Omniprop Productions

Omniprop Productions is dedicated to the the practise of ancient Greek and Roman drama on modern stages. We are made up chiefly of current and ex students of classical studies who remain enamoured by the art of the ancient Greek and Roman poets whose work helped lay the foundations European theatre traditions today. Run entirely by volunteers, Omniprop relies on the passion of its actors, writers and directors.

Omniprop subscribes to the crazy notion that theatre is an experience that needs to be seen live to be properly understood. Plays are not museum pieces and even the oldest texts can still teach us lessons about life, art and the human condition. We're not re-constructionists, but our work is grounded in a very sound knowledge of the texts and their traditions (as much as know about them anyway). With that background, we seek to create engaging theatre that speaks to a modern audience, and which deepens and enriches their understanding of ancient tragedy and comedy as drama, not just literature.

Omniprop Productions is an arts and cultural organisation dedicated to creating performances of ancient and classical drama. We expose audiences, whether studying Classics or not, to extraordinary material they might not otherwise experience. We are committed to innovative and passionate productions of ancient theatre, to ensuring that that these works survive as something more substantial than relics or artefacts, and to demonstrating they can still move and challenge modern audiences.

The words "drama" and "theatre" are derived from greek words meaning 'to do' and 'to see' respectively, which perhaps best encapuslates why staging these plays is important; Omniprop sees performance of ancient texts as a vehicle for performers and their audience to explore, understand and engage with these works. Plays are not museum pieces.

As such Omniprop will work to:

• Use ancient texts to present contemporary audiences with high quality productions that are meaningful and accessable.
• Provide educational opportunities, giving students of classical Greece and Rome a chance to see ancient drama live and to particiapte in its creation.
• Produce less well-known ancient texts to provide audiences with a broader experience of ancient drama.
• Provide opportunities for artists to interpret and experiement with ancient texts to help their development as artist or scholar.

Omniprop was originally started to give a handful of Melbourne Uni Classics students the opportunity to indulge their histrionic ambitions, and actually muck about with some Greek and Roman plays instead of writing obsequious essays on them.

In 2001 a group of students of the then school of fine arts, classical studies and archaeology concocted a plan to form a student society. In 2002, the group decided to staging a rough version of Lysistrata for the entertainment of students and staff of the school. The event was such a success that we decided to do it again next year with The Frogs, which ran for 3 nights and was staged at a lecture hall in Melbourne University. Admission was a gold coin at the door. At this point the entity "Omniprop Productions" came into existence, and with the support of Union House Theatre (and an anonymous benfactor) the group had its first chance to use things like lighting and sound equipment.