Sam Sejavka
Encyclopedia
Samuel Marcus SejavkaSamuel Marcus Sejavka (born 2 April 1960 in Melbourne, Australia, is a writer, actor and musician.
Sejavka grew up in Mt Waverley and attended Holy Family Primary School, a Catholic school in Mt Waverley.
Sejavka has spent much of his working life singing and composing music, rising to prominence during the mid-eighties in the band Beargarden
. From the 1990s, he has concentrated on his work as an actor and playwright.
During the 1980s a film Dogs In Space
used episodes from his life as its basis. The main character, Sam (played by Michael Hutchence
), was named after Sejavka; Sejavka appears briefly in the party scene, being addressed by Hutchence as "Michael".
band The Ears.
In the mid-1980s, he formed Beargarden
, who were signed to Virgin Records
Australia and had a minor hit with their single "The Finer Things" and the album All That Fall.
In 1995, his play All Flesh is Glass took him to New York as part of an exchange programme organised by New Dramatists and the Australian National Playwright's Centre.
He now documents local insect life in Mt Waverley on his blog.
His play Mysterium, commissioned by Kickhouse theatre, won the 1999 Wal Cherry Award. In mid 2000 he played Oscar Wilde
in Barry Dickens' Believe me Oscar Wilde at La Mama directed by Lynne Ellis.
His most recent productions are The Lord of Misrule, Sruti Smriti and Mysterium.
Recently, he adapted Jacob Rosenberg's long-form poem Shylock
for the stage. This work centres around a production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
set in a Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland
. Currently, he is working on two new plays: Ambergris – set on an island off the coast of Queensland
, dealing with beauty and greed, and As Above So Below – a play about the occult practices of the poet W. B. Yeats. He is also spending time parenting his daughter Polly, and collecting 19th-century horror and fantasy novels.
Sejavka grew up in Mt Waverley and attended Holy Family Primary School, a Catholic school in Mt Waverley.
Sejavka has spent much of his working life singing and composing music, rising to prominence during the mid-eighties in the band Beargarden
Beargarden
The Beargarden was the facility for bear-baiting, bull-baiting, and other "animal sports" in the London area during the 16th and 17th centuries, from the Elizabethan era to the English Restoration period.-History:...
. From the 1990s, he has concentrated on his work as an actor and playwright.
During the 1980s a film Dogs In Space
Dogs in Space
Dogs in Space is a 1986 Australian film set in the "little band scene" in Melbourne in 1978. It was directed by Richard Lowenstein and starred Michael Hutchence as Sam, the drug-addled frontman of the fictitious band from which the film takes its name....
used episodes from his life as its basis. The main character, Sam (played by Michael Hutchence
Michael Hutchence
Michael Kelland John Hutchence was an Australian musician and actor. He was the founding lead singer-songwriter of rock band :INXS from 1977 to his death in 1997, a period of twenty years. Hutchence was a member of short-lived pop rock group Max Q and recorded solo material which was released...
), was named after Sejavka; Sejavka appears briefly in the party scene, being addressed by Hutchence as "Michael".
Bands
In the late 1970s, Sejavka fronted Melbourne post-punkPost-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band The Ears.
In the mid-1980s, he formed Beargarden
Beargarden (band)
Beargarden was a new wave band from Melbourne, Australia which, though well regarded critically, failed to achieve widespread success. It evolved directly from the post-punk group 'The Ears' which disbanded in 1981 and reformed under the new name with Ross Farnell replacing Cathy McQuade on bass...
, who were signed to Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
Australia and had a minor hit with their single "The Finer Things" and the album All That Fall.
Plays and acting
Sejavka's plays include:- Planetarium
- Restoring the Picture of Dorian Gray
- Advice from a Caterpillar
- In the Service of Beauty (a dramatisation of the final days of Countess Elizabeth BathoryElizabeth BáthoryCountess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a countess from the renowned Báthory family of Hungarian nobility. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific serial killer in history, the number of murders has been debated...
) - The Hive (winner of the Victorian Premier's Louis Esson Prize for Drama in 1990), adapted in 2006 by Chamber MadeChamber MadeChamber Made Opera is an Australian production house for contemporary opera and music-theatre. Formed in 1988 by theatre director and librettist Douglas Horton...
into a music-theatre work - In Angel Gear (winner of the Victorian Green Room AwardsGreen Room AwardsThe Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne....
Best Production) - Mammothrept (produced while he was playwright-in-residence at La Mama Theatre, Melbourne).
In 1995, his play All Flesh is Glass took him to New York as part of an exchange programme organised by New Dramatists and the Australian National Playwright's Centre.
He now documents local insect life in Mt Waverley on his blog.
Writing
Sejavka has also published many short prose works. His screenplay for the hour-length film Earthbound was the first film script to be shortlisted for the Louis Esson Drama prize. From time to time, he works as a theatre director.His play Mysterium, commissioned by Kickhouse theatre, won the 1999 Wal Cherry Award. In mid 2000 he played Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
in Barry Dickens' Believe me Oscar Wilde at La Mama directed by Lynne Ellis.
His most recent productions are The Lord of Misrule, Sruti Smriti and Mysterium.
Recently, he adapted Jacob Rosenberg's long-form poem Shylock
Shylock
Shylock is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.-In the play:In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the security at a pound of Antonio's flesh...
for the stage. This work centres around a production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
set in a Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Currently, he is working on two new plays: Ambergris – set on an island off the coast of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, dealing with beauty and greed, and As Above So Below – a play about the occult practices of the poet W. B. Yeats. He is also spending time parenting his daughter Polly, and collecting 19th-century horror and fantasy novels.
External links
- Sam Sejavka official site
- Chamber Made Opera
- Sam Sejavka's Blog
- Webcuts On-line Essay celebrating Beargarden's "I Write the News"