Hopelessly Devoted by Elise Greig with contributions from Nick Backstrom A Playlab Indie Publication Contents Publication and Copyright Information 3 Introduction & Acknowledgements — Elise Greig 4 First Production Details 5 Production Photos 6 Hopelessly Devoted 8 Biography — Elise Greig 80 Song Credits 81 Teachers’ Notes 83 Publication and Copyright Information Performance Rights Any performance or public reading of any text in this volume is forbidden unless a licence has been received from the author or the author’s agent. The purchase of this book in no way gives the purchaser the right to perform the play in public, whether by means of a staged production or as a reading. Inquiries concerning performance rights, publication, translation or recording rights should be addressed to: Playlab, PO Box 3701, South Brisbane B.C, Qld 4101. Email: [email protected] Copyright This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of study, research or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. For education purposes the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of this book, whichever is greater to be copied, but only if the institution or educator is covered by a Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) licence. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above. Copy Licences To print copies of this work, purchase a Copy Licence from the reseller from whom you originally bought this work or directly from Playlab at the address above. These Licences grant the right to print up to thirty copies. Hopelessly Devoted © Elise Greig First Published July 2015 by Playlab General editor: Alexander Bayliss Typesetting: Isabella Anderson Copy editor: Siobhan Bayliss Cover design: Sean Dowling and Ian Lawson National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data: Catalogue in publication Elise Greig — 1969 – Hopelessly Devoted ISBN: 978 1 925338 11 9 3 Elise Greig Hopelessly Devoted by Elise Greig Introduction Where is the line between devotion and addiction? This is the central question I wanted to explore in Hopelessly Devoted, along with issues of identity, reality versus fantasy, the cult of celebrity and the role of music and the arts in our lives. The first stage of the script and music development was supported by RADF and culminated in a public reading during May 2011. The feedback from the reading was overwhelmingly positive. Further creative development was undertaken during 2011 and in 2012 the first development season, directed by Lewis Jones and featuring Dan Crestani and Elise Greig, was presented at Zamia Theatre, Tamborine Mountain. This was followed by a season at Arts Centre Gold Coast during 2012. Under the watchful eye of Ian Lawson the play was developed further during 2013 and in 2014, Hopelessly Devoted was presented at Glen Street Theatre, Sydney, directed by Ian Lawson and featuring Dash Kruck and Elise Greig. Elise Greig. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Tony Byrne who did so much more than just the music (although that, in itself, was a huge undertaking). He was affectionately nicknamed, Energiser Bunny, because you could just wind him up and watch him process an endless to-do list. I would also like to thank Ian Lawson and Playlab, Nick Backstrom, Lewis Jones, David Spicer, Dan Crestani for being such a fundamental part of the early stages, Laine Loxlea-Danann for her impressive backing vocals, Guy Webster, John Clarke for his snappy choreography, the unflappable Candice Diana, RADF for funding the first stage of the development, APRA for fielding so many emails regarding the music, Arts Law Centre, my mum and sisters for their babysitting and encouragement and of course our children — Archie, Charlie and Finley for entertaining us during the rehearsal process. I would also like to thank my dad, a beautiful man who would have loved this play. A Playlab Publication 4 First Production Details The debut production of Hopelessly Devoted occurred at Zamia Theatre Tamborine Mountain, 2012. This was followed by a season at Arts Centre, Gold Coast in 2012 and a season at Glen Street, Sydney 2014. AMY Elise Greig ANDY Dan Crestani DIRECTOR Lewis Jones MUSICAL ARRANGEMENT & SOUND DESIGN Tony Byrne SOUND OPERATION Jimmy Keane CHOREOGRAPHY John Clarke SET DESIGN Ian Lawson LIGHTING DESIGN Andrew Meadows GRAPHICS Saul Edmunds 5 Elise Greig Hopelessly Devoted by Elise Greig Production Photos From left: Dash Kruck & Elise Greig. Glen Street Theatre. 2014. Photographer: David O’Sullivan Dash Kruck. Glen Street Theatre. 2014. Photographer: David O’Sullivan A Playlab Publication 6 From left: Dash Kruck & Elise Greig. Glen Street Theatre. 2014. Photographer: David O’Sullivan Elise Greig. Glen Street Theatre. 2014. Photographer: David O’Sullivan 7 Elise Greig Hopelessly Devoted by Elise Greig Hoplessly Devoted ACT 1 SCENE 1 — DAY 1. MONDAY 5:30PM. AMY IN CONCERT. We meet AMY. She’s standing on the coffee table, dressed as Olivia Newton-John, performing a song as if in concert. She sings Make A Move On Me by John Farrar and Tom Snow. ANDY, AMY’s brother comes home from work. He is quite familiar with AMY’s habit of performing concerts in the lounge room. ANDY Hi Amy. AMY Olivia. ANDY exits to his bedroom to get changed for his second job, at the restaurant. She continues singing. AMY finishes the song and receives the imaginary applause from the imaginary audience. ANDY comes back in. AMY jumps down from the coffee table, removes her wig and begins changing from this outfit into another one. ANDY How’s mum? AMY Asleep. ANDY Did she get out of bed today? AMY For a little bit. A Playlab Publication 8 ANDY How little? AMY We had lunch outside. ANDY She can’t spend her whole life in bed, Amy. AMY She doesn’t. I can’t believe that song only reached Number 5 on the Hottest 100. It really should have gone to number one. Just like Physical. It should have been [gestures with quotation mark fingers in the air] a “landslide”. What I thought we could do tonight is go back to the beginning of Olivia’s story. ANDY Can’t. I’ve just finished at the library and now I have to take orders from every bogan in Broad Flats who wants a Chow Mein. AMY Come on. We’ll be quick. ANDY I’ve got to get to the restaurant. AMY It’ll be fun! AMY assumes the role of MARY HEARTFELT, an American entertainment Reporter. MARY Hi, I’m Mary Heartfelt and this is … Eric Soul-Full. ANDY No. MARY Tonight on Entertainment Matters, we go back to the beginning of the inspiring life of that awesome Aussie performer — Ms. Olivia Neutron-Bomb. ANDY No. AMY Come on Andy, you used to love this. She’s our Livvie. ANDY No she’s not. She was born in England so technically she’s England’s Livvie. 9 Elise Greig Hopelessly Devoted by Elise Greig AMY Nonsense! She’ll always be our Livvie. She’s had such great success here. ANDY Not yet. She’s got to make it in England first. Then America. AMY Exactly! And making it in England’s harder than you’d think. The Brits don’t like their female singers to be too good. It reeks of emancipation and the Queen doesn’t like that. ANDY That’s what you need Amy. Emancipation. From this. AMY No … Olivia keeps me sane. ANDY This isn’t sanity, Amy. Dressing up as other people and singing songs in the lounge room made sense when we were twelve, but now it’s just … AMY Come on. You joined in at Christmas and you enjoyed it. ANDY Yes, but lately you’ve been at it every day. We’re adults, we should be doing adult things — families, travel, careers. We should at least be … moving out of home. AMY Should is a very dangerous word Andy. ANDY Don’t start that psychobabble. AMY goes back into the game. MARY C’mon Eric, our Olivia is about to arrive in England/ ERIC In all her pseudo Air Hostess glory! MARY Don’t be nasty, Eric. ANDY That’s what they said wasn’t it? The good with the bad Amy. MARY They were proved to be wrong anyway Eric. Tonight on Entertainment Matters, the gorgeous girl with the voice of an angel is going gangbusters. She’s just won a record deal with Decca. A Playlab Publication 10 ERIC That sounds like it was recorded in a lavatory. AMY Don’t sabotage. ANDY I’ve got to go to work! AMY And Olivia’s got to go to England. ANDY Well go! AMY I can’t. I haven’t won Sing, Sing, Sing yet. ANDY You haven’t won the Broad Flats Bowls Club chook raffle. Olivia Newton-John hasn’t won Sing, Sing, Sing yet. AMY Same thing. ANDY You are so tragic. AMY And what are you? ANDY Your enabler. AMY No, you’re not. You’re … AMY presents ANDY with a 1960s dinner jacket. ANDY Johnny O’Keefe. The leopard trim is to die for! AMY It took me ages. Come on Johnny O! Introduce me. ANDY puts the jacket on. ANDY Ok. You’ve got 5 minutes. ANDY becomes JOHNNY O’KEEFE, host of the 1960s Australian TV show Sing, Sing, Sing. AMY Remember it’s 1964. Johnny’s just recovered from his nervous breakdown (poor thing), but now he’s back, bigger and better than ever. ANDY Yeah, yeah, yeah. 11 Elise Greig Hopelessly Devoted by Elise Greig ANDY slicks his hair and assumes his opening position for JOHNNY O’KEEFE.