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Currently, the group is collaborating with Danish artists Andrea Albernaz and Iza Mortag Freund (Isla Collective) on a new performance directed by Matthew Crosby. Falling Heads explores the notion of splittingâsibling from sibling, people from people, mind from body. It arises from Akutagawa Ryunosuke's 1917 The Story of a Head That Fell Off. Performing October/November 2025, Falling Heads uses Thursday Group psychophysical theatre practice techniques to produce an other-worldly, Brecht-inflected performance of acute relevance in today's existential world conflicts.Â
Shadows of Tessa Marie Luminati of the twins: Steph the regime sympathiser and Damon Branecki, Tomasz the poet dissident.
Photo Angelique Zhou, June 2024
Falling Heads is designed by Matthew Crosby, who employs sustainable materials to support a Poor Theatre aesthetic. This follows the group's pursuit of theatre that emphasises actor practice as a foundation for performance-making. As such, battery-powered lights are operated by actors, bamboo structures are transformed and moved around the space to create new worlds. Recently, youngest member Angelique Zhou has developed shadow puppetry for her role as the Oracle, and this has shifted the group's practice profoundly. We love our process to be transparent, so if you are a practitioner or student, get in touch to observe our processes.Â
Design sketches, September 2024, Matthew Crosby
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Training and improvisation, workshop intensives, open rehearsals and performance-making.
Come join us.Â
Angelique Zhou and Damon Branecki, Work in Progress showing, August 2024
Click for video
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Each Monday evening, 6-9pm in The Thursday Group studios in North Melbourne
Synthesis of Suzuki Training, Grotowski and Thursday Group variations:
Tessa Marie Luminati will facilitates training and co-devising. At the end of each year we show work developed over the journey. Explore both psychophysical theatre training, get fit, investigate your path as an artist.Â
Tessa Marie Luminati will facilitates training and co-devising. At the end of each year we show work developed over the journey. Explore both psychophysical theatre training, get fit, investigate your path as an artist.Â
Sharpen your skills, discover energetic performance modes, come join the conversation! đ______________
Teacher:Â Tessa Marie Luminati
Actor, teacher and co-facilitator at the Thursday Group, Tessa Marie Luminati
Photo: Oscar Socias, Orpheo Machine Work in Progress showing, June 2022
Tessa Marie Luminati
Tessa is a versatile actor and theatre-maker with a diverse range of experience. Formally trained at Patrick Studio's Australia and Federation University, she holds a Diploma of Music Theatre and a Bachelor of Acting for Stage and Screen. Her professional credits include working as an acting intern for The Australian Shakespeare Company's productions of Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, and performing in Opera Australia's award-winning Il Viaggio a Reims and Don Giovanni. Tessa portrayed Patricia Hearst in Robert Reid's The Bacchae at La Mama and explored Suzuki and theatre-making techniques with The Thursday Group in Melbourne. She collaborated with 5 Angry Men and co-founded SpudPuppy Productions, a children's theatre company. Tessa performed her devised works "I'm a Raindrop Get Me Outta Here" and "Hit n Hope: a Character Cabaret" at various festivals. Recently, she appeared at the Sydney Opera House in Don Giovanni and as the Creature in Soot's Touring production of Frankenstein. Tessa is currently a co-facilitator of The Thursday Group, where she has performed in TUNA, Orpheo Machine, Falling Head, and Willow and co-facilitates biannual workshops. In 2024 she attended summer international workshops at Suzuki Company of Toga.
Tessa is a versatile actor and theatre-maker with a diverse range of experience. Formally trained at Patrick Studio's Australia and Federation University, she holds a Diploma of Music Theatre and a Bachelor of Acting for Stage and Screen. Her professional credits include working as an acting intern for The Australian Shakespeare Company's productions of Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, and performing in Opera Australia's award-winning Il Viaggio a Reims and Don Giovanni. Tessa portrayed Patricia Hearst in Robert Reid's The Bacchae at La Mama and explored Suzuki and theatre-making techniques with The Thursday Group in Melbourne. She collaborated with 5 Angry Men and co-founded SpudPuppy Productions, a children's theatre company. Tessa performed her devised works "I'm a Raindrop Get Me Outta Here" and "Hit n Hope: a Character Cabaret" at various festivals. Recently, she appeared at the Sydney Opera House in Don Giovanni and as the Creature in Soot's Touring production of Frankenstein. Tessa is currently a co-facilitator of The Thursday Group, where she has performed in TUNA, Orpheo Machine, Falling Head, and Willow and co-facilitates biannual workshops. In 2024 she attended summer international workshops at Suzuki Company of Toga.
Writer, director, actor, teacher and co-facilitator at the Thursday Group, Matthew Crosby
Photo: Oscar Socias, season, Corporare, Evan Task in Outer Space, September 2024
Matthew Crosby
I have been acting, writing, directing and teaching theatre for decades. Influences received from training at NIDA in the 80âs, collaboration between Playbox/Malthouse and the Suzuki Company of Toga, Grotowski and Eugenio Barba training with IRAA (International Research into the Art of the Actor), work in tent theatre in Japan and Korea with Shinjuku Ryozanpaku in the 90âs and a decade co-creating with Yumi Umiumare and Ben Rogan the DasShoku butoh/cabarets in the 00âs have led me into a deep investigation into what Stanislavski first called âpsychophysicalâ theatre. This practice informs my theatre-making, which has been developed in the context of groupsâfirst in Actorâs Furniture Group and for the last fifteen years in The Thursday Group. So, my approach to teaching is dialogicâI seek to empower the skills and desire for theatrical expression that already exist in performers and offer pathways for development and collaborative investigation.