Keith Gow, Writer

“Who Are You Supposed To Be?” had its first public reading on Sunday night at the Owl and the Pussycat in Richmond. The trick with readings is that you want to set audience expectations – it’s a work in progress and the actors haven’t had that long with the script. But you also want to get a good indication of what’s working and how much the audience is enjoying the show, based on the script as is – not on their expectations. Petra Elliott When you get a pair of actors like Petra Elliott and Ben McKenzie – ably assisted by Patrick Hill , who read the important stage directions to set the scene – the script suddenly comes to life in ways people love. And in ways that surprise the writer. After a reading of a work-in-progress, I try to set an expectation for the audience themselves – stick around, have a drink and give me feedback. What did you love? What do you think needs more work? And did any of that make any sense for you people who have never watched Doctor Who

The second in a series of posts about “Who Are You Supposed To Be?” – my rom com for geeks, that’s playing the Edinburgh Fringe in August. Tickets on Sale Now . * Jen’s based in London but she was back in Australia at Christmas time to discuss what the show would be about. I knew about her various interests and which parts of nerd culture we had in common. And I wanted to find a way into telling a story about science fictions fans and convention goers that had a hook. It started with an image. An image of a woman dressed as the Doctor from “Doctor Who”. No particular Doctor came to mind, but a woman dressed as the Doctor suggested a kind of conflict – if only because the Doctor has always been played by a man. And there’s often discussions about whether the TV show will ever cast a woman as one of his future incarnations. But that’s just an interesting image, not a hook to a story. Besides, people who dress up in costumes for science fiction conventions don’t worry a

Meet Jennifer Lusk. She’s the producer and star of “Who Are You Supposed To Be?” – the show we’re taking to the Edinburgh Fringe in August. 14 th to 26 th . Tickets on sale now . Subtle. “Who Are You Supposed To Be?” is a rom com for geeks and a valentine to nerd culture. It’s the classic tale of a boy in a TARDIS t-shirt standing in front of a girl dressed as the Fifth Doctor, asking her to love him... and a girl wanting to know why she can’t be the Doctor and Han Solo and Captain Reynolds. They’d star-crossed lovers – if the stars were Wars and Trek – but they have so much in common, it would be a pity if these two geeks couldn’t find a time and space to fall in love. But underneath the witty repartee and awkward flirting, this is a story about wanting to feel safe, wanting to be appreciated for who we are... and how far we’ll go to find people like us. * Jen and I first met in a pretty geeky way. I’d gotten tickets to an advanced screening of “Serenity” – Joss W