the GREENROOM with Nik n Mik

Send us Fan MailWell, here we are again.Nik and Mik have found themselves at that familiar creative junction: something new has started to take shape, which means excitement, possibility, logistics, money, doubt, overthinking, and at least one conversation about whether this is actually a good idea.In this episode, we talk about embarking on another creative project and what that stirs up after years of making work together and separately. We get into the strange cycle of creative momentum: where ideas come from, why some suddenly demand attention, how previous projects shape the next one, and the eternal question of whether to follow the spark or behave like sensible adults.There’s also plenty of conversation about work, changing priorities, creative identity, and what it means to make something now without automatically sacrificing time, money, energy or wellbeing at the altar of “the project”.So yes, something new is brewing.We’re interested. We’re cautious. We’re probably going to do it anyway.A conversation about beginnings, baggage, creative appetite, and the deeply suspicious phrase: “I’ve had an idea…”Sharing from the Green Room. 🎭Got a question or an idea you would like us to discuss? Drop us an email or voice note at [email protected] the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailWe promised ourselves a year off making shows.We nearly made it. 😂Mik's got an agent again. Self-tapes are flying in. Nikki's been quietly nursing an idea involving life drawing, poetry and a bit of bohemian mischief.And now somebody has said the words “Adelaide Fringe.”This week in The Green Room: getting older in the creative industries, auditions, typecasting, rejection, money, risk — and why, after 35 years, we apparently still can't stop ourselves from making things.Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailThis week we riff on access, privilege, and belonging in theatre, contrasting their politically charged mentors (apartheid-era rebel theatre and protest-hardened acting teachers) with today’s glossy, well-resourced private school productions and their ready-made industry networks. We argue that whether you’re a kid in a prestige venue or a tiny regional school, making theatre still builds teamwork, grit, and community—but we draw a hard line between art-making and self-therapy, calling out the industry’s brutal mental-health load and the pressure to keep “feeding the machine” through social capital. We also debate how disadvantage raises the entry-bar, how privilege can also stunt potential, and how elite circles often become the future investors of creative work. Bottom line: you’ve got agency, but always inside real constraints—and the education system’s “equity” story doesn’t match reality.Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailMelbourne Theatre Double: Speakeasy Vaudeville + Eddie Izzard’s HamletMik and Nik head to Melbourne for a theatre double: a gritty, intimate vaudeville night at Speakeasy Theatre Melbourne and Eddie Izzard’s one-person Hamlet. They rave about Speakeasy’s cabaret vibe, fast-switching acts, and a killer emcee, with highlights ranging from juggling-in-a-too-low-ceiling chaos to burlesque comedy, a squirmy glass stunt, and a crowd-up karaoke finish—plus ideas on how tighter audience play could level it up. Then it’s all praise for Izzard’s stripped-back Hamlet: empty stage, smart lighting, subtle character shifts, clear storytelling, and emotionally punchy moments (especially Ophelia). The trip sparks big thoughts about getting back into theatre and why Melbourne’s year-round arts energy feels so different to Adelaide’s. Speakeasy links: https://speakeasytheatre.com.au and https://www.instagram.com/speakeasy_theatre/.00:00 Episode Intro01:14 Melbourne Show Plans02:51 Speakeasy Vaudeville Setup04:24 What Vaudeville Means07:36 MC Sets The Tone10:31 Audience Split And Seating12:38 Act One Highlights19:46 Interval And Act Two22:21 Finale And Crowd Moments26:25 How To Improve The Format29:02 Speakeasy Show Vibe30:15 Adelaide Versus Melbourne30:49 Vaudeville Highlights Lowlights33:57 Eddie Izzard Hamlet Setup37:24 Minimalist Stage Magic38:59 Understated Character Work41:34 Standout Moments Ophelia44:38 Humor And Adaptations47:00 Mastery And Audience Control52:28 Theatre Itch Returns58:29 Melbourne Creative Energy01:02:14 Final Thoughts And FarewellSupport the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailNik and Mik reflect on how a cash-strapped project pushed them into “parlor theatre”: tiny, intimate shows (often in private homes) historically tied to taboo, political, and community communication. They unpack what changes when the audience is acknowledged in the room—heightened vulnerability, blurred lines between “play” and “real,” the need for consent frameworks (color-coded wristbands), clear boundaries, and aftercare/debrief so people aren’t left raw. They argue this kind of bespoke, underground performance functions like a theatrical zine: handmade, niche, authenticity-driven, and harder for AI to replicate or even track—offering a possible pathway for theatre as AI disrupts acting through replication and follower-driven casting. They also note it demands craft, responsibility, and a different business model built for small networks rather than volume.Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailFor their 10th episode, Mik and Nick skip the heavy theory and do a quirky retrospective of standout performing-arts memories: Mik’s terrifying year-7 Peter Pan audition that became his first taste of ensemble belonging; youth dance-theatre double bills (Peter Pan/Grease) and the hazards of skimpy costuming, including a mid-show costume tear. They trade college stories of accidental near-nudity (Chicago’s “forgot the boxers” dress rehearsal), then reflect on how dance normalizes exposure and why “uniform” costumes should be adjusted for different bodies. The tone turns briefly profound with 9/11—Mik performing Oedipus that day and Nick holding space for shocked students—before returning to touring highlights: a remote community gifting a seafood feast, a bullying-in-schools show prompting real apologies and disclosures, surreal nights on the Moon Plain near Coober Pedy, water-bomb diplomacy in Roxby, an Indigenous community visit in Kansas City, and a country-pub moment where a tough local pulled out spoons and joined the fun.Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailMik and Nik (a long-married theatre couple with decades in the industry and in teaching) unpack a big question: actors learn how to prepare—so are they prepared for the mental, physical, and emotional toll of the work? They reflect on training methods that deliberately alter consciousness and mine personal memory (often triggering trauma) while insisting “this isn’t therapy,” and note the frequent lack of real support or reintegration skills, especially for young or neurodiverse performers. They discuss roles that can haunt actors, the feast-or-famine career rhythm, and the new pressure of building an online identity and “social capital” that can distract from craft. They highlight Australia’s Support Act helpline and urge artists to talk, set boundaries, keep asking why they’re doing it, prioritize fun, and remember the industry isn’t your identity—and you always have choices.https://supportact.org.au/tel: 1300 731 303Support Act is the music industry’s charity, delivering crisis relief services to musicians, managers, crew and music workers across all genres who are unable to work due to ill health, injury, a mental health problem or some other crisis. Help is available to all people working in the broader creative industries in Australia via the Support Act Wellbeing Helpline.Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailWhat happens when a lifelong creative and anthropologist walks into an office job? Nikki interviews Mik on the shift from theatre/film life into local government community development through a library service — and the weirdness of being seen as an “exotic” species in office culture. They talk stability, post-COVID recalibration, AI-era creative whiplash, boundaries, and how to keep space for making work without sacrificing mental health. Less hustle mythology, more systems reality.Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailIn episode seven of The Green Room, Mik and Nik chat about how they fell into teaching and what they’ve learned across 30+ years in performing arts. They contrast different teaching models (institutions, holiday workshops, agency-style courses, private kids’ schools) with their own performance-first approach: every class needs a clear objective and a real outcome, because the “teaching moment” is the performance itself. They unpack a practical “mud map” of how groups gel over a 10-week term, how to ride cohort ebbs and flows, and how to manage behaviour without shame by using “the work” as the neutral boundary. They argue for flexible tools, authentic communication, letting students build their own toolbox, harnessing neurodiversity creatively, and ending with a debrief week after the show—plus, if you’re not having fun, don’t do it.Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailMik and Nik reminisce about their training home: Adelaide’s old Centre for the Performing Arts (CPA) on Grote Street, a boutique TAFE acting school set inside a converted teacher’s college with its own theatre. They outline its history while noting how little of this is documented online.They describe CPA as a rough-and-ready, constantly producing “factory” shared with dance, costume/design, and tech students, where everyone learned practical skills and did public performances year-round. The acting department’s spine was David Kendall’s Laban/Yat Malmgren-based movement psychology, supported by Jen Havelberg’s movement training, and Linklater voice work—designed to create employable, hard-working actors. Alongside the Hogwarts-like chaos (car-park experiments, endless rehearsals, blunt progress panels, staff-and-student pub culture), Nik contrasts the grim, tightly controlled dance program with the more alive acting culture, and recounts switching courses after being told she was meant to be an actor. They shout out key staff like Peter Dunn, Paul Pearce and Chris Iley, mention notable grads (including Nathan O’Keefe, Renato Mussino, Kate Cheel), and end by joking that the CPA barely even had a “green room.”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drama_Centre_Londonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yat_MalmgrenActing the metaphor: the Laban–Malmgren system of movement psychology and character analysisSupport the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of the Green Room, Mik and Nik sit down on a scorching Adelaide day to discuss their thirty-year journey as a married couple in the performing arts industry. They recount the highs and lows of balancing their personal lives, careers, and raising a family. From their early days of dealing with ego and competition, to navigating the challenges of becoming parents, and the complexities of working together on various projects, they offer an honest and insightful look into their lives. They also touch on issues like mental health, gender dynamics, and the unique stressors of their profession. The episode concludes with reflections on their ongoing passion for the arts and their hopes for the future, both for themselves and their children, who are also creatively inclined.Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Michael and Nikki, a long-term married couple working in the Australian performing arts industry, discuss censorship and its impact on creativity and management within the arts sector. They reference recent events surrounding the 2026 Adelaide Writers Week Festival, where a Palestinian author was uninvited, leading to significant upheaval including board resignations. The discussion extends to their personal experiences with censorship in their careers and how funding bodies often control and limit creative expression. They also touch on the broader issues of political interference, the challenges of securing funding, and the evolution of festivals like Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival. Recorded at Mylor Cricket Oval, the podcast reflects on the role of art in society and the importance of maintaining artistic integrity in the face of external pressures.APPLES Written by Richard MilwardAdapted & directed by John Retallackhttps://boundlesstheatre.org.uk/productions/apples/Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of 'The Green Room with Mik and Nik, dive deep into the shifts in audience behaviour post-COVID. They discuss the challenges performers and theatre workers face in re-engaging with audiences who have lost social play skills and respect for traditional audience norms. They also examine the impact of technology and digital spaces on these changes and highlight the evolving nature of live performance. The episode includes a historical exploration of green rooms and anecdotes about teaching theatre during the pandemic and culminates in an optimistic view of the future, emphasising the potential for new and meaningful audience connections through avant-garde theatre and creative spaces.Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan Mail 📍 This episode explores how audience behave as a collective organism, their rituals, their resistance to disruption, and what their reactions reveal about cultural expectation.Among other things, we talk about our unique audience experiences as well as methods and techniques for shaping an audience. We try to get at the rituals, behaviours, and social scripts that underpin all audiences as a dynamic part of any event, rather than an aggregate mass.If we can understand these fundamental components of how an audience is developed and constructed, we can use this as another creative element to be used, rather than a misunderstood, and marginalised creative element.Support the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com

Send us Fan MailIntroducing The Green Room: A Safe Haven for PerformersIn the inaugural episode of 'The Green Room,' married duo Nikki and Michael Allen, both experienced theater professionals, introduce their podcast. Recorded on the Kaurna country of the Adelaide plains, they discuss the inspiration behind creating this safe space akin to a theater's green room, where performers can share unfiltered conversations. They delve into their personal and professional journeys, spanning over 80 years collectively in the arts, and how they've transitioned from performing to teaching and researching. This episode sets the stage for candid talks on performance, creativity, and cultural change, aiming to provide an honest, grounded, and reflective space for fellow artists.00:00 Introduction and Acknowledgment of Country00:28 First Podcast Episode: The Green Room01:12 Setting the Tone and Framework01:54 Hosts Introduction: Nikki and Michael03:22 What is the Green Room?05:31 Purpose and Vision of the Podcast11:16 Nikki's Journey and Reflections20:26 Michael's Journey and Reflections25:24 The Green Room: A Safe Space for Artists29:08 Ground Rules for the Green Room30:36 The Essence of Connection in the Green Room31:20 Unspoken Rules of the Green Room31:41 The Importance of Genuine Interaction33:44 The Sacred Space for Performers34:22 The Reality Behind the Scenes34:47 The Power of Shared Experiences36:07 The Collective Journey of Performers37:45 Why We Are Recording This39:02 Capturing Lessons for Future Generations40:03 The Intersection of Art and Academia43:05 The Impact of Theater on Lives44:37 The Journey of Our Craft01:04:58 The Ephemeral Nature of Performance01:08:56 Introducing Ourselves and Our MissionSupport the showA Mik Allen Concepts productionwww.mikallenconcepts.com