Tuesday.
Ned says...
It's occurred to me that I am involved in a long term love affair with theatre. It began when I was a child and saw my first piece of theatre, a pantomime. It blossomed when I was type cast as a pig in my first acting role and flowered when I was cast as Dorothy in a school production of The Wizard of Oz. The theatre was the place where I felt most at home and, apart from the obvious magic of it, I never felt more alive than when heading off to a rehearsal. The one thing that engaged me in an otherwise disengaged schooling was when I had the chance to be involved in the theatre. It was at school that I wrote my first play. I "produced" and wrote a play instead of studying for the HSC. When I left school my love affair continued but I was a shy, unconfident suitor and had to settle for directing and performing in extremely dodgy productions in a tiny town on the Queensland border. Love has a way of making choices for you and I moved to the city to pursue my true love. I found, to my surprise, that my lover was more accommodating and acting roles followed. My love affair became a marriage, of sorts, and my plays were produced and acting roles flowed. I was blissfully happy. Then my lover's eyes started to wander and I found myself less and less in demand. Did I lose heart? A little. But when you're in love you're in love. So, even though my love affair is largely unrequited, I continue to hold a candle for theatre. I continue to write plays, not because I expect my lover to favour me again, but because even unrequited love is impossible to resist.
