MARC McIntyre prefers to work on small dramas. But then he helped write the book for Ned: An Australian Musical.
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And after that, he took on the role of set designer for the Bendigo-produced musical, which opens next week.
"This is the biggest scale thing I have designed and written for," he said.
McIntyre, who spent about seven years teaching at Girton Grammar School, has a lot of theatre experience.
He studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, stage managed performances at the Sydney Olumpics and Paralympics as well as directing and performing in community shows with Bendigo Theatre Company.
It was BTC that first teamed McIntyre with Adam (who composed Ned) and Anna Lyon (who co-wrote Ned).
"We met in the production of Into the Woods," he said.
"I was the Prince and the Wolf, Adam was Jack, Anna was Rapunzel, Penny (Larkins who plays Ellen Kelly) was the witch and Nelson (Gardiner who plays Ned) was my steward.
"We never stopped being in contact and Adam and I directed a some shows together and Adam said let's write a show.
"I said he was being silly but we did and it's gone too far to get out of it."
The show has gone so far that Ned: An Australian Musical will host its world premiere at Ulumbarra Theatre on Friday, May 21.
On Monday, McIntyre and the production team took to the stage to bring the set to life.
"Having wrote the book I was pretty familiar with the story. I started with a the centre being a gallows but based it on the shape of Kelly's helmet," McIntyre said.
"From there it has all scaled out from the helmet with a metallic landscape that has a rusty old look.
"I've never designed for a show I’ve written before."
On Wednesday the cast arrived for its final week of rehearsals.
This is the biggest scale thing I have designed and written for.
- Marc McIntyre
"They are a great cast and we have an incredible crew," McIntyre said.
"Apparently a lot of tears in rehearsals recently but for all the right reasons."
McIntyre has been splitting his time between cast and crew during his two rolesa, a task that has pros and cons to it.
"I have been at rehearsals in Melbourne and doing re-writes for a scene but also have someone asking a set questions and then having to come take calls from builders," he said.
"There are pros and cons to everything. It's great to be so intimate with the book and able to facilitate the needs of the design.
"A con is maybe objectivity. There’s stage in the creative process where you want to remove yourself and step back to have a look.Sometimes that’s tricky."
Ned: An Australian Musical opens at Ulumbarra Theatre on Friday, May 22. It runs until Sunday, May 31.
For more information or to book tickets phone 5434 6100 or visit www.thecapital.com.au/Whats_On/NED