The Performing Nurse is a fusion of comedy, song, memoir and projection. With a stage hand dressed in surgical gear, and Lisa’s quirky characters cracking jokes about the inner workings of hospitals, nursing looks like it’d be a hoot! Many a running gag is accompanied by shared physical gags between performing nurse and audience alike. With stereotypes sliced open on the theatrical operating table the audience laughed their way through all of the roles and ranks a nurse experiences when walking down the hospital halls. Within the show’s hour we meet nurses “Bay Maree” and Jan, a powerful and poetic Midwife, and presumably Lisa herself in a more glamorous stage persona. Whether each of these women are autobiographical, remnants of colleagues, or stereotypes throughout the profession’s history, we can all recognise the complexities of each of the women, their role and rank within the nursing profession, and most importantly, their crucial presence within hospitals and the healthcare system.

Song and poetic language bring an insightful juxtaposition to the otherwise comical performance. With powerful ambience and a ricocheting soundscape to accompany the diverse doco based projections, the show’s multimedia creates a beautiful backdrop for the otherwise clinical set design.

Venue Format
Theatre, Hall, Black Box Venue
Technical Rating
C, The production can be modified to suit most venues
Touring Party
2
Considerations

The show has been billed as MA 15 + It can be modified.

Lisa Smith as The Performing Nurse creates a comedic spectacle and sharp new colourful insight into the world of the nurse. Lisa Smith is a Registered Nurse and Midwife with a 20 year history as a Health Professional and a creative arts practitioner. She has written, directed and performs her one woman show which successfully premiered with sellout shows at the 2015 Brisbane Anywhere Festival and also The Loft Theatre in Nov 2015.The Performing Nurse and her “"reimagining “ is a gallery of diverse characters that fuse comedy, satire, projection and song. Lisa Smith is a Registered Nurse and Midwife. Lisa has a Bachelor of Arts in drama and has succussfully worked as creative perfromance maker for over 20 years. Lisa was a founding member of the theatre group Sister Moon Ensemble. In 1997 Lisa studied music and theatre in New York City after being awarded a Lord Mayors Performing Arts Fellowship. She now is exploring her two careers in health and the arts in a Practice Led Masters Research degree at QUT, Creative Industries. The Performing Nurse is part of this project.Come along for the ride- “It won’t hurt a bit”. It’s #fullysick

Unique Selling Point

The audiences so far have loved the humour and playful world of the nurse mixed with song and satire. There is no one quite like me that is a nurse/ midwife/ singer/performer. I am trying to demystify the "nurse stereotype" and "unsilence" the voice of the nurse. Great insight and validation for nurses ut also the general public have embraced her. Comedy is powerful tool to do this. My show is a solo show and completely portable. Sell out success so far! "you had me laughing , one minute... and crying the next." ..." that happened to me" Nurse audience member."

Marketing Materials

T shirts Pens workshop plans- can do singing workshops post show.

Community Engagement

This show has already touched the community of nurses and medical profession. But the general community have embraced it and claimed that it has been an eye opener and educational.It validates the work nurses do. The general community have laughed and cried with THE PERFORMING NURSE.