5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche | Theatre Travels

If everything that you knew was in danger, what would you finally need to get off your chest?

It’s 1956 and The Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein are having their annual quiche breakfast, where the motto is “no men, no meat, all manners”.

As the ‘widows’ await the announcement of the society’s prize-winning quiche, chaos strikes when the atomic bomb alarm sounds and threatens to end their beloved quiche breakfast. Is it a drill? Has the Communist threat come to pass? How will the widows respond if their idyllic town and lifestyle faces attack?

Winner of the 2012 NYC International Fringe Festival as Best Overall Production and making its Sydney Debut, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche is a tasty recipe of hysterical laughs, sexual innuendos, unsuccessful repressions, and delicious discoveries.

In the face of danger, who knows what you’ll learn about yourself or your fellow woman!

The Sydney run of 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche is produced in association with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and the Adelaide run is running as part of the 2022 Adelaide Fringe Festival.

NYSSA HAMILTON

Nyssa Hamilton has resided on three continents, of which she prefers Australia.

She has recently appeared in Clock and Spiel’s Wit, as Elsa Stanhope in Alison’s House, Mercy Lewis in The Crucible, and Maxine in the Australian premiere of Technicolor Life.

She trained at Seattle Central Community College, The University of Newcastle Australia, and has a Masters in Theatre Making from Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, London.

Nyssa wrote, produced, co-directed and performed Too Few To Mention at the Hackney Showroom in London in 2015 and the Newcastle Fringe Festival in 2016.

Her dog is named after a comic book character not Shakespeare, in spite of what she tells people.

In 2011 Nyssa won the City of Newcastle Drama Award portraying Honey in Janet Nelson’s NTC Production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

DOMINIQUE DE MARCO

Dominique De Marco grew up in Brisbane, before heading to Singapore to complete a BA (Hons) in Acting, at Lasalle College of the Arts.

She moved to Sydney in 2016 and has been in the following theatrical productions: Fuente Ovejuna, with Angus Evans at Flight Path Theatre: Varya in The Cherry Orchard, with Victor Kalka at Chippen St Theatre: Richard III and Comedy of Errors, with Patricia & Kyle Rowling’s 2019 Bard on the Beach: Alison’s House with Julie Baz at Depot Theatre: Sally in Dr Seuss’s Cat in the Hat with Dan Jenkins at Singapore Rep Theatre and Chris in Lady of Soul & Her Ultimate S Machine with Zizi Azah at Esplanade Studios SG. Her film credits include; Nicole in Bad Behaviour (2010), directed by Joesph Sims, produced by SterlingCinema/MEDiAKiN/Caldwell Entertainment/Global Alliance.

Dominique is thrilled to be part of a production that supports queer women in theatre.

JULIA PENNISI

Julia is a queer artist that has been doing drama since 2008, after being encouraged by her mum to break out of her shyness and try acting. It has been her sole desire to pursue a career in theatre ever since. She graduated Excelsia College in 2019 with a Bachelor of Dramatic Art and has enjoyed breaking into the Sydney theatre scene despite a global pandemic putting a pause on most live productions.

Her previous performance highlights include 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche (Theatre Travels, 2021), A Tea Party For Sad People (Short+Sweet, 2021), CUT (2019), Love & Information (2019), Clinchfield (2018), The Tempest (2018), The Crucible (2017), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (2016), Youth In Performing Arts (2015), HissyFest (2015) and voiceover work in Lost & Found (2020) directed by Lily Drummond. Julia has recently starred in her first short film, Tea Party For Sad People (2019), directed by Michael McLennan that won Best Comedy at the Italian Assurdo Film Festival celebrating independent cinema.

Julia is thrilled to be reprising her role as ‘Vern’ in Theatre Travels’ hysterical production of 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche and wishes you all a very happy and safe Mardi Gras!

LAURA DJANEGARA

Laura was raised in Perth and is of Indonesian and Australian descent.

Laura completed a BMus majoring in Classical Voice in 2012 at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) where she performed in the operas Die Fledermaus and The Rake’s Progress, and was nominated for the Julie Michael Award for Musical Cabaret. In 2016 Laura completed a BFA in Acting from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) where she performed in The Roaring Girl, Stranger I am, The Olympians and The Space Between the Fire and the Fuel. Recent credits include Macbeth (Bell Shakespeare), Videotape (Montague Basement) and The Linden Solution (Ratcatch Theatre) - for which she received the Broadwayworld Award for Best Performer in a play.

This will be Laura's second production with Theatre Travels and she is excited to be working with the company again.

DEMITRA SEALY

Demitra Sealy is an award-winning actress, singer and comedian; who is very excited to celebrate the Mardi Gras festival and be a part of this production!

Her latest acting credits include feature film The Debt Collector 2 (Netflix trending Top 5), short film Euphoria (The Sundance Film Festival), ATYPs 2020 National Studio and playing Mephistopheles in LA Shakespeare Company’s production of Dr Faustus.

In 2020, Demitra was also selected as a finalist in the Warner Brother TV World-wide Talent Search out of of "many thousands of auditions”.

She has completed a BA from AIM in Dramatic Arts and has further training from The Actors Studio NYC, The Bell Shakespeare Company, Playwriting Australia, NIDA and the Upright Citizens Brigade.

CARLY FISHER: PRODUCER

Carly is the founder and Artistic Director of Theatre Travels. Since launching the company in November 2018, Carly has produced 17 shows for the company and directed 8 of them.

As a producer, Carly is passionate about bringing debut works to stages in new markets and seeks new writers and performances ready to make their Sydney, Australian and even World premieres. To this end, Carly seeks new writing, fostering close relationships with up and coming writers, as well as ensuring her knowledge of the international theatre market is both current and astute.

Thematically, Carly is drawn to stories that feature authentic and well-written female characters and continues to prioritise the inclusion of women in the industry both onstage, and more importantly, in crew and Creative roles and positions of leadership.

Carly also created the NO: INTERMISSION Festival in Sydney to provide additional opportunities for emerging artists to gain professional experience in the Sydney Independent Theatre Scene. In 2021, the festival was a complete sell out prior to opening.

For Carly's full bio visit https://www.carlyfisher.net/

2020/2021 credits:

In Their Footsteps, 2021, Director & Producer

Girl Shut Your Mouth, 2021 Syd and 2020 Adl, Director & Producer

5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, 2021, Producer

Rattling the Keys, 2021, Producer

Lipstick, 2021, Producer

Bleach, 2020 Adl and 2019 Syd, Producer

Coming in 2022:

Muppets, Sydney

5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Sydney and Adelaide seasons

In Their Footsteps, Canberra and Adelaide seasons

Young Bodies/Sombody's, Sydney

Sweet Science of Bruising, Sydney

The Culture, New York City

ROSIE NIVEN: DIRECTOR

Rosie is a Sydney-based Director with a portfolio that focuses on LGBT and female-driven works. She is passionate about working with young people and emerging artists to create greater access for everyone in the Australian theatre community, and has worked with Theatre Travels since its inaugural production in 2018.⠀⠀⠀
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Rosie has Directed a number of works in Sydney, including Oleanna in conjunction with Maltman Lab and White Ribbon (2016), The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later at the Seymour Centre (2018), and Preserving Jars and Full Contact as part of Mardi Gras’ PLAYLIST (2019 and 2020).

For the past three years, Rosie has co-curated Theatre Travels' inaugural one-act play festival NO: INTERMISSION, choosing eight works that celebrate emerging artists and groundbreaking work across the globe.

Within that festival, she Directed the Australian Premiere of Bleach (2019, which also premiered at Adelaide Fringe in 2020), the World Premiere of Queenslander (2019), and the Sydney premiere of Rattling the Keys (2020).

Most recently she Directed Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. for Sydney Fringe, which was nominated for an Emerging Artist Award, and the 2021 sold-out run of 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche.

She is currently completing her Masters in Drama Therapy at the University of Melbourne.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This will be her fourth time presenting works as part of the Sydney Mardi Gras Festival. Rosie is excited to be bringing another brilliant female-driven queer work to the stage.

MADDIE HODGES: STAGE MANAGER

Maddie graduated from The Academy of Film, Theatre and Television (AFTT) in 2020 and has maintained a strong passion for theatre and is beyond excited to be back again for 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche.

While at AFTT, Maddie was the Assistant Stage Manager in Dino Dimitriadis’s production of Clinchfield at Downstairs Belvoir and the ASM on Anthony Skuse’s production of Yerma on the Belvoir main stage.

In 2021 she was the Stage Manager the Theatre Travels first production of 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche as well as working with them on two shows Rattling the Keys and In Their Footsteps which were a part of their one-act play festival NO:INTERMISSION. More recently Maddie was the Assistant Stage Manager on Qween Lear as part of Sydney Festival.

CAPRI HARRIS: LIGHTING DESIGNER

Capri Harris (She/Her) is an emerging lighting designer living on Dharawal land. She graduated from the Australian Institute of Music last year with a Bachelor of Performance.

This marks Capri’s third time working with Theatre Travels and her first production outside of NSW. Before this Capri worked as the Lighting Designer and Operator for ‘Cherry’ directed by Nadia Townsend, ‘Playpen’ directed by Jennifer Hart, ‘5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche’ directed by Rosie Niven as well as, the 2021 season of Theatre Travels ‘No: Intermission’ Festival for the shows ‘In Their Footsteps’ directed by Carly Fisher and ‘Rattling The Keys’ directed by Rosie Niven.

Before graduating she designed, assisted and operated for university shows; ‘Emerge Festival’ (LD/LA, 2021), ‘Love and Information' (LD/OP 2020), As You Like it’ (LD/OP 2019) ‘How To Disappear’ (LA/OP, 2018), as well as lighting for musicians such as Ali Barter, Alex Lahey, The Kava Kings, The Moving Stills and Nathan Cavaleri as part of Australian Music Week (OP 2019).

Capri is passionate about making theatre easily accessible so it can be enjoyed by all.