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Rita Kalnejais

RITA KALNEJAIS

  

Nationality:    Australian
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Shanahan Management Pty Ltd  UK: Casarotto Ramsay and Associates Ltd

Rita Kalnejais studied acting at Victorian College of Arts, graduating in 2001. She has since worked extensively as an actor with Belvoir, (Lieutenant of Inishmore, dir. Neil Armfield; Midsummer Night's Dream, dir. Benedict Andrews; Disco Pigs, dir. Geordie Brookman; the Kiss, dir. SuzAnne Dowling), Sydney Theatre, Mr Kolpert, dir. Benedict Andrews; Life is a Dream dir. Benedict Andrews; Morph, dir. Ben Winspear), Malthouse. Furious Mattress, dir. Tim Maddock; the Trial, dir. Matt Lutton; the Oddyssey, dir. Michael Kantor) and Griffin (Presence dir. Ros Horrin). As a writer, her first play, BC, produced by Hayloft Theatre and Full Tilt, directed by Simon Stone had a sell-out season at Melbourne Arts Centre's Black Box Theatre in 2009 and was nominated for Best New Australian Play at the Australian Greenroom Awards. Her short plays, Whistling in Bed and How To Get Very Clean were performed at Sydney Theatre Company as part of 2010 Rough Draft and 2011 Next Stage seasons respectively. In 2012 her play Babyteeth had a successful season at Belvoir Theatre. Its next production will be with Theatre Company of South Australia in 2013, directed by Chris Drummond. In 2012 Rita co-wrote B Street, a serial play staged in Belvoir Theatre Foyer, with Tommy Murphy and Charlie Garber. She was resident playwright at Sydney Theatre Company in 2011/12 as part of a Playwriting Australia/Sydney Theatre initiative, where she began developing StarStory, a play for children and their parents and friends. Rita's screenplay Cottontop won her a scholarship at Sydney Film School in 2008. She wrote, directed and co-produced Great Acts of Kindness: acts 2 and 4, a short film starring Joel edgerton and Alice McConnell that same year. Her essay, Humans Being, exploring grace on stage, for which she interviewed over sixty actors about their personal experiences of transcendence was published in the book celebrating Belvoir Theatre's 25th Anniversary, edited by Bob Cousens. Her short stories, LoveStory and How To Breathe Through Someone else's Mouth, written originally for Imperial Panda's erotic fan fiction and horror festivals, have been performed extensively at comedy and literary festivals and the latter is published in Ampersand Magazine. Rita is currently developing Dogs, a musical with Belvoir Theatre and researching Fidelity, a play about JeAnne d'Arc which is being developed with Minds eye, Bell Shakespeare.

Research:    https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/9623

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below is a list of Rita Kalnejais's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

        B.C.         Babyteeth         First Love Is the Revolution         How To Get Very Clean         This Beautiful Future         Whistling In Bed


B.C.

B.C.
Mary a hairdresser is romantically interested in Joseph a shop assistant. Her mother anne is being treated for cancer. Her brother Gabriel is mentally disabled and spends most of his time painting birds

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
BlackBox , Melbourne, VIC     30 Nov 2009

Organisations:
Hayloft Project/Full Tilt

1st Published:
http://Australianplays.org/   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
magic realism

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/82933

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Babyteeth

Babyteeth
a group of more or less ordinary Sydneysiders go about their lives: anna makes toast, Henry dresses for work, Milla catches the train to school, Moses deals drugs. But hovering above this unholy parade of life is the sobering fact that Milla will die before her 15th birthday. Baby Teeth looks at the humdrum world around us and sees something radically alive. Dogs, Paganini, figs, an eight-year-old Vietnamese violin prodigy, morphine, clear skies and a Latvian immigrant are amongst the magnificent conflagration of ingredients which make up this wonderful, funny play, written specially for Belvoir.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Belvoir

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/100229

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First Love Is the Revolution

Synopsis:
Basti and Rdeca are pulling all-nighters. When their paths cross, the sparks fly and an impossible bond spirals dangerously out of control. A viciously funny and unforgettable play about first love, teenage lust and nature vs nurture.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Oberon Books   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedic drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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How To Get Very Clean

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Next Stage - Money Shots    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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This Beautiful Future

This Beautiful Future
Elodie is 17. She's French. She washes her legs before going to church. She believes in God. Otto is 15. He's a German soldier. Bulletproof skin. Eyes that could pierce tanks. He was part of a firing squad today. It's 1944. Outside, the world around them is exploding. Inside, the room shakes. Elodie and Otto's naked bodies touch.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Whistling In Bed

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Sydney Theatre Company's Rough Draft    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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