Merridy Eastman’s name is perfect for her. It means ‘happy song’ and is a combination of ‘Merry’ and ‘Melody’. Merridy’s personality is a bit like a happy song. She is sparkling and charming in conversation and most of all she is a lady for Tassie to be proud of.
Merridy is a Tassie girl through and through and if it wasn’t for her husband’s work commitments in Sydney as a digital photographer she would happily be back living in the state. Merridy is however a regular visitor to the state, especially to see the ‘ancient ruins’ not a geographical site but her parents, the term coined by them not her.
Merridy was in Tasmania for the launch of her latest book ‘How Now Brown Frau’ a memoir detailing her five years in Germany with her German born husband and her baby Henry. In that time Merridy was a busy girl, learning to speak German and establishing a bilingual Montessori kindergarten with other expats. She is proud of the kindergarten ‘Tree House’ which her own son attended and which is still running.
Merridy and her family are now back in Australia and Merridy has recently joined the cast of ‘Packed to the Rafters’ where she plays Donna Mackey, a character with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Merridy has researched the condition thoroughly and in our conversation noted that we should show respect for those with the condition because we all have a touch of it but not necessarily advanced as her character.
It has been found that those affected by trauma may be more susceptible to the condition. In a way it is a way to have some sort of control over their lives, a situation they may not have experienced before.
With both a new acting role and a new book Merridy is enjoying a successful and busy time in her dual careers of actor and author. We talk about where it all began at Friends School and the inspiration of an English teacher, Miss Yates (as in the garden product, rather than the Irish writer Yeats) but still the lady concerned was a literary legend in Tassie. Miss Yates once gave Merridy 5 out of 25 for her essay and so the young aspiring writer quickly learned how to write the perfect essay with documentation backing up her views.
At eighteen, Merridy auditioned and got into the prestigious NIDA where her clowning teacher was Geoffrey Rush. One day he gave a challenge to his students to enter the room and make him laugh. It happened that no student including Merridy were able to affect a grin on Geoffrey’s face and so the hard lesson of comedy that one must transport oneself to being a three year old again when without being burdened with a heavy load of theories and assorted luggage one can effortlessly connect with impulse, the joy and desire of making someone laugh.
There was more than a sharpening of wits afoot at NIDA, all students had to learn sword fighting too and some comfort perhaps was the fact that the sword fighting teacher was a fellow Tasmanian. In retrospect Merridy believed NIDA may have been too overwhelming in its intensity for an eighteen year old.
Merridy graduated and began an acting career, roles in Neighbours, All Saints among some of the programs she has participated in.
I ask Merridy to name some of her favourite roles, she mentions a number of ‘leaping about botanical garden’ performances as the both sad and funny Helena in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and that her favourite Playschool toy was ‘Big Ted’ because his proportions made him more ‘human’ and easier to handle.
It was Big Ted’s image as innocence personified that was to be used in the title of Merridy’s first novel ‘There’s a bear in there’. It was however not a children’s novel, but a memoir of Merridy’s time working as a receptionist in a brothel. The book is set to be made in to a film.
Talking of film Merridy is relishing her time on ‘Packed to the Rafters’, finding the crew and cast to be equally friendly and the boom operator Nicole is Nicole that knew Merridy in Taroona Tasmania!
Merridy is keenly interested in Tassie’s arts and was disappointed to hear that funding had been cut to the Tasmanian Theatre Company, a place she would consider working for. Merridy is also keen for arts to take more prominence in school curriculums to give students the chance to explore careers in the arts just as she did.
In her latest book Merridy talks about her sister who is able to sum up people in a succinct 3 line phrase and at my coaxing Merridy has a go at this skill herself.
In conclusion Merridy sums herself up as ‘Intrepid’ (well, that is evidenced by her adventures in Germany as detailed in her latest book), ‘seriously lacking in confidence’ (maybe on occasion), ‘friendly’ (I can vouch for the fact this Tassie girl is one of the most down to earth and friendliest people you could find) and lastly, and probably most importantly, Merridy ‘likes to laugh’ and as she, her teachers, and colleagues have discovered, with her warmth, wit and comic timing Merridy makes us all laugh both in her writing and acting. May Merridy long continue to do so.
