Party Time

“It's my party and it's in less than a month!” Polly Wolly, the hostess of Polly's Party, is VERY excited about her series of shows in Melbourne. Her Twitter feed and Facebook page are a countdown to the New York girl's trip to Australia. Fun, outrageous, and just a bit crackers, Polly is a huge fan of Lady Gaga, reality television and social media. This is a woman who has made a shrine for her iPad.

Polly's prolific online presence is actually the creation of performer Renae Shadler, who explains; “Polly's Party is my one-woman show, and it's based around the character of Polly Wolly. She's an online character who I started a year ago by launching her Facebook page. Now she's got over 750 friends, which is really great, given that she doesn't actually exist.”

Observing how Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are changing the way that people interact, Polly is Shadler's evocation of the Pollyanna complex; the need to exude optimism and positivity at any cost. “I thought about how people tend to project that now, which is through social media. So as to say, 'I'm cool, I've got lots of friends, I'm posting every day, everything's fine, I'm having a great time!' I was interested in that mask, and in what happens when that comes off.”

It turns out that behind Polly is another character. “Polly is an online alter-ego for the protagonist of the show, which is Paula.” By contrast, Shadler says, “Paula would describe herself as ordinary. She's quite hard on herself… she's just an Australian girl, managing a shoe store, and Polly Wolly is her outlet.”

Fresh back from stints performing in France, Italy and the UK – including an internship with the Theatre Du Soleil – Shadler, who graduated from VCA in 2010, has been living and breathing the character of Polly Wolly since last year, when she was conceived for the show Cy*Bent*ity.

Despite spending months creating Polly, Shadler doesn't see too many similarities between herself and the character, although she admits, “I am an artist, so I analyse everything. I find that with my Facebook page, if I post something and it gets comments, or somebody misreads it, I really over-analyse that. I think that very much has channelled into Polly.”

Audience members have a choice as to how they experience the show. “Previously it was very much just the 'inside' audience, very interactive, and some people – especially older people – could be a bit intimidated. So now people can also come and sit outside the party and watch,” she says. On each Saturday of the play's three-week season you can also purchase online streaming tickets, and watch from the voyeuristic comfort of your own computer screen.

There's one final twist for guests. “The show is highly improvised,” she continues, “because it's based on the audience's Facebook profiles. So before they come to the party I research them online.” Some people are thrown when Polly confronts them with information they've made public online, but she's is undeterred. Lapsing into her creation's New York drawl, Shadler deadpans, “But if it's on Facebook, you must want to talk about it!”.