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Featured Member - September 2005
Fortunately
my appeal of last month has been heard and a new member has
volunteered to take a bow as our Featured Member for September.
Peter
Nettleton, who describes himself as either a Performance Artiste
or a Serial Show-off, started off in University revues in Adelaide.
After graduating to government-sponsored theatre in Canberra,
he decided to try for fame and fortune in London where he worked
as a barman for a few months while waiting for offers from the
West End. Unfortunately no-one seemed to recognise his talent
and he finally succumbed to industrial disease - otherwise known
as "running out of money". So he headed back to Oz
and lobbed in Perth about 1980. For a while he was known around
the live music venues as a bush balladeer under the alias of
'Stinger' and claims to have been an inspiration for Kevin 'Bloody'
Wilson among others.
Peter
joined KADS and later DTP during the early 80s and then founded
ACME Theatre Co., a comedy cabaret group which enjoyed some
small successes around the pubs and clubs of Perth. This led
to the formation of a Fremantle-based ‘bush-rock’
band called ‘Stinger & the Sandblasters’ later
that decade. Then came that major production - parenthood. After
performing in one of Park Theatre’s last shows, Peter
‘retired’ from the stage in about 1990, but kept
himself amused by writing and occasionally performing bush poetry.
He is a founder member and past-president of the WA Bush Poets
& Yarnspinners Association Inc.
In
2000, Peter embarked on a BA course, graduating in 2003 with
a major in Theatre & Drama. While he does not profess to
be any better at it now, he says he at least knows a lot more
of the theory and has a greater appreciation for acting as an
art form. While on sabbatical in Melbourne last year, Peter
renewed his interest and participation in community theatre.
“It’s a bit like childbirth - the pain of rehearsals
is quickly obliterated by the euphoria of a successful performance”.
Having now settled back in the Fremantle area, he is keen to
further develop his theatre skills and thence his contribution
to the local community arts scene.
We
are fortunate to have Peter as one of our newest members and
look forward to enjoying his work on stage. Thank you for stepping
forward Peter.
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