Green House Residency Albury NSW
Out our front door, GreenHouse Residency, Hothouse Theatre, Albury NSW.
Australia is very short of art residencies in comparison to the rest of the world. There are a few exceptions, and one of them is The Green House National Residency Program . The GreenHouse is attached to HotHouse Theatre, in Albury NSW, and is a stunning place to stay.
Recently renovated and set in an exquisite nature reserve, The Nest Ensemble, (Leah Mercer, Zac Callaghan, and me), was fortunate to win a funded residency in June this year. We worked on our commissioned play WANDERINGS, funded by Pride Foundation Australia and Australia Plays Transform APT (WANDERINGS PRIDE FOUNDATION AND APT ). Because the three of us live in different states, this was a wonderful opportunity to be in the same room at the same time, building on our Zoom writings. We have met twice weekly in the Zoom Room since early 2022, providing each other with writing prompts and suggestions. We write, then read aloud to each other then write some more. Leah sits in the seat of the director/dramaturg, Zac and I the writers and performers.
Wanderings (working title) is a play that focuses on how we transition and transform all the time. Zac Callaghan is writing about Kidd, a transgender male character. I am focusing on his mother Stella, a woman who is transitioning through dementia. Our dramatic question explores how these two people continue to live rich and vibrant lives despite the difficulties and challenges that they are presented within a world of discord.
This is such a juicy and crucial topic presenting a huge learning curve for us as creators and hopefully for our future audiences. For me, it is my first exploration into the world of dementia, apart from playing a character in one of The Good Room’s first plays years ago called Avocado Boy (written by Dan Evans).
We occupied GreenHouse for ten days in the middle of June 2023. Such a stunning place to be. While eating breakfast, we could see across the paddocks a multitude of bird species, lots of kangaroos, and even a fox. Without having to step inside a car, we had access to beautiful nature walks with historical significance. And there’s even an orange tree in the yard, where you can pick at your leisure.
Zac on one of our nature walks
GreenHouse Residency is a truly wonderful place to create, with multiple rooms to spread out and work either individually or in group. There is a well-stocked kitchen, excellent heating (we were there in winter), comfortable lounges and multiple bathrooms. We cannot praise HotHouse Theatre enough for its insight and determination to provide Australia with one of the few residencies available.
Stunning surroundings, walking distance to the residency
The Nest Ensemble highly recommend this magical place to our creative community. Thank you HotHouse! We are so grateful. I encourage any of you to apply next year Green House National Residency Program.