Fringe Festival 2005 : Penny Machinations

My curiosity was piqued by a small piece I read about Penny Machinations, a Fringe 2005 side show with a difference. I was lucky enough to be granted an email interview with Telia Nevile who, along with her partner in arts, Matt Kelly has put the shows together. Read on to see what transpired.


Telia, thanks for speaking to me today about your show "Penny Machinations" as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival 2005. My first question is about the concepts that have driven this idea of a short theatre piece. On reading about the show I was immediately struck by an idea of penny arcades and even the confessional box, can you tell me about your original ideas?

In 2002 I made a pay-per-view piece called '...ad infinitum' with Matt, which was based on the old automated machines at fairgrounds and in entertainment arcades in the 1800s - you put a coin in and the machine automated for a short time, giving you a little show (usually an automated orchestra playing part of a song). We showed it in foyers and galleries
(any corner that would have us) and loved it, and people reacted really well. So, when we formed interior theatre last year, we planned to create a whole series of while-you-wait pieces that we could perform in places like foyers or galleries while people were waiting for a main event or just loitering. The idea was to created a forum to experiment with ideas, formats and structures...take a few risks and have a lot of fun. When we got a spot in La Mama's Explorations season last year, we decided to extend the pay-per-view format into a whole penny arcade full of private-viewing pieces. The shows inside the arcade don't happen without an audience member instigating it (by handing over a ticket, and choosing from the array of pieces on offer), and each one is performed specifically for them. They get wonderfully close to the actors, we get to experiment and play, and the whole thing feels really special.
The atmosphere we're going for is the idea of finding a few little neglected tents at the back of the fairground...the idea of straying off the beaten path and discovering something that only you experience.


Your blog http://pennymachinations.blogspot.com/ has been reopened and is now doing the wonderful service of collecting our sins! - How will you be using this resource as part of your shows?

The blog is collecting sins and confessions that will be transcribed into our 'Book of Sin', which will be hidden away in our darkest corner for people to pour over and contribute to. We made the Book of Sin for last year's Penny Machinations and people were fascinated, horrified, and occasionally a little damaged by what they read, but it's incredibly heartening to know that you're not alone in your sins, it's very cleansing to confess, and more than anything else, it's a juicy read.


On the idea of confessional blogs such as yours and the well subscribed Post Secret, do you think that these vehicles are a community service?

I think they go into the 'you're not alone' bag, which is a great bag to have. We get trapped in our own heads, with our worries and insecurities doubling back on themselves so often that finding out that other people are just as bad, if not worse, opens you back out and reminds you that everyone has flaws...that's what makes life interesting (and occasionally gross).

On the content of the short shows that make up Penny Machinations, how many actors are involved? Is it just you and Matt?

This year's 'Penny Machinations' has five booths operating, 8 performers, 2 lovely attendants, and me and Matt managing the arcade and selling tickets. The content of the booths ranges from straight naturalistic text to shadow puppets, movement and comedy. Each booth has a variety of pieces in itwhich can vary wildly in style, structure and genre.


Tell us about the set up that you have, the space, how many people at a time, your staging and the like.

The 2005 Penny Machinations penny arcade is open for business on the stage of the North Melbourne Town Hall every Friday during the Fringe. They're using the Main Hall for the Festival Club this year, so we're right next to the bar and in the middle of all the hubbub. There are five beautiful custom-made tents set up (one of which leads down a set of stairs and out into the back alley) which are private-viewing and each is equipped with a vacant/occupied sign. If the sign reads vacant, you can rock on in, hand over your ticket and settle in for a short show. If it says occupied, we ask people to queue till it's vacant.
With the exception of a low light wash to illuminate the arcade as a whole, each booth is lit with found, domestic lighting of all sorts, and where lighting changes are required, they're operated by the performers.

What sort of feedback have you got from your audiences? To they react to one particular aspect of the show concept?

Feedback from past audiences, both about the shows and the arcade format, has been enthusiastic and exciting. On entering, a lot of people get a little nervous about the idea of being in the booth by themselves with the actors, but once they've been through a few shows, the buzz of people swapping stories of their experiences starts growing and people start acting like children at a fun park. It's wonderful.


Are you seeing any other show as part of fringe? - anything in particular that you would recommend?

I'm going to try and jam in some extra shows, although between the show, school, and work it's so hard to fit in as many as you'd like. 'I Put the Music In You', showing at the Storeroom, looks like a riot; the 'Jangle Gym' line-up at Bar Open looks great, and the 'Renegades of Folk' gigs should be a hootenanny; High Pass Filter are playing on Saturday night and I'll be along to that; the Bambucco structure in Fed Square looks incredible, and it's free...hell, there's so much that it spins your head...

Show Details
Venue: Festival Club, North Melbourne Town Hall (Cnr Queensbury & Errol Sts, North Melbourne)
Dates: Friday 23rd Sep, Friday 30th Sep & Fri 7th Oct
Times: Penny arcade open from 8.30pm - 10.30pm, come whenever you like for however long you can.
Tickets: $1.00 per booth, pay-per-view. No pre-bookings - tickets available for sale through the Festival Club bar or our roving spruikers.

GO PEOPLE - SEE YOU AT FRINGE!