6th Annual Lorne Festival of Performing Arts (FOPA)

Friday 2 – Sunday 4 September

Tickets on sale Monday 4 July

FOPA, Lorne Festival Of Performing Arts, announces its lineup for 2016; a three day celebration of performing arts across all genres igniting the Surf Coast town of Lorne with a carnivalesque fanfare. The 2016 FOPA program is being let out of the proverbial bag today and it’s awash with some of most exciting artists across the country.

With more than 4,000 expected to visit Lorne’s spectacular coastline – this boutique festival by the sea will host some of the best cabaret, comedy, theatre, circus and music events, as well as a whole horde of free outdoor performances for kids and families in a revamped Festival Hub.

“For our first Lorne Festival, we are thrilled to present a festival that celebrates frivolity, laughter and musical splendour, showcasing artists at the top of their game. The talent on offer this year is bound to attract people from near and far and we can’t wait to see Lorne hopping with festival fever,” said Artistic Director Edwina Lunn.

This year there’s an extra reason for Lorne to dress-up, pop open the champers and give cheers as the team at FOPA have managed to source an original Spiegeltent to provide an intimate, specialised experience for the discerning punters. With an interior comprising of teak booths, mirrors, stained glass – even velvet – it will indeed be posh!

The Festival kicks off with the FOPA Gala, an evening extravaganza overflowing with snippets and tastes of the festival program. This is a chance to experience a smorgasbord of artistic excellence that encapsulates a fresh new FOPA fiesta.

From comic twerker Tessa Waters to laconic storyteller Phil Spencer as emcees, not to mention Elana Stone of All Our Exes Live in Texas and the junkyard theatrics of The Suitcase Royale, expect music, acrobatics and operatic solos. Tickets to opening night always sell like hotcakes, so the Gala will be repeated on Saturday night to give everyone a chance to experience the fun. And speaking of fun, why should adults be the only ones to have some?

Drum roll please – we hereby present the first ever Lorne FOPA Kids Gala, a family-friendly show bursting at the seams with circus tricks, theatrical wonder and giggles galore. Jacked up on adrenaline, the FOPA Kids Gala will send some of our younger audience members over the brink of insanity. Think acrobatic hijinx and earth shattering jokes and then times it by 1000 to the power of 16.

A FOPA first, the Drawing Room Series takes audiences into the living room spaces of some of the Surf Coast’s most exquisite and historically significant homes. With a limited capacity and an exclusive, up close and personal performance at each address, the Drawing Room Series puts Baroque, indie-folk and operatic arias into some of the most spectacular domestic settings for your MEDIA RELEASE Monday 4 July absolute pleasure.

This very special music series will include a living room drama of operatic proportions: Chamber Made Opera’s Turbulence, a once in a lifetime concert at the newly restored Waverley House by Baroque masters Latitude 37, as well as the opportunity to be wooed and delighted by the most glorious alt-country pair, Miles & Simone in the spectacular contemporary surrounds of the Glasshouse.

This year’s Festival jewel is the Twilight Chorus. Guided by the professional voices of Australian indie-folk darlings, All Our Exes Live in Texas, community choirs around the region will join forces to showcase the power of the voice through wind, rain or shine. Set on the Lorne foreshore, with oceanic musical accompaniment, all voices will combine in a cappella harmony for one incredible community choral event.

Spanning all age ranges and genders, the Twilight Chorus dusts the shipwrecked ghosts from Lorne’s shores, uniting the community in song, one of the most binding elements on earth. This year’s program includes the quickest wits in funny biz, such as the much-loved comedy legend Denise Scott; one night only with one of Australia’s best comedy brains, the cyborg smart and instinctively hilarious Tom Gleeson; and the pixie love child of Cher and Mr Bean, Tessa Walters, with her multi-award winning physical comedy, WOMANz.

And don’t forget those purveyors of junkyard theatre and rollicking musical mischief, The Suitcase Royale, who will pepper the FOPA program with late night shenanigans and pop-up appearances. Direct from indie-folk heaven All Our Exes Live in Texas will make you swoon with sweet harmony, then catch you unawares with their whip-cracking banter and on-stage hilarity.

Renowned for her blistering harmonies, Rowena Wise’s pop infused melodies and quirky conversational lyrics are delivered with a voice that can caress you in one breath. The seductive sounds of Mojo Juju will headline a free Closing Festival Party, as she sings songs that sound just like that night you can’t quite remember, in that bar you swear you weren’t at, with that girl you promise you’ve never met. After proving to be a huge hit at last year’s Festival, our local stars return to FOPA – this time to perform in the School Bands Showcase in the stunning surrounds of the Spiegeltent.

Showcasing the wealth of talent overflowing from our coastal communities, expect nothing less than virtuosic guitars, simmering vocals and songs penned by the next generation of musical legends. “As an artistic team we pride ourselves on our affinity with small communities,” says Edwina Lunn. “Our goal is to present a festival that unearths new talent and shines a light on artists from Victoria and across the country. Our featured artists – Miles O’Neil, a local gent we have dubbed the Torquay Troubadour, of Miles & Simone and The Suitcase Royale fame, and Elana Stone – one quarter of All Our Exes Live in Texas and one half of Hooting & Howling – epitomise our festival fare.

This is a small festival with a big heart, committed to presenting artists who traverse the performing arts sphere.”

Where: Lorne, Victoria – various venues

Dates: Friday 2 – Sunday 4 September 2016

Tickets: Tickets: $15-38 per show for adults, $80-95

FOPA Gala,$15 FOPA Kids Gala, $200 FOPA Festival Pass (excludes FOPA Gala and Drawing Room Series) multiple free events.

Bookings: www.fopa.com.au

Gala is synonymous with laughter, cabaret surprises and theatrical decadence. And this year is no exception. Presenting an evening overflowing with snippets of the festival program, the Gala is more than just a “best of”, but rather a chance to experience a smorgasbord of artistic excellence that encapsulates a fresh new FOPA fiesta.

With stellar emcees, musical tit bits and comedy gold, not to mention a trio of acrobatic darlings, the FOPA Gala is a must…that is, unless you’re ready to experience extreme bouts of FOPA FOMO. This WILL sell out. Friday 2, 7pm & Saturday 2 September, 8pm (2.5 hours including interval) Spiegeltent Posh (seating in a Spiegeltent booth with table service) $95 General Admission $80 THE TWILIGHT CHORUS Combining Lorne’s history of violent seas and infamous shipwrecks with the evocative stillness of vocal harmony, the Twilight Chorus is this year’s community jewel.

Guided by the professional voices of Australia’s well-loved indie-folk darlings, All Our Exes Live in Texas, community choirs around the region join forces to showcase the power of the voice through wind, rain or shine (come hail, we move indoors!). Set on the Lorne foreshore, with oceanic musical accompaniment, all voices will combine in a cappella harmony.

Spanning all age ranges and genders, the Twilight Chorus dusts the shipwrecked ghosts from Lorne’s shores, uniting the community in song, one of the most binding elements on earth.

Friday 2, Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 September, 5pm (20 minutes) Lorne Foreshore FREE CHAMBER MADE Turbulence (Drawing Room Series) A live living room drama of operatic proportions, Chamber Made Opera’s Turbulence features a mother and daughter high in the sky in an airline passenger cabin living out their very own musical melodrama.

This stunning work fuses opera with film and weaves a magical atmosphere of arias and visual splendour. It’s unique, intimate and richly textured and we can guarantee you will never experience something quite like this again. Take a risk, fly high and rest assured you will be excited by the artistic excellence this company bestows.

Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 September, 3pm Drawing Room #2 – Springlea, 56 Smith Street, Lorne Tickets $30 MILES AND SIMONE (Drawing Room Series) Hip alt-country folk duo Miles and Simone weave lonesome seaside lullabies and heartbreaker ballads with aplomb. Our own Torquay troubadour Miles O’Neill partners his songwriting prowess and brooding baritone with Simone Page Jones’ earth-shattering operatic vocals. It’s no wonder this duo is a festival favourite from coast to coast.

A former Rackette from the first incarnation of Clairy Brown and the Bangin’ Rackettes – Simone is a cabaret and theatrical powerhouse, while Miles is a founding member of award-winning junkyard theatre trio The Suitcase Royale. The pair have just released their second album and we’re proud to present their first ever Surf Coast gig… a homecoming of sorts.

Sunday 4 September 3pm (60 minutes) Drawing Room # 3 Glasshouse, 76 Polwarth Rd Tickets $30 LATITUDE 37 (Drawing Room Series) Comprising three of the top graduates of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, reunited after years of international experience playing with the finest ensembles and artists, Latitude 37 represent a new generation of period instrumentalists.

Sharing a unified interest in cultivating and communicating their ancient art for the modern era, the trio will perform a very special concert at the newly restored Waverley House. “The Antipodean trio shaking up the Baroque” Limelight

Sunday 4 September, 3pm (60 minutes) Drawing Room # 1 Waverley House, 3 Deans Marsh Rd (Cnr Waverley Ave) Tickets $30 TOM GLEESON GREAT How great is Tom Gleeson? Pretty great. Tom has one of Australia’s best comedy brains, cyborg smart and instinctively hilarious. Renowned for honing his craft at every turn, Gleeson has played every major comedy festival around the world, warmed the stage for Louis CK, was nominated for two Helpmann awards, stars alongside Charlie Pickering in ABC TV’s hit series The Weekly, and has comedians sneaking backstage at his sold-out shows just to catch a glimpse of a killer stand- up nailing the funnies.

Friday 2 September, 8pm (60 minutes) Lorne Theatre, 78 Mountjoy Pde Tickets $38 JAZZ PARTY Think speak easy, underground dive bar delights, then add some of Melbourne’s top jazz musicians and a warm and welcoming community, and you’re still only halfway to understanding the awesome that is Jazz Party. Made for the bar room not the ballroom, Jazz Party is a loose collective of jazzbos known for their sporadic take-over residences in unassuming rooms across Melbourne. Playing a slippery mix of jump blues, boogie, and rhythm n blues á la New Orleans, this band of boho legends will bring Lorne to its knees. Shouting, drinking and slow dancing with strangers all encouraged.

Friday 2 September, 9.30pm (90 minutes) Spiegeltent Tickets $15 (Entry free for Friday night FOPA Gala ticketholders) KIDS GALA If the grown-ups get a chance to enjoy a smorgasbord of cabaret, comedy and music delights, why wouldn’t we let the little ones have a taste or two? We’ve taken pride in curating a festival that includes something for everyone, but we know how important it is to keep our next generation entranced and engaged.

So without further ado, we hereby present the first ever Lorne FOPA Kids Gala, an event overflowing with circus tricks, theatrical splendour and giggles galore! Think acrobats, rock n roll, hijinx, comedy and more.

Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 September, 10am (Sat) and 12.30pm (Sun) 50 minutes Spiegeltent Tickets $15 / Family of 4 $40 MEDIA RELEASE Monday 4 July HOOTING & HOWLING Mixing stand-up comedy, storytelling and live music, Hooting & Howling is an autobiographical account of soul searching and ghost hunting.

Join playwright and raconteur Phil Spencer (Story Club, ABC Radiotonic) and squeeze box troubadour Elana Stone (All Our Exes Live In Texas) – boasting a swag of newly penned songs – for a comedic journey through life, death and the afterlife. Captivating yet simple, Hooting & Howling is a true tale of one man’s induction into the realm of the supernatural, armed only with torches, cynicism and a packet of ginger snap biscuits.

Saturday 3 September, 2pm (60 minutes) Spiegeltent Tickets $24 ROWENA WISE From a musical family of folktastic proportions, Rowena Wise comes to FOPA cascading with sweet vocals and alchemic songwriting. Rowena is a natural storyteller, honing her craft in the travelling Wise Family Band and growing up in the wilds of Margaret River, WA.

Renowned for blistering harmonies and deft instrumentation, Rowena is one of the rising stars of the burgeoning Aussie folk scene. At home on the ukulele or guitar it is her Feist-like voice that is at first most arresting. It is with great pleasure that we bring this pop- infused angel of folk to Lorne to warm the cockles of all varieties.

Saturday 3 September, 4pm Spiegeltent Saturday 3 September, 4pm (60 minutes) $24 ALL OUR EXES LIVE IN TEXAS A fantasy draft of Sydney’s finest singer-songwriters – Elana Stone, Katie Wighton, Hannah Crofts and Georgia Mooney – All Our Exes Live in Texas is a powerhouse of harmonies from indie-folk heaven.

With their debut album, When We Fall, just moments from release, this foursome of charm, songwriting prowess and some of the sharpest banter around, is truly the most badass girl folk group going around. They’ve toured nationally with the likes of Passenger and the Backstreet Boys, but now they’re bringing the love to Lorne. “See them before they only perform for royalty and astronauts” – The Brag

Saturday 3 September, 6.30pm (60 minutes) Spiegeltent Tickets $30 DENISE SCOTT Denise Scott is a comedy legend. She’s disarmingly funny, witty and coy and has been dubbed one of the country’s funniest, given her knack for big-hearted, shameless entertaining.

After 30 years on the comedy circuit, her debut novel All That Happened at Number 26 was responsible for kicking her into supernova territory and her list of accolades now includes a Barry Award, a Helpmann award multiple television appearances from Winners & Losers to House Husbands and regular guesties on the likes of Spicks and Specks and The Project. “Scott can help us see the funny side of any adversity” Sunday Herald Sun

Saturday 3 September, 7.30pm (60 minutes) Lorne Theatre, 78 Mountjoy Pde Tickets $38 THE SUITCASE ROYALE BAND Purveyors of junkyard theatre and rollicking musical mischief, The Suitcase Royale is a trio of gents who traverse the sphere of performing arts with true agility. By their own reckoning they are an atom bomb of pure theatrical and comedy power. And they are a band too! With our very own Torquay Troubadour, Miles O’Neil, leading the merry men back to his Surf Coast stomping

Monday 4 July ground, The Suitcase Royale will pepper the FOPA program with late night shenanigans and pop-up appearances. Just try and stop your foot-stomping self once these rockabilly outlaws get cranking in the mighty Spiegeltent.

Saturday 3 September, 10.30pm (90 minutes) Spiegeltent $15 SCHOOL BANDS SHOWCASE Lorne school students are a talented bunch and this School Bands Showcase will show you just how talented! Showcasing the wealth of talent overflowing from our coastal communities, expect nothing less than virtuosic guitars, simmering vocals and songs penned by the next generation of musical wonders.

It’s a great time to be an Australian musician and the Surf Coast youth prove our future is in capable hands. We’re not inviting you to come out and support the local talent just for the sake of it. We’re offering you the chance to say you saw the next Aussie legend when she or he was just a rock n roll teen.

Sunday 4 September, 10am (2 hours) Spiegeltent FREE WOMANz TESSA WATERS Spandex, sequins and killer dance moves collide in Tessa Waters’ multi award- winning physical comedy, WOMANz. The manic pixie love child of Cher and Mr Bean, WOMANz is a sexually liberated goddess of feistiness and good times, and she is here to party. Winner of Best Comedy Weekly at Adelaide Fringe (2015) and Most Outstanding Comedy at Melbourne Fringe (2014), WOMANz showcases Tessa’s innate comedic abilities – not to mention her dancefloor prowess – proving that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being an actual clown.

Sunday 4 September, 4.30pm (60 minutes) Spiegeltent Tickets $24 MOJO JUJU (Festival Closing Party) Mojo Juju is 5’3” of wise-cracking, jump-jiving attitude wrapped up in a zoot suit and propped up on a Cuban heel.

A dynamic entertainer and songwriter, Mojo is constantly challenging boundaries of genre and style with her vintage rock n roll and penchant for creating the kind of music that could make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window. She sings songs that sound just like that night you can’t quite remember, in that bar you swear you weren’t at, with that girl you promise you’ve never met. Think howling jazz and growling juke-joint blues, the ultimate way to close out a weekend of FOPA fanfare. Sunday 4 September, 7pm Spiegeltent FREE