Biography
post are Zoë Coombs Marr, Mish Grigor and Natalie Rose, a collaborative performance ensemble based in Sydney, Australia.
Our work:
— Generally takes place in a theatre context, but not always.
— Has been incorrectly defined as "kooky", "wacky" and "oddball".
— Is often concerned with the political, and attempts to engage with issues of control, gender, identity and politics in a way that is funny, engaging, and accessible (but not always).
As young artists coming out of institutions such as The New South Wales College of Fine Arts, Next Wave and Urban Theatre Projects, we have a dynamic connection to the Contemporary Performance culture in which we find ourselves and want to show our work. However, we are also born of another world, coming from the ranks of Western Sydney and rural Australia, saturated by more popular forms of culture. As members of a generation that is largely regarded as apathetic, we find ourselves on a borderline, engaging in an avant-garde yet still very much involved in a mass media existence. As such, we have a strong commitment to make work that exists as a valid contribution to the contemporary art community, and is also accessible and relevant to our peers and members of the wider community.
post are concerned with the moment of theatre, live connection and the truly absurd, drag, imposters, impressions, bad acting, boy genii, The Biggest Loser, birth, death, auditions, shamans, epitaphs, avatars, and those nightmares where you have to give a speech, but haven't got any pants on.
selected works
2011
Who's The Best?
Sydney Theatre Company (Sydney); Arts House (Melbourne); Brisbane Powerhouse (Brisbane); Brown's Mart Theatre, Darwin Festival (Darwin); Mandurah Arts Centre (Mandurah)
2010
Everything I Know About The Global Financial Crisis In One Hour
Belvoir Street Theatre, double bill A Distressing Scenario with Version 1.0 (Sydney)
Come On Ladies
Surreal Estate, Panoply Lab Performancy Forum (New York)
Shamelessly Glitzy Work
Civic Theatre, On Edge Festival (Cairns)
Who's The Best?(Development showing)
Sydney Theatre Company, Rough Draft Residency (Sydney)
2009
Shamelessly Glitzy Work
Performance Space (Sydney); Arts House (Melbourne); Brisbane Powerhouse (Brisbane)
Come On Ladies, The Shirt Swap
On a party boat in Sydney Harbour, group show HARD PARTY curated by Lara Thoms (Sydney)
2008
Swimming Home In Heels
The Exford Hotel, Next Wave Festival (Melbourne)
Gifted And Talented
Metro Arts, Brisbane Festival 'Under the Radar' (Brisbane)
Untitled Endurance Performance
Firstdraft Gallery, group show Performing for the Camera curated by Di Smith and Kelly Doley (Sydney)
2007
Gifted And Talented
Dante's, Melbourne Fringe Festival (Melbourne)
Unicorn Dreaming (Do I Look Like A Slut?)
On the back of a slab truck/float, National Young Writer's Festival (Newcastle)
A Performance About Lies (Development showing)
Carriageworks, Underbelly Festival (Sydney)
Gifted And Talented
PACT Theatre (Sydney)
2006
Under 12s Competitor #286
Performance Space, Accidents and Alchemies (Sydney)
Idle Hands Wake Up With Fleas
Container Village, Next Wave Festival (Melbourne)
2005
Idle Hands Wake Up With Fleas
Performance Space (Sydney); PACT Theatre (Sydney)
selected grants & prizes
2012
— Residencies: Bundanon Trust (Nowra) and Performance Space (Sydney)
2011
— Residency: Sydney Theatre Company (Sydney)
— Nominated for a SMAC (Sydney Music Art and Culture) Award: 'Best On Stage'
— Australia Council for the Arts, Theatre Board, New Work Grant
— Selected for Mobile States touring cluster, with Performing Lines
2010
— Nominated for Phillip Parson's Young Playwrights Award.
— Residencies: Invisible Circus (New York); Sydney Theatre Company (Sydney); Rex Cramphorn Studio (Sydney)
— Australia Council for the Arts, Theatre Board, New Work (Creative Development) Grant
— Australia Council for the Arts, Opportunities for Young and Emerging Artists Key Organisation Commission (with Version 1.0)
— Australia Council for the Arts initiative, MAPS (Managing and Producing Services) with Performing Lines
2009
— Nominated for a Green Room Award: 'Best Experimental Production' (Melbourne)
— Residencies: Bundanon Trust (Nowra); Rex Cramphorn Studio (Sydney) and Arts House CultureLAB (Melbourne)
— Australia Council for the Arts, Theatre Board, Young Artist's Initiative Grant
2008
— Residencies: Performance Space (Sydney); Bundanon Trust (Nowra) and Penrith Regional Gallery (Sydney) Funded by Arts New South Wales
— Australia Council for the Arts, Theatre Board, New Work Grant
— Australia Council for the Arts, Inter-Arts Board, New Work Initiative (group show – Hard Party)
2007
— Winners 'Best Performance Award' Melbourne Fringe
— Winners 'Adelaide Fringe Touring Award' Melbourne Fringe
— Kickstart program, Next Wave Festival
— Australia Council for the Arts, Literature Board, 'Write in Your Face' Initiative (group show Crack)
— Australia Council for the Arts, Theatre Board, Young Artist's Initiative Grant
Individual biographies
Zoë Coombs Marr
Zoë grew up in Grafton where she and her best friend staged a musical instead of going to schoolies week. In 2011, her solo theatre/comedy work And That Was The Summer That Changed My Life was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and was awarded the Philip Parsons Young Playwright Award; a commission to write a new work for Belvoir Theatre. She has performed solo at TINA, Next Wave, Cab Sav, The Imperial Panda Festival, The Comedy Store, the Friend in Hand, The Last Tuesday Society, The Hi Fi Bar, Darwin Festival and Hot Tub With Kurt and Kristen (New York).
In 2008 Zoë completed a double degree in Performance Studies at UNSW and Fine Arts at COFA, where she was awarded the Dinosaur Designs Prize and the Art and Australia Award. Her video works and sculptures have been exhibited at a number of galleries, including First Draft, Kudos and King's ARI. She has trained at PACT theatre (impact ensemble 2003, 2upact ensemble 2005) and Urban Theatre Projects (UTP ensemble 2005).
She is a founding member of the artist's collective CAB SAV, and a co-director of Sydney's Imperial Panda Festival. In 2006 Zoe won the National Poetry Slam Championships under dubious circumstances.
Mish Grigor
In 2010 Mish performed in The Short Message Service at the Next Wave Festival, developed through residencies at Hothouse and The Edge, Brisbane. She was commissioned by the Inter-Arts Board and Lismore Regional Gallery to create an endurance performance Where The Party Is in collaboration with artist Lauren Brincat at the Splendour in the Grass Festival. We Will Build Our Own Mountain was commissioned by Perth Institute for Contemporary Arts as part of the p4 Program.
Mish is co-director of The Imperial Panda Festival, a festival of new works of theatre by young artists presented in non-traditional venues across the inner city. In 2008 The Imperial Panda Festival was nominated for The Sydney Music, Arts and Culture Awards' SMAC Of The Year Award. Mish is also co-director of Quarterbred, an ARI focused on finding funding, residency and performance contexts for emerging artists working in hybrid art forms, and is co-curator of Tiny Stadiums Festival. Mish has been on the Next Wave Curatorial Board, and has sat as a peer on the Australia Council's Inter Arts Board. Mish has Honours in Performance Studies, from UNSW, a Bachelor in Performance Making (Theory and Practice) from UWS, and was on the Dean's List for academic distinction.
Natalie Rose
In 2011 Nat gave birth to a full human being. She is currently engaged in feeding and caring for that person, as well as making work with post. Previous to that, Nat facilitated workshops for children and was employed by School Performance Tours as a Tour Manager and Director. She is also a trained tap dancer and bingo caller.
During 2002 Natalie undertook in an exchange program through UWS and spent a semester studying in the U.K. Here she facilitated and devised an educational youth piece with teenagers in the Liverpool community, funded by the British government.
In 2002 Natalie completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre, Theory and Practice at UWS, Nepean. She has two dogs.