Sam About Town caught up with Phi Theodoros, for a chat about the show, ‘Finding Me’, which she co-created and performs with James Dean.
SAT: I understand that creating this show has been months in the making and has been filled with both exciting moments and challenges. Could you share with us a highlight and a challenge and explain a little more about the collaborative process?
Phi: The concept began percolating in my mind about 12 months ago, I began exploring character ideas and collecting stories for a few months before the Rogue & Rascal team (the venue we toured to in Port Lincoln) gave us the push to register for the Fringe in late September. The writing process with James was an intense 8-10 weeks with regular meetings and work shopping sessions before rehearsals 2-3 times a week.
Working with James has been incredible, he is an amazing musician and artist who is truly focused on creating engaging entertainment and such catchy music that people have been contacting me days later to let me know they’re still humming our songs. One of our early writing days we were working on the “Rosie” song which features during Bryans story, the music James had created and lyrics we work-shopped that day were so infectious I was singing them constantly (and still catch myself and my housemates singing them too!)
My focus has always been about sharing real (or at least realistic) and challenging stories so the process of marrying this with James’ drive to engage and entertain… and fitting it into a neat 60 minutes has been filled with lots of debating, work-shopping, character development, interviews and long afternoon chats with people who have contributed to the stories, what seemed like endless hours of writing.
SAT: What kept you going through the challenges? And how did you keep motivated for the many months involved?
Phi: To be honest, the biggest challenges in my life have been external to the show and “Finding Me” has given me so much motivation to keep moving forward! There is something really special about this show and James and I are very proud of what we have created. I can’t count how many times I’ve had de ja vu during the process which for me is always a sign that I’m on the right track with a project. The feedback has been incredible and the energy the audiences have given us at our three shows so far has been electric! I do my best to chat to as many people as possible afterwards, in Port Lincoln the audiences were so incredibly welcoming and thankful that we’d brought this little slice of fringe to their corner of the earth… also that we brought stories from the LGBTIQ community and shared them in a safe space to start conversations that otherwise are avoided in regional areas. Regardless of the challenges along the way, this show has helped me develop so much and the audiences responses have completely inspired us keep this support group going for future seasons.
SAT: I love the idea of the setting of a support group. Could you tell us more about that idea and how it helps bring together diverse stories?
Phi: During one of our planning meetings when James and I were discussing our very different characters and how they’d find themselves (pun intended) in the same space, he pitched the idea of a support group and the show took on a whole new direction. We wanted to share diverse and challenging stories in a format that people would feel comfortable to engage, listen and hopefully learn something. The Finding Me Support Group was the perfect place to do this… plus we get to have biscuits which I feel really helps when you want to have a good yarn!
SAT: Your original music is a highlight. Can you give us an insight into the creative process and for us non-musos, how you even start such a daunting project!
Phi: When I first pitched the show to James (who I’d worked with on Depression The Musical a few years ago) I was imagining a similar format with cover songs to cement the messages of the characters journeys… James was keen to keep it completely original which was honestly a little terrifying for me!
I work in community arts and have lead many a ukulele group through cover songs, but my original music has always been written behind closed doors so opening this up to collaboration was super intimidating, especially coz James is so talented and a complete perfectionist! While we worked on Depression the Musical in 2013 I shared an early version of what has become Anita’s “Misused Love” song and James completely transformed it from this bluesy ukulele song into a dark and brooding cabaret piece… this was the first time I’d opened up my song writing to someone else and his transformation of my music was amazing.
When we began this project the first few rehearsals I was so shy and scared to play around with melodies and lyrics… James would come around with new melodies he’d been playing around with and I would just be blown away!
I’m so proud of the music in this show, I feel like I’ve become a stronger performer by the challenging nature of the music as it pushes my vocal range and plays with different time signatures, styles and techniques that I haven’t had the chance to explore before.
SAT: ‘Finding Me’ is an evocative title. Did you find yourself during this process?
Phi: When I began the Fringe registration process I still hadn’t found a title that I felt really connected with what I wanted to share. I played with so many ideas until “Finding Me” just fell out of my brain… it was a key moment where I recognised what this show could become. It has been a long time since I’ve worked so intensively on my own creative work. While I find the work I do within community arts so rewarding and engaging, it was almost like I’d forgotten how to be creative for my own self. Life has been filled with a lot of challenges recently and the week before we opened a dear friend pointed out the relevance of me being on my own journey of acceptance, reclaiming my own identity as an artist and independent woman and above all self love.
SAT: Do you have one take away message for our readers?
Phi: Finding Me is a space where we share stories from the community, I love helping those who feel they don’t always get heard to share their voice. Everyone has a story to tell, a journey to take, an identity to forge and deserves to be not just listened to but truly heard. We welcome you to listen to our stories for two more nights and maybe we can share your story sometime in the not too distant future. At the end of the show the facilitator reminds the audience about the importance of love and sharing our stories because together we’re stronger and it shows.
Finding Me has two more shows at the Raj House – March 14 & 17.
https://www.facebook.com/events/984299311732389/
See Sam About Town for a detailed review of this sensitive, moving and all round fabulous show. 4 stars – get to it if you can!
