In a rural mining town awash with contract workers who fly home at the end of their shift lives Jenny, a 15-year-old girl played by Tammy Weller.
DeBase Productions latest piece with support from Arts Queensland, 'Fly In Fly Out' was created through consultation with young people from all over central Queensland and is now enjoying a national tour through schools and theatres. Choosing to focus on the traditional coming-of-age story but placing it in a contemporary Australian setting stops the adolescent storyline from becoming stale, and also allows the creators to look at certain societal issues within that setting. “Using the setting of a mining town made it possible to ensure there was not just one thing happening within the story,” Tammy says. “We get to see how mining is affecting the people who live in the town, as opposed to the people who are flying in and flying out, and kind of seeing how that transient nature can affect places.”
Tammy plays the protagonist Jenny, a young girl in the midst of adolescence, and a character that seems is being well-received by her contemporaries. “The cool thing about younger audiences is they often don't filter themselves so they will have authentic reactions during a performance... There'll be gasps and 'ooohs' and they react very spontaneously and impulsively. I think they're really attracted to the fact that it's a coming-of-age story – she's dealing with her mother dying a few years ago and her dad working in the mines and she's falling in love for the first time.” 
The script follows Jenny and her friends around the tiny mining town and touches lightly and humorously on the issues that they come across in such an environment, while also addressing universal adolescent issues that many can relate to. “I feel like a lot of coming-of-age stories are very American and very 'Hollywoodised', and that's what these kids normally see... But this is more relatable as it's set in Australia and as a play, it's a very on-the-spot experience, as opposed to a film which is a different kind of experience. I think it's important for kids to see something and be able to go 'oh this is me' and also realise it's not just them as well, it happens to other people.”
Despite focusing on young Jenny, Tammy is convinced this is not a story merely for the younger generations. “It's a play for all ages, I think anyone could come and enjoy themselves at it, but also it is definitely a young person's story, so I do hope that younger people come and watch it and we can reach out to them... It's a comedy, it's enjoyable, it was a lot of fun to make and it's a lot of fun to watch. We're performing in a few regional centres as well as in Brisbane and it would be really great to get as many people as possible to come along.” Fly In Fly Out Tour Dates
Thurs 4 June – Redlands Arts CentreFri 5 June – Nambour Civic Centre
Wed 10 - Fri 12 June – Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts
Mon 15 June – Roma Cultural Centre
Tues 16 June – Miles Town Hall
Thurs 18 - Sat 20 June – University Of Southern Queensland Arts Theatre (Toowoomba)
