AUTO-TUNE
Presented by HOTA
Wed 29 Jul - Sat 1 Aug
AUTO-TUNE
Described as an ‘absolute must-see’, this auto-tune rock opera is brought to you by re:group performance collective, the acclaimed team behind Coil, UFO and POV.
Set in Wagga Wagga in the early 2000s, AUTO-TUNE is a raucous work of “gig theatre” that follows Michael, a teenage Silverchair fan who discovers he has a strange superpower. The same way auto-tune technology perfects pitch, Michael finds he can time-travel, auto-tuning his life to rid it of dumb statements, awkward pauses and cringe jokes.
But when this music-mad weirdo makes the biggest mistake of his life, will his auto-tune superpower save him? Told through an audiovisual set of 17 banging songs and live video captions, this innovative and genre defying performance feels like discovering your new favourite band on the side-stage of a music festival.
In a pitch perfect world where algorithms seem to be the answer, AUTO-TUNE is a fifty-five minute romp into a messy, sweaty universe that proves otherwise. It is a regret-filled love letter to millennial culture - Nokia 3315s, teen drinking, Limp Bizkit and questionable decision-making - featuring eclectic and energetic songwriting and a compelling narrative about the value of mistakes.
Auslan Interpreted Performance – Sat 1 Aug, 2:00pm
Concession $34.00
HOTA Member $32.00
Group (6+) $35.00
Pre-show Dinner Palette Restaurant (per person) $85.00
Pre-show Dinner The Exhibitionist Bar (per person) $55.00
A $4 transaction fee will apply for e ticket delivery purchases (excluding free events + donations).For Hold at Box Office ticket delivery purchases, a $6 fee will apply.Please view full Terms and Conditions prior to purchasing your tickets.
#Bios
MALCOLM WHITTAKER
MALCOLM WHITTAKER (b. xxxx) works as an artist, writer, researcher, performer, producer and teacher. He does this in solo pursuits, as a member of re:group performance collective and Shammgods, and in collaboration with other artists and non-artists on a project by project basis. His work as an artist is mostly made and executed through the engagement of participants and collaborators in the framing of play spaces that adopt social forms and rituals from popular culture and the everyday. His projects have taken the form of theatre and gallery situations, site-specific and public interventions, performance lectures, film shoots, phone calls, support groups, radio programs, elevator rides, teeth-brushing services, walks in the park, games of chess, gift shops, handshakes, newspapers, fashion labels, letters in the mail, digging holes in the dirt and the borrowing of books from the library.He has made and presented work extensively across Australia, as well as in the UK, Finland and Europe.
MARK ROGERS
MARK ROGERS is a multi-award-winning playwright, screenwriter and theatre-maker who lives on Dharawal Land. In 2019, he won both Sydney Theatre Company’s Patrick White Award and the Griffin Award for New Australian Writing for his play Superheroes. His play Naked & Screaming won Best Production at the 2022 Matilda Awards. He was awarded Screen NSW’s Short To Feature Fast Track Initiative for a new project with director and co-writer Aaron Lucas which premiered at SXSW Sydney and screened at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2024. He has feature length projects in development with Closer Productions and Cosmic Scream, supported by Screen Australia. His work as a playwright includes: Naked & Screaming (La Boite Theatre), Superheroes (Griffin Theatre Company), Tom William Mitchell (Merrigong-X), Plastic (Old 505 Theatre), Soothsayers (Brisbane Festival: Under The Radar), Blood Pressure (Rock Surfers, Old Fitzroy Theatre) and Gobbledygook (PACT, AC Arts Adelaide). His work with the independent companies re:group performance collective and Applespiel has been staged at Belvoir, Darwin Festival, MONA:FOMA, Next Wave, PACT, Performance Space, Metro Arts, Malthouse Theatre, La Mama, Merrigong Theatre Company, Shopfront Arts Co-Op, Arts House and the Sydney Opera House. He holds a PHD from the University of Wollongong.
SOLOMON THOMAS
SOLOMON THOMAS is a theatre maker and video artist. His work explores the intersection between the physical and digital in theatre, experimenting with how theatre and film can co-exist in a live context. He works as a director, performer, puppeteer, and video designer and is driven by how these practices meet formally. His recent works include AUTO-TUNE (Opera House 2024), POV (Belvoir 2024), Oh Deer! (Rising, 2023), Sex Magic (Griffin 2023), UFO (Griffin 2023), The Sucker (Brand X, 2021) and What the Ocean Said (Opera House, 2022). Solomon is a core member of re:group performance collective, who’s work Coil was presented at the Opera House, Mona Foma, PACT and Next Wave. Solomon has also worked with Branch Nebula, My Darling Patricia, Nick Cave, Applespiel, Studio A, Chiara Guidi, and Erth. Solomon is currently artistic associate with Erth Visual & Physical Inc (2014-24) and has toured with them throughout the UK, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Japan
STEVE WILSON-ALEXANDER
STEVE WILSON-ALEXANDER is a theatre-maker living on Dharawal land. He is a founding member of re:group performance collective and FAST PRINCESS, the latter being the resident film-making collective at Cerebral Palsy Alliance 2016-18. He was Youth Artist in Residence at Wollongong Youth Centre 2012, a member of PACT Collective 2015, a part of International Visiting Artists Week at Back to Back 2017, and a participant of the Artist Farm residency at The Theatre Practice, Singapore in 2018. He worked on Ben Tre Festival of the Coconut and Hue Festival in 2012, and Santiago A Mil International Theatre Festival in 2019. He assistant directed/video designed Something that Happened with Strangeways Ensemble (2023). Theatre work with re:group include Route Dash Niner at Merrigong Theatre Company (2016-2017) and the national tour of Coil (2022-2023), POV at Downstairs Belvoir (2024), KEEP YOUR HEAD UP for Festival of Dangerous Ideas at Carriageworks (2024) and AUTO-TUNE at Sydney Opera House (2024).
ASHLEY BUNDANG
ASHLEY BUNDANG (Musician and Performer) is a musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist based in Dharawal Country, on the south coast of NSW. In the last decade, Ashley has been actively composing, recording and collaborating with bands such as Totally Mild, Sui Zhen, Zone Out and The Ocean Party. With an abundance of experience in music performance, Ashley has toured Australia and beyond, at some of the largest festivals in the country such as Splendour in the Grass, Meredith Music Festival and the major international music conference, South by Southwest (SXSW), Austin, Texas, USA. She has also participated in a number of promotional tours around Europe, United States and Japan. Over the years, Ashley has also been drawn to developing her practice overseas, having completed Artist Residencies in Cadiz, Spain and Tokyo, Japan. More recently, Ashley founded the south coast-based indie pop band, Classic. They released their debut album in March 2023, Classic’s music is framed by a sonic backdrop that emanates influences from 80’s post punk, dream pop and indie rock.
CARLY YOUNG
CARLY YOUNG is a theatre-maker and producer living on Dharawal land. As a founding member and artist in re:group performance collective, she has created film, video, and performance works across Australia and internationally. Key projects include Coil national tour (2022 - 2023), Route Dash Niner: Part 1 and Route Dash Niner: Part 2 for Merrigong Theatre Company, Wollongong (2016-2017), Hotel Obscura with Triage, Die Fabrikanten, Mezzanine Spectacles & Ohi Pezoume at FAI AR, Marseille (2015); LOVELY at PACT, Sydney (2014), Carly and Troy do ‘A Doll’s House’ at Crack Theatre Festival, Newcastle (2013), Adelaide Fringe Festival (2014), You Are Here Festival, Canberra (2014), La Mama Theatre, Melbourne (2016); and durational performance work YOWZA YOWZA YOWZA with Deborah Pollard for Performance Space at the University of Wollongong (2014). Carly works as a creative producer across visual arts, music and theatre, and was an inaugural participant in All The Things We Couldn’t Say, a three-year collaboration between Salamanca Arts Centre in Australia, and Checkpoint Theatre in Singapore.
KELSEY LEE
KELSEY LEE (Lighting Designer) is a Sydney-based lighting, set and costume designer. Her work is primarily created for live performance, including theatre, dance and events, for mainstage and independent companies. Her designs that fuse lighting, set and costumes, aim to explore scenography through the sculpting of architecture and space to tell a story. She is highly collaborative as a designer, working closely with the creative team to develop the vision of the show. Kelsey is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (Design for Performance), and is the first person to have solely designed the set, lighting, props and costume for her graduating show. Kelsey has received a Sydney Theatre Award for her work as the Co-Designer on "Destroy, She Said", and has been nominated for another two for lighting design.
LIAM HALLIWELL
LIAM HALLIWELL (Musician and Performer) is a sound designer and musician living in Naarm/Melbourne. For the past decade he has written and recorded prolifically under the ‘Snowy’ moniker, as well as performing with live ensemble Snowy Band, who were name-checked by The Guardian as some of 2020’s “best new music”. The group has released two critically lauded albums that Liam has toured across Australia and internationally. He has also played/plays in countless other local indie groups, including The Ocean Party, Cool Sounds, Emma Russack, Good Morning and many more. Outside of his own performance and composition, Liam works as a freelance audio engineer, having recorded, mixed and mastered hundreds of bands, artists and films, locally and internationally. As a designer, he has worked with Bodysnatchers Theatre on Plastic, Soothsayers and Gobbledygook. Other work includes re:group’s Tom William Mitchell and Coil. Snowy Band on Bandcamp.
#Dine with us
You're spoilt for choice with dining options! Enjoy a pre-show or post show dining experience at The Exhibitionist Bar or Palette Restaurant
Winter Season Bar
Grab a drink and relax with friends at this pop-up venue. No booking required.
The Exhibitionist Bar
Chill on our rooftop bar with pre-show or post-show dinner and curated cocktails, before heading down to enjoy the show. Prebook this option at checkout.
Palette Restaurant
Enjoy a delectable two course menu designed by our Executive Chef with a glass of wine/beer or soft drink at Palette Restaurant. Secure your table by prebooking this option at checkout.
*excludes Sunday
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