T’was a momentous occasion this weekend. No, not because Phil finally turned up to rehearsals sober.......No, not because Renee finally hit every song within an octave of the actual notes........and no, not because our Producer extraordinaire Doug Montgomery actually turned up to a rehearsal (or, rather, popped his head in). No, it was a momentous weekendfor three very important reasons.

1: Finally, after weeks of drama (not the fun, “will Toadie and Steph ever recover after that disaster of a wedding” kind of drama) and countless handfuls of hair left behind on the rehearsal room floor by director Rob Chuter, we arrived to a FULL CAST! Oh joy of joys, not only did we now have a full cast locked in, but we were all available to rehearse at the same time! Even the mysterious Dave Forster was there, watching intently for hours as we rehearsed scenes that did not even include him. Good on ya Dave! We didn’t have the heart to tell him his fly was open all day, but at least we all laughed about his Superman undies after he was gone.

The missing link that completed the Dimboola cast arrived in the form of the lovely, and may I say, rather “buff” Ray Hare. No-one was exactly sure where Ray had come from. Rumors abounded that he had just returned from a month of guerilla warfare in the congo and had killed thirteen men and 2 monkeys using only his thumbs. But M.T. does tend to exaggerate sometimes, so we were all taking the rumors with a grain of salt. It was entirely possible that Doug had dragged Ray to rehearsals from their weekly Dungeons & Dragons dinner-date. Or that he had simply lured Ray from the local Safeway car-park with the promise of free booze. Whatever the case, no-one said a word when he began drinking the ‘prop’ wine on the rehearsal table while everyone else mimed the drinking. Who ever said that Method was dead?

In all seriousness though, Ray has been an absolute gun (or should that be thumb)! He has come in late in proceedings and jumped head first into the role. In the process, doing it so well that I could not imagine anyone else playing it better! My only problem is stopping myself and Juliana from laughing at his hilarious delivery of lines! Unlike Robynne Kelly, who’s only problem with Ray is keeping her clothes on in-front of him. Thats right folks, the sordid, regretful yet unstoppable cast hook ups have begun. With the first seemingly in the most unlikely of matches. After Ray had impressed us all with a rousing rendition of a song in the play, Robynne was a-roused instead, declaring with much vigor her desire to remove her bra and throw it at him! Some men have all the luck! It must be the eyebrows. 

Whatever the case, I declare a big bra-popping Hurrah to Ray . . . . Hip Hip HooRay, You’ve Saved The Day!!

2: This weekend we said goodbye to our initial Rehearsal space at ACOPA, and like the dirty Carny folk we are, moved on to our new home and final performance space at the iconic La Mama theatre. Its fantastic to finally be in the actual space where Dimboola was first performed back in 1969. The history oozes out of the walls at La Mama (or is that just the rendering pig fat from the restaurant next door?) and we were treated to a plethora of interesting stories and anecdotes about La Mama from Liz, Phil, and of course Rob who incidentally was birthed right on centre stage at La Mama all those years ago as part of a one-night-only performance-art piece. Or so legend says.

(Some of the Dimboola cast in their new home at La Mama - the rest are hiding out of shot, honest it was a FULL cast!)

It certainly is a great space, steeped in history and tradition. But my god, getting all of our cast as well as tables and chairs set up inside was to quote the play “like trying to squeeze a pumpkin through a knothole!” No wonder the building was turned into a theatre in the 60’s. Only someone packed to the eyeballs with grass and mushrooms could have come up with that Idea. Rob keeps reminding the cast that it is such an intimate space that if someone onstage farts, the audience will smell it. I think he needs to be corrected there, because after a weekend rehearsing in La Mama, I’m more worried that if someone farts in there during a show, the fart could exhaust the entire room’s oxygen supply and kill us all! Lets hope no-one lets one rip, though I’m not putting any money on Father Pat, and apparently M.T. is notorious, and come to think of it Dan McBurnie is a known serial offender. Perhaps if you are coming to see the show it may be an idea to bring some kind of mask, or position yourself close to the door, just in case. I personally can’t wait to see the entire audience covered in Phil-spittle and knocked for six by Dan’s silent but deadly’s.  

In spite of its size La Mama has been home to provocative, entertaining and boundary pushing theatre for 39 years, and it is incredibly exciting to be a part of a production that is taking this iconic theatre back to its beginnings with the re-staging of Dimboola. 

No pressure. 

3: Last but not least, the moment that all of Melbourne's dogs have been waiting for....there will be no more singalongs! Thats right, the fascinating, blood-curdling aural experiment of the Dimboola cast singalong is now no more! I can only think that this is because of one of the following, either:

Rob is unable to bear another second of our wailing,

Due to residents complaining, we are legally barred from singing in Carlton,

or,

we have simply perfected the art of vocal harmonization and can learn no more.

I personally like to think it is the latter, but secretly I’m sure it is the first. In any case there will be no more dulcet tones from the Dimboola cast until called upon by Rob. Sad for some, joyous for others, momentous nonetheless! In one last hurrah, we were able to individually sing the selection of songs to the rest of the cast. Looking around I could see water welling up in many an eye (or was that bile? Sometimes its hard to tell!) as we each belted out our uniquely unique renditions of Danny Boy, Red River Valley and South Of The Border. At least Ray got a chance to experience what the Dimboola singalong was all about and belt out some on his own for good measure. My only regret is that with the loss of the singalong, also comes the loss of any hope of Robynne getting naked to the Barry White effect of Ray’s sexy singing!

Oh well, there’s always opening night! Stay tuned......

Until next time my little bloggeroo’s, stay tuned for the next installment of:

“DIMBOOLA: The Matrimonial Makings Of A Monster.”

=Lachlan - don’t drop ya guts you cheeky mutts - MacLeod=

Directors Assistant/Assistants Director.

Fly On The Wall Theatre.