This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2021 - view latest version here. Host: Welcome to The Luminary Series by Darlinghurst Theatre Company, a podcast exploring creativity and resilience in life and theatre. Before we begin, we would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded. This land always was and always will be Aboriginal land. And now, let's get into the episode. Wendy Mocke: Hello, thank you for joining us on another episode of The Luminary Podcast. My name is Wendy Mocke. I am a Papua New Guinean woman. My tribes are the Naur-Gorr and Karisokra tribes of Madang and Chimbu Province. I'm Zooming in from Meanjin on the unceded lands of the Turrbal and Jagera people. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land. I'm super excited and not going to lie, low key going to vomit on myself because I will be talking to the one and only Elaine Crombie. Wendy Mocke: Elaine is an actor, singer, songwriter and writer with a career that spans over 20 years with extensive theater and on-screen work. So basically, what I have with me is an absolute weapon of a woman who might I add is currently on stage with Sydney Theatre Company starring in The 7 stages of grieving. Elaine Crombie, welcome. How are you? Elaine Crombie: Yay! Thank you, Wendy. Hi. Wendy Mocke: How you doing? I know it's a two-show day for you today, and we're catching you on your break. How are you feeling? Are you getting any sleep? Elaine Crombie: Yeah, I'm getting good sleeps. I'm staying at a friend's place when I come up to Sydney, and I'm also staying down at my sister's in Wollongong. And so, I'm also eating at the moment if you hear a rustle of papers, or you think, "What is she eating?" I'm currently eating McDonald's. Wendy Mocke: Oh, my gosh, and I am living for it. Might I ask, Elaine, what did you order at McDonald's? I am very interested. Elaine Crombie: So I ordered a large BTS meal. And the BTS meal is basically 10 nuggets with spicy sauces, and I've just gone in to find out what the sauces are. So the sauces are Cajun and Sweet Chili. Wendy Mocke: Oh my gosh. Elaine Crombie: And look how cute they are, like they're little cute- Darlo podcast no8 (Completed 07/09/21) Page 1 of 20 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2021 - view latest version here. Wendy Mocke: Oh my gosh, it's so cute. Look at McDonald's really trying to... Elaine Crombie: Yeah, diversify their menu. And then I always get a backup of a double cheeseburger or double cheeseburgers. It's my little go-to stomach liner before I... Because I'm not sure of a feed, let me tell you. And so, yeah, it's always my little adage because I think, "Oh, I might still be hungry, so if I get an extra little burger then I'm okay." Wendy Mocke: Oh, this looks even... So your double cheeseburger is like my little Filet-O-Fish burger. Elaine Crombie: Oh, okay. Wendy Mocke: I'm a Filet-O-Fish kind of gal. My friends always pay me out. They're like, "That is the weakest McDonald's option you could go for." And I'm like, "You reckon? You think?" Elaine Crombie: Well, do you ask for tomato and lettuce on top of it as well? Wendy Mocke: No, I don't. Why? Is that a thing? Do people do that? Elaine Crombie: Yeah, we used to do that like years and years and years ago when I was living in Brisbane. Wendy Mocke: Oh, shoot. Elaine Crombie: We would go through and my friend Barbara Borer, when we'd go through she'd always ask for a Filet- O-Fish and add tomato and lettuce on it. So it was just like a little fresh burger. You should try it. Wendy Mocke: Oh my gosh. I had no idea that you could do that. This is actually blowing my mind. Okay. Elaine Crombie: And then have you ever swapped out the meat patties for chicken patties on a Big Mac- Wendy Mocke: What? Darlo podcast no8 (Completed 07/09/21) Page 2 of 20 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2021 - view latest version here. Elaine Crombie: So you can get a Chicken Big Mac? Wendy Mocke: Oh, wait. Are you serious? Elaine Crombie: Yeah, they're the best thing in the world. Wendy Mocke: Oh, my God. Okay, sorry. I'm literally losing... I did not realise that you had like that was a choice, that you could swap out things and basically build a new burger. Wow! Elaine Crombie: Yeah. Wendy Mocke: Oh, my God, this is changing my life. Elaine Crombie: But you should definitely try that. Wendy Mocke: I will. Thank you. This is now- Elaine Crombie: You should definitely add the tomato and the lettuce for sure. Wendy Mocke: I'm going to add... Yeah, you're right. Give it like a little bit of freshness and then that way I could feel like I'm eating things that are actually good for me and not feel... Elaine Crombie: Yeah, that's right. Wendy Mocke: So 2021 has been a bit of a stop, start year for a lot of us in the industry. So is this the first sort of time that you've been on stage since sort of the pandemic or? Elaine Crombie: Well, I knew I was coming over to do this one-woman show, and so at Fringe Festival earlier this year, I presented my one-woman show called Janet's Vagrant Love. And that was I had probably eight shows of that. I won the Melbourne Tour-Ready Award for Melbourne Fringe. Darlo podcast no8 (Completed 07/09/21) Page 3 of 20 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2021 - view latest version here. Wendy Mocke: Oh, congratulations. That's incredible. Elaine Crombie: Thank you. Wendy Mocke: Yeah. Elaine Crombie: Yeah. So I have been on set. And March Madness in Adelaide is amazing. Everybody should come down and just chuck any little show together and just come down for March. Do you know, like that's right? Wendy Mocke: So that one-woman show, is that a show that you wrote and you created yourself and then... Wow. Wow. Elaine Crombie: Yeah. Wendy Mocke: Okay. Elaine Crombie: So I wrote that while I was doing Barbara and the Camp Dogs with Ursula and Troy Brady. And after the tour had finished with Urs and Troy and the mob, then I went over to... I come back to Adelaide and presented it for the first time in 2019 with Adelaide Cabaret Festival with Julia Zemiro. Wendy Mocke: Oh, [crosstalk 00:06:51]. Yeah. Was that your sort of first time to perform a one-woman show that you wrote and created yourself? Elaine Crombie: Yeah. Wendy Mocke: Wow. Elaine Crombie: It was my first time being a true independent artist, even earlier this year hassling for using all of my friendships and stuff like that going, "Hey, can someone come and direct me? Hey, can I get in this theatre? Hey, Michel, can I borrow... Can I come and look through the props closet at SISTC, yeah?" Yeah, so it was good. It was the first time, but I've been very blessed in the fact that I've not had to be a Darlo podcast no8 (Completed 07/09/21) Page 4 of 20 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2021 - view latest version here. true independent artist up until now. I've been really blessed to be working in productions, working in theatre companies, and yeah. Wendy Mocke: [crosstalk 00:07:59]. I guess then kind of venturing into sort of being an independent artist, how was that process for you? How did you find that? Elaine Crombie: It was good. It was a bit confronting at times, and a bit really easy because you've got no one to kind of crack the whip on you. And so, and but also I learned huge lessons, like the first night I opened I probably called for line 10 times, it was crazy. Wendy Mocke: Wow. Yeah. Elaine Crombie: And I've never done that my whole... I've been very, I've kind of prided myself just quietly like, "Oh, no, my lines." And if not, I'll be able to fake my way out of it. But yeah, no. I mean, it was the same with the opening night for The 7 Stages of Grieving. I had called for line like three times, and I just couldn't believe it. I was like- Wendy Mocke: Wow. Elaine Crombie: "Girl, bitch, what are you doing, man? Are you serious?" But that just kind of made me then I just also thought, "Oh, look, that's life. Who cares? You know what I mean?" Wendy Mocke: Absolutely. Elaine Crombie: I'm blessed to do what I do. I enjoy, I love what I do, so and not a lot of people can say that. And so, it's not like work for me.