Tinny Pants Productions and 24 Carrot Productions proudly present
SECRETS
An original work created by Sancia Robinson and Nick Steain
.
One hour, five actors, thirty incredible secrets told through a series of powerful, moving and sometimes hilarious verbatim monologues.
Secrets sheds light on our internal worlds with a goal to release us all from the shame caused by holding back the truth about who we really are.
Join us as we expose our collective humanity by sharing and confiding these secret stories, revealing the burdens we hide and the unspoken similarities we share.
Directed by Ben Grant and featuring actors Zach Blampied, Yiana Pandelis, Susanna Qian, Sancia Robinson and Nick Steain.
Because we all have secrets… it might be that you think Charlie Sheen is a good actor or that you still smoke when you told everyone you’d quit, or that you hate sex. These hidden truths destroy marriages, create huge belly laughs and forge bonds.
If, like us, you are hungry to experience humanity in all its forms, join us for the limited season of ‘Secrets’. Bookings recommended.
These stories are real words, spoken verbatim and reflect the perspective of the individuals who shared them with us.
This play includes references to rape, sexual assault, abuse, child abuse/paedophilia, self-harm, suicide, incest, death, pregnancy & childbirth, miscarriage & abortion and mental illness.….But, we promise we won’t talk politics.
In Alcoholics Anonymous they say ‘your secrets keep you sick’. ‘Secrets’ is about putting our collective inner pains/truths/ desires/passions/penchants on stage so we can truly experience how alike we all are as humans. Or as one of our members so eloquently put it “Secrets. Better out than in”.
Venue: The Butterfly Club Upstairs Theatre - 5 Carson Place (off Little Collins Street), Melbourne
Date: Monday 11th July - Saturday 16th July 2022
Time: 8.30pm
Tickets: Full $35.00, Concession $31.00, Group (6+) $28.00
Bookings and more information: https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/secrets
Sancia Robinson (Creator/Actor)
Sancia has worked on some of Australia’s most successful television shows both as a casting producer, and also as a performer.
She is a NIDA trained actor and has performed lead roles for STC, MTC, Malthouse, Belvoir and has appeared in numerous guest roles on television most recently ‘Fires’ for ABC TV and the upcoming feature ‘Foe’ directed by Garth Davis. She has toured her own work internationally, most notably with her one-women show with STC “What is the Matter with Mary Jane?” ‘Five stars out of five- kill to get a ticket’ The Scotsman.
Her Talent Producing credits include ‘Spicks and Specks’, ‘First Contact II”, “Luke Warm Sex’, “The Panel’, Martin/Molloy’, ‘Filthy Rich and Homeless’, ‘Thank God You’re Here’ and more.
She is also a published author for Random House and Currency Press and teaches acting.
Nick Steain (Creator/Actor)
Nick Steain is an actor, comedian and writer from Melbourne, Australia. He has trained at the Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art and 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne. His most recent credits include Arthur Newnham in an original production This is Your City, produced by The HotHouse Theatre and the role of Man in Those Who Fall in Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon the Ocean Floor also produced by The HotHouse Theatre. Nick has been a finalist multiple times in the AACTA LMAO sketch comedy competitions and is the author of Nick's Nuggets. A fortnightly email which details the wisdom gained through various moments in Nick's life.
Yiana Pandelis (Actor)
Yiana Pandelis is an Australian actor, writer, artist and creative producer. They have been doing acting classes for 12 years, graduating from a Full-Time acting course at Acting Performance Studio, and trained at Stella Adler in Los Angeles, as well as 16th Street, TAFTA and several other schools. Yiana also attended film school at Swinburne University, and after a year of studies they had a realisation after reading a quote by Quentin Tarantino. Where he said, "I didn't go to film school, I went to films." Yiana then decided to leave Uni, and in 2019 made a debut as a leading actress in a film called Unsound, streaming on Netflix. Yiana was nominated Best Oceania Actress in Amsterdam for the Septimus awards Film Festival for their role in Unsound. Yiana has recently starred as a lead in Short Films called City of Salt, Laughter Club and Songbirds, winning several awards in film festivals across the globe.
Zach Blampied (Actor)
Zach Blampied is an actor from Melbourne studying at the Victorian College of the Arts. Zach has been in such TV shows as New Gold Mountain, SBS, and involved in Theatre projects with companies like MTC, ILBIJERRI & Red Stitch.
Susanna Qian (Actor)
Susanna Qian is delighted to be appearing in this production of Secrets by Sancia Robinson & Nick Steain. She studied Speech & Drama at Trinity College London and graduated with Distinction for her ATCL Diploma. Her previous screen credits include SBS Monsters of Many Worlds, Citizen Jia Li and Red Water Red. Susanna will be making her debut at the Malthouse this year for K-Box by Ra Chapman.
Ben Grant (Director/Dramaturg)
Ben is an award winning performer, sound designer, composer, dramaturge and director who has shown sustained interest in new Australian stories over his 4 decade career. He most recently performed in No More Sugar No More Tea (Darebin Arts Speakeasy); Happy End (Victorian Opera); My Dearworthy Darling (Malthouse); Hir (Red Stitch) and THIS. (Rising Festival). Other stage credits include his collaboration with Robert Lepage on Jeux De Cartes: Coeur (Ex Machina); The Season by Nathan Maynard; Coranderrk: We Will Show The Country (Ilbijerri/Belvoir); Circle Mirror Transformation (Melbourne Theatre Company) and The Eradication of Schizophrenia in Western Lapland (Ridiculusmus). Ben has also created several solo shows, the most recent being his ElectrOpera The Rug (La Mama), and has performed in world premieres by Nick Enright, Jane Bodie, Hannie Rayson and Angus Cerini receiving the Green Room Award for Best Performance in Independent Theatre for the role of Alfie in Save for Crying.
Fiona Crombie (Producer)
A Scottish actor and producer based in Melbourne, Fiona is a graduate of the full time course at 16th Street Actors Studio. Fiona’s credits include Home Truths (Marie, Mystical Dog Productions), The Regina Monologues (Mary Queen of Scots, 24 Carrot Productions) and Gruesome Playground Injuries (Producer, Deepcut Productions).
Fiona is also on the board of Rollercoaster Theatre, an NFP theatre company with a neurodiverse ensemble.
Darren Thao (Tech)
Coming from a family of musicians, the stage is a familiar place for Darren Thao. Over time his interest in performing evolved into acting, which has opened doors to a whole new life he has begun exploring. From script writing to set building, and now lighting and sound, he wishes to learn all that is to learn in the creation of storytelling.
24 Carrot Productions (Co-producing)
24 Carrot Productions formed in 2017 to host performances and events that focus on inclusivity, diversity and challenging the status quo. This has included adaptations, sequels and retellings of historical
stories and events (for example: a musical based on Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility' with an emphasis on colonialism, an exploration of the women in the story of Joan of Arc, Shakespeare characters in therapy), original plays and a day long festival of Jane Austen (Austen Con) that has been running annually since 2018.