Sasha Mutch: Multifaceted

"As my style, medium, and form are not entirely set and I enjoy a variety of approaches towards my art, Multifaceted works on the notion that I myself am not simply one personality, that in a way each style and form is representative of my own dual identity."

Sasha Mutch is eighteen years old and fresh out of high school. She attended Ringwood Secondary College but lives in Upper Ferntree Gully where she was born and raised. She pursued her arts and media vigorously in year 12 and has proudly been accepted into Top Arts, Top Screen, and Top Design of the VCE Season of Excellence 2012 program. Sasha now studies Animation and Interactive Media at RMIT University.

VCE Creative Showcase

The VCE Creative Showcase was established to exhibit and celebrate outstanding work from top graduating visual art students across the Yarra Ranges Shire.

Now in its fifth year the 2012 exhibition promises a challenging and rewarding visual art experience and a unique opportunity to see the world interpreted by the emerging artists of our community.

Yarra Ranges Mayor Graham Warren said the VCE Creative Showcase helped celebrate the outstanding work of local young people; “Not only do visitors get to see high quality work on display, the students have the chance to have their work professionally presented. We have some wonderfully talented young people in the Yarra Ranges and I encourage as many people to support it as possible.”

Janette Geri and Guests

Presented by Ranges Burrinja Folk.

Gifted singer, songwriter and musician, Janette Geri is a powerful performer, an artist of rare warmth and beauty. Her music is diverse, contemporary and she moves easily through earthy grooves, eclectic rhythms, a touch of blues and strong world sensibilities.

For table bookings call Burrinja Cafe on 9754 5707.

Merry Go Rag

Enjoy a free fun filled afternoon in a family friendly environment. Talented local musicians feature songs from the 60's,70's 80's and today. Artists covered include Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Kinks, Bee Gees, Elton John and the like.

Dining with Spirit

Dine with the spirits in a fun and friendly atmosphere - featuring professional healers, psychics, mediums, tarot readers and other alternative professionals.

Cost: $50 includes a meal, drink of choice and a 15 minute session with your chosen professional. Please book early as places are limited - phone Burrinja Cafe on 9754 5707.

Dave O'Neil

"You don't really have a job, do you Dad?"

Dave O’Neil has been in the business of comedy for over 20 years, and has performed at 12 Melbourne International Comedy Festivals. Dave has also become a regular part of TV shows such as Spicks and Specks, Gordon St Tonight, and Good News Week.

“An atmosphere some comedians would kill to be able to generate, sitting in Dave O’Neil’s audience is genuinely to feel like you’ve stumbled into a relaxed conversation among friends…unprepossessingly good-spirited fun.” Chortle

To book tickets, please call Burrinja Cafe on 9754 5707.

The Mighty bUZZniks

If Dr Seuss Started a rockband... This would be it!

The bUZZniks bridge the gap between music for toddlers and teens bringing a show of diverse musical styles where hip-hop, rock, folk and pop back quirky lyrics for the little people.

Come on a fabulous musical adventure with this five piece live band who create very cool music, funny stories and a lot of energy that will have kids moving and parents grooving. Their new album Bug Out is out through ABC music.

Acoustic Brew

Mix it up and play with experienced musicians in a relaxed setting, hosted by Michelle Chandler.

Be there at 8pm to put your name on the blackboard to perform 3 songs (or 15 mins). Bring charts if you can. There is a list of songs the musicians can play from which you can choose if you prefer.

For table bookings call Burrinja Cafe on 9754 5707.

Stefan Grossman

Burrinja Cafe is the perfect place to soak up the brilliance of Stefan Grossman. Last seen in Australia in 1978, Stefan brings 'Fingerstyle Guitar - Blues, Ragtime to Beyond' to Australia in 2012.

Stefan Grossman's name is legendary. He witnessed Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Skip James, Bukka White and learned from them all. Most of all Stefan learned from the great Rev Gary Davis and he acquired his ‘Kid Future’ nickname from being able to play Willie Brown’s arrangement of Future Blues. He met John Fahey, Ry Cooder and Steve Mann. “If you could play guitar,” says Stefan, “you were accepted anywhere. He has also played with Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Eric Clapton and Paul Simon.

Stefan Grossman makes it look easy; his laid back humour abets his brilliance and one is apt to forget that the man on stage is playing some of the most difficult pieces.

Come Together: The Music of the Beatles

Phil Smith presents the music of his all time favourite band, The Beatles, in an intimate concert @ Burrinja Cafe. Joining him will be Keyboard maestro Cres Crisp, Steve Marriott's ex Drummer Fallon Williams the third, and very special guest Neil Quinlan on guitar and vocals.

This amazing line-up promise a Magical Mystery Tour through the Fab's repertoire, utilising great vocals and some unplugged arrangements of classic songs.

For table bookings call Burrinja Cafe on 9754 5707.

Open Mic Night

Each month there is an informal and friendly Open Mic night at the Burrinja Cafe with regular and new performers (especially 1st timers) welcoming all musos, poets, duos and trios.

See others performing to get a feel for the place and maybe perform yourself or simply come along and enjoy a great meal and a few drinks in this friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

For table bookings call Burrinja Cafe on 9754 5707.

The String Contingent

Virtuosic instrumental trio The String Contingent compose and perform music of sparkling beauty and originality that explores the full spectrum of musical expression. Australians Chris Stone (violin) and Holly Downes (double bass) with Scotsman Graham McLeod (guitar) integrate disparate musical styles through their own refined acoustic sensibilities.

Drawing from genres including celtic, classical, jazz and bluegrass, The String Contingent burnish their original compositions through the clarity and precision of a meticulous ‘chamber music’ ethos. Their multi-faceted approach results in highly accessible yet sophisticated music that captivates audiences from any genre, while retaining their own unique style.

Rosie Burgess Trio

Sometimes it’s hard to fit people into boxes, and the Rosie Burgess Trio are no exception. Sliding from folk to blues to gypsy-roots and back, the trio cross more genres than state borders, giving off "more energy than an illegally sparked firecracker".

And cross borders they do. Living primarily in touring vans, the trio have been crisscrossing the world for the last three years, leaving behind them a trail of lost shirts, broken flip-flops and adoring audiences. Hailing from Melbourne, the trio bring their unique brand of folkroots to centre stage in a collection of catchy harmonies and humour.

Fractured Fairytales

You all know the story of the "Three Little Pigs", right? And who hasn't heard the tale of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"? And we all grew up with "Goldilocks & the Three Bears". But what would happen if they were fractured?

All 3 of the traditional fairytales are acted out on stage using audience participation, puppetry, song, dance & pantomime. Then all three of the stories are "fractured". What if the wolf was the victim of the three little pigs stealing his land to build on? What if the troll's bridge toll was ignored by the three Billy Goats Gruff? Could there be the story of the Three Goldilocks whose house was taken over by a bear?

Anything can happen in a fractured fairytale and the students get to choose. Game show wheels will spin on stage, the audience calls the shots, & just about anything goes in this hilarious reworking of traditional fairytales.

There will be door prizes for best Friday 13th costume too!

Motherhood The Musical

A baby is just the beginning. Motherhood is for life.

Motherhood The Musical is a funny, yet loving look at being a mum at any age. It’s climbing the emotional mountain only to find that there’s laundry at the top. It’s discovering how powerful your love can be and how quickly they grow up. It’s helping them find their way and not losing yours. It’s about laughing and crying, craziness and calm, smiles and tears . . . and all before breakfast.

Get a group of friends together for this great show, enjoy a free glass of bubbles on arrival and have a fun night out at Burrinja, complete with lucky door prizes!

Identity

An inspiring evening showcasing the work of two very different artists (Frances Rings and Anton) who reveal perceptions of their unique Australian cultural identity.

Identity is performed by TasDance - one of Australia’s Premier touring dance companies.

Stop. Rewind.

How well do you know the person at the next desk?

Red Stitch Actors Theatre, arguably Melbourne’s most innovative and exciting theatre company, presents the world premiere of Stop. Rewind from Australian playwright and filmmaker Melissa Bubnic. Directed by Anne Browning (The Pitch, The Colours), Stop. Rewind is a deft and recognisable comedy with heart that begs the question, is it too late to live the life you’ve always wanted?

The Housekeeper

Ellis Productions and the Whitehorse Centre’s production of 'The Housekeeper' will have you in stitches with its lively wit and biting humour.

Two of Australia’s best comic actors, Evelyn Krape and Peter Moon, combine in this offbeat, delightfully zany comedy about a middle-aged, rather stuffy bachelor and the eccentric bag lady he hires as a housekeeper.

Foundering a bit after the death of his domineering mother, Manley (Peter Moon), a self-styled literary artist, engages a housekeeper, Annie (Evelyn Krape), to look after his large Victorian house (and himself). Annie is one of the world’s great oddballs. She insults her employer, denigrates his writing, admits she forged her references, accuses Manley of lusting after her and in general makes his life hell.

Come dressed in your favourite hat or cravat to win lucky door prizes!

Sesame Street Presents Elmo's World Tour

Come along with Elmo and the Sesame Street gang as they circle the globe in this all-singing, all-dancing stage show touring Australia in 2012.

Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, Grover, Zoe, Cookie Monster and Elmo use the letters of the alphabet to navigate a voyage through imagination that sees the gang visit China, Zambia, France, India and Australia!

Elmo and his friends have fun learning how people sing and dance and say hello in different places, but things don't go to plan when Cookie Monster eats a letter of the alphabet. Can Abby Cadabby find the right spell to help?

Along the way, audiences will also delight in hearing a sensational tale from The Count and will help some back-packing rubber-duckies find a place to stay with Bert and Ernie.  Featuring a bunch of classic Sesame Street songs alongside catchy new tunes, Sesame Street Present Elmo's World Tour will delight Sesame Street fans of ALL ages.

Bindjareb Pinjarra

A brilliant improvised comedy about WA’s Pinjarra Massacre.

Created and performed by Nyoongar and Wadjella (whitefella) actors, Bindjareb Pinjarra demonstrates extraordinary risk-taking through its fusion of history, outrageous comedy and physical theatre. It’s deadly!

The catalyst for this theatrical history lesson is the mass killing of Nyoongar people at Pinjarra on October 28, 1834 - an event recorded as the Battle of Pinjarra but mourned by local Nyoongar as a massacre. An account of this story is played out in front of a dramatic backdrop painted by Nyoongar artist Tjyllyungoo (Lance Chadd).

James and the Giant Peach

When James Henry Trotter accidentally drops a bag full of magic by the old peach tree, something strange begins to happen...

Join James and his motley assortment of over-sized friends in this innovative musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s classic, James and the Giant Peach.

Revel in the fantasy of this fully-staged production and let your imagination take a journey around the world ... on a peach as big as a house! Children and adults alike will delight in following James on his adventure away from the misery of life with the horrible Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker and into the Giant Peach with companions Old Green Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybird, Miss Spider and, of course, funny old Earthworm.

Moth

Sometimes there’s no scarier place to be than inside your own mind…

Sebastian is a terminally unpopular fifteen-year-old suburban kid, with an overactive imagination and an obsession with anime and death. His only friend, Claryssa, is an emo Wiccan art-freak barely one rung higher than Sebastian on the social ladder.

What starts as just another night drinking down at the cricket nets soon gives way to an ecstatic vision that leaves Sebastian unconscious, their friendship left in ruin. The next morning, he wakes up with a mysterious moth in a jar by his bed, and a calling to save the souls of all humankind. And so begins the Passion of Sebastian…

A funny and moving exploration of teenage mental illness, loss and friendship, produced by Arena Theatre Company.

Treasure Island

By Robert Louis Stevenson. 

Treasure Island is a legendary adventure story told through the eyes of young Jim Hawkins. In this interpretation of the story, young Jim is assisted in the story telling by his Father. This adventure story sees its characters battling with the sea, the land, one another and their own inner emotions as they search for the famous buried treasure. Their heroic and brave approach together with their constant ploys and strategies to outwit one another, offer a hostile yet comical journey towards their goal of finding Treasure Island and its glorious prize.

Treasure Island, although originally written for a younger audience, allows all ages to be actively caught up in the wondrous fantasy world Jim and his Father create. On the surface the fictional tale that unfolds is seemingly one that aims to entertain its audience. But underneath its fictional content lies many realistic theme’s that are still everpresent within contemporary society.