The Existentialist’s Guide to Survival in Australia

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The Existentialist’s Guide to Survival in Australia presented by Russya Connor

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“FIESTY AND SEXY” “ENCHANTING” “EUROPEAN SENSIBILITY”

Gordon the Optom | Colosoul | Aussie Theatre Review

A Guide to Life on an Ozzi shore! A uniquely German perspective on love, sex, death and everything in between.

In a world where guys call their enemies “mate” and their friends “cunt”, navigating social convention in the most isolated city on the planet required 30-something bohemian, Non-Anglo-Saxon Russya Connor a level of awareness, nuance and finesse for which she was completely unprepared.

Landing in Australia and struggling to decode its unique cultural interface forms the foundation of inspiration for Connor’s latest exciting solo show An Existentialist’s Survival Guide for Australia.

Now a respected local in Fremantle, Perth was unlike anything the Bavarian had ever encountered; not in the sense of being abandoned in the desert or dealing with snakes and sharks – that stuff was easy when compared to dealing with the humans!

Connor has kindly developed a series of simple guidelines for her fellow foreigners. Her first free tips: don’t say too much in a conversation, appear to be busy at all times, and dress exceptionally casually.

Part memoir, part analysis, part irreverent account of antipodean beliefs and foibles, the show includes comical and often embarrassing stories and tales of situations encountered while learning to read Australia’s surprisingly sophisticated system of veiled meanings and hidden clues.

Some of the more philosophical reflections address challenging topics like Dating Aussie men or the simple fact that we all have our own perceptions about the right approach to life. All of which comes together in the simple guidelines for fellow newcomers to blend in more easily down under.

Be prepared to laugh, and learn about the very particular level of awareness, nuance and finesse required to communicate with Australians.

The Existentialist Guide to Survival in Australia presented by Russya Connor

https://www.facebook.com/survivalguidetoaustralia/

Mon 29th. Feb. /Tues 1st./ Wed 2nd March

Time 6:15PM

Venue: Your FAV, SU312, Student Union Building

https://fringe.co.nz/ - event/the-existentialist-s-survival-g/9448d778-ce5c-48f5-87a4-99990cd2d36e

Biography – Russya Connor

Award-winning German/Australian performer Russya Connor has a diverse background as an international performer, dancer and theatremaker.

Her new show blends story-telling, comedy and philosophical reflections. http://www.ita.org.au/2016/02/the-existentialists-survival-guide-for-australia-reviewed-by-gordon-the-optom/ Independent theatre association: “ a professional and highly entertaining actor . Russya was magnificent. A very clever script.”

She recently performed as Abby in the Neil LaBute’s The Mercy Seat for Fringe World’s Summer Nights program at The Blue Room Theatre (2015) and in Ross Mueller’s play Concussion as Katarina (2014).

In 2013 her sell-out season of the ecologically inspired solo work Sea Inside at The Blue Room Theatre set critics raving.

In 2012 she directed the all-female Euthalia Ensemble, who have taken Penthesilea through sell-out seasons at the Black Box Theatre for Fremantle Festival and also for Fringe World 2013.

Russya performed vertically in Public Space and took home Best WA Performance Award for her efforts. She played with fire for Les Commandos Percu, BPM, at the Perth International Arts Festival opening show, and told suspended stories in How close do you want me? for the 2012 Spirit of Fringe awarded program Proximity, the first micro-art-festival in Australia.

Russya received her PhD in contemporary performance last year at WAAPA, which has taken her from the depths of the ocean to the heights of the mountains, as well as into close proximity with her audiences in her explorations of the poetics of gravity.

In her visual work she captures the multiple, multi-temporal, and evocative qualities of place, and our conceptual relationship to the natural world and the perception of a world endlessly and continually coming-into-being around her.

Russya also works in films, and loves performing more casually for Barefaced Stories.

www.russyaconnor.com

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