Georgia King and Mark Storen are contemporary artists who always dreamed of capturing the authentic human experience and connecting with audiences on a personal level.
When they started their performance company Whiskey and Boots five years ago, the pair focussed on their passion - documentary style theatre making, interviewing people and telling real stories from communities they performed in.
In their latest project, Mama Stitch, showing at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Georgia and Mark alongside musicians Holly and Tom Garvey, will transport audiences into mum's house and retell stories about Mandurah locals and their relationships with their mothers.
Mum's the word
"I observed quite a few shows and stories about the experience of being a mum - but not a lot about having a mum, and the impact that your own mum has on who you become as a person," Georgia said.
"When we first did the show three years ago in Fremantle we found stories about mums are filled with trauma, hilarity, love, sadness and irritation - and they're very relatable. Every time we were blown away with how much people in the room could resonate with those stories."
Mark said the style of theatre the show would incorporate headphone verbatim, a style in which actors would perform live the recorded interviews of stories they had captured.
"After we capture those real stories - we use our various skills to make a show with and in the community," he said.
Alongside the show, Mark and Georgia are on a five week artist's residency in Mandurah, which they said was to gain a full understanding of the city.
"Georgia and I have done a lot of touring - we would go somewhere for a day and a night, do the show and leave - we wouldn't have a chance to engage," Mark said.
Georgia said approaching venues and theatres about a residency was a daunting yet thrilling experience, which ultimately enriched the final product.
"Most touring theatre shows don't operate as a residency - we approach the venue and basically say 'we can come and do a show but we have to be there for five weeks... it's a very different way of working," Georgia laughed.
"Not many venues are used to artists being there for that amount of time, but everyone ends up getting so much more out of it."
Feels like home
When audiences arrive at the theatre, they will smell the homely scent of freshly baked bread and be greeted by a room full of letters from people to their mothers.
"We want it to feel like an intimate venue where we are sharing space with the audience. We bake bread for every show in the space and serve it with homemade jam and tea.
"At the end of each performance we invite the audience to write an anonymous letter to their own mum - we have about 500 of those displayed around the space."
Accompanying the performance, Holly and Tom Garvey have created a musical score to each story which is personalised to the city they are in.
"They can really observe and listen to the kind of rhythm of the town and let the feeling of the place inform how the music is made," Mark said.
"They write a song about the community."
Growing up regularly visiting Mandurah, with his parents and grandparents both at some point residing in the Peel, Mark said it was nice to reconnect with a place he loved.
"We knew a little bit about Mandurah because I came down here as a young fella - but I hadn't been down here in a while and hadn't dived deep into Mandurah for a long time."
"It also gives us an opportunity to look at a place with fresh eyes," Georgia said.
"Even if you've got an understanding of a place - when we come down here to make the work it gives us an opportunity to re-look at a place with the idea of that freshness."
Step into the experience
Mama Stitch will perform at MANPAC from May 7-15, and both Mark and Georgia said they hoped audiences walked away feeling a "plethora of emotions", and feeling represented and connected.
"Our goal is to try and have a broad cross-section of the community. We can never fully represent a whole community but we usually have a community liaison who helps us connect authentically."
"I kind of hope the audience feel the strength of the emotion that comes with the stories and also appreciate the courage it takes for those people to share those stories - even if they're anonymous," Georgia said.
"It's a massive undertaking to bare your soul like that to a stranger. It can also make people feel gratitude to their own mums and the mums in their lives.
"It's great to get some perspective on life - everyone has hardships, fun times and bad times - and it's all relative."
Tickets for Mama Stitch can be purchased via the MANPAC website.
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
