Grand Gesture with Katie Rowe and Michelle McCowage

In this episode Katie and Michelle chat with Bronte Charlotte about the making of the show Grand Gesture. We delve into the concept, how it all began, different moments in the rehearsal room that built the show, working with Kat Cornwell & Morgan Rose of The People Theatre Company, getting back into performing after the long silence that was Melbourne’s COVID lockdown, and how romantic comedies influence us and the way that we perceive relationships and love. You can catch Michelle and Katie with the rest of their gorgeous cast in Grand Gesture when it opens on Tuesday the 9th Jan at La Mama in Carlton. It runs until the 21st as a double bill for La Mamas Love Fest and will be opening the gorgeous theatre after Melbournes lockdown. It has almost been a year since we had shows at LaMama so please come along and support local theatre, local artists, new work and good art!

During this episode we discuss:

• [02:59] Where the idea for Grand Gesture came from, the stories that we are fed by romantic comedies and how they influence our life.
• [06:10] Working as an ensemble, the conversations the ensemble had about their experiences with love, romantic comedies being a type of  flawed “guide for life,” building the structure by using a tool called the “playground” and long form improvisations
• [12:02] Moving through difficult choices, constant open communication, learning that nothing is personal and each choice is being made for the betterment of the overall piece.
• [15:37] Working with two female identifying directors, the male gaze, how romantic comedies are generally made from a male’s perspective, lessons from Sex and the City, and the ways that we are taught to think about romance
• [20:52] The moments that informed the style of the show, Director-a-day rotating roles throughout rehearsals, finding your voice as a theatre maker.
• [24:58] Who Grand Gesture is for, why is it we immediately think romantic comedies are only for women, how heart warming it is to have non-theatre-goers come to the theatre and seem truly engaged and affected.
• [28:45] Getting back in your body after 9 months in lockdown, how COVID has affected artists as they were legally forced to not do their trade
• [31:52] Answering an essential question for the show, the question that Grand Gesture investigates, how art can make you reflect on your perceptions of the world.
• [36:14] Movies and TV shows that resist the usual representation of love, relationships, sexuality, gender
• [39:51] Grand Gesture as a great way to experience theatre for maybe the first time, re-shifting how we make romantic comedies and how we represent love as a society.

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Follow our host Bronte Charlotte on Instagram @bronteandsunshine

Follow this week's guest Katie Rowe on Instagram @katierowey

Follow this week's guest Michelle McCowage on Instagram @michenaccomplished