Issue 4 - The Serenade Files

— OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2019

“The mind is a tree. Ideas branch
out from it. It must be watered and
nurtured in order for it to thrive and
bear fruit.”
Jennifer Trijo

Cherry Plum Tree | photo by Jennifer Trijo

Take Me to the Beach
“My aim was to invite the viewer visually
to the unique beaches of Adelaide. It
was an incredibly satisfying painting
to create and I feel that my many
hours spent studying the beach and its
machinations have helped me capture it
in my own style.”
Erica McNicol, artist

have a stronger foundation and you can hit
the ground running on the first of January.
More importantly, find time to reflect on what
you’ve accomplished so far and be present in
the moment. Literally, and figuratively, make
time to stop and smell the roses.
Issue 4 includes articles about renewal, from
an artist who plans to pursue her artistic
goals in a new country to one who has found
healing from within. James Murphy goes
beyond his State of Mind column to interview
the General Manager of Music SA about the
issue of pay in the Australian live music
industry, Andreas Bukhardi delivers part four
of his short story Strange Acquaintances, and
we give you insight into the work of artist
Erica McNicol who is our cover artist for this
quarter.
#4. Welcome
Spring is my favourite season. Aside from
being the season that I was born in, it is
symbolic of renewal.
I recently published Spring cleaning for the
creative mind on the blog as a reminder to be
kind to myself. Job offers have been coming
in for 2020 and I have had to give each one
careful consideration to avoid mental fatigue.
I will only choose the ones that will enhance
my skills as a freelance creative.
Thank you to everyone who has read,
contributed to, and financially supported our
first three issues. I’ll be spending these final
months of 2019 planning bigger things for
the magazine and I hope that you can be a
part of it in the near future. Keep reading,
keep creating, and stay inspired.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Trijo
Founder and Editor
As we have reached the final quarter of
2019, it is a crucial time for setting goals
for 2020. Most new year’s resolutions don’t
last because they’re made on a whim. If you
take some time to plan your goals now, you’ll
WELCOME

Contents
OCTOBER – DECEMBER
2019
5. Welcome
Accento
8. Does the Australian live music
industry pay in more than just
exposure?
10. Spring Awakening, the Elder
Conservatorium of Music’s inaugural
musical
State of Mind
12. Michaela Burger spends four years in
a Tibetan temple
Bravo
16. Cassidy Rae Gaiter’s sights are set
on Nashville
Dolce
20. Five tips to stay booked and blessed
22 Always an artist
Libretto
24. Strange Acquaintances – part 4

Founder & Editor
Jennifer Trijo
Artist — Cover Artwork
Erica McNicol
Logo Designer
Jakub Gaudasinski
Graphic Designer
Jacek Gaudasinski
Contributors
James Murphy
Erica McNicol
Andreas Bukhardi
Contact us
PO Box 59
Greenacres
South Australia 5086
Instagram: @the_serenade_files
Facebook: @Jennifer.Trijo.TSF
The Serenade Files is published four
times a year by Jennifer Trijo and is
proudly based in South Australia. Views
expressed by authors are not necessarily
those of the publisher.
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced without
the prior written permission of the
publisher.
Copyright © 2017 – 2019 Jennifer Trijo

ACCENTO
Spring Awakening, the
Elder Conservatorium
of Music’s inaugural
musical
Jennifer Trijo
Musical director and repertoire coach,
Paul Sinkinson, took time out from
his busy schedule to chat about his
experience working as part of the staff
for the Bachelor of Music Theatre course
at the University of Adelaide. Their first
production opens on 21 November at the
Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre.
As musical director for this premiere
production how are you feeling
leading up to opening night?
As the inaugural production for the
Bachelor of Music Theatre course at the
Elder Conservatorium, I feel privileged
and humbled to be entrusted with
music directing Spring Awakening. With
opening night just shy of a month away,
I can confidently say that the show is in
the very best of hands with George at
the helm. The attention to detail from
the production team and the students
shows how much of a success everyone
involved wants the show to be.
Briefly describe your training and
how you arrived at this point in your
career?
Musical theatre has been a relatively
new passion of mine, having come from
a music composition background and
then a film and television undergraduate
degree. Experience working in the
theatre at a community and professional
level cemented that musical theatre is
where I feel at home, and having the
chance to meet and work with so many
passionate people told me I was in the
right field. Having completed my Master
of Teaching, being part of the staff at the
Elder Conservatorium is rewarding as I
am working with the next generation of
performing artists and it allows me to
continue to hone my skills as a theatre
musician.
This is the first year that the
Bachelor of Music Theatre degree
has run in Adelaide. What has your
experience been so far?
Being part of a new degree has been
incredibly exciting. The course has
settled really comfortably into the
Conservatorium environment and feels
at home. Practise rooms and teaching
spaces are being shared with classical,
jazz, and pop students and I think we
ACCENTO

have become
accepted into
the “music
community”.
Gone are days
when passersby
do double
takes when a
BMT student
practises their
tap routine on
the lawn or belts
out a Golden
Age show tune
next door to
a trumpeter
dutifully playing
their scales.
Spring Awakening is an edgy,
youthful choice for an inaugural
show. What can audiences expect
from the first year students of this
production?
The show contains many controversial
themes that were taboo over a hundred
years ago when the original play that
the production is based on was written;
yet its content is still just as relevant
and somewhat controversial today.
Today’s ‘age of information’ brings up
issues about how much information
we give to our children and what can
happen when that is restricted. This first
year cohort are fresh and raw and their
performances will mirror the realness
and vitality that Spring Awakening
embodies.
In Issue 1 of our magazine, we
interviewed George Torbay, Head of
Music Theatre. What’s it like to work
with him in your capacity as musical
director?
George is a true professional in his field
and has been an amazing colleague
and mentor. His attention to detail and
drive is next to none and it has been an
absolute pleasure being able to work
alongside him throughout the year. As
a director, George’s vision for Spring
Awakening has been crystal clear from
day one and having him communicate
this every step of the way has helped me
sculpt what I have wanted musically.
What advice would you give to
anyone who aspires to work as
a musical director or work as a
musician in music theatre?
Be yourself 100 per cent of the time.
Put all your cards on the table and don’t
pretend to be someone you’re not.
People want to work with others who are
genuine, friendly and willing to put in the
hard work. Always be prepared to keep
learning and developing your skills.
Thank you so much for your insight
Paul and Chookas!
Spring Awakening will run from
21 – 24 November at the Space
Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre.
Visit https://www.bass.net.au/
events/spring-awakening/ for more
information.
ACCENTO

Does the Australian live
music industry pay with
more than exposure?
By James Murphy
As the frontwoman of Afro-Caribbean
eight-piece NUVO, Music SA General
Manager Lisa Bishop is no stranger
to dividing up a band gig payment
into measly portions that barely cover
costs. While we know, anecdotally, that
surviving as a contemporary musician
is tough, Music SA, along with fifteen
other peak industry bodies, is seeking
to quantify just how hard it is, through
the Australian Music Industry Network
National Survey On Live Music Pay.
Since rising to
the helm of Music
SA, General
Manager Lisa
Bishop has steered
the organisation
to new heights
by bringing the
eastern states
to town each
year for the AIR
Awards and Indie-Con, launching the
immensely successful Umbrella Winter
City Sounds Festival, and by successfully
campaigning to have our city declared
a UNESCO City of Music, amongst other
achievements.
Her success in the role, in part, has been
due to her two decades’ experience as
a company director, but also because
she has brought insights gleaned from
her time spent on stage as a vocalist;
she can empathise with the plight of
musicians seeking to earn a living from
performing, because she has been there
too, as she explains.
“I’ve done gigs myself where I will go
out for the night, do a gig, there’s seven
people in the band so we’ll get 70 bucks
each, and it barely covers petrol, the car
parking, the new pair of stockings that I
had to buy and a drink.”
“I’ve had many occasion where we’ve
gone into a rehearsal studio and at the
end of the night you’ve had to cough up
five bucks for the hire of the room and
you see some of the guys who are like
‘ah can someone pay my share this week
because I don’t have five bucks’ because
people are really on the bone trying to
make it as a contemporary musician.”
If you are receiving hard currency in
exchange for your musicianship, though,
you are probably doing better than
many, Lisa says, but we can’t be quite
sure.
“The evidence is anecdotal, we don’t
have the evidence to answer what
they’re getting paid, are they getting
paid at all, how often are they being
asked to perform because it’s good
exposure, are they being paid in alcohol-
I often hear stories about that. A lot of
ACCENTO

the younger musicians are very health
conscious, they’re vegans, or they just
don’t want to be paid in alcohol.”
“There was one band that said they were
going to get paid in cocktails, so I said to
them ‘why don’t you ask them how much
it’s going to cost them to make those
cocktails and if they tell you it’s going to
be 500 bucks then why don’t you say I’ll
take the cash?’”
By distributing the National Survey to
100,000 Aussie contemporary musicians,
Lisa, along with other Music Industry
Network members, hopes to convert
such anecdotes into hard data. Once
armed with that information, Lisa
explains that the goal will not be to
use it to push for regulation and the
imposition of red tape, but rather to
build awareness.
“I think just generally we need some
evidence so the industry can start
advocating. I don’t think having
regulated awards rates to ensure better
pay for contemporary musicians is the
answer because venues will just not
have live music if there are just more
costs because they are already under
strain with all the costs that they have to
cover.”
You can have your say, and go into
the running to win some great prizes
in the process.
Visit http://www.musicsa.com.au.
The survey closes on 13 November.
Artist Kelly Menhennett | photo by Helen Page
ACCENTO

STATE OF MIND
Michaela Burger’s four
years in a Tibetan
temple
James Murphy
A decade and half ago, Helpmann
Award nominated cabaret dynamo
Michaela Burger found herself at the
crossroads, professionally and spiritually.
Living in London, recently married
and newly graduated, Michaela was
struggling to crack the notoriously
competitive West End musical theatre
market, and, consequently, was finding
it tough to make ends meet.
Amidst this turmoil, she had a chance
encounter with a Tibetan Buddhist nun
which led to an unplanned four year
stay at Lerab Ling, a Buddhist temple
near Montepellier in the south of France,
founded by Dzogchen lama Sogyal
Rinpoche. As she prepared to fly to
India to mourn the death of her spiritual
guide, Michaela speaks about her years
of inward journeying and how it has
shaped her life as a performer.
Eastern spirituality, in the form of
Buddhist meditation and yogic asanas,
have been integral components of
Michaela Burger’s self-care routine
since her days studying at the Adelaide
Conservatorium, but it hasn’t been
something that she has openly discussed
until recently, as she explains.
“I haven’t spoken about it before. It’s
part of my life. It’s like brushing the
teeth in the morning, studying Buddhism
and practising Buddhism.”
“I was so into yoga. It really helped
my singing. Even just opening up the
diaphragm and stretching the body for
ten minutes helps the voice to settle.”
“I remember that sick feeling of having
to perform and then doing yoga and
then it dissipated into your body, the
nervous energy, and then you could use
the energy in a better way instead of
being taken over by it.”
By channelling her energy into her
performances, Michaela attained
immediate success, winning the
inaugural Adelaide Cabaret Festival
scholarship in 2002 and then supporting
STATE OF MIND

international musical theatre icon Jason
Robert Brown the following year. When
she tried to replicate her success at
home in one of the world’s toughest
musical theatre markets, though, she hit
a wall, as she explains.
“I’d been studying in London and I was
doing a masters in musical theatre,
and I’d finished my training and started
auditioning and was finding it really
difficult. I was nannying, just to make
ends meet, and when you’re in London,
if you don’t make some money, it’s quite
difficult to even survive.”
During this time of desperation, she
received a call.
“A nun from this temple rang me and
said that she needed assistance because
they were going into this three-year
retreat, which is a tradition in Tibetan
Buddhism. My husband and I had only
just gotten married and she said ‘bring
him too.’”
“It was a timing thing I think. We both
said ‘let’s do this’. We were both very
unhappy in London, it was very hard, so
we just left our little jobs and gave away
all our stuff and moved to France.”
“We were only supposed to go for six
months and as we arrived, we were like
‘we’re not leaving’. We just had this real
sense that we needed to be there then.”
Despite having devoted much of her life
to singing and music, giving it up, at the
time, was not a difficult decision, she
explains.
“I didn’t have any trouble walking away
from it which was very interesting.
I felt like I had a very rich life, not
financially [laughs], but I felt that my
life was full of great friendships and a
wonderful marriage and I never felt like
I needed my singing or my performing
to complete me, you know, so leaving it
was very easy.”
The urge to sing and create eventually
re-emerged while living in the temple,
though, she says, but not in the same
way as she had been in London.
“I wrote a lot [of music] while I was
young and then I never pursued it and
that’s what started to happen while I
was at the temple, and that’s when I
STATE OF MIND

got the sense of not singing more, but
creating more, which was very fulfilling
for me.”
Michaela was also often invited to sing to
the sangha, or congregation, too, which,
she says, was yet another evolutionary
step for her as a performer.
“I can say that a lot of the fears
dropped away when I was singing in
the temple, because often I was singing
in front of 2000 people, often in front
of my teacher. It was a different kind
of nerves; he knew how to work with
me and I think he gave me a different
confidence that I didn’t have before and
self-belief, which is the most important
thing when you’re performing.”
to trust and I’m just going to keep going
because there’s something in this.”
Michaela’s faith was repaid in
abundance, with her acclaimed cabaret
show Exposing Edith winning the
International Cabaret Contest in 2015
and was nominated for a Helpmann in
the following year. While she continues
to tour her follow up, A Migrant’s
Son, which was also nominated for
a Helpmann, Michaela says that her
spiritual journey will form the narrative
of her next cabaret work. Until then,
though, Michaela has begun sharing her
insights on wellbeing and performing
through a Facebook page entitled The
Peaceful Performer.
After four years in Lerab Ling, Sogyal
Rinpoche gave Michaela his blessing
to return to the world of music; it was
her gift to the world. When she arrived
back in Australia as a singer-songwriter,
though, her resolve was tested, but with
the training that she had received, she
was ready.
“When I left Australia I was an opera
and cabaret singer and a musical theatre
performer and so it was very challenging
when I came back; nobody knew me, it
took me years to get an audition and I
was on the singer songwriting circuit for
a while and it’s very challenging to make
a living in that at the level that I was at,
and [the temple] just gave me the tools
to keep going. [I thought] I’m just going
STATE OF MIND

BRAVO
Cassidy Rae Gaiter
has her sights set on
Nashville
Jennifer Trijo
Adelaide artist, Cassidy Rae Gaiter has
trained in the performing arts since the
age of five. She has been surrounded
by many musical styles but country
music is her favourite genre. She has
been travelling between Australia and
the United States of America over the
past few years to establish herself as
an artist, and she recently made the
important decision to pursue her music
career overseas.
What made you first fall in love with
country music?
Well my family are all from the country
and my mum is a huge country music
fan. So you could say I was born
destined to sing country music! It’s a
running joke in my family that I was
literally born to the music of Shania
Twain’s The Woman In Me album
because its all my mum would listen
to at the time! I love the honesty and
storytelling of country music. You put
your heart on your sleeve every time you
write and then again when you perform
your songs.
photo by Jeremy Dylan
When did you write your first song
and what inspired it?
I grew up writing songs in my head you
could say, I was always putting words
and poetry to a tune but at that stage I
didn’t play an instrument so I feel like
they don’t really count as full songs! It
wasn’t until I went to Nashville for the
first time in 2013 that my words were
put to music! Since then I’ve learnt to
play guitar and have been writing songs
daily ever since!
BRAVO

Give us an overview of your training
in music and performance.
I’ve had singing, acting and dance
lessons since I was about 5 years old
and then after high school, I auditioned
for the Australian Institute of Music in
Sydney and graduated with a Bachelor
of Music (Music Theatre) in 2015! My
course was an accelerated two-year-long
Bachelor and it was the hardest but most
rewarding few years of my life!
You released an EP ‘Shake it Don’t
Fake it’ in 2017 which has received
great reviews. How do you feel
about this as a singer/songwriter?
‘Shake It Don’t Fake It’ was such a huge
achievement for me! Although that
sound is not exactly the kind of artist
I want be now and I made some naive
decisions along the way, I think as artists
and musicians you will always cherish
your first record/music you put out into
Cassidy Rae Gaiter | photo by Boeme

Cassidy Rae Gaiter | photo by Boeme
the world! I got to record the whole EP
in Nashville, in a studio that so many
amazing country artists had recorded in
before me and it went to Number 1 on
iTunes which was pretty amazing!
Nashville is the iconic home of
country music, tell us about your
plans to move to the USA to pursue
your music career
Nashville is the most inspiring city I
have ever been to! I knew the moment I
stepped off that plane 6 years ago that it
was the place I needed to be. I’ve been
travelling back and forth since then,
spending 3 months at a time writing
and building a network and it’s just
got to a point where I need to make it
more permanent! So, about a year ago I
started the visa process and we are now
on the home stretch! I’m hoping to move
early next year!
While studying at the Australian
Institute of Music, you’ve been
able to perform some great roles
BRAVO

namely, Elle Woods (Legally Blonde)
and Gabriella Montez (High School
Musical). You’ve just performed the
role of Sophie Sheridan in Mamma
Mia! Is musical theatre something
you will still pursue overseas?
Yes definitely! That’s actually been
one of the huge struggles I’ve had
throughout my career, balancing my love
of music theatre and being a recording
artist.
I’m constantly being told I need to
choose one or the other. But I love them
both completely equally and I believe I
can do both!
Nashville actually has an amazing
theatre scene and I plan on attending as
many auditions as I can, either in New
York or regionally!
How do you go balancing your
personal and professional life?
It can be difficult! The nature of my life
at the moment is so much travel, so
it’s hard to have roots anywhere if that
makes sense! This industry is very hard
to make enough money to live off, so
you need to have other odd jobs as well,
and when you travel as much as I do,
finding places that are willing to give you
the time off is super difficult!
Also, things like having enough time to
spend with your family and friends when
you are home so little of the time can
be really emotionally draining but I’m
hoping it will all be worth it in the end!
What are some challenges that
you’ve faced working in the
entertainment industry? And
how have you overcome these
challenges?
I think the hardest thing is knowing
who to trust. I’ve been misled already
so many times because I put my trust
in people I shouldn’t have. So, its just
being really aware of what people want
and demand from you and whether they
are wanting whats best for you and your
career.
Is there any advice you could give
to people who hope to work as
performers or songwriters?
Believe in yourself. That’s something
I’ve struggled with my whole life but
I’ve found the moments I stop and think
‘hey, you’re great and you’re worth it’,
things actually started to go my way!
That’s the power of positive thinking. But
also, write as much as you can, there
is inspiration everywhere and find what
you wanna say and tell the world. Don’t
try and be like someone else! Be you!
Thank you so much for your insight
and all the best for your move to
Nashville.
BRAVO

Five tips to stay booked
and blessed
Jennifer Trijo
Your personal brand is everything
when you are a freelance creative. In
such a business model, you are the
product and service so it is important
to conduct yourself with the utmost
professionalism with every project. If
you want to get booked for projects and
stay booked then take the time to work
on your personal brand.
Your reputation can precede you when
meeting with a potential client. It is
easy to overlook this if you operate as
a sole trader. The business name under
which you operate, whether it’s your real
name or something else, is what people
carefully consider when booking you. In
the same way that a person compares
brands when they go shopping, clients
will compare your personal brand with
those who have a similar product or
service.
I remember one of the band managers
I once worked for in Sydney saying
“you’re only as good as your last gig”,
and she’s right. I’ve sat on audition
panels where my colleagues would
choose one talent over another based
on how easy it is to work with that
person because of their can-do attitude.
Talent gets you so far but you shouldn’t
underestimate the significance of your
work ethic and attitude on every project.
More importantly, people talk to one
another about their experiences and
they will sooner endorse a person who
offered a quality service than someone
who came up short.
Here are five tips to set you up so that
you can remain booked.
1. Create and maintain a professional
online presence
2. Keep your CV and headshots up to
date
3. Proactively network within your
industry
4. Accept only the number of projects
you can handle and do them well
5. Be kind and courteous to everyone
Word-of-mouth marketing and positive
testimonials lead to referrals for future
projects. Once you don’t have to actively
advertise your services and the bookings
are frequently coming in then you are
on to a good thing. Keep working on
your personal brand and your business
prospects will flourish.
DOLCE

Always an artist
Erica McNicol
When you have a lifelong passion for
something you will always find a way
to feed that passion and for me this is
creating Art. It sustains me.
Originally a farm girl from the lower
lakes in South Australia I’ve lived and
painted in locations ranging from the
Coorong to the Adelaide Hills to the
Northern Rivers of NSW and now living
and creating in my studio at Flagstaff
Hill, Adelaide. At every one of these
beautiful locations I have actively applied
to develop my skills and sought out
Galleries to represent my artwork.
I found it less convenient to paint when
my children were young so I adapted
and learnt to embroider, creating original
work in a new medium but I’ve always
returned to painting. The future would
find me drawing, painting, teaching
embroidery at TAFE and for a couple of
years even renting studio space in the
Hahndorf Academy.
teachers, all the time continuing my own
art practice from home. Feeding that
passion!
In 2010 I realised a long held ambition
and commenced enamelling tuition with
John Richardson resulting in me creating
and exhibiting my enamel jewellery
in many galleries since. Much of the
enamelling techniques I employ are
vastly different from what I was taught
and are of my own design making them
completely individual and unique.
A recent project has been creating
rope and fabric vessels which finds me
returning to my second love, textiles,
but oil painting will always be my first
and I’m currently doing just that in
readiness for my next exhibition.
Visit https://artisanbyem.weebly.
com/ for more information.
For many years my other job has been
support for Art Teachers in schools.
This has meant that I’ve have been
able surround myself with creativity,
the latest art trends and materials and
has enabled me to share my skills and
experience with both the students and
DOLCE

DOLCE

STRANGE ACQUAINTANCES Part 4
Andreas Bukhardi

Upon a dimly lit street in a sleepy
dimly lit town, a pub with its doors
wide open, on a warm summer night,
stood tall with dim yellow light pouring
out of its windows. At a table just
outside, by the road, flanked ever so
uncomfortably by the gutter and a beer
barrel chute, sat four individuals, their
features somewhat obscured from a
distance… all except two.
He was a man of middle years,
uncomfortable-looking and dressed
plainly but altogether not unpleasant,
meaning perhaps that he tried ever-sohard
to fit in, unable as he felt to make
his existence seamless. He was darting
around as if anxious to speak but not
knowing exactly what to say.
Opposite him was a woman, but
otherwise with no distinguishing
features, and much like the other two
individuals either side of the table,
they all sat awkwardly, stiffly, and with
a degree of stillness that one would
deem unnatural. Their clothes were
neither stylistically, temporally, nor as
a function of resting on a single person,
fitting. Imagine, for a moment, a person,
someone random that you’ve seen on
the street perhaps, and then imagine
that they’re wearing items that could
only be acquired from a Chinese twodollar
shop. This was his company.
And much like his company, the pub
itself felt lifeless. Sure, the light was
on, but no one seemed to be alive. The
band in the corner, sat behind their
instruments, was staring into space.
The bartender stood behind the bar, as
well he should, frozen mid-way through
polishing a schooner the way you’d see
done in a John Wayne Western, waiting
for some pilgrim to happen by. The
patrons likewise, strewn about the place,
positioned haphazardly this way and
that.
The three people sat about the table
outside were looking at the man. Oddly,
their faces were blank. While they did
have eyes, noses, lips, all of the usual
parts one would expect to find on a
face, these were unfinished, angular,
as if ripped out of a Terry Gilliam film
and edited by a child to avoid copyright
infringement. He finally spoke. The
woman sitting opposite him was ever-soslightly
more defined, but not by much.
Man: I’m glad you could all make
it. I’m sorry about the state of the
place. I’ve tried to clean up but there
is so much on my mind right now so I
hoped against hope that you wouldn’t
mind. I realise that none of this is
finished.
He pointed awkwardly at a wad of paper
on the table in front of him.
Man: I realise also that this state of
flux may be… well… uncomfortable
for you all, but I shall seek a remedy
for this immediately.
Hanging from his shirt was a pair of
reading glasses that he put on and
LIBRETTO

proceeded to rummage with no clear
goal through the papers in front of him.
Man: The reason I’m here is because
I’ve made… many mistakes, and I’m
sorry to say that this time I really
do not know how to undo them. It
seems that the secret is out, as the
adage goes, and unfortunately it’s
not just me who’s involved. I’m not
exactly sure how this happened… but
it DID happen, and so I have come
here so I can sit down and maybe fix
this.
He flicked through the pages quickly,
backtracking several times and making
quick edits with a pencil, ground to
almost a nub as it was. He looked at the
pencil.
Man: Ha! You see, this was one of
my better choices. A pencil… a pencil
while everyone else has a pen.
The angular-faced woman across the
table from him returned a blank stare.
She didn’t move, as much as he wanted
her to.
Man: I mean, of course you don’t
see. How could you? That’s another
mistake, that I only have one of
these, and as you can all see we
are... running out of pencil. I’m sorry,
I cannot fill in the details now. But if
all goes well, I will come back and do
so…
He looked at the angular, near-polygonal
face of the woman in front of him and
paused.
Man: … and then we can pretend like
this has never happened. I have to
go. The show is about to start. I love
you.
He stole a moment more and looked at
her, then darted at his watch and quickly
turned the wad of papers over to the
first page. With a single broad stroke he
crossed the page out, and just like that
the sleepy street in a sleepy dimly lit
town was no more.
The five minute bell rang.
Clutching the wad of papers under his
arm, he ran up the stairs of the Opera
House. The doorman, adept at his
vocation, swung the large ornate doors
open for him, ushering him in.
::
Doorman: You have four minutes
more, Mr. Bukhardi, no need to
hurry! Enjoy the show, sir!
He tore through the near-empty lobby
towards the main hall door manned by
another doorman.
Nearing the door to the hall, he yelled to
the doorman…
Man: Andreas Bukhardi!!! I have a
season pass!!!
The doorman would not even dream of
checking the ticket and opened the door
just as a voice from the corner of the
lobby called out.
Woman: Sir!
Libretto

He stopped and turned around, startled
as he was, letting a few remaining
patrons push past him through the door.
The woman in the corner of the lobby
was young, shaggy and dishevelled, with
a wild glint in her eyes and a shock of
crazy light-brown curly hair.
Andreas: Marin! I’m sorry! there is no
time!
Marin: Stop!
Andreas: It’s complicated! I have to
go!
He turned around towards the door,
the doorman opening it for him once
again. Behind the door he glimpsed the
splendour of the grand concert hall, just
the way he remembered it. In between
him and the hall, however, was Thaddeus
Pintz, now slowly but deliberately
approaching.
Andreas: Mr. Pintz! I wasn’t expecting
you.
Thaddeus: You seem to know me,
sir, but I don’t think I have had the
pleasure.
The doorman closed the door once
again. The bell rang once more.
Thaddeus was now in the lobby and
Andreas was flanked from both sides.
Andreas: I know this sounds strange,
but please do not waste any more
time!
Entering the lobby from the adjacent
restroom was an older woman in pre-war
dress and a slanted hat; Monica. Behind
her Reba Martenot.
Monica: Ah, I see all the guests have
come to the party! Welcome, Mr.
Bukhardi. Don’t worry, you won’t
miss the show.
Andreas darted towards the door
and the doorman standing beside
it, who now stood perfectly still, his
face ill-defined and cubist. Andreas
stood there and suddenly his arms
went weak, and the papers he so
attentively held until now fell to the
floor.
Andreas: [despondently] Why?
Monica: Why? WHY??? Mr. Bukhardi,
you of all people should know what
the common thread here is. You of all
people should have expected this.
Andreas: [looking around] What
about them? They don’t know!
Monica: Oh, they know. They know
Libretto

very well. I’ve made sure of that.
Really, strictly speaking, the only one
who knows but doesn’t seem to care
is that idiot Jeffrey. Remember him?
As for the rest of us, we do care, and
we are a little concerned.
Andreas: It’s all my fault.
Thaddeus: What is?
Andreas: All this. [points at paper
on floor] All this. I didn’t know how
else to build a world where she
would… where she would love me.
I’ve created something so wonderful,
so perfect, so real. And I was able to
describe its every facet. It was the
way I would love someone if only I
would ever meet her.
Marin: Who is it?
Andreas: It’s no one.
They all looked at him closely.
Andreas: It’s all of you. All of
you carry something of me and
something of what I thought she
should be. I never filled in the details.
I’ve described a world that she would
love, friends that we would have,
adventures we would go on. And
all of you were there, in your own
stories, ready to go, waiting for us.
Thaddeus: I did wait for you, and
so did Marin, but you never came.
Instead a woman called Angela Briar
tipped us off about you. That’s why
we are here.
Reba: I did wait for you, but you
never came. Instead a man called
Arthur Kleis told me about you.
That’s why I am here.
Monica: And I have waited for you,
Mr. Bukhardi. I have waited for you to
return me back to my original story,
but you never did. Admittedly you
were a very careful writer, but not
careful enough. You see, everybody,
Mr. Bukhardi here wrote the rest of
his story into my story. This, all this,
is MY STORY! What he didn’t know is
that I would then take his writing and
rewrite it myself. Check mate, Mr.
Bukhardi.
Monica produced a wad of folded sheets
from her pocket, and watching Andreas
slowly collapse to the floor, she unfolded
it and held up the topmost page.
Monica: Here is where you describe
this very Opera House, complete with
that idiot Jeffrey.
Andreas looked at her with an air of
resignation. With a single swift move,
LIBRETTO

Libretto

she produced a pen from her pocket
and ran it across the top paragraph.
The carpets turned black, half the lights
turned off, the popcorn machine fell to
the floor.
Monica: You wrote us all into a
story that we do not belong in, Mr.
Bukhardi. You’ve dumped us into
a world that we do not belong in.
An unfinished, poorly constructed
shadow of a reality that no one cares
about, and where our only common
goal is to serve you in your quest for
love! Well I say to hell with you and
your elusive love, Mr. Bukhardi!
Monica took another page from the stack
and tore it into bits. The walls turned
dark.
Monica: To hell with you and your
story!!!
She took yet another page off the top of
the stack and…
::
learned of the story and the inclusion
of the other characters who were to
aid in the construction of an entirely
different world became aware that
the anachronisms created are in fact
evidence of something greater.
It has been agreed that pens, paper,
and any other implementation of writing
within the stories has to be carefully
considered lest another rogue attempts a
similar transgression.
This is Andreas Bukhardi. I apologise for
the inconvenience.
I’m writing this as an afterthought,
having long considered what I have
done and what caused the chaos that
ensued, leading ultimately to the
unravelling of the Opera House and
the story surrounding it. I am happy to
report that the only story that suffered
was in fact the story of the Opera House
where a secret exchange between two
wartime spies, code name Operation
Black Butterfly, was to occur, but
ultimately never did. Monica, having

the Serenade Files
— OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2019
Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens | photo by Jennifer Trijo