Hi Portland!

Hard to believe, but we have less than one more week of performances in Sydney before the long ride home to Portland. All eyes have turned to Oregon. The Australians are abuzz about their adventure to the Pacific Northwest, and the Americans are looking forward to going home to family and friends.

I’ve been in Sydney now for three months. There’s a steep, rocky shortcut on the way to the theater. You can cut through to a small park on Pottinger Street via uneven sandstone slabs cobbled into a path. When I first arrived, I approached it tentatively, maneuvering carefully up and down the slippery rocks. Now I clamber like a mountain goat, quickly and efficiently. I’ve become acclimatized. One night after the show, a flock of club-hopping college students asked me how to get to Scary Canary. I pointed them to the noisy bar, two blocks from my apartment. The other day, a woman with two small children in tow was trying to find the Town Hall train station. A man instructed her to cut through Town Hall Square, but I corrected him: the cross through to the train station is closed after 6:30, so the woman would have to go up the hill to George Street. If you go to Paddy’s Markets late in the afternoon you can get a great price on the day’s fresh fish.  A moderate oven is 180°, but if you have a fan-forced oven, set it at 170°. Don’t take the 431 bus that says “Wynyard.” Take the one that says “Miller’s Point.” These are details of a Sydneysider’s quotidian life. I’m excited about returning to my Portland routine: watering my garden, reading the Oregonian, bicycling around the eastside neighborhoods, and spending some quality time with my very patient partner, Laura Widener.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night. I believe Portland audiences are going to love it as much as the Sydney audiences have.  Soon I’ll be back at work with my Artists Rep colleagues.  I just wish I could introduce them to some of talented folks I’ve met at Sydney Theatre Company. Today, Prop master Alex Stuart came by. He had a cart bearing two large black crates his department created for shipping furniture and props via air freight to PDX. We had to do a test pack to make sure everything will fit. Alex is one of the nicest guys you could meet anywhere, and I think there’s room in Crate B, if he wants to hitch a ride. Our wardrobe and hair supervisor at Sydney Theatre is Lauren Proietti. She’s sharp, down to earth, and has a wicked sense of humor. And she’s enormously good at her job. No company runs well without a strong person at the front desk, and receptionist Fleur Stevenson is that person for STC. If you need an answer, Fleur will steer you in the right direction. If you need an Advil, she can hook you up, too. I appreciated her kindness and her caring nature from the very first day I showed up on the wharf. Flyman Tarn Mott builds beautiful custom bicycles on the side, and fellow stage manager Tanya Leach is a great resource for things to do and see on the cheap. I’ve taken Tanya’s advice from early on, when she gave me some great tips about public transportation.

Todd Van Voris and I sneaked in one last very touristy activity, visiting Wildlife World. As with the Sydney Aquarium, the exhibits are well designed, and you get to see a great variety of the animals unique to Australia. We took goofy photos with the plaster display critters, and we were delighted to catch the koalas at their most active. After our visit, I made a quick trip to Paddy’s Markets for some exceptionally tacky souvenirs, which I look forward to sharing at Artists Rep. The best memories I bring home can’t be laminated or reproduced in a tiny plastic version.

We’ll be at the Newmark soon. See you there.

-Stephanie Mulligan

Sydney, Australia