfield’s production of Tuân’s Party. Outside of acting he works as a professional events host and master of ceremonies for weddings and hosts trivia nights.

Jony Teperski - Deviser and Performer

Watching The Matrix was Jony’s ‘unplugged’ moment. Its dystopian depiction served as an analogy; he realised acting was the gateway to his purpose. It was the seed that had Jony set on making the fantasy of the big screen a reality. Under L.A. acting coach Jo Kelly, Jony has been involved in screen roles including Home & Away, and Thor: Love and Thunder. Recently turning to theatre, Jony has played in Titanic – Diamond of Dreams and The Book of Everything (Richmond Players). Jony has a rich Australian-European heritage, including Macedonian, Polish, Slovakian and Hungarian.

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