Drawing on my filmmaking journey, Behind the Lens is an ambitious fusion of cinema and live theatre, where the audience becomes an active participant in the unfolding story.

At the start of this year, I put an application together for the City of Mandurah Arts Festival 2024 and came up with this unique live show called Behind the Lens.

It is a show where I want to get the audience involved with actors and cameras. I thought, why don't I make a show where we investigate using a camera lens on actors like we do in the film industry but getting the audience to be in front of the camera and operating camera.

Audience members that attend Behind the Lens are going to be on camera or in front of camera as extras in the example scenes, and they will have a chance to interact with the actors.

I am super excited to do be creating something very different.

I am still taking the normal preproduction route and putting together a story, a script, writing beats, and a story structure that fits my filmmaker themes and messages. But putting it on live on stage and recording it still with our brilliant cinematographer and sound to capture the story.

The big difference is the audience is also going to get involved and be on a camera and film in the same scene.  Ten audience members are invited to film the scene, while another ten participate as extras, immersing themselves in the narrative.

The audience members filming will have a lot more freedom to kind of rove around, interact with the actors, and investigate the scene through the camera lens.

I am hopeful that the show does enable us to think about the impact that cameras have in our world and with our relationships and with ourselves and how the camera changes us ever so slightly.

I wrote the scenes as metaphors to create this discussion in the audience.

One of the scenes involves a couple that get into quite a heated discussion when one of the members of the relationship wants a good photo. On a romantic evening, young and in love, Beth and Max, an exclusive couple in their mid-twenties, head to an elegant restaurant for a special date. What begins as a dreamy night quickly turns sour when Beth asks Max to take a nice photo of her, only to find his attempts lacklustre and unflattering. This seemingly trivial moment ignites a heated argument that delves into deeper issues: Beth's frustration with societal expectations and gender norms, her struggles with body image, and the pressure to present a perfect appearance. Max, initially dismissive, confronts his own misunderstandings and the inadvertent role he plays in Beth's insecurities. Their intense exchange reveals the impact of external pressures on self-worth, ultimately leading them to a profound realisation about the true essence of their relationship.

Following the conclusion of the scene, participants with cameras will interview those in the scene, swapping roles to gain insights from both perspectives.

I will then conduct video interviews with the actors and audience members, probing into their experiences of being on camera and their reflections on the scene's themes.

The second scene is completely different. I wanted to investigate a theme of voyeurism, and you know, maybe where we go or some members of society go too far and you know, with the camera and hair like we do with the mobile phone now, you know, taking photos of strangers and. Taking photos of in a voyeuristic or a “Peeping Tom” kind of way.

On a sunny beach, two young women relax in their swimwear, unaware that an older male voyeur is surreptitiously photographing them. When they catch him in the act, a tense debate ensues about the ethics of his behaviour, societal expectations surrounding men's versus women's sexual bodies, and the broader implications of privacy and exploitation. As they grapple with their feelings of violation, they confront the difficult decision of how to respond: should they report the pervert to the authorities, confront him directly, or take revenge to send a powerful message? Their intense discussion highlights the complex dynamics of power, privacy, and justice in a world that often blurs the lines of personal boundaries.

I believe these stories along with the experience of standing behind and in front of a camera during Behind the Lens will instigate audience members to reflect on their usage of cameras in their day-to-day life.

I'm super pumped. I'm putting things together now to make a show.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this groundbreaking experience—grab your tickets now and step into the world of Behind the Lens, where you won’t just watch the story unfold—you’ll help create it.

Tickets available - https://events.humanitix.com/behind-the-lens-vc5h65vj

I hope you can make it.

Behind the Lens is proudly part of the Mandurah Arts Festival 2024 – 6 September to 6 October.

More information about the show - https://www.markregan.com.au/films/behind-the-lens