LONGTIME LOCAL CHRIS McIntosh has stepped up to direct the upcoming production of Deepwater Players, a raucous production that gets to the heart of family life in country towns, showing at Deepwater in October.

“Uncle Jack is a comedy by Australian  playwright Judith Prior, with relatable characters who a lot of people will recognise or identify with,” McIntosh says, speaking from his home at Wellington Vale, west of Deepwater.

“I wanted to put on a play that felt right at home in the Deepwater Hall, for the audience to feel like the characters onstage could be people from their own lives or families. 

“Uncle Jack is literally set in a hall in a small town, with very Aussie characters. It also covers some very real and relatable themes, so while there’ll be some laughs the audience will also have something to mull over after they leave.”

McIntosh describes the typical Deepwater Players performance as “an immersive experience”. 

“All shows include either supper, high tea, or a two-course seated dinner,” he says.

“Our dinner sessions include a licensed bar, available before the show and during intermission; and the plays themselves often feature singing, dancing and humour. 

“We don’t want our guests to just come and see a show, we want them to have a great night out.”

Creative energies

According to McIntosh, the Deepwater area is secretly a very creative community. 

“We have artists, craftsmen and designers of various kinds, jewellers, published authors and more,” he says.

“The Deepwater Players fit right in. We’re another avenue for local people to channel their creative energies into.

“The Deepwater plays have become a local icon, too. Most sessions sell out, and having 600-700 people through the doors – when the whole town only has 300-400 – is quite an achievement. We love entertaining the local community. People still talk about plays they came to ten or twenty years ago.”

A prominent fundraising aspect underpins the mounting of productions in the township, with a history stretching back more than four decades. 

“Proceeds from each play are distributed amongst a number of local charities, community groups and not-for-profit organisations,” McIntosh says.

“Recipients in the past have included the Deepwater Public School P&C, Red Cross, Royal Far West, our golf and tennis clubs, the Emmaville Pony Club, our local SES unit and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

“The first play was actually prompted by a local tragedy – a young boy died who could have been saved if the right medical equipment had been available in the town. 

“That first play was produced specifically to raise money for emergency medical equipment for the town. It was such a great success that the group decided to continue on the same model, producing shows every two years or so.”

McIntosh pays tribute to local high school teacher Jenny Sloman, who adapted and directed plays for most of the time the Players have existed.

“Although Jenny has now retired from that role, we still have a couple of the original cast members who have appeared in nearly every production here,” he says.

“We are also very welcoming of newcomers, including people who’ve never been on stage before. 

“Our last play [Phantom of the Music Hall, also penned by Prior] featured a 17-year-old schoolgirl from Dundee, who has since gone on to study acting in Wollongong.” 

Worked wonders

A veteran of three previous Deepwater productions, McIntosh says participating in the performing arts is “daunting but also really rewarding”.

“Being talked into getting on stage for the first time worked wonders on a much younger me. 

“It was a real confidence builder,” he says.

“Acting can be very inward-looking, as you try to inhabit a specific character – to become someone who might be very different to you in every way.

“That can be difficult, even confronting, but also a lot of fun! You’re also literally in the spotlight, with a lot of attention on you and an audience giving you live feedback about your performance.”

He finds directing involves being more concerned about what everyone else is doing.

“There’s much less ‘I’ in this role,” he says.

“It’s a management role, it’s about people, relationships, organisation and logistics. 

“You’re still involved in the performance, but from the point of view of the audience, and you need to get into the minds of all of the characters, not just your own. It’s a very different experience.”

Another project McIntosh has been working on recently is the Welcome to Deepwater website. 

“This is a directory site listing practically everything in the town, designed as a resource for both locals and visitors,” he says.

“I realised some time ago that there were a lot of individual businesses, clubs and community groups with their own websites or social media, but there wasn’t really a single place to find all of that information.

“I started making my own list, and the site grew from there. 

“I’m hoping to support the Deepwater community, with this site acting as a one-stop place for information about our town and what it has to offer – whether you’re a long term local, new resident, visiting friends or family in the area, or a tourist or traveller just passing through.”

Uncle Jack by Judith Prior will be performed by Deepwater Players at the Deepwater School of Arts Hall from October 16-26. For all bookings head to www.deepwaternsw.com