Geelong actor and creative producer Laura Jane Turner stars in new show Our Monster’s Name is Jerry at Theatre Works in St Kilda this month. They spoke to Matt Hewson about becoming an artist, finding oneself and creativity in the Geelong region.
Growing up in Freemans Reach, New South Wales, Laura Jane Turner didn’t decide they wanted to be an actor, not in the sense that one decides on either the chicken or the beef.
It was a path that revealed itself; “It’s kind of in your blood, in your DNA”.
“If you ask my family, they’ll say that I’ve always been very performative, very theatrical from the moment I could express, whether facially, vocally, whatever it would be,” Laura said.
“I grew up very creative; I always loved to express myself, putting on performances at home with my teddies, or rollerblade shows in the carport from my whole family to watch.
“In regional New South Wales I went to a very small school that had a passionate drama department but not a lot of resources.”
Nevertheless, when they discovered at age 12 that studying acting at university was a possibility, nothing else was on the table.
“From that day on I promised myself I would do anything to make it happen, to get into drama school,” Laura said.
“Then when I moved to Queensland (in year 11) I ended up in this huge school with an incredibly resourced performing arts department.
“There was a teacher there that really saw how passionate I was and would collaborate with me to create short films. They kind of pushed me to take it more seriously.
“I didn’t get (into drama school) for the first two years that I auditioned, but then on the third attempt I got into VCA (Victorian College of the Arts), packed up my whole life and drove across two states.”
The decision to transplant themselves to Victoria in 2011 – alone and with little experience of living independently – was one Laura might not have made today.
“I think about it now as a mid-thirties adult who would probably weigh up the consequences a little more and go, whoa, that’s really risky,” they said.
“But as a 20-year-old, I was like, of course, that’s my dream, that’s what I’m doing, I’m not even second-guessing it. So I packed up the car with everything that would fit, I had 50 bucks to my name, and drove away.
“It was one of the best and most challenging things I’ve ever experienced, and I’m so grateful for it.”
Laura quickly found a community in Melbourne. Moreover, their experience in the creative and exploratory space of university began a process of self-discovery and actualisation that continues to inform their artistic practice to this day.
“Drama school is incredibly transformative and an incredible privilege to experience, but it also reshapes you in a way where sometimes it can take you some time to rediscover who you are and to find your own voice in the creative space,” they said.
“I was very lucky, I had some really exciting opportunities out of drama school. But once it quietened down a bit I had to reflect on what projects I wanted to do, what stories I wanted to be a part of telling and how I wanted to tell them.”
New gothic suburban horror Our Monster’s Name is Jerry is one such story. Laura plays Maud, one half of a young queer couple struggling with money after multiple unsuccessful rounds of IVF.
However, financial relief seems to be on the horizon when Maud is bequeathed a house in her home town. There is just one catch; she must live in the house for a year. Well, two catches; the house is haunted by a monster named Jerry.
Maud and partner Lou must not only grapple with the challenges of money, grief and the anxiety of potentially becoming parents, but also contend with the shapeshifting Jerry, who can appear as whatever you fear the most.
Laura said not only is the play “one of the most exciting projects” they’ve ever been involved in, it also aligns with the intention of their artistic practice more broadly.
“Art is so transformative, whether it’s visual, music, theatre, film, drawing, whatever; it has so much power to change the way people see the world,” they said.
“And with the stories I tell, I want to be amplifying voices that have historically been silenced. I came out as queer in 2020 and then as non-binary in 2022, so that’s definitely at the forefront of the stories I want to be involved with.
“The lack of representation that I saw growing up, particularly in my regional town, absolutely impacted that delay in me discovering and feeling comfortable with who I am.
“I’m not sure who said it, but if you can see it, you can be it. It’s about amplifying lived experiences and joy for folks that aren’t necessarily heteronormative and mightn’t fit that traditionalist ideology of what a person is and how one should live their life.”
To that end, in 2017 Laura founded F Word Films, which produces stories led by women and gender-diverse people.
Having been based in Geelong since 2018, Laura said they were excited to see the continued growth of the “hub of creative minds” in the region.
“I love Geelong, I think it’s so beautiful and the locations around here are just stunning,” they said.
“I feel a lot of calm when I’m around water, so I love being able to go for sunrise walks along the beach, and every time I have to drive through town I go the long way, near the water.
“In terms of creativity, I’ve been really lucky to collaborate with Platform Arts and Geelong Rep, and more and more exciting works are coming to Geelong Arts Centre. It’s such a gorgeous venue and I think it’s going to continue growing, especially with the development that’s happening along the waterfront.
“I think over the next few years we’re going to start seeing the arts sector really take off, which is exciting because there are so many creative people in Geelong, the Bellarine and the Surf Coast.”
Our Monster’s Name is Jerry is at Theatre Works, St Kilda from February 14 to 22.
