Projects
2024
Victory Lap
Written and Directed by Mashaka Gunnulson
October 3rd – 8th, 2024
Heartfelt, poignant, and imbued with a profound and existential sense of contemplation, Victory Lap is a semi-autobiographical one-person show written and directed by Mashaka Gunnulson in their authorial debut. This new work stars Adam Marks as the poetic storyteller Billy, reflecting on his disjointed life while navigating his twenties, experiencing and understanding grief in its various forms, and attempting to stay grounded and connected through the loss of love.
Starring – Adam Marks (he/him)
Writer/ Director – Mashaka Gunnulson (they/them)
Producer/ Assistant director – Alistair Ward (he/him)
Voiceover – Molly Simpson (she/her)
Photographer/ Videographer – Nathan Iampolski (he/him)
Sound Design – Jasmine Tolentino (she/her)
Technical Operation – Noah Fox (he/him)
Graphic Designer – Louise Walker (she/her)
Dramaturg – Fiona Makris (she/her)
Artemisia Creative Director – Isabella Imperatore (she/her)
Artemisia Gallery Manager – Ash Forbes (she/they)
Featured music – Anita Quayle (she/her) (Artist Bookings)
Cast
Adam Marks – Billy
Testimonials
“[Adam] Marks gives a captivating performance… He has a vulnerability and authenticity present in this role that leave[s] an impact.”
– My Melbourne Arts
“Beautifully written, sensitively performed, wonderfully moving.”
“Victory Lap is poignant and masterfully executed… A must see play.”
— Audience Reviews
2022
This moment in time
Written by Alistair Ward
Directed by Mashaka Gunnulson
5th – 10th December, 2022
A queer play about leaving behind your twenties, following your gut, and how one fleeting conversation can alter the path of your whole life.
When two random strangers arrive at the airport, they’re primed to expect the inevitable delays of the Summer rush. After her annual visit home, Sam lugs a suitcase full of standard-issue family guilt back with her as she heads to a life and partner in New York that she no longer wants. And Theo, annoyingly optimistic and desperate for a distraction, has fallen down the rabbit-hole while overthinking his recent break-up. Striving to be the perfect man that always seem forever out of his grasp.
Inspired by real conversations had in airport terminals, this premiere season by writer Alistair Ward invites Melbourne audiences to experience a very personal and intimate tale of painful truths, trust, and laughter between two strangers. Because if you’re not learning life lessons in transit… you’ve probably stalled.
This moment in time
Written by Alistair Ward
Directed by Mashaka Gunnulson
Sound and Lighting Designer – Jasmine Tolentino
Graphic Design – Louise Walker
Photography & Videography – Edward Broadbent
Cast
Ruby Vadiveloo – Sam
Alistair Ward – Theo
Testimonials
“Exquisitely written… superb acting. (The play) provide(s) alchemical moments in time.”
-TAGG
“The performances are at their best in the (moments of) intricate, low-key observation, and downbeat humour… with understated authenticity and a lightly ironic eye.”
– The Age
2019
Drama School: a play
Written and Directed by Alistair Ward
February 3rd – 6th, 2022
What happens when one of the most prestigious acting schools in the world decides that their students need to compete to stay in the program?
Drama School: a play nourishes the audience with insight into the lives of seven aspiring actors living together in the dorms of New York City.
As the students fight against the modern-day expectations of what it means to make it as an actor, they each struggle with their own internalised pressures and search for tools to help manage the expectations placed upon them by their families, the college, the industry, and themselves.
Drama School: a play
Written and Directed by
Alistair Ward
Stage Manager – Mashaka Gunnulson
BOH – Fiona Makris, Lee Gunn,
Ceyhan Yusuf & Alyssa Scott
Venue Technician – Jason Ng Junjie
Graphic Design – Louise Walker
Editor – Fiona Makris
Photography & Videography – Edward Broadbent
Poster & Portrait Photography – Jacinta Oaten
Rehearsal photography – Ashleigh Coleman & Nathan Iampolski
Cast
(from left to right above)
Bridget Webster – Jay
Mo Mo – Dean
Alistair Ward – Nick
Ashleigh Coleman – Riley
Sanj Bedi – Carson
Aimee Marich – Sarah
Brielle Ying – Ava
Testimonials
“Drama School: a play teases out the oft-used trope of the narcissistic actor to craft a multi-layered story that is authentic, touching, nostalgic, and ultimately, uplifting…
Drama School succeeds as an ensemble play and delivers a punchy, entertaining and comical story that appeals to all.”
— Milk Bar Magazine
“Drama School, like Ward intended, is at times stifling in its interrogation of ambition and anxiety. However, it’s penchant for comedy and its truly relevant wisdom created an environment that I didn’t want to leave once the stage lights had gone down for the last time.
There is a genuine fondness for these flawed, vulnerable characters that the play cultivates, which I couldn’t shake, and didn’t want to.”
— Farrago Magazine
2019
twenty-something
Written and Directed by Alistair Ward
12th – 14th September, 2019
Twenty-something is a semi-autobiographical tale of love, loss and ghosting. Told through the lens of a gay twenty-something, we see how our expectations of love and friendship get in the way of reality, and the difficulty of maintaining those connections when life has come to a stand-still and no one is ready to grow.
Twenty-something won the Melbourne Fringe Festival’s People’s Choice Award in 2019.
twenty-something
Written and Directed by Alistair Ward
Produced by Alistair Ward
Co-producers – Mashaka Gunnulson & Rachel Iampolski
Lighting & Sound design – Min Kingham
Tech Operator – Eden Kha
Poster Photography – Edward Broadbent
Photography – Jacinta Oaten
Graphic Design – Louise Walker
Music – OVRFLO
Cast
Alistair Ward – Thomas
Matt Bertram – Josh
Patrick Ryan – Patrick
Testimonials
“Alistair Ward masterfully captures the thoughts that many people face as they decide what’s important, who they want to be, or who matters in their life. Entertaining, comical and whole-heartedly resonant, twenty-something is a semi-autobiographical, semi-coming-of-age, queer tale that left us asking for the next chapter.”
—Milk Bar Magazine
“One gets the impression that this play serves a cathartic purpose. Ward shows us what his life was like during a difficult transitory period, and he appears to be reflecting on this time from a better place in his life..”
— Arts Hub