Ivan Donato

Rarriwuy Hick: If your character Ham was a rock star what would be his name?
Ivan Donato: ShaHam

What’s your heritage?
I was born in Santiago, Chile and my family and I moved to Australia in 1987 seeking refuge from the military coup.

Why is setting the play in Alice Springs crucial to the story? And to Australian people’s consciousness?
Setting the play in the outskirts of Alice Springs immediately invokes a sense of loneliness and harshness due to the landscape. I’m not sure we would have achieved as intense a degree of isolation had we set it in Sydney or Melbourne. Having said that, and not trying to give too much away about the production, I think all great theatre engages an audience with its ideas and arguments as opposed to its setting.

Did you do any research about the play or your character before rehearsals commenced and what were they?
Obviously read the play first and then broke down all the lines that Ham speaks in the play to get a sense of character journey. One of the most challenging things about the play was learning the lines. The learning process was essentially memorising a series of non sequitur.

What’s your favourite line from the play?
It’s not a specific line in the play but I’m very fond of the section where Ash and Ham are getting to know each other for the first time.

Rarriwuy Hick

You work extensively in both film/television and stage, what do you think are the main differences between performing for the stage and performing on film/tv?
The difference would be how big your performance needs to be on stage to how subtle it is for screen.
What’s great about working on Broken with Shannon Murphy is that we’re exploring the idea of making a theatre show slightly cinematic.

What is your heritage?
My Father is from Plymouth, England. My Mother is Yolngu from North-East Arnhem Land.

The play Broken deals with people either following their heart or their brain. Which one would you say you follow and listen to the most?
I definitely follow my heart. I live by that rule.

What do you think is the most challenging thing about being an actor?
Being away from all of my family.

As a young female, what advice would you give other young females considering a career in the arts?
Just be yourself and don’t be afraid to be opinionated. Being intelligent and passionate is admirable.

Ivan Donato and Rarriwuy Hick are appearing in Broken by Mary Anne Butler.
Dates: 29 July – 28 August, 2016
Venue: Eternity Playhouse