Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
Ironman Started the Push at the Pram Factory
Internationalist … Lindzee Smith enjoyed success in New York. Photo: Patrick Cummins
March 6, 2007
Lindzee Smith, 1940-2007
LINDZEE SMITH, a founding member of the Australian Performing Group, was an actor-director and dedicated avant-gardist of the theatre.
Bearing the tag "Ironman", having once won a Bellarine Peninsula endurance event, Smith has died after a long illness. He was 66.
Smith first trod the boards in a 1966 production of August Strindberg's There are Crimes and Crimes. The play featured others prominent in the Australian theatre - the co-star was Lindy Davies and it was directed by Richard Murphet.
In those days, the emergence of La Mama was all the go and Smith, along with Max Gillies, Peter Cummins, Bruce Spence, Sue Ingleton, Evelyn Krape, Jane Clifton and others were soon to board that underground flagship, the Pram Factory.
If the company you keep is a measure of your worth, Smith, as an actor-director, had the knack of befriending notables. Based in New York in the 1980s and '90s, he wined and dined and spawned projects with James Purdy, the ageing Tennessee Williams, and the poet Gregory Corso. The actor and playwright Sam Shephard and the film director Jim Jarmusch admired his work.
Smith was born in Geelong and attended Geelong College before doing arts at both Monash and Melbourne universities, where he took up acting.
As a schoolboy he was a keen sportsman and "always into stunts", according to his brother Garth. He had a fraught relationship with Martyn Buntine, the principal at Geelong College, over what he perceived was religious discrimination: when the pope died, he sarcastically painted "Cardinal Buntine for Pope" in large letters on the tennis court. He was also caned for nailing a toilet seat to the chair the principal used for school assembly.
Smith was arrested outside the United States consulate in Melbourne during the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. Ironically, he faced Garth, a policeman on the front line at the demonstration, who agreed with his brother's position but was sworn to uphold the law.
In the Melbourne of the 1960s and '70s, Smith worked with Australian writers such as Alex Buzo, Jack Hibberd, John Romeril and Daniel Keene.
Smith directed the group Nightshift, which began as an ensemble within the Pram Factory and went on to make its mark in Sydney, Perth and New York.
A dedicated internationalist, he revisited past productions, including plays by Orton, Brenton, Fassbinder and Handke. The classical repertoire did not escape his attentions, with productions of works by Brecht, Ibsen and Sophocles.
He was a good sportsman, too, who competed at state level as a swimmer, surfed and played football.
Smith, who was divorced, is survived by his sons Andrew and Daniel, his mother, Maisie, and brother, Garth.
Mike Mullins, John Romeril
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Life's Career
LINDZEE SMITH
EDUCATION
B.Arts, Monash University (English/Drama)
Master of Arts, University California (Dramatic Art)
Trained Primary Teachers’ Certificate, Deakin University
THEATRE EXPERIENCE
2004
Devised and Directed Smack Happy for the 15th International Conference on Drug – Related Harm. An assemblage of dramatic writings by Motherwell, Burroughs, Brecht, Bell-Wykes and others. Performed at the Trades Hall in April 2004 by Nightshift.
2003
Creator of Daddy/Zach adapted from a short story play by American original JAMES PURDY and presented in collaboration with Nancy Cato and Chapel offChapel for the midsumma festival 2003. Actors Wilfred last, Nick Politis and musician Ashley Gaudion with lighting designer George Axl completed the ensemble.
2002
Director mise en scene of Phil Motherwell’s Dreamers of the Absolute for graduating class at Adelaide School of TAFE and Mr David Kendall Director of acting.
Currently preparing American Dreaming: Birth of the Cool a program of work which includes plays by Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, James Purdy, Jack Gelber, Clifford Odets and Sam Shepard.
2002
Devised and Produced “Montage of Attractions”. Rehearsed readings of five new Australian Plays by Bill Green and Colin Talbot. Currently preparing production of Dreamers of The Absolute by Phil Motherwell for Adelaide School of TAFE.
Preparing season of new German theatre for Goethe House and Chapel off Chapel Theatre with Nancy Cato and others.
2000
Tunnel Vision with Tim Burns for Artrage (Perth) at Fremantle Film and T.V.
1999
Faust Unplugged by C. Talbot Director/Performer. Autogeddon by H. Williams for Artrage (Perth). Adapted, staged and directed by Lindzee Smith with Tim Burns.
1998
Produced, devised and directed The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht at the Trades Hall Melbourne to celebrate Brecht’s 100th birthday year. Steal Away Home by P.
1989 - 1990
Performer with Hungarian/American theatre group SQUAT. Toured the U.S.A and Europe, including appearances in Vienna, Hamburg, Zurich and Amsterdam in El Train to Eldorado.
1985 - 1988
Actor-Director with The Tide Theatre Company. Productions of the work of Melbourne writer Daniel Keene including the following works – The Hour Before My Brother Dies, The Fighter, Isle of Swans and Ruby Dark which were shown in Melbourne, Sydney, New York and the Edinburgh Festival.
1980 - 1984
Curator of two national film series for the Australian Film Institute – New York Stories 1 (8mm) and New York Stories 2 (16mm). With pioneer Video artist Joan Jonas performed The Juniper Tree (Grimm) and The Volcano Saga which was based on Icelandic Sagas. These two pieces were performed at M.O.M.A., The Whitney Museum and St.Marks in the bowery in N.Y.C.
1979
Founding member of Collaborative Projects a radical artistic collective in N.Y.C. which concentrated on collaboration between filmmakers, visual artists, writer and directors. Contributed to the Times Square Show a radical experiment in Urban Art.
Director of Nightshift New York an extension of the Australian Group. Major works: Men’s Business (Kroetz) at Squat Theatre N.Y.C. What is it Zach, The Berry Picker, True and Daddy Wolf (James Purdy) at various Theatres in Manhattan. The Needle Vestal (Sinclair Beiles) and The Hamlet Machine at Times Square N.Y.C. Acted in The Connection (Gelber) at Henry St. settlement New York. Produced by Rip Torn and starring Morgan Freeman.
1978
Directed the World Premier of Dreamers of the Absolute by Melbourne writer Phil Motherwell and also a season of short plays in the Back Theatre, again at the pram. Opened a new space at 303 Smith St, Fitzroy to accommodate more radical work….Ruffian on the Stair (Joe Orton) and Saliva Milkshake (Brenton) were early experiments. Developed Pre-paradise, Sorry Now by German artist Rainer Fassbinder for presentation at the Sydney Filmmakers’ Co-op.
1977
Attended The International Atelier for the Group Theatre in Bergamo, Italy directed by Eugenio Barba and performed The Fitzroy Yank (Motherwell) in the Cathedral.
The following is a list of work mounted during this period for The Pram Factory, Nightshift or as a freelance Director.
Kasper (Handke) at Rusden State College and later at The Pram Factory Cowboy Mouth (Sam Shepard), Michi’s Blood (Franz Xavier Kroetz), Killer’s Head (Shepard) with the newly created Nightshift.
1976
Prophesy And Calling For Help (Handke) at Laight St. Space, Manhattan. Run Home – Home Run at The Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.C. Fanshen (Hare) at Rusden State College and at The Pram Factory. AC/DC (Heathcote Williams) and My Foot My Tutor (Handke) at The Pram.
1975
Grant from The Australia-Japan Foundation to study Japanese Traditional Theatre in Tokyo (Kabuki, Bunraku and Noh). Directed The Floating World at the Festival Space in Adelaide.
1973 - 1979
Director, Pram Factory, Melbourne. Director of Nightshift, a group within the Pram Factory which focused on the production of work from International sources, especially radical new plays from Germany, the UK and America. By 1975 permanently resident in New York City but effectively working in N.Y.C and Melbourne. The following is a list of the most significant work of this period. (Many were created in Melbourne and later shown in New Yorkand Visa Versa.)
Africa (Steve Spears), The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria (Arrabal), River Jordan (Michael Byrnes), Floating World (Romeril)…. A World Premier of this Australian Classic, The Earth, Air Fire and Water Show (Romeril), The Golden Holden (Romeril), The Mother (Brecht) and Fefu and Her Friends (Maria Irene Fornes) for The Melbourne Theatre Company.
1970
Director of the A.P.G season at the Festival of Perth. Scholarship to University of California to undertake M.A. in Direction. Thesis Topic The New Australian Theatre. Directorial projects include Peer Gynt (Ibsen), Who (Hibberd) and The Exception and the Rule (Brecht).
1968 - 1970
Actor/Director with The Australian Performing Group. Major works include White with Wire Wheels (Hibberd), Norm and Ahmed (Buzo), The Man From Chicago (Romeril), Dimboola (Hibberd), The Exception and the Rule (Brecht) and other new Australian, International plays.
1968
Co-Founder The Australian Performing Group (PRAM FACTORY). Formerly The La Mama Actors’ Workshop, this group was dedicated to the development of a uniquely Australian form of theatre. Actor in Ned Kelly starring Mick Jagger. Director Tony Richardson.
1967
Director White With Wire Wheels by Jack Hibberd. A Contact Theatre Production at the Union Theatre Melbourne University. Actor in Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs by David Halliwell at Emerald Hill Theatre, Melbourne.
EDUCATION
B.Arts, Monash University (English/Drama)
Master of Arts, University California (Dramatic Art)
Trained Primary Teachers’ Certificate, Deakin University
THEATRE EXPERIENCE
2004
Devised and Directed Smack Happy for the 15th International Conference on Drug – Related Harm. An assemblage of dramatic writings by Motherwell, Burroughs, Brecht, Bell-Wykes and others. Performed at the Trades Hall in April 2004 by Nightshift.
2003
Creator of Daddy/Zach adapted from a short story play by American original JAMES PURDY and presented in collaboration with Nancy Cato and Chapel offChapel for the midsumma festival 2003. Actors Wilfred last, Nick Politis and musician Ashley Gaudion with lighting designer George Axl completed the ensemble.
2002
Director mise en scene of Phil Motherwell’s Dreamers of the Absolute for graduating class at Adelaide School of TAFE and Mr David Kendall Director of acting.
Currently preparing American Dreaming: Birth of the Cool a program of work which includes plays by Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, James Purdy, Jack Gelber, Clifford Odets and Sam Shepard.
2002
Devised and Produced “Montage of Attractions”. Rehearsed readings of five new Australian Plays by Bill Green and Colin Talbot. Currently preparing production of Dreamers of The Absolute by Phil Motherwell for Adelaide School of TAFE.
Preparing season of new German theatre for Goethe House and Chapel off Chapel Theatre with Nancy Cato and others.
2000
Tunnel Vision with Tim Burns for Artrage (Perth) at Fremantle Film and T.V.
1999
Faust Unplugged by C. Talbot Director/Performer. Autogeddon by H. Williams for Artrage (Perth). Adapted, staged and directed by Lindzee Smith with Tim Burns.
1998
Produced, devised and directed The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht at the Trades Hall Melbourne to celebrate Brecht’s 100th birthday year. Steal Away Home by P.
1989 - 1990
Performer with Hungarian/American theatre group SQUAT. Toured the U.S.A and Europe, including appearances in Vienna, Hamburg, Zurich and Amsterdam in El Train to Eldorado.
1985 - 1988
Actor-Director with The Tide Theatre Company. Productions of the work of Melbourne writer Daniel Keene including the following works – The Hour Before My Brother Dies, The Fighter, Isle of Swans and Ruby Dark which were shown in Melbourne, Sydney, New York and the Edinburgh Festival.
1980 - 1984
Curator of two national film series for the Australian Film Institute – New York Stories 1 (8mm) and New York Stories 2 (16mm). With pioneer Video artist Joan Jonas performed The Juniper Tree (Grimm) and The Volcano Saga which was based on Icelandic Sagas. These two pieces were performed at M.O.M.A., The Whitney Museum and St.Marks in the bowery in N.Y.C.
1979
Founding member of Collaborative Projects a radical artistic collective in N.Y.C. which concentrated on collaboration between filmmakers, visual artists, writer and directors. Contributed to the Times Square Show a radical experiment in Urban Art.
Director of Nightshift New York an extension of the Australian Group. Major works: Men’s Business (Kroetz) at Squat Theatre N.Y.C. What is it Zach, The Berry Picker, True and Daddy Wolf (James Purdy) at various Theatres in Manhattan. The Needle Vestal (Sinclair Beiles) and The Hamlet Machine at Times Square N.Y.C. Acted in The Connection (Gelber) at Henry St. settlement New York. Produced by Rip Torn and starring Morgan Freeman.
1978
Directed the World Premier of Dreamers of the Absolute by Melbourne writer Phil Motherwell and also a season of short plays in the Back Theatre, again at the pram. Opened a new space at 303 Smith St, Fitzroy to accommodate more radical work….Ruffian on the Stair (Joe Orton) and Saliva Milkshake (Brenton) were early experiments. Developed Pre-paradise, Sorry Now by German artist Rainer Fassbinder for presentation at the Sydney Filmmakers’ Co-op.
1977
Attended The International Atelier for the Group Theatre in Bergamo, Italy directed by Eugenio Barba and performed The Fitzroy Yank (Motherwell) in the Cathedral.
The following is a list of work mounted during this period for The Pram Factory, Nightshift or as a freelance Director.
Kasper (Handke) at Rusden State College and later at The Pram Factory Cowboy Mouth (Sam Shepard), Michi’s Blood (Franz Xavier Kroetz), Killer’s Head (Shepard) with the newly created Nightshift.
1976
Prophesy And Calling For Help (Handke) at Laight St. Space, Manhattan. Run Home – Home Run at The Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.C. Fanshen (Hare) at Rusden State College and at The Pram Factory. AC/DC (Heathcote Williams) and My Foot My Tutor (Handke) at The Pram.
1975
Grant from The Australia-Japan Foundation to study Japanese Traditional Theatre in Tokyo (Kabuki, Bunraku and Noh). Directed The Floating World at the Festival Space in Adelaide.
1973 - 1979
Director, Pram Factory, Melbourne. Director of Nightshift, a group within the Pram Factory which focused on the production of work from International sources, especially radical new plays from Germany, the UK and America. By 1975 permanently resident in New York City but effectively working in N.Y.C and Melbourne. The following is a list of the most significant work of this period. (Many were created in Melbourne and later shown in New Yorkand Visa Versa.)
Africa (Steve Spears), The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria (Arrabal), River Jordan (Michael Byrnes), Floating World (Romeril)…. A World Premier of this Australian Classic, The Earth, Air Fire and Water Show (Romeril), The Golden Holden (Romeril), The Mother (Brecht) and Fefu and Her Friends (Maria Irene Fornes) for The Melbourne Theatre Company.
1970
Director of the A.P.G season at the Festival of Perth. Scholarship to University of California to undertake M.A. in Direction. Thesis Topic The New Australian Theatre. Directorial projects include Peer Gynt (Ibsen), Who (Hibberd) and The Exception and the Rule (Brecht).
1968 - 1970
Actor/Director with The Australian Performing Group. Major works include White with Wire Wheels (Hibberd), Norm and Ahmed (Buzo), The Man From Chicago (Romeril), Dimboola (Hibberd), The Exception and the Rule (Brecht) and other new Australian, International plays.
1968
Co-Founder The Australian Performing Group (PRAM FACTORY). Formerly The La Mama Actors’ Workshop, this group was dedicated to the development of a uniquely Australian form of theatre. Actor in Ned Kelly starring Mick Jagger. Director Tony Richardson.
1967
Director White With Wire Wheels by Jack Hibberd. A Contact Theatre Production at the Union Theatre Melbourne University. Actor in Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs by David Halliwell at Emerald Hill Theatre, Melbourne.
LINDZEE SMITH
EDUCATION
B.Arts, Monash University (English/Drama)
Master of Arts, University California (Dramatic Art)
Trained Primary Teachers’ Certificate, Deakin University
THEATRE EXPERIENCE
2004
Devised and Directed Smack Happy for the 15th International Conference on Drug – Related Harm. An assemblage of dramatic writings by Motherwell, Burroughs, Brecht, Bell-Wykes and others. Performed at the Trades Hall in April 2004 by Nightshift.
2003
Creator of Daddy/Zach adapted from a short story play by American original JAMES PURDY and presented in collaboration with Nancy Cato and Chapel offChapel for the midsumma festival 2003. Actors Wilfred last, Nick Politis and musician Ashley Gaudion with lighting designer George Axl completed the ensemble.
2002
Director mise en scene of Phil Motherwell’s Dreamers of the Absolute for graduating class at Adelaide School of TAFE and Mr David Kendall Director of acting.
Currently preparing American Dreaming: Birth of the Cool a program of work which includes plays by Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, James Purdy, Jack Gelber, Clifford Odets and Sam Shepard.
2002
Devised and Produced “Montage of Attractions”. Rehearsed readings of five new Australian Plays by Bill Green and Colin Talbot. Currently preparing production of Dreamers of The Absolute by Phil Motherwell for Adelaide School of TAFE.
Preparing season of new German theatre for Goethe House and Chapel off Chapel Theatre with Nancy Cato and others.
2000
Tunnel Vision with Tim Burns for Artrage (Perth) at Fremantle Film and T.V.
1999
Faust Unplugged by C. Talbot Director/Performer. Autogeddon by H. Williams for Artrage (Perth). Adapted, staged and directed by Lindzee Smith with Tim Burns.
1998
Produced, devised and directed The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht at the Trades Hall Melbourne to celebrate Brecht’s 100th birthday year. Steal Away Home by P.
1989 - 1990
Performer with Hungarian/American theatre group SQUAT. Toured the U.S.A and Europe, including appearances in Vienna, Hamburg, Zurich and Amsterdam in El Train to Eldorado.
1985 - 1988
Actor-Director with The Tide Theatre Company. Productions of the work of Melbourne writer Daniel Keene including the following works – The Hour Before My Brother Dies, The Fighter, Isle of Swans and Ruby Dark which were shown in Melbourne, Sydney, New York and the Edinburgh Festival.
1980 - 1984
Curator of two national film series for the Australian Film Institute – New York Stories 1 (8mm) and New York Stories 2 (16mm). With pioneer Video artist Joan Jonas performed The Juniper Tree (Grimm) and The Volcano Saga which was based on Icelandic Sagas. These two pieces were performed at M.O.M.A., The Whitney Museum and St.Marks in the bowery in N.Y.C.
1979
Founding member of Collaborative Projects a radical artistic collective in N.Y.C. which concentrated on collaboration between filmmakers, visual artists, writer and directors. Contributed to the Times Square Show a radical experiment in Urban Art.
Director of Nightshift New York an extension of the Australian Group. Major works: Men’s Business (Kroetz) at Squat Theatre N.Y.C. What is it Zach, The Berry Picker, True and Daddy Wolf (James Purdy) at various Theatres in Manhattan. The Needle Vestal (Sinclair Beiles) and The Hamlet Machine at Times Square N.Y.C. Acted in The Connection (Gelber) at Henry St. settlement New York. Produced by Rip Torn and starring Morgan Freeman.
1978
Directed the World Premier of Dreamers of the Absolute by Melbourne writer Phil Motherwell and also a season of short plays in the Back Theatre, again at the pram. Opened a new space at 303 Smith St, Fitzroy to accommodate more radical work….Ruffian on the Stair (Joe Orton) and Saliva Milkshake (Brenton) were early experiments. Developed Pre-paradise, Sorry Now by German artist Rainer Fassbinder for presentation at the Sydney Filmmakers’ Co-op.
1977
Attended The International Atelier for the Group Theatre in Bergamo, Italy directed by Eugenio Barba and performed The Fitzroy Yank (Motherwell) in the Cathedral.
The following is a list of work mounted during this period for The Pram Factory, Nightshift or as a freelance Director.
Kasper (Handke) at Rusden State College and later at The Pram Factory Cowboy Mouth (Sam Shepard), Michi’s Blood (Franz Xavier Kroetz), Killer’s Head (Shepard) with the newly created Nightshift.
1976
Prophesy And Calling For Help (Handke) at Laight St. Space, Manhattan. Run Home – Home Run at The Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.C. Fanshen (Hare) at Rusden State College and at The Pram Factory. AC/DC (Heathcote Williams) and My Foot My Tutor (Handke) at The Pram.
1975
Grant from The Australia-Japan Foundation to study Japanese Traditional Theatre in Tokyo (Kabuki, Bunraku and Noh). Directed The Floating World at the Festival Space in Adelaide.
1973 - 1979
Director, Pram Factory, Melbourne. Director of Nightshift, a group within the Pram Factory which focused on the production of work from International sources, especially radical new plays from Germany, the UK and America. By 1975 permanently resident in New York City but effectively working in N.Y.C and Melbourne. The following is a list of the most significant work of this period. (Many were created in Melbourne and later shown in New Yorkand Visa Versa.)
Africa (Steve Spears), The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria (Arrabal), River Jordan (Michael Byrnes), Floating World (Romeril)…. A World Premier of this Australian Classic, The Earth, Air Fire and Water Show (Romeril), The Golden Holden (Romeril), The Mother (Brecht) and Fefu and Her Friends (Maria Irene Fornes) for The Melbourne Theatre Company.
1970
Director of the A.P.G season at the Festival of Perth. Scholarship to University of California to undertake M.A. in Direction. Thesis Topic The New Australian Theatre. Directorial projects include Peer Gynt (Ibsen), Who (Hibberd) and The Exception and the Rule (Brecht).
1968 - 1970
Actor/Director with The Australian Performing Group. Major works include White with Wire Wheels (Hibberd), Norm and Ahmed (Buzo), The Man From Chicago (Romeril), Dimboola (Hibberd), The Exception and the Rule (Brecht) and other new Australian, International plays.
1968
Co-Founder The Australian Performing Group (PRAM FACTORY). Formerly The La Mama Actors’ Workshop, this group was dedicated to the development of a uniquely Australian form of theatre. Actor in Ned Kelly starring Mick Jagger. Director Tony Richardson.
1967
Director White With Wire Wheels by Jack Hibberd. A Contact Theatre Production at the Union Theatre Melbourne University. Actor in Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs by David Halliwell at Emerald Hill Theatre, Melbourne.
EDUCATION
B.Arts, Monash University (English/Drama)
Master of Arts, University California (Dramatic Art)
Trained Primary Teachers’ Certificate, Deakin University
THEATRE EXPERIENCE
2004
Devised and Directed Smack Happy for the 15th International Conference on Drug – Related Harm. An assemblage of dramatic writings by Motherwell, Burroughs, Brecht, Bell-Wykes and others. Performed at the Trades Hall in April 2004 by Nightshift.
2003
Creator of Daddy/Zach adapted from a short story play by American original JAMES PURDY and presented in collaboration with Nancy Cato and Chapel offChapel for the midsumma festival 2003. Actors Wilfred last, Nick Politis and musician Ashley Gaudion with lighting designer George Axl completed the ensemble.
2002
Director mise en scene of Phil Motherwell’s Dreamers of the Absolute for graduating class at Adelaide School of TAFE and Mr David Kendall Director of acting.
Currently preparing American Dreaming: Birth of the Cool a program of work which includes plays by Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, James Purdy, Jack Gelber, Clifford Odets and Sam Shepard.
2002
Devised and Produced “Montage of Attractions”. Rehearsed readings of five new Australian Plays by Bill Green and Colin Talbot. Currently preparing production of Dreamers of The Absolute by Phil Motherwell for Adelaide School of TAFE.
Preparing season of new German theatre for Goethe House and Chapel off Chapel Theatre with Nancy Cato and others.
2000
Tunnel Vision with Tim Burns for Artrage (Perth) at Fremantle Film and T.V.
1999
Faust Unplugged by C. Talbot Director/Performer. Autogeddon by H. Williams for Artrage (Perth). Adapted, staged and directed by Lindzee Smith with Tim Burns.
1998
Produced, devised and directed The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht at the Trades Hall Melbourne to celebrate Brecht’s 100th birthday year. Steal Away Home by P.
1989 - 1990
Performer with Hungarian/American theatre group SQUAT. Toured the U.S.A and Europe, including appearances in Vienna, Hamburg, Zurich and Amsterdam in El Train to Eldorado.
1985 - 1988
Actor-Director with The Tide Theatre Company. Productions of the work of Melbourne writer Daniel Keene including the following works – The Hour Before My Brother Dies, The Fighter, Isle of Swans and Ruby Dark which were shown in Melbourne, Sydney, New York and the Edinburgh Festival.
1980 - 1984
Curator of two national film series for the Australian Film Institute – New York Stories 1 (8mm) and New York Stories 2 (16mm). With pioneer Video artist Joan Jonas performed The Juniper Tree (Grimm) and The Volcano Saga which was based on Icelandic Sagas. These two pieces were performed at M.O.M.A., The Whitney Museum and St.Marks in the bowery in N.Y.C.
1979
Founding member of Collaborative Projects a radical artistic collective in N.Y.C. which concentrated on collaboration between filmmakers, visual artists, writer and directors. Contributed to the Times Square Show a radical experiment in Urban Art.
Director of Nightshift New York an extension of the Australian Group. Major works: Men’s Business (Kroetz) at Squat Theatre N.Y.C. What is it Zach, The Berry Picker, True and Daddy Wolf (James Purdy) at various Theatres in Manhattan. The Needle Vestal (Sinclair Beiles) and The Hamlet Machine at Times Square N.Y.C. Acted in The Connection (Gelber) at Henry St. settlement New York. Produced by Rip Torn and starring Morgan Freeman.
1978
Directed the World Premier of Dreamers of the Absolute by Melbourne writer Phil Motherwell and also a season of short plays in the Back Theatre, again at the pram. Opened a new space at 303 Smith St, Fitzroy to accommodate more radical work….Ruffian on the Stair (Joe Orton) and Saliva Milkshake (Brenton) were early experiments. Developed Pre-paradise, Sorry Now by German artist Rainer Fassbinder for presentation at the Sydney Filmmakers’ Co-op.
1977
Attended The International Atelier for the Group Theatre in Bergamo, Italy directed by Eugenio Barba and performed The Fitzroy Yank (Motherwell) in the Cathedral.
The following is a list of work mounted during this period for The Pram Factory, Nightshift or as a freelance Director.
Kasper (Handke) at Rusden State College and later at The Pram Factory Cowboy Mouth (Sam Shepard), Michi’s Blood (Franz Xavier Kroetz), Killer’s Head (Shepard) with the newly created Nightshift.
1976
Prophesy And Calling For Help (Handke) at Laight St. Space, Manhattan. Run Home – Home Run at The Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.C. Fanshen (Hare) at Rusden State College and at The Pram Factory. AC/DC (Heathcote Williams) and My Foot My Tutor (Handke) at The Pram.
1975
Grant from The Australia-Japan Foundation to study Japanese Traditional Theatre in Tokyo (Kabuki, Bunraku and Noh). Directed The Floating World at the Festival Space in Adelaide.
1973 - 1979
Director, Pram Factory, Melbourne. Director of Nightshift, a group within the Pram Factory which focused on the production of work from International sources, especially radical new plays from Germany, the UK and America. By 1975 permanently resident in New York City but effectively working in N.Y.C and Melbourne. The following is a list of the most significant work of this period. (Many were created in Melbourne and later shown in New Yorkand Visa Versa.)
Africa (Steve Spears), The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria (Arrabal), River Jordan (Michael Byrnes), Floating World (Romeril)…. A World Premier of this Australian Classic, The Earth, Air Fire and Water Show (Romeril), The Golden Holden (Romeril), The Mother (Brecht) and Fefu and Her Friends (Maria Irene Fornes) for The Melbourne Theatre Company.
1970
Director of the A.P.G season at the Festival of Perth. Scholarship to University of California to undertake M.A. in Direction. Thesis Topic The New Australian Theatre. Directorial projects include Peer Gynt (Ibsen), Who (Hibberd) and The Exception and the Rule (Brecht).
1968 - 1970
Actor/Director with The Australian Performing Group. Major works include White with Wire Wheels (Hibberd), Norm and Ahmed (Buzo), The Man From Chicago (Romeril), Dimboola (Hibberd), The Exception and the Rule (Brecht) and other new Australian, International plays.
1968
Co-Founder The Australian Performing Group (PRAM FACTORY). Formerly The La Mama Actors’ Workshop, this group was dedicated to the development of a uniquely Australian form of theatre. Actor in Ned Kelly starring Mick Jagger. Director Tony Richardson.
1967
Director White With Wire Wheels by Jack Hibberd. A Contact Theatre Production at the Union Theatre Melbourne University. Actor in Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs by David Halliwell at Emerald Hill Theatre, Melbourne.
Introduction to Lindzee
LINDZEE SMITH
22.9.1940 – 24.2.2007
Welcome to the website that celebrates Lindzee Smith’s life and work and that is the home of the Foundation we have established to honour his memory by supporting initiatives that continue his explorations.
For forty years, El Smythe delved into every shadowy corner of contemporary theatre. A true theatre obsessive, his interests ranged across all facets of dramatic expression, always focusing on finding effective ways of presenting words as actions meaningful in today’s world.
From his first productions with Contact Theatre in the mid to late sixties, through his work with the APG and the Pram Factory in the seventies, to the remarkable output of Nightshift Theatre Asylum over the last thirty years, Lindzee has constantly confronted, shocked and enthralled actors, audiences and critics.
His was not a career that produced mainstream accolades and awards. His sensibility was too fractious and counter-cultural to allow him the comfort of relaxation in the company of the mandarins. Nevertheless, when opportunities appeared - which were not often - he displayed profound talent as an academic and teacher.
But practice was his one true love. To the very end, there were always half a dozen projects swirling around his mind.
He was a director who found his vision through working collaboratively: he had the ability to recognise and make manifest extraordinary capacities in everyone he worked with. This was perhaps his greatest attribute – he encouraged, indeed expected as a matter of course, that those he worked with would find unique solutions to the problems he put before them. His success was that, every time, they delivered.
But the wolf was always at the door, both literally and metaphorically: societies tend to discard their enfant terribles as they age – unless, of course, they settle down, which Lindzee was utterly unable to do. And then there was that other wolf – lupus, an incurable condition that debilitates the immune system and is only manageable with steroids whose long term effects are as vile as the disease itself.
Eventually, Lindzee succumbed to these, but he put up a fight that verged on the miraculous. Only someone of immense will and indefatigable optimism could have survived the trials he was put through. And Lindzee did more than survive. Yes, he had his moments of despair and panic, but even in those last days, he was always ready for another round.
And what of his legacy? Lindzee took the new Australian theatre to the world. In the maelstrom of internationalism that was theatre in the last half of the twentieth century, Lindzee navigated a unique path, mixing it with the pantheon, looking for adventure wherever he went and purloining anything he thought might be useful, but always offering a confident and unapologetic perspective rooted in the soil of his upbringing.
It’s a largely unrecognised legacy, but it permeates much of contemporary theatre, both at home and abroad. The ways of theatre-making that he pioneered have flowered profusely. Perhaps this site will contribute to the recognition of his contribution but more important, may it help to ensure that the attitude he brought to his work continues into new generations.
Jon Hawkes
26/2/07
22.9.1940 – 24.2.2007
Welcome to the website that celebrates Lindzee Smith’s life and work and that is the home of the Foundation we have established to honour his memory by supporting initiatives that continue his explorations.
For forty years, El Smythe delved into every shadowy corner of contemporary theatre. A true theatre obsessive, his interests ranged across all facets of dramatic expression, always focusing on finding effective ways of presenting words as actions meaningful in today’s world.
From his first productions with Contact Theatre in the mid to late sixties, through his work with the APG and the Pram Factory in the seventies, to the remarkable output of Nightshift Theatre Asylum over the last thirty years, Lindzee has constantly confronted, shocked and enthralled actors, audiences and critics.
His was not a career that produced mainstream accolades and awards. His sensibility was too fractious and counter-cultural to allow him the comfort of relaxation in the company of the mandarins. Nevertheless, when opportunities appeared - which were not often - he displayed profound talent as an academic and teacher.
But practice was his one true love. To the very end, there were always half a dozen projects swirling around his mind.
He was a director who found his vision through working collaboratively: he had the ability to recognise and make manifest extraordinary capacities in everyone he worked with. This was perhaps his greatest attribute – he encouraged, indeed expected as a matter of course, that those he worked with would find unique solutions to the problems he put before them. His success was that, every time, they delivered.
But the wolf was always at the door, both literally and metaphorically: societies tend to discard their enfant terribles as they age – unless, of course, they settle down, which Lindzee was utterly unable to do. And then there was that other wolf – lupus, an incurable condition that debilitates the immune system and is only manageable with steroids whose long term effects are as vile as the disease itself.
Eventually, Lindzee succumbed to these, but he put up a fight that verged on the miraculous. Only someone of immense will and indefatigable optimism could have survived the trials he was put through. And Lindzee did more than survive. Yes, he had his moments of despair and panic, but even in those last days, he was always ready for another round.
And what of his legacy? Lindzee took the new Australian theatre to the world. In the maelstrom of internationalism that was theatre in the last half of the twentieth century, Lindzee navigated a unique path, mixing it with the pantheon, looking for adventure wherever he went and purloining anything he thought might be useful, but always offering a confident and unapologetic perspective rooted in the soil of his upbringing.
It’s a largely unrecognised legacy, but it permeates much of contemporary theatre, both at home and abroad. The ways of theatre-making that he pioneered have flowered profusely. Perhaps this site will contribute to the recognition of his contribution but more important, may it help to ensure that the attitude he brought to his work continues into new generations.
Jon Hawkes
26/2/07
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