are preparing
lian National Academy of Music) in South Melbourne and one of the students there sat with her
and talked about life of a receptionist and they
wrote a song during the lunch break, then performed it to the rest of the office after the lunch
break … and that show’s some how has become
this vastly successful but G-rated cabaret”.
When asked if he will attend any events during
the Festival, Dickins laughs, “I will be going to all
of the events.” He “plan[s] on seeing the opening
night of each of our shows” and is “definitely planning to get out and see a bunch of stuff around
town. There’s always such a plethora of interesting material that you don’t necessarily get to see
the rest of the year round, and also working in the
Melbourne arts community I’ve got a lot of friends
that are presenting shows elsewhere so I’ll be
seeing as much as I can.”
NORTH MELBOURNE TOWN HALL
The North Melbourne Town Hall has been holding
events during the Melbourne Fringe Festival for
over 10 years. It is the only venue featured in the
Fringe Club, and is also a part of the Fringe Hub.
Sue Beal, Team Leader at Arts House, which operates the North Melbourne Town Hall, says that
they assist staff from the Festival with how the
events are run at the Town Hall. “This can involve
liquor licence application discussions through
to showing potential artists through the spaces,
through to technical information and support.”
One of the major free events that the North Melbourne Town Hall is running on October 1, is ‘How
to Green Your Arts Practice’ – an event being presented by the Festival and Arts House. Designed
for all artists, this event is basically what it says:
how to make art more environmentally sustainable.
The event is part of a ‘Greenie-in-Residence
Project’, being run by Arts House. The Project
is designed to assist artists and performing arts
organisations in reducing their environmental
impacts, with the help of a sustainability expert,
Greenie-in-Residence at Arts House, Matt Wicking. Some of the organisations that are undertaking the Project include Circus Oz, Victorian Opera
and Next Wave Festival.
Beal says that “This is the first time in recent history that we have produced an event at the Fringe
and we are hoping that it may be the start of an
ongoing contribution to the Festival.”
A wide range of diverse events being held at Arts
House and the North Melbourne Town Hall can be
found on the Arts House website.
MELBOURNE LITHUANIAN CLUB
The Melbourne Lithuanian Club also plays a large
part of the Fringe Hub. The Club has held a wide
range of fascinating events, activities and functions, that it seems that there is nothing that the
Club can’t run.
In addition to the Melbourne Fringe Festival, the
Melbourne Lithuanian Club has been used for the
Melbourne University Law Revue, Nick Cave and
Channel 9.
The venue was even “used by the German State
Opera delegation … for auditions of young Australian opera singers to be awarded scholarships
with German Opera houses,” says Director of the
Melbourne Lithuanian Club, Viv Alekna.
But the amazing breadth of events do not stop
there. “In the past, our premises were used by
film and TV series production units for staging
“Underbelly” series, the “R. J. Hawke” telemovie,
“Sunset Six” feature movie, various TV commercials, staging of drama plays, musicals, operatic
performances, concerts and recitals as well as
public meetings, open markets, political rallies
and ethnic communities’ gatherings, concerts
and public meetings,” says Alekna.
“Our ballroom and bar rooms are available for
weddings, birthdays, celebrations.
The Lithuanian Club is very flexible in providing
facilities to a diverse list of causes and organisations.”
So is there anything that the Melbourne Lithuanian Club can’t run?