http://aspirecq.com/?p=943

A couple of friends of mine are in the process of re-inventing their lives; after years in other professions and now in their mid to late 50’s have gone back to University to become teachers. By the time one of them graduates and is able to teach high school students he will be 59 years of age.  Daunting, but at the same time imagine the richer life experiences he will able to provide in his classes. Potentially a very intrinsically satisfying re-invention of his life from sharing his life with others.

Successfully re-inventing one’s life is possible, though not easy. It needs strong resolve, positive support network, a clear realistic picture of what you want to re-invent yourself into, a plan to achieve this, willingness to accept there will be failures along the journey, and perhaps the critical need to re-invent – not wanting, or inability, to go back to where your pre-reinvention life was or was leading to.

If a person can successfully re-invent their life, can a geographical region? And if so, what triggers the need to deliberately re-invent, who decides what the region will be re-invented to, the plan to get there and how easy is it to do?  I think this is the premise behind a locally produced theatre production called Rockpocalypse. As the name suggests it is about Rockhampton but a future, post-apocalyptic dystopian Rockhampton. Only a few people still live there (or should I say ‘here’); what led to this, why/where/how did the people go. Through some space-time continuum the future residents are able to communicate with the present residents and reveal what happened. Forewarned what should the present residents do, are they able to change course or is a deserted dystopian Rockhampton our pre-determined destiny? Sounds a concept worth dramatically exploring; this original piece of theatre is written by self-confessed ‘I’m not yet a local’, Jessica Lamb, who has lived in the region since 2012. I imagine the play is inspired by her perceptions of the region in comparison to others she has lived in. Is it to be treated as a warning or a gift? Is Rockhampton set on a course of decline that perhaps most born and bred locals can’t see but a newbie can? Or is the writer’s way to provoke our (and her) thinking, discussion and action on re-inventing Rockhampton by describing an undesirable, maybe exaggerated, scenario that develops if we don’t? Not wanting that outcome gives us the gift of resolve to do something about it now (hopefully re-invent not relocate!).

While Rockpocalypse will not get the crowd numbers that Phantom of the Opera had last weekend, it is as, if not more, important in Rockhampton’s cultural agenda (if we have a planned one) and needs to be supported. This is original, locally produced material that gives our local performers an opportunity to do something markedly different, challenging them, broadening/enhancing their theatre skill-set. And it is the same for the audience, something different that might challenge their own thoughts, even beliefs, broadening their outlook. Here is a production where you don’t know how it ends. Don’t do the typical Rockhampton thing and say I should have gone to see it, after the event, start re-inventing the region and support something original. Rockpocalypse will be performed at the Walter Reid Cultural Centre November 22-24. Tickets can be purchased online via the Arts Central Queensland web site.

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