The magic of the stage

The magic of the stage

At just 26-years of age, CBD resident Jayde Krichet exhibits the confidence and the wisdom of a seasoned stage director.

In the middle of rehearsals for her latest direction, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Jayde is at ease encouraging, nudging and guiding the actors to get the required results.

Trained at the Victorian College of the Arts, completing a Bachelor of Music Theatre in 2011, Jayde took up directing more recently while she continues to act when an opportunity comes up.

Directing is as much about spotting the right projects as anything else and, if The Importance of Being Earnest is anything to go by, then Jayde has a sharp eye.

“It is important for a young director to be working with good writing. It means I can hone my skills and if something is going wrong, at least you know it’s not the text,” she said when asked why she chose Wilde’s “serious comedy for trivial people”.

“I enjoy the process of writing/directing as it allows me to explore ideas in a way that is much deeper.

It is about creation and exploration,” she said. The rehearsal process brings out the best in her, she claimed.

“This is the toughest part, but it’s the most fun as it is where it all happens – where words come alive.”

Jayde elaborated on her penchant for using non-traditional spaces as a set.

Her first play as a director was set in a chapel, the next was in a bookstore and the latest in Como House.

“I like to find places that serve a text and that does not have to be necessarily in a theatre,” she said. While her practice is grounded in performance, she also likes to include music in her work.

“Even if the play has no music, I like to get a composer to work on a musical score, to create a underscore that links the scene, just to add an extra layer to the world the actors are in,” she said.

Theatre has been successfully fighting off al of its many apparent usurpers – television, movies, Internet, etc. Jayde commented: “Theatre is analog – it’s live. If something goes wrong, you deal with it, and soldier on. People enjoy that unpredictability. There is no pause or rewind here.”

“You don’t get the same experience online like you do in the flesh. Seeing someone living and breathing – putting their heart on the line – it doesn’t get more interesting than that,” she added.

She loves living in the CBD.

“It seems like everybody is in the city now. I never go to the shopping centres on the weekend. It’s mayhem in there with shoppers from everywhere,” she said.

Since Labor has been in power …

Since Labor has been in power …

March 20th, 2024 - Evan Mulholland
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