Sunday Life> The Sun-Herald Magazine

THEY DID IT THEIR WAY

The wait to be discovered can be long and disheartening. Kate Browne talks to three young artists who, with a bit of ingenuity, cash and luck, took success into their own hands.

The Player As graduates of Sydney’s Actors College of Theatre and Television, Diana Fletcher and eight of her fellow students were disillusioned with the local theatrical landscape. The group felt that grassroots productions could offer audiences much more in terms of quality and diversity. “I was also over paying way too much money for a lot of stuff that I felt we could do better,” she says. Fletcher was “on the dole and depressed, as all good actors are”, when she heard about the Federal Government-funded New Enterprise Incentive Scheme. She applied, with the idea of setting up a theatre company to produce original and accessible theatre. The proposal was accepted and she was awarded a small business course. Armed with some business acumen and the idea of putting on sketch comedy in pubs and clubs, Fletcher set to work and Urban Tales was born. Now two years old, the company boasts nine actors who write, direct and perform their own work and has gained a reputation for producing some of the edgiest and most wickedly funny theatre in Sydney. Using pubs and clubs a venues was very much part of the game plan, says Fletcher. This formula, teamed with low ticket prices, has seen the group attract a loyal and diverse audience. After last year’s sell-out season, Urban Tales has set its sights on bigger things. “We have a fundraiser coming up to help finance the making of a comedy pilot for television,” says Fletcher. “Hopefully someone will pick us up.”

Want to be an actor, a writer or a musician? You’ve just picked three of the toughest professions to break into. For every Cate Blanchett, story there are hundreds of unknown artists who slog it out hoping for their big break against slim odds of success.
That waitress who spills your coffee may have a big audition tomorrow, and the guy yawning behind the record shop counter could, by night be laying down tracks for his first CD. And that man in a suit next to you on the bus might have a half-finished manuscript in his briefcase.
So what happens if you want to follow your dream and are sick of waiting to be discovered? How about making your own break instead. Thanks to new technology and some business and marketing savvy, not to mention having the skin of a rhino, three talented individuals have decided to take matters into their own hands and do it themselves.
Sydney actor Diana Fletcher, 30, is under no illusions about her chosen profession. “The nature of the industry is very fickle; you can be the hottest thing one day and nothing the next, and there are just so many people wanting to do it.” Tired of waiting around for auditions and depressed by the lack of good opportunities, Fletcher got fired up and, with eight of her fellow actors, set up fringe theatre company Urban Tales two years ago.
“I’ll be darned if I’m going to waste all the time I spent learning my craft because I love it and it’s worth using. The kids I went to college with are so talented, and it breaks my heart that there’s not enough work out there for actors. So if there’s no work out there, stuff ‘em! I’ll go out and create it myself,” she says.
Wizzy Ringer from Mullinars Casting in Melbourne says the industry is keen to encourage actors to generate their own work for this reason. “Whether it’s creating theatre companies or writing, we encourage it because there are thousands of actors out there and there is never enough work to go around,” says Ringer…

…Getting their product out into the market was a tough lesson Fletcher, Hunt and MacLean all had to learn quickly when it became apparent how vital marketing and publicity would be to their success. Competing against the mass-market juggernauts is not for the faint-hearted, but all three admit they picked up some handy skills in areas not traditionally associated with their professions.
Fletcher says, “I’ve learned everything, from how to write a business plan to sewing sequins on hat to learning how to cold call people and say, ‘You’re really important, will you come and see our show?’ I’ve actually found talking to the press and learning about marketing really exciting.”…
… All Urban Tales actors still have their day jobs and any box-office profits fund new projects, merchandise and their website. But all the artists agree the financial risk is worth it, as the biggest pay-off is total creative freedom.
For the irrepressible and ambitious Fletcher and her fellow actors, the Urban Tales shows have been the perfect showcase for their talents. “These are roles we have chosen and written for ourselves. It’s very good for us as actors, and it’s essential for us to keep moving forward. I want to be a household name one day. That’s the super objective! But in the meantime, hey, we can all still make coffee really well. There’s nothing wrong with carrying plates.”
So next time you’re in that café, take a closer look at the waitress. You never know, she might just be the next big thing.