Perth Voice Interactive

“NONNA’S dead. Maria’s gay. No, these two things do not correlate” is the hilarious tagline to Dakota Gaudio’s new production A Third Place opening at the Blue Room Theatre next month. 

A Third Place highlights the intersection of queerness, grief, religion, and culture experienced by so many children and grandchildren of Italian immigrants to Australia, and is directed by Curtin University student Dakota Gaudio who also stars in the play. 

“The overarching force of the show is that one of the main characters, Maria, calls her Nonna from Melbourne and has this conversation with her,” Ms Gaudio said. 

“Within a week, Nonna passes away, and of course the rumour in the family is that Maria killed her Nonna because she came out over the phone.” 

It’s a witty yet emotionally-charged premise developed by Ms Gaudio and her team, and written into the script by the cast and crew’s personal experiences and improvisations. 

“We’ll throw improvisations out there and see what sticks in order to make a script, rather than the traditional writing process of just sitting down and writing a script,” Ms Gaudio said. 

“I personally like this process a lot more, because it’s representative of the script being about community and also includes experiences of culture as well, so I felt like it wasn’t right for me to write from my perspective.” 

Ms Gaudio says it was “so interesting” to explore the intersection of queerness, Catholicism, and Italian heritage, and has structured the play so audiences can relate themselves – and make up their own minds – about these hefty themes. 

“We had so many conversations about how queerness is seen, and how you can even enjoy your religion and culture while also being queer,” Ms Gaudio said. 

“Religion has such a strong relationship with Italian culture, so we really explored how to identify with your culture and how you can go to church with your Nonna, who may really love religion and want you to engage, but what if you are queer?” 

It’s an incredibly personal premise that was also derived from the death of Ms Gaudio’s own beloved Nonna, so she’s ensured that her character Maria is “very different” from herself. 

“Performing material based on personal experience is very much a double-edged sword,” Ms Gaudio said. 

“When you feel super passionate about something, and you feel that impulse to write, then I think it’s creative duty to get as much as you can out on paper. 

“You just have to be very careful as an artist to work with your boundaries and knowing when to take things out if they’re too close to home.” 

The title, A Third Place, pays tribute to the dwindling social spaces, apart from home and work, that are so well loved by the Italian culture – Ms Gaudio highlighted how her Nonno would often go to the Italian Club in Fremantle to cope with the death of his wife. 

It’s this relatability that Ms Gaudio hopes will draw audiences in. 

“So many experiences that we’ve put in there are synonymous with an Italian upbringing,” Ms Gaudio said. 

“It’s so important and special to feel belonging as an audience member. 

“I’m so excited for my own family, and their friends and their families, to bring their parents and Nonnas and Nonnos to experience it.” 

A Third Place will be playing at The Blue Room Theatre from 11-15 February. 

Tix: blueroom.org.au

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER