A Note From the Director, Carly Watson

Carly Watson is a queer, disabled, Naarm based director, choreographer, and writer. A recent graduate of the Master of Theatre (Directing) at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), Carly’s practice centres around accessibility and feminist adaptations. Carly graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Social Science from the University of Queensland (2023), preceded by a degree in musical theatre from Patrick Studios Australia in 2016. Their recent credits include Assistant Director on ‘Curtains’ (VCA, dir. Roger Hodgman), Director of the premier showings of ‘Bring Them to Tears’ by Sarah Matthews (VCA), and ‘loud jazz will fix me’ (Fringe). Carly also wrote and directed her first play ‘The Place Where Hetty Goes to Die’ (VCA). For the last ten years, they have been the Resident Director and Producer (Choreography) for Starbound, a summer musical theatre workshop for young performers.

Welcome to the carpark! 

It is such a joy to bring I Promise This Isn't About You (Even if it Feels Like it is) to Fringe for 2025. Sarah Matthews is such a beautiful playwright. Her work has such depth to it, her characters are deeply flawed, her wit is delectable. I could mine this text for years and still be surprised by it. Remember her name, friends. Trust me. 

Working with a cast of five up-and-coming actors on a script about the mess that is your early twenties has been so refreshing. As artists, we often spend our twenties trying desperately to be what we think this industry wants us to be. What we think adults should be. Older. Grounded. Sure of ourselves. It has been so nice to create a room where these actors can shake these expectations and instead meet the text with their own lived experiences. It has also been a delightful reminder that no one knows what they're doing, so just do the thing. These characters are messy and unsure of themselves. They make bad choices. They are unapologetically doing their best (read: worst) to navigate the world around them. They are chaotic and I hope you love them just as much as I do. 

None of this would be possible without the legends that are our producers, Ryan Hamilton and Georgie Wolfe from Pigeon Pigeon. Their pursuit of excellence can be seen in every aspect of this show and I am so grateful to them for their support. 

Now, chug back a cruiser or two and get ready to party like you're a twenty-something on the brink of everything changing.