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In good company: co-artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company, husband-and-wife team Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett, with The Residents, a group of burgeoning theatre stars who act, write and develop scripts for STC. From left: Julia Ohannessian, Upton and Blanchett, Richard Pyros, Tahki Saul, Zindzi Okenyo, Sophie Ross and Cameron Goodall. See the men, directed by Upton, in The White Guard (until Jul 10), the women in Blood Wedding (from Aug 5) and catch Blanchett in Gross und Klein (along with Pyros and Ross from Nov 19). Read more about The Residents, and Upton and Blanchett, on p89.

Welcome to australian theatre is taking centre stage, with faces new, loved and legendary starring in sell-out shows. we go behind the curtains... by jo mckay

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Louis Vuitton suit and evening shirt. Bow tie, from David Jones.

The LuminaryMiranda Otto “Theatre is a very seductive world,” says Otto, 43, who intersperses her film and TV roles with stage productions, and cites her 2002 performance in STC’s A Doll’s House as “the most challenging—it was the first time I’d taken on the lead.” She returns to STC in the Andrew Upton-directed The White Guard (until July 10). Owning the stage “As soon as the curtain rises, it’s the actors’ show; at the end of the day, it’s going to happen how you make it happen. It’s an empowering thing.”What’s my line? “When we did A Doll’s House, Peter [O’Brien], my husband, was in it; it was before we were together. I skipped a line, then went blank. That very rarely happens to me. But he completely saved me! Sometimes when things go wrong it becomes a fantastic show. Theatre is exciting because it’s different every night; everybody who comes gets a slightly different show.”Keeping time “When you do film or TV, everything is out of order, but when you do a play, you know it’s going to start at 8pm. You come in, start at the beginning and just keep going, no matter what happens.”

The MaverickBrendan Cowell At just 34, he’s already a gripping actor, nascent director and award-winning playwright: see Cowell’s eighth play, Ruben Guthrie, starring Gyton Grantley, at Brisbane’s La Boite (from Oct 8); and watch Cowell himself in The Dark Room at Sydney’s Belvoir St Theatre (from Nov 3).When the curtain falls “It lives with you. In True West [which Cowell starred in at STC in 2010], I strangled my on-stage brother. It’s pretty hard to go through that, take a bow, go home and have a cup of tea. You open up dangerous doors; wake up all the little children in your head. It’s not a normal thing to do, which is what I love and hate about it.” There are no words “Once, I nearly choked on an Oreo on stage—I was choking and crying; the audience thought it was incredibly dramatic. Someone came on [from off stage], whacked me on the back, the Oreo flew out and I finished the speech.”One-take wonder “A performance happens over one night—it’s there, it’s beautiful, it’s gone; there’s something magical about that.” Royal calling “I want to play King Lear—I feel for the king. I’ll do two Shakespeares in my life; I’ve done Hamlet, I’ll do Lear, and then retire!”

Louis Vuitton suit and shirt. Bow tie; at David

Jones. Shot on location at Duke

Bistro at The Flinders Inn; 02-9332 3180

The Vintage Clothing Shop clothes, hat

and umbrella.

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The Living LegendGeoffrey Rush Currently celebrating his 40th year in professional theatre, Rush’s recent turn in The Diary of a Madman at Belvoir was met with resounding acclaim. This spring, the 59-year-old will step back on stage—in drag!—as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest at Melbourne Theatre Company (from November 12).Naming rights “I was in theatre for 25 years [before moving into film]; I thought that was where I would see out my career. When I started in the early ’70s, I was just proud to be able to work regularly and put ‘actor’ on my tax form.”Just the ticket “I’d like to sit out front and watch The Importance of Being Earnest—it’s one of the greatest plays ever written—but that would be vain! I’m keen to see Neil Armfield’s version of The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll [at Belvoir]. I like the slant towards keeping the classics alive; these plays still speak to us.”Paying it forward “My co-star in The Diary of a Madman, Yael Stone, is a born theatre animal: her creativity and instincts are acute.” (See Stone on p87.)

Giorgio Armani jacket. Shirt, pants, scarf and umbrella; all at The Vintage Clothing Shop.

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The Blue BellesYou know them as TV cops, but they are equally arresting as live performers.Nicole da Silva (above) She plays Constable Stella Dagostino in Network Ten’s Rush, but da Silva says “theatre was always my first love”. She runs her own theatre company, Inc Studios, and also regularly takes to the stage: earlier this year she shone in the wry comedy, A Behanding in Spokane, at MTC. At the coal face “I’m inspired by the creatives at a grass-roots level: those who raise the money, put on their own productions and get it out there.” Multi-tasking magician “One of the difficult things about [having a theatre company] is having to wear so many hats when ultimately you just want to be creative. You are the businessman, the producer and the logistics person. It’s about juggling and keeping all the balls up in the air.”Cheree Cassidy (left) The WAAPA graduate, 28, came to the fore as Constable Debbie Webb in Underbelly: The Golden Mile, but she’ll show her theatrical side in her first lead role, in Queensland Theatre Company’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (from Aug 15). Love my way “I didn’t know acting was a viable career option. Then I realised you could actually do it every day! From then, I’ve never wanted to do anything else.”Wonder women “I’m inspired by actress and director Pamela Rabe—she has a dark, dry wit about her and a unique way of conveying character. And Cate Blanchett—she is luminous; her voice is extraordinary.”

The NaturalYael Stone Her performance in Belvoir’s The Diary of a Madman with Geoffrey Rush earned her a Sydney Theatre Award (she even razored off all her hair for the part); Stone, 26, is currently in A Golem Story at Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre (until July 2); and before the year is out, she will be on stage at Belvoir two more times: in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (from Sept 24) and As You Like It (from Nov 19).One close shave “I thought about [whether to shave my hair off] for a long time. Then I thought, ‘What am I thinking? This is it!’ I keep getting amazing opportunities and I’m really hungry for more, but this could be the end. You’ve got to jump in.”On form “I’m most proud of getting my lines every night with Mr Rush, of just keeping up! [Starring with him] never ceased to be surreal.”Dangerous liaisons “From the moment you walk on stage, you feel the personality of the audience: who they are going to be for you; who you are going to be for them. It’s so intimate and so personal every time. It can be torturous, because the protective layer is very thin, but, for some reason, that’s compelling.”

Isabel Marant jacket; at The Corner Shop.

Cheree wears Alex Perry dress. Sergio Rossi heels; at Cosmopolitan Shoes. Nicole wears Daniela Stephanie dress. Chanel heels.

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Julia OhannessianThis Adelaide-native, 28, relocated to Sydney in 2004 to attend NIDA—just two years after graduating, she became a Resident. Dress rehearsal “When I was little, I’d pretend to be a doctor, a vet, a lawyer… the only job where I could do it all was acting.”Tahki Saul “We’re very fortunate. There are no other actors who get holiday pay!” jokes the NIDA-trained Sydneysider, 28, of being a Resident. A brave world “I admire us as Residents—we want to create; to take it by the reigns.” Cameron GoodallPrior to becoming a thespian, Adelaide-born Goodall, 32, was in a band , The Audreys. “My family thought [acting] wasn’t a viable career, but it turns out that it actually is!” he says.Practice makes perfect “Being a Resident makes you acting-fit: it’s like an elite sport where you do it all the time.”

The VisionariesZindzi OkenyoThe youngest Resident at 26, Okenyo grew up in the Australian outback and “knew acting was what I wanted to do.” She went from high school straight to NIDA. Chain reaction “I admire Cate and Andrew because they are a catalyst for great theatre to happen throughout the whole city.”Richard Pyros This Melburnian, 33, studied music and criminology before falling for theatre. Two of a kind “Andrew has an incredible theatre brain, and Cate is a phenomenal actor: they are both great mentors.”Sophie Ross Her parents were actors, but this Melbourne-native, 28, didn’t realise that it was her dream, too, until her second year at WAAPA. Common ground “I love theatre because of the community. It’s an amazing experience to spend such intimate time with people.”

The New Guard (Opposite: The Residents, clockwise from top left)

Andrew Upton “Theatre is incredibly practical and very collaborative,” says Upton, 45. “So, in the Residents, we looked for collaborators: people who were interested in their own work, each other’s work, and new work. Having them has been like a scientific experiment: they move quickly through development and together they have an incredible lightness of spirit.” Cate Blanchett “Another major goal was to reconnect the company to the city, and the artistic community,” says Blanchett, 42. “We are at the start of a generational shift [in theatre]; a positive tsunami. But only time will tell whether we’ve made any impact.

[Andrew and I] job share, because I’ve got to motor the family. It tends to be very intense days, but the school pick-up is absolutely in the diary. Most of the decisions happen in the car on the way to work! It’s pin the tail on donkey. It’s the way we run our lives!”

Julia wears Alex Perry dress. YSL heels; at Cosmopolitan Shoes. Louis Vuitton jewellery.

Tahki wears YSL pants-suit, Xacus shirt, Tom Ford bow tie; all at Harrold’s. Prada shoes. Cameron wears Balmain trench and scarf;

at Harrold’s. Bassike shirt. Zindzi wears The Vintage Clothing Shop kimono. Louis

Vuitton dress and fan. Balenciaga heels; at Cosmopolitan Shoes. Miu Miu belt. Richard

wears The Vintage Clothing Shop clothes. Sophie wears Giorgio Armani shirt.

Louis Vuitton hot pants. Miu Miu heels