Welcome to MTC’s 2 Education A talking wall, a suburban warzone, a family with a communication barrier and a historical dinner party. Join us for a year of exciting productions, workshops and events and experience the world at full volume.
2012 n Program
MTC presents a production by The Escapists
BOY GIRL WALL by Matt Ryan and Lucas Stibbard This is not a love story. Okay, it is a love story, but it’s less about the love part; more about the story. About countless random happenstances bumping into each other to create one magical moment. About two ordinary lives going nowhere and then - bam! - happiness. Actually, it’s pretty much what it says on the box: there is a boy (Thom), a girl (Alethea) and a wall (who shall remain nameless). After a sell-out season in Brisbane, this quirky and fast-paced one-man show hits Melbourne with a bang. Helpmann Award nominee, Lucas Stibbard, transforms between boy, girl, wall and countless other animate and inanimate characters using puppetry, illustration and live music to create a charming and whimsical world.
Where: The MTC Theatre, Lawler Studio When:
Curriculum link:
Term 2, Weeks 1 to 3 Tuesday 17 April: 7.30pm Wednesday 18 April: 1.30pm and 7.30pm Thursday 19 April: 1.30pm and 7.30pm Friday 20 April: 1.30pm* and 7.30pm Monday 23 April: 1.30pm Tuesday 24 April: 1.30pm and 7.30pm Wednesday 25 April: no performances (Anzac Day) Thursday 26 April: 1.30pm* and 7.30pm Friday 27 April: 1.30pm and 7.30pm Monday 30 April: 1.30pm Tuesday 1 May: 1.30pm and 7.30pm Wednesday 2 May: 7.30pm* Thursday 3 May: 1.30pm and 7.30pm Friday 4 May: 1.30pm* *There will be a pre-show talk and post-show Q&A for this performance. Please see the ‘Extend the MTC Experience’ panel below for more information.
VCE Drama Unit 3 Playlist
Running time:
Recommended for:
Approximately 70 minutes
Year 8 students to adults, contains some coarse language
Script and DVD: Available for purchase, please contact MTC Education
MTC in association with REAL TV presentS
HELICOPTER by angela betzien You can’t be too careful nowadays, especially if you have kids. Lucky for Jack, his Mum is constantly on her guard, bunkered down, fortified against risk and disaster. She can’t be everywhere but she’s there, hovering, keeping an eye out for danger. Though not the sort of danger their young neighbour Thomas lived through in the warzone of Southern Sudan, nor the danger raised by Jack’s dad reversing his luxury 4x4 out of their drive … From the award-winning team behind Hoods and The Dark Room, comes a brand new play, a dark suburban satire that’s so familiar, it’s scary. Curriculum link: Suggested for VCE Drama Unit 2: Australian Drama Recommended for: Year 9 students to adults, contains some coarse language and adult themes
Where: The MTC Theatre, Lawler Studio When: Term 3, Weeks 3 to 5 Thursday 2 August: 1.30pm and 7.30pm Friday 3 August: 1.30pm* and 7.30pm Monday 6 August: 1.30pm Tuesday 7 August: 1.30pm and 7.30pm Wednesday 8 August: 7.30pm Thursday 9 August: 1.30pm* and 7.30pm Friday 10 August: 1.30pm and 7.30pm Monday 13 August: 1.30pm Tuesday 14 August: 1.30pm* and 7.30pm Wednesday 15 August: 7.30pm Thursday 16 August: 1.30pm and 7.30pm Friday 17 August: 1.30pm and 7.30pm *There will be a pre-show talk and post-show Q&A for this performance. Please see the ‘Extend the MTC Experience’ panel below for more information. Running time: Approximately 90 minutes Helicopter was commissioned by MTC and developed with the assistance of Playwriting Australia.
SOLO AND MONOLOGUE PERFORMANCE WORKSHOPS During these practical full-day workshops, an experienced exam assessor and a professional actor will work with students to enhance their skills and guide their preparation for the endof-year performance exam. Curriculum link: Solo Performance Exam - VCE Drama Unit 4 Monologue Performance Exam - VCE Theatre Studies Unit 4 Venue: MTC Headquarters 252 Sturt Street, Southbank
Solo Performance Workshops Term 2, Weeks 9 and 10 Friday 15 June 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday 18 June 9.30am to 3.30pm Tuesday 19 June 9.30am to 3.30pm Wednesday 20 June 9.30am to 3.30pm Thursday 21 June 9.30am to 3.30pm Friday 22 June 9.30am to 3.30pm
Monologue Performance Workshops Term 3, Week 6 Monday 20 August Tuesday 21 August Wednesday 22 August Thursday 23 August Friday 24 August
9.30am to 3.30pm 9.30am to 3.30pm 9.30am to 3.30pm 9.30am to 3.30pm 9.30am to 3.30pm
Group size: Limit of 40 students per workshop Cost: Metropolitan school groups: $32 per student Non-metropolitan school groups: $28 per student Accompanying teachers: No charge
EXTEND THE MTC EXPERIENCE
PRE-SHOW TALKS AND TEACHERS’ NOTES
MTC AMBASSADORS
In 2012, MTC will offer pre-show talks and post-show Q&As for certain performances of Boy Girl Wall, Helicopter, Tribes and Top Girls. For the dates of these events, please consult the panels relating to each production above. Pre-show talks are 45 minutes in duration and will commence two hours prior to the performance in the auditorium. Post-show Q&As are approximately 20 minutes in duration and will commence shortly after the conclusion of the performance.
Each year, MTC selects a group of twenty-five Year 11 theatrelovers to participate in our Ambassador Program. These students meet each month to attend productions, hear from guest speakers and share their responses to theatre with a group of like-minded peers. Nomination forms have been mailed with the 2012 Education Poster and are also available to download from mtc.com.au. Nominations close Friday 9 March 2012.
Cost:
MTC TOURS
Metro school groups: $10 per student Non-metro school groups: $7 per student Accompanying teachers: No charge (one teacher per ten students)
MTC offers tours of both our production headquarters and our world-class theatre, for senior secondary students. Please contact 03 8688 0963 or schools@mtc.com.au for more information, or to book.
For each of these productions, MTC will also produce comprehensive Teachers’ Notes which will be available for free download from mtc.com.au.
MTC COSTUME HIRE We can provide advice on costume requirements for school productions and VCE Solo and Monologue Performances. Please contact 03 8688 0922 or costumehire@mtc.com.au for more information.
SCHOOL LUNCHES Our friendly theatre staff can provide affordable lunch options for student excursions to the MTC Theatre or MTC HQ. Please email schoollunches@mtc.com.au with details about the date, time, number of students and any special requirements, and we will get back to you with a quote.
Join the conversation online Visit mtc.com.au and become a part of our online community.
MTC 2012 MAINSTAGE SEASON
TRIBES
TOP GIRLS
by Nina Raine
by Caryl ChurchilL
Around this family’s table, conversation is a no-holds-barred struggle for attention. Father, mother, brother and sister fling opinions, arguments and insults around and no one pays much attention to the damage it might cause. And no one pays much attention to Billy, the youngest son, watching it all in silence, not hearing a word but getting the message. A sharp comedy about how families communicate, directed by Julian Meyrick and featuring Alison Bell.
Marlene is out to celebrate her big promotion at work. And she’s earned it. Nobody knows better than Marlene that today’s career woman has to be tough as nails to compete in the masculine corporate world. And if she’s had to make sacrifices along the way, then they’ve all been worth it. Caryl Churchill’s timeless masterpiece asks all the difficult questions about women, career and corporate culture. Curriculum link:
Curriculum link:
VCE Theatre Studies Unit 4 Playlist
VCE Theatre Studies Unit 3 Playlist Recommended for: Recommended for: Year 10 students to adults, contains frequent coarse language
Year 10 students to adults, contains frequent coarse language and some adult themes
Where:
Where:
The MTC Theatre, Sumner
The MTC Theatre, Sumner
When:
When:
Term 1, Weeks 2 to 7 4 February to 14 March There will be a pre-show talk and post-show Q&A for the performance on Wednesday 7 March at 1pm. Please see the ‘Extend the MTC Experience’ panel below for more information.
Term 3, Weeks 7 to 10 25 August to 29 September There will be a pre-show talk and post-show Q&A for the performance on Wednesday 5 September at 1pm. Please see the ‘Extend the MTC Experience’ panel below for more information.
Running time:
Running time:
Approximately 2 hours including interval
Approximately 2 hours and twenty minutes including interval
Script:
Script:
Available for purchase from Readings bookstore (readings.com.au)
Available for purchase from Readings bookstore (readings.com.au)
Performances recommended for secondary students:
Performances recommended for senior secondary students:
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
The Seed
by Ray Lawler For sixteen summers, Roo and Barney have spent their layoff from the cane-cutting season down in Melbourne, having a high old time with Olive and Nancy, but has time finally caught up with them? 12 January to 18 February
Danny is nervous about facing his father Brian again. History scarred them both, but their wounds are all personal. Danny’s daughter Rose will record the reunion and learn that in family conflicts, there is no neutral position. 17 February to 4 April
Australia Day
Red
by Jonathan Biggins Meet the Coriole Shire Australia Day Committee, a group dedicated to making the nation’s birthday run as smoothly as possible. 21 April to 26 May
by Kate Mulvany
by John Logan In 1958, abstract expressionist Mark Rothko began painting his vast canvasses, five sublime expanses of red – seas to be lost in. Yet how can such an austere vision survive the status-seeking New York art world? 22 March to 5 May
Queen Lear by William Shakespeare
The Heretic
Abdicating her power, Lear holds a contest for her daughters with a portion of her empire as a prize. When one child refuses to play the game, the tragedy that ensues will lead Lear from blindness to insight. 7 July to 18 August
by Richard Bean
His Girl Friday
Although far from a climate change sceptic, Dr Cassell is a scientist who likes the facts to speak for themselves. When her findings contradict a key doctrine of global warming theory, all she can do is speak her truth, even after her heresies hit the front pages. 12 May to 23 June
Adapted by John Guare Ace reporter Hildy Johnson has had enough of the sleaze of the Chicago newspaper game. But that’s before the fattest, juiciest scoop of the year lands splat in her lap. 11 August to 15 September
Elling Adapted by Simon Bent It’s a scary world out there and Elling would rather have nothing to do with it. Now social services want him to learn some life-skills. They give him a flat, an equally hopeless flatmate and a big push. It’s sink or swim! 27 October to 8 December
National Interest by Aidan Fennessy In 1975, Tony Stewart was murdered, along with other members of his news crew in Balibo, East Timor. Their murders, at the hands of the Indonesian military, had been officially covered up. In 2009, a Coronial Inquiry offers justice to Tony’s grieving mother - but is this too little, too late? 6 June to 21 July
Music by Barry Oakley Jack has made a botch of all the important relationships in his life. It’s time for him to put his affairs in order; he has neglected crucial matters for far too long. Yet, almost without realising it, those who once loved him are tying up the loose ends of his ragged life. 9 November to 22 December
CALENDAR Term 1
February Mon
Tue
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
18
19
20
21
22
23
25
26
27
28
29
6
Wed
17 24
Sun
Tue
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
5
26
27
28
22
23
24
29
30
31
25
April Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
14
15
9
10
11
12
13
16
17
18
19
20
23
24
25
26
27
21
22
28
29
30
May Mon
Tue 1
7
Wed 2
8
9
Thu 3 10
Fri 4 11
Sat
Sun
5
6
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Tribes, VCE Theatre Studies Unit 4 Playlist - 4 Feb to 14 Mar
The Seed - 17 Feb to 4 Apr
Wed
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll 12 Jan to 18 Feb
Term 2
March Mon
31
Red - 22 Mar to 5 May
Boy Girl Wall, VCE Drama Unit 3 Playlist 17 Apr to 4 May Australia Day - 21 Apr to 26 May
The Heretic - 12 May to 23 Jun
Term 2 (cont)
June Mon
4
Tue
5
Wed
6
Thu
7
Fri
Sat
1
2
8
9
Sun
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
The Heretic - 12 May to 23 Jun
3
30
National Interest - 6 Jun to 21 Jul
Solo Performance Worshops, VCE Drama Unit 4 15 Jun to 22 Jun
Term 3 Queen Lear - 7 Jul to 18 Aug
July Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
11
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
30
31
25
26
27
28
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
3
4
8
9
10
29
August Mon
6 13
Tue
7 14
15
16
17
20
21
22
23
24
27
28
29
30
31
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sun 5
11
12
18
19
25
26
September Mon
Tue
Sat
Sun
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Helicopter - 2 Aug to 17 Aug
His Girl Friday - 11 Aug to 15 Sep
Monologue Performance Workshops, VCE Theatre Studies Unit 4 20 Aug to 24 Aug
Top Girls, VCE Theatre Studies Unit 4 Playlist- 25 Aug to 29 Sep
HOW TO BOOK
2012 MTC School group prices Metro school groups: $24 per student Non-metro school groups: $21 per student Tickets for teachers: one secondary school teacher receives a complimentary ticket for every group of ten students booked. Up to ten additional adults are eligible to attend with the group at the discounted rate of $42. For all bookings and enquiries, please email Mellita Ilich, Education Ticketing Officer: schools@mtc.com.au. Phone enquiries can be made on 03 8688 0963, however please note that in order to process your booking, we must receive the request in writing. Free tickets for disadvantaged students Thanks to a generous donation from the Sidney Myer Fund on behalf of one of MTC’s supporters, Mr Geoffrey Cohen AM, we are able to provide a limited number of free tickets to 2012 productions. These tickets will be allocated to schools with students who would otherwise not be able to attend an MTC performance, due to reasons of economic disadvantage. If you would like to register your school for consideration in 2012, please email education@mtc.com.au.
Education Program Enquiries Enquiries regarding the content of the MTC Education Program may be directed to: Suzie Thomas Education Manager Phone: 03 8688 0975 Email: education@mtc.com.au. Details on this brochure are correct at the time of publication. Melbourne Theatre Company reserves the right to add, withdraw and substitute artists, and vary the program should the need arise. Schools affected by any programming changes will be notified.
Credits: Cover Illustration by Marta Gola Boy Girl Wall photo: © Justine Walpole and La Boite Theatre Company Pictured Lucas Stibbard Helicopter photo: Fraser Marsden Pictured Terry Yeboah, Daniela Farinacci and Charles Grounds Tribes photo: Earl Carter, pictured Alison Bell Top Girls photo: Earl Carter, pictured Nikki Shiels and Anita Hegh Brochure design and art direction by Lydia Baic All other mainstage photos by Earl Carter and Marcel Aucar Brochure text by Paul Galloway and Suzie Thomas
MTC is a department of The University of Melbourne
Booking and Payment process v Bookings are processed in the order that they are received. You will receive a tax invoice for each event you have booked, which will state when payment is required. Full payment is required by the date stated, which is usually four weeks prior to the event, unless the booking has been received after that time. v Payment can be made by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX) or cheque, made payable to Melbourne Theatre Company. Direct deposit facilities available. v No tickets are issued without payment. All those attending an event must possess the correct ticket, which they will be required to present before admission. v MTC Education events are GST inclusive and our ABN is 28 302 359 029. GST is included in all prices in this brochure and stated on MTC tax invoices. School group bookings for MTC Season 2012 productions do not attract GST. v Please visit mtc.com.au and click on the ‘Education’ tab to read our complete cancellation policy. Changes or cancellations to your booking will not be accepted via phone and must be submitted in writing to the MTC Education Ticketing Officer: Mail: MTC Education Bookings 252 Sturt Street SOUTHBANK VIC 3006 Fax: 03 8688 0901 Email: schools@mtc.com.au