Perth theatre company Sleeping Otis to debut exciting new production Dance After Death at Fringe World

Brand new and ready to take the Fringe World festival by storm, Western Australia’s newest theatre company Sleeping Otis promises a night of innovative and experimental storytelling with their debut show Dance After Death. Ahead of their exciting season from Tuesday, January 23 to Sunday, January 28 at Hayman Theatre, BEC WELDON spoke to Director Sean Mudariki and Co-Director and Actor Art Walsh about the flagship show.

Congratulations on bringing your show, Dance After Death, to Fringe World in 2024! Is this the first time the company has presented a show for the Fringe World festival?

SEAN: Dance After Death is the first show we’ve ever presented at Fringe World. It’s not only the first show created by the team at ‘Sleeping Otis’, but also the first Fringe show that was directed, acted, and worked on by all of my team. Not only is this the first production of ‘Sleeping Otis’ at Fringe, but it’s also a brand new experience for the cast, crew, and myself as the Director to be producing a Fringe show!

This show’s significance can’t be understated for everyone onboard, as it is an introduction into the acting world outside of training institutions like NIDA and WAAPA and a production we’re extremely passionate about and proud of as a company. The experience has been incredibly valuable and is one that, I think, every single person on the team will remember and grow from as artists and as human beings.

It sounds like it really means a lot to the team! What was the creative process behind Dance After Death? Was there a lot of collaboration in the approach?

SEAN: Dance After Death is a fully collaborative show between myself and Art Walsh. We wrote the play together, meeting up every week for many months to create and bring the plot to life, along with developing the dialogue and characters. The play was a mixture of both our individual styles and has become its own versatile and unique creation.

Collaboration is something that Art and I value greatly, and we wanted a piece of everyone who worked on Dance After Death to be included in the script. Throughout the process, we opened up the room for our cast and crew to be able to contribute and add more depth to the play in their own individual ways. The way the script and rehearsals were structured also allowed each of the actors to build their characters without restrictions or obstacles.

It sounds like a real labour of love! It’s always great to see a Western Australian theatre company performing at Fringe! How did Sleeping Otis come about?

SEAN: ‘Sleeping Otis’ is a company that was created by Art Walsh and myself. We met during our time at WAYTCO and during this time we connected through our shared passion for young creators to create stories that tackled bigger and more meaningful topics through a youthful lens. We both went on to study at WAAPA, and after our first years there, we felt determined and confident in our skills to begin creating the type of theatre we’ve always talked of, which was ultimately Dance After Death!

Now, after months of production, our passion for creating and the process of bringing a show to life have reinforced our enthusiasm and desire to not let this be a one-time thing. Creating ‘Sleeping Otis’ has allowed us to create similar theatre and tell different stories more than once.

As champions for pioneering immersive and experimental theatre in Western Australia, what is most important to you in the creative process of theatre making?

ART: I think what we find to be the most important part of our creative process is first assembling a dynamic team that aren’t just actors but also a group of creatives. Without a team that’s ready to throw out ideas and work together collaboratively, I don’t think we could have created something as impactful or done so as easily as possible.

Another key element we seek out when devising new work is to never have any rigidity in our ideas. What I mean by this is to always be flexible and look to change, develop, and extend an idea so it can blossom to its full potential. Often, this is done by having an idea or a movement to develop and then abstracting its meaning. Sometimes you may feel lost, but after some tinkering, the best solutions are usually found through this creative process!

Dance After Death sounds like it tackles a lot of big, meaningful topics. What inspired the production?

ART: We wanted to create a show that speaks to young adults—something that is relatable and fun, but at the same time tackles some of the heavier side of things. I feel as though high school drama could feel like the most detrimental problem at the time, and what we wanted to explore in Dance After Death was what time and perspective can do to change how we view one another.

The grudges we tend to hold onto so dearly often aren’t as important as they seem when you give them time or space, which I think is at the core of this production. Being around the same age as the characters within Dance After Death, as well as most of the team, it is something we could all really gravitate to, as well as being able to create and understand these characters relatively easily.

What do you hope audiences take away from the performance?

SEAN: We hope that once people watch Dance After Death, they will go home and ask themselves if there is really something called a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ person. We hope that audiences who watch Dance After Death will walk away with an understanding that there’s nothing called a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ person; instead, we are all people who sometimes do bad or good things.

Just because someone does something bad, it doesn’t mean we have to forget all their prior good actions. It’s okay to acknowledge the bad, but choose to remember them through the good. We also wanted to show people that memories are never-ending and that they constantly change as we grow or as we change as people.

What’s next for Sleeping Otis after Fringe World in 2024?

SEAN: When Dance After Death concludes, it will be the first time in a while that we’re not prioritising this current production, so ‘Sleeping Otis’ will begin focusing on the clear direction we’ve been ecstatic to begin tackling!

In 2024, ‘Sleeping Otis’ aims to start making a positive change in the youth artists of WA. We are planning on hosting some workshops for our young artists to understand how easy it is to make your own work and how you do not have to wait for someone else. Along with these plans, we also have new projects in their very early stages that we hope to premiere this following summer!

Dance After Death hits at Hayman Theatre from Tuesday, January 23 to Sunday, January 28, 2024. Get more info and tickets here, and use the promo code “danceeveryday” for $25 tickets.