Well, it’s official – Melbourne Fringe is finally here! So, strap yourselves in folks because we have the inside scoop on the best of independent theatre on show at this year’s festival for you right here on Theatre Alive!

Thanks to our mates and Melbourne Fringe and our fabulous member companies, we have some goodies to share and to help you navigate your way through the festival.

Take your pick from the five ticket packages we’ve created and let Theatre Alive do all the thinking for you, so head to the website and enter the competitions to for your chance to win!

But that’s enough from us right now – on with the show!!

PREVIEW – THE THEATRE POST

Over the next month or so, we’re collaborating with Broadsheet Melbourne  to produce The Theatre Post  – highlighting all the news in independent theatre this spring. We’re a bit proud of this project, which includes behind-the-scenes insights from those onstage and off.

We’re also going to speak to some roving reporters who regularly review theatre to get the word on what it all entails. We’ll chat to some of the bigwigs in independent theatre about the new kids on the block and who they think are doing great things, and where to get a drink or dinner before or after the show.

Why not head on over now to read more?

WIN – YOUR TICKET TO MELBOURNE’S INDEPENDENT THEATRE SCENE

We here at Theatre Alive like to think of ourselves as your ticket to Melbourne’s independent theatre scene.

Now, thanks to our member companies and venues and the lovely folks at Melbourne Fringe, we proudly present our Tickets To The Fringe!

Take your pick from one of five ticket packages that we have going and discover Fringe with us!

After you’ve seen the show, why not visit us and tell us what you thought? With our schmiko mobile friendly website, there’s no better way to find out what’s on and who’s who on the run in Melbourne.

TICKET #1 – THE NORTH SIDE

Explore the Fringe in the northern suburbs!

The American Astronaut
Tuesday September 27, 2011 @7pm
The Workers Club
51 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

In a world of mud-spattered chaps and star-dusted space-helmets, interplanetary travel has become a dirty way of life.

Dominated by derelicts, grease monkeys, and hard-boiled space-traders, such as Samuel Curtis, humans are traded and dirty work is paid for in cats.

Join us in a space-cowboy, sci-fi musical, as we follow Curtis on his quest to provide the all-female planet of Venus with a suitable male stud, all the while dodging the grip of his enigmatic would-be killer, Professor Hess.

Sweet Child of Mine
Thursday September 29, 2011 @ 7.30pm
Studio 246, 246A Sydney Rd, Brunswick
(Entry via Merri Street)

Bron has made a theatre show with her parents.
Watch as they discuss contemporary art, avant-garde performance and why her Mum reckons playing a Beaver in year 9 was the highlight of her career.

Sweet Child of Mine will resonate with anyone who has ever had trouble communicating with their family about who they are - or what they do for a living. Come and hear some Dad jokes - direct from the source.

Thanks to New Holland Theatre Company and The Last Tuesday Society, Theatre Alive has one double pass to give away to both of these shows.

To win, simply visit us and follow the prompts!

Competition closes 12pm, Monday 26 September, 2011. Winners only will be notified by email on Monday 26 September, 2011.

TICKET #2- BEST OF THE WEST

Explore the Fringe in the western suburbs with this mini ticket giveaway package!

The Unexpected Variety Show
Tuesday September 27, 2011 @ 7.30pm
Revolt Melbourne - Theatrette, 12 Elizabeth Street, Kensington

A unique fusion of stand-up, cabaret, character and improvised comedy with a deeply personal narrative, this charming show invites you to join Jen Wynter in a journey into the unexpected.

Red Hot Flush
Friday 29 September, 2011 @ 7.30pm
Women’s Circus Drill Hall
395 Barkly Street, Footscray

Wildly foolish antics of women who look good for their age but should know better! A physical performance with all the fun of the fair and all the trouble of getting there!

Thanks to our friends at Revolt and the fabulous Jen Wynter  and the Women’s Circus, Theatre Alive have 2 double passes to give away to both of these shows.

To win, simply visit us and follow the prompts!

Competition closes 12pm, Monday 26 September, 2011. Winners only will be notified by email on Monday 26 September, 2011.

TICKET #3 – MINDREADING AND MORATORIA ALL OVER MELBOURNE

Looking for something slightly different this Fringe? This may be the giveaway package for you!

Spark
Saturday October 1, 2011@ 6pm
1000 Pound Bend, 361 Little Londsdale Street, Melbourne

Spark: the show that gets you talking taboo. I’m Eloise Maree and each show I will be joined by experts and audience to discuss Melbourne’s most controversial topics.

You’re invited to this conversation about life, death and what’s in between.
BYO thoughts, fantasies and opinions.

Hosted by Eloise Maree
Dramaturg Katherine Feeney

Mind Reader
Tuesday October 4, 2011 @ 7.30pm
Revolt Melbourne – Studio, 12 Elizabeth Street, Kensington

Mind Reader? Robert Haley is a Mentalist and uses the term mind reader with tongue in cheek. He is not psychic but employs devious techniques from various fields to make it look like he is.

Come laugh, gasp and wonder at this unique and highly entertaining experience.

Thanks to our mates at Spark, and Revolt, Theatre Alive has 2 double passes to both of these shows to give away.

To be in the running to win, simply visit us and follow the prompts!

Competition closes 12pm Monday 3 October, 2011. Winners only will be notified on Monday 3 October, 2011.

TICKET #4 – THE BOYS ARE BACK

This giveaway package is of the blokes, for the blokes and by the blokes. However, the great thing is that if you’re not a bloke, we still reckon you’ll enjoy these shows anyway!

The Long Divide
Tuesday September 27, 2011 @ 9pm
Donkey Wheel – Boardroom, 673 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Sometime in the future, an airforce pilot with wild hair crawls out of the desert to find a massive wall. On the other side, an artist lives and sculpts from junk.

With dynamic physicality and punchy verbal exchanges The Long Divide explores the intensity and frailty of masculine energy.

Markus de Port
Thursday 6 October, 2011@ 7.30pm
The Glasshouse Hotel,51 Gipps Street, Collingwood

Markus de Port: A one-man show. Six stories, six lives, six characters. Each part of Markus's life and each person in it is threaded to another. So hold onto this wayward thread that travels through a few degrees of separation and you may just find out who Markus de Port is.

Thanks to the good people at Company White Wolf and Melbourne Fringe, Theatre Alive has 4 double passes to give away to these shows.

To win, simply visit us and follow the prompts!

Competition closes 12pm Monday 26 September, 2011. Winners only will be notified by email on Monday 26 September, 2011.

TICKET #5 – ADVENTURES IN PERFORMANCE

One of the great things about independent theatre is the cool and unusual venues that you get to see work in. If a car park and a Laundromat sound like a great place to make theatre to you – this giveaway is right up your alley!

Polarity
Thursday October 6, 2011 @ 8pm
Car Park Roof, Federation Square

Exquisite, encrypted, compressed, crumbling. Polarity explores the dynamic movement and extreme nature of Antarctic ice.

Tina Evans received an Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship and sailed to Antarctica in 2010. From this spectacular experience she has created Polarity.

Collaborating sound artist Philip Samartzis' soundscape is made entirely of real recordings of Antarctic ice.

The Full Load
Sunday 25 September, 2011 @ 7.15pm
The Full Load Laundromat, 28b Upton Street Altona

Krispin loves his work, he rescues designer clothes, styles his customers' washing and matches people like socks, but best of all, he loves to put on his customers' clothes and imagine their lives.

The Full Load is a close look at what can happen when real dreams die and fantasy becomes reality. What do our clothes reveal about us? And why, oh why do we trust strangers with our dirty underwear?

Thanks to our friends Tina Evans and the folks at The Full Load, we have 2 double passes to give away to both shows.

To win, simply visit us and follow the prompts!

Competition Closes 12pm Friday 23 September, 2011. Winners only will be notified by email on Friday 23 September, 2011.