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Contents
It’s A Hard Knock Life ........................................................................................................ 5 Time To Play Again In 2022 ............................................................................................... 9 MTC Digital Education..................................................................................................... 11 Australian Musical Theatre Festival................................................................................... 12 Shows For Schools .......................................................................................................... 15 National .......................................................................................................................... 15 New South Wales & A.C.T. .............................................................................................. 25 Queensland .................................................................................................................... 33 Victoria ........................................................................................................................... 36 South Australia ............................................................................................................... 42 Western Australia ............................................................................................................ 43 Costuming, Props, Make Up & Seating ............................................................................ 46 Study Resources .............................................................................................................. 61 Staging A Musical Or Play ............................................................................................... 78 Sound And Light ............................................................................................................. 90 Training ........................................................................................................................ 107 Welcome to Stage Whispers' annual School Performing Arts Resource Kit (SPARK). The aim is to provide school teachers with more tools to spark a love of theatre in their students. Please click through to the section that is relevant to you. We welcome feedback on this edition and any suggestions you have for us to improve it in future years. Leave your comments here.
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Front cover image: Sport For Joves’ Macbeth. Photo: Seiya Taguchi.
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You’re walking home around midnight. It’s dark and the streets are deserted. You’re in a foreign country and your senses are on high alert. Suddenly, from nowhere, a stranger lurches from the shadows. “Got a light?” Do you stop? This is the situation that young Pakistani student Ahmed finds himself in when confronted by the unpredictable and ambiguous ‘great white’ Norm, in this performance of Alex Buzo’s sharp, entertaining and satirical 1960’s classic, Norm and Ahmed. Fifty-three years since its premiere in Melbourne, Alex Buzo’s tense two hander remains alarmingly relevant, confronting issues of racism, xenophobia, female politics, cultural difference and assimilation. Now is the perfect time to discover, or rediscover, this iconic and pioneering piece of Australian theatre. This season played at Riverside Theatres in November 2021 and was live captured for online digital release in 2022. australiantheatre.live/norm-and-ahmed
Online extras! Rajan Velu in Australian Theatre Live’s Norm & Ahmed (2021). Photo: Becky Matthews.
Access on demand a variety of standout theatre productions captured live australiantheatre.live/on-demand stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 4
Behind The Scenes With Debora Krizak
It’s A Hard Knock Life In her latest Behind the Scenes column, Debora Krizak looks at how tough the pandemic has been on school performing arts.
SYMT’s The Addams Family. Photo: Grant Leslie.
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Cancelled. For most, this means a simple disruption to the social calendar. Throughout the pandemic, most of my friends continued to work from home. For those of us working in The Arts, putting on a show from home just doesn’t pay the bills. The ‘no singing, no dancing’ rule has also devastated the corporate events industry, with large events now on their third or fourth postponement. Unfortunately for our family, my husband works in events. It’s a bit of a double whammy, but resilience is in our DNA. The hard knocks are barely a grazed knee these days. It’s one thing to ponder the longlasting effects of COVID-19 on our industry, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the impact on our kids. As a parent of a 13-year-old daughter who enjoys her creative outlets, it’s easy to dismiss her extracurricular activities as “just a bit of fun” when the reality is much different. This is where likeminded kids come together, preferring to spend hours singing, dancing and rehearsing the school musical after hours, rather than engage over TikTok. I’ll be honest. I never wanted to encourage another performer in the family. But when my daughter started belting out Frozen at three years of age, I knew this was going to be a “thing”. I tried soccer, 7AM netball games, art classes, but nothing piqued her interest until she found singing and dancing. Ten years later, the dancing has taken a back seat, but her love of music and theatre remains strong. Various studies have shown that engaging in a performing arts curriculum has positive effects on a child’s academic performance and emotional wellbeing. Delve a bit further and the research also suggests that the effects on a child’s mental, physical, social and emotional development will stay with them for years to come - on and off the stage. Many academics argue that creativity is the single most important skill in the world. According to the authors of the book Creative Leadership: Skills That Drive Change, during group
problem solving sessions, teams which had some form of formal creativity training were able to devise 350% more ideas and were far more original than their counterparts. When COVID-19 hit our shores in 2020, kids everywhere had to adapt to home schooling with very little social interaction and extra-curricular activities. Once school returned, the first casualty of the coronavirus was The Arts. Music and band rehearsals ceased, dance prac exams converted to online and school musicals were cancelled. My daughter’s school musical production of Annie closed after one performance and in the same week, a youth production of The Addams Family she was in had also been postponed. Dance classes reverted to Zoom and after successfully auditioning as a principal vocalist for the NSW Arts Unit, her engagement in the arts initiative Pulse Alive also came to an abrupt halt. Fortunately, most have now been rescheduled, but when I asked her recently what she was most looking forward to this coming year, her response was “nothing”. She has lost faith in anything being a certainty. The once confident and excited young teenager now shrugs when I ask her how rehearsals went. Her light has dimmed. Weekends are now spent taking Rapid Antigen Tests and learning choreography on Zoom.
Dressing rooms are a thing of the past. Social distancing is paramount. Kids must be double vaccinated to perform in some theatres and venues and if you’ve ever tried to act or sing in a mask, I can tell you it’s tough. Opening night parties and cast gatherings are a no-go zone. Even mingling in foyers to greet friends after a show is considered high risk. Everything that was once fun is gone. But for these kids, the show must go on. Now more than ever. Secondary school Drama and English teacher Courtney Cassar experienced the first-hand effects of coronavirus on his cohort of Performing Arts students. “Ordinarily we have the school musical, Drama ensemble, Theatresports, choir and a variety of orchestras. The musical we’ve been able to delay, while the orchestras and choir have just not been able to run. It’s been hard for a lot of kids. The numbers have gotten smaller because you have whole cohorts who haven’t been introduced to Performing Arts programs from Year 7.” With The Arts already struggling for recognition, Courtney recognises the impact this can have on students in the years to follow. “Most of the arts programs foster real-world skills like collaboration, problem solving and the ability to (Continued on page 7)
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Pulse Alive rehearsals. Photo: Anna Warr.
Behind The Scenes With Debora Krizak
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communicate and express thoughts and ideas in ways that are interesting and easy to understand.” Arts Coordination Officer for the NSW Department of Education Arts Unit, Peter Hayward, oversees programs in Music, Dance, Drama and Visual Arts for students in public schools in NSW. “What makes me sad is that a lot of students have missed almost two years of arts opportunities in some really formative years. I also think that, for lots of kids, the arts are their social outlet - especially in the programs I’m lucky enough to work on, bringing together like-minded students from a whole lot of different schools. Kids tend to ‘find their tribe’ in the programs that I oversee.” Having parented two children who transitioned into high school during the height of the pandemic, I often wonder what the reaction would be if numeracy and literacy programs were abolished in the same way as our arts programs. I was never a conventional 7 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
parent when it came to learning. My children learnt their times tables through music and song and the only reason they developed early literacy skills was due to the many nights spent learning the sounds and words to various nursery rhymes. I recall being pleasantly surprised when they grasped the concept of reading so enthusiastically in their first year of kindy. Peter shares a similar view. “I think the arts in schools (and sports, for that matter) are on equal footing of importance as learning to read and write and add and subtract! The whole reason I decided to become a teacher was because of the benefit I know I received participating in the arts programs at my primary and high school, and in The Arts Unit at the time.” Now that a new school year has commenced with the distribution of Rapid Antigen Testing for many students, what protocols are in place to ensure that our children don’t experience another two years of creative drought? Peter is currently working on restaging last year’s
postponed PULSE ALIVE initiative, which involves over 1000 primary and secondary students. “To see students making music and working together again had many of my team in tears. We worked with NSW Health and the NSW Department of Education to come up with a way to run rehearsals with COVID-safe settings in place - all the doors and windows to the rooms were always open, students and staff were in masks - including whilst singing - and we were able to source some Rapid Antigen Tests to enable all students to test before they arrived at the venue. What also worked for us is that we were able to provide schools, teachers and students with music and choreography to work on virtually at home.” Sydney Youth Music Theatre stages two productions each year for young people aged between 10 and 25. President Chrissy Strickland said when COVID-19 hit in 2020 they were scheduling their junior show, The Addams Family.
“We postponed the show to July 2021 but then had to cancel the week before opening. Having to cancel shows, delay shows, and communicate to cast and families was devastating. Then I had to apply for new musical licences, adjust dates for lighting, sound, venue, orchestras, cast, crew etc. Having such a young cast meant many were not vaccinated, so our risk mitigation plans had to be strict.” When drama was cancelled in my HSC year, I had three days to find another way to study acting as an arts subject. At the time it felt like the end of the world - leaving the friends that I had grown up with. It ended up being one of the best decisions of my life. I was introduced to a school with a wonderful Drama department, and I was also encouraged to pursue studies in Maths and Biology. I have always been grateful for that moment of adversity which opened the door to new pathways and opportunities. Reflecting on this, I wonder if there is any silver lining to all this disruption and upheaval for our kids.
“Our whole rehearsal process for Shrek this year has been a disruption, but the students’ desire to perform is so strong that they’ve been so flexible with every little change that’s happened. We held online auditions and over one hundred students auditioned because they’re so much more comfortable in front of a camera now, than walking into a room,” states Courtney Cassar. Peter Hayward has faith that we will eventually get back to some semblance of normal. “There may even be a net positive for all of us who have been in the arts through this time. We will go into the rebuilding phase with a renewed sense of why we do what we do and why it’s important - so, in a really crazy way, we could even get to a better place than we might have
without going through this pandemic.” With The Addams Family finally hitting the stage, after a coronavirusfree and successful season, Chrissy describes the feeling of making it to the finish line. “We talked about seeing this show on the stage and how we would feel. I totally underestimated the joy. I learned and was astonished by the resilience, courage and hope of those in The Arts.” Chrissy reminds me of a line from The Addams’s Family: ‘If we move toward the darkness, we might find love and acceptance. For when it is dark enough, we can see the stars.’ “And when our show went on stage, we finally got to see the stars...”
Pulse Alive (Peter Hayward) Featuring over 1000 student performers from NSW public schools. Ken Rosewall Arena on March 14 and 15. Sydney Youth Music Theatre (Chrissy Strickland) Into The Woods - The Showroom at Hornsby RSL July 8 to 16. Pennant Hills High School (Courtney Cassar) Shrek will be presented May 6 to 14.
Pennant Hills High School’s last production prior to coronavirus disruptions - Matilda (2020). Photo courtesy: Courtney Cassar.
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Time To Play Again In 2022 Sport for Jove Theatre Company believes that teachers are unsung heroes of the pandemic for managing remote leaning. To lighten their load, the company is encouraging them to return to the theatre with their students in 2022, for seasons of Shakespeare, and mini productions of plays, in Sydney and on the Gold Coast. Shakespeare was certainly no stranger to a pandemic - in his own lifetime the plague saw the world shut down around him, but from that came the birth of some of his greatest creativity, and works such as Venus & Adonis, King Lear and Macbeth. Just like Shakespeare, Sport for Jove wishes to rise from their own pandemic and reinvigorate creativity in our children. The company has been delivering innovative productions of classic texts for the past 13 years and offers comprehensive education packages for teachers. Three mainstage productions from the national syllabus will be presented this year for middle and senior school students - Macbeth, Othello and Romeo & Juliet - curated based on NSW teachers’ needs. “It is so critical that students and teachers are supported by our theatre makers in teaching these extraordinary texts and bringing them to life on stage. They are a visceral lived experience and just great human drama, and they make such a difference to our understanding of the plays,” says Sport for Jove’s Artistic Director, Damien Ryan. Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet are being brought to the stage for the Education Season for the first time in the 2022. In 2022 Sport for Jove is also offering Performance Symposiums under its HSC intensive programs. For the first time, students will experience the material they are studying in a 9 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
live, abridged performance by professional actors bringing to life characters from the pages. This brand new format will feature ‘mini-productions’ of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice and Henry 4, Part 1 followed by detailed analysis and discussions. Jove’s detailed and experiential HSC Symposiums will be returning with contemporary text performances of The Crucible and Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. The company believes that getting out of the classroom, engaging with professional live performance of the written word on stage is an important and unparalleled learning tool. It aims to lighten the teacher workload, so accompanying each production is a free detailed Teacher Resource Kit comprising an analysis of the play, a guide to the production, lesson activities, videos, photos and design materials. The content in these kits is curated from the years of experience which Damien Ryan has in education, professional theatre, and teaching at secondary or tertiary levels over two decades. “Teaching these texts in high schools is easily the most rewarding professional experience I have ever had and it was also the central reason to build a theatre company for me to give students unforgettable
The Tempest. Photo: Seiya Taguchi.
Romeo & Juliet. Photo: Seiya Taguchi.
Macbeth Seymour Centre May 5 to 14 and Riverside Theatres, Parramatta May 25 to June 3. Othello Seymour Centre June 9 to 17 and Riverside Theatres, Parramatta June 21 to 24. Romeo & Juliet Seymour Centre July 21 to August 19 and HOTA QLD September 7 & 8. sportforjove.com.au
Online extras!
Join Sport For Jove as they announce their return to theatre in 2022. youtu.be/tmNytR6GXYA experiences of these works,” Ryan says. Sport for Jove also offers extracurricular opportunities for students outside of the standard production season. The Shakespeare Carnival is a state-wide performance competition for students; the Shakespeare Residency is a week-long, in-school program; and the Second Age Project is an acting training opportunity for young performers outside of school hours. Finally, for regional schools or those unable to get students out on an excursion or have an incursion, Sport for Jove has a library full of digital offerings of its productions and symposiums.
Online extras!
Check out a showcase of the plays in Sport For Jove’s HSC Symposium. youtu.be/oBadYB8WNys stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 10
Online extras!
“All the world’s a stage”...join the cast of MTC’s As You Like It on theirs. youtu.be/YYBoxjJmQ_w
MTC’s As You Like It. Photo: Jeff Busby.
MTC Digital Education Melbourne Theatre Company Education is inviting students to take a behind the scenes look at how ‘magic is made on stage’ through the MTC Digital Education program. Go behind-the-scenes of the MTC production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It with three new features that explore the theatre-making process: Creating Costumes, Playing the Part and Shakespearean Comedy. An education pack for As You Like It includes Q&A’s with the cast and creative team. Additional resources include a virtual tour of the set design and interactive script notes. MTC Education’s suite of ondemand digital resources are updated regularly. On the MTC website, you can walk through the Southbank Theatre, MTC’s production workshops and rehearsal rooms in 3D virtual tours. Learn more about the design processes behind the Company’s mainstage productions and explore 11 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
interactive images about the production lifecycle, whilst linking to key points of the VCE Drama and Theatre Studies curriculum. Upcoming events in 2022 include livestreams and webinars for schools to deep-dive into MTC productions and processes. A livestream of the MTC Education production SLAP. BANG. KISS. by Dan Giovannoni will be exclusively available for regional schools who cannot access live performances across the Southbank Theatre season and regional tour. An opportunity to step into the MTC rehearsal room will also be
available with MTC’s Actors at Work livestream workshop. Students are encouraged to prepare questions and offer direction to cast and creatives of an MTC show in this virtual event which will take place on 18 August. Revision webinars offer another opportunity to engage with MTC artists whilst preparing for exams. Sessions will be available for the VCE playlisted productions SLAP. BANG. KISS. and Fun Home. MTC Digital Education is supported by the Ian Potter Foundation.
Discover more about the MTC Digital Education program at mtc.com.au/discover-more/education/resources
Australian Musical Theatre Festival
Sound Of Musicals (2021). Photo: Melanie Kate.
A dedicated program for school students is being offered by the Australian Musical Theatre Festival in Launceston. Held in Launceston, Tasmania, the festival includes a diverse program with opportunities to teach, collaborate, engage, perform, learn and - of course - enjoy.
Participating students will attend workshops with some of Australia’s leading Musical Theatre artists and teachers, see public performances, meet students from other schools and
The 2022 Australian Music Theatre Festival will be held in Launceston from May 18 to 22. Download the school program from amtf.org.au
even have a chance to get on stage themselves. The headlining artists for the festival will all be hosting workshops in their areas of expertise. Philip Quast will present a masterclass focussing on deepening the connections to text and character. Chloe Dallimore’s masterclass will focus on the three most important areas of musical theatre - singing, acting and dancing. Paulini will also join forces with head of music theatre at the VCA, Tyran Parke, to present an advanced workshop on singing contemporary styles, covering everything from soul music to rap. A key feature of the program is a Schools Mega Workshop. Over two days students are taught a song and dance routine, and then have the rare opportunity to perform it on stage with one of Australia’s greatest Musical Theatre stars.
Online extras!
Check out highlights from the 2021 Australian Music Theatre Festival. youtu.be/lKEsSORkmyQ
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Black Swan’s Creative Learning The Black Swan State Theatre Company’s 2022 season celebrates family, friendships and the relationships that connect us. Four productions that will especially appeal to educators and students are accompanied by comprehensive Creative Learning Resource Packs. Personal, provocative and compellingly brilliant, Meyne Wyatt’s much-lauded debut play City of Gold is headed home to WA from March 17 to 27, in a brand-new coproduction with Sydney Theatre Company, as part of Perth Festival. Wyatt, a proud Wongutha-Yamatji actor/playwright, puts family centre stage in this semi-autobiographical story, fuelled with frustration and unflinching honesty, about growing up black in Kalgoorlie. It touches on grief, identity and rage. Shari Sebbens, who performed alongside Wyatt in the original Griffin Theatre and Queensland Theatre seasons, says she is thrilled to be joining this new production as director in Wyatt’s home state. “It’s a show that keeps the audience working; wondering where you will land once the lights go down on Meyne Wyatt’s thrilling and clever dialogue. This show cuts right to the core of Meyne’s lived experience as a young Black man in Australia. It’s unrelenting and honest,” she says. Also premiering in March/April is Barracking for the Umpire, a new play penned by comedienne Andrea Gibbs (Barefaced Stories). Hailing from country WA, Andrea witnessed the hard-knocks of football first-hand when her father’s injuries meant he had to put down the football and become an umpire. According to Andrea, “Mum would follow him to all his games, cheer him on. ‘Your Mum was the only one who’d be out there barracking for the umpire!’ Dad would say. A longstanding joke in our family.” This play centres around the Williams family as they prepare to celebrate their father Doug’s Lifetime Achievement award at the local football club. Barracking For The Umpire investigates the culture of football, family and the sacrifices Hayley McElhinney in Oil. Photo: Frances Andrijich.
Online extras!
BSSTC’s ‘22 season is a celebration and exploration of connection and family. youtu.be/A6MLTZccshk 13 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
made for the game. The issue of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) resulting from football concussions is topical, and the play explores the effects of this advancing condition on the heart of a loving family. A must for Drama and English students is the beautifully crafted, semi-autobiographical play of the broken Wingfield family, in Tennessee Williams’ timeless drama The Glass Menagerie at His Majesty’s Theatre in
SPARK 2022 Book more than one BSSTC production in their 2022 season and receive a 10% discount. Receive one free Educator ticket per 10 students booked. bsstc.com.au
Barracking For The Umpire. Photo: Frances Andrijich.
August. This is the play that thrust Williams into the international spotlight and promises tour-de-force performances by Mandy McElhinney (Wakefield, Love Child), Bridie McKim (The Heights) and Joel Jackson (Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries). Joel said “What I’m most looking forward to is capturing and creating that instantly recognisable sense of memory that is the world of the play. The magic, the whimsy, the melancholic, the tragic, the wonder and the beauty.” The family theme continues with the co-dependence of mother and child, matched by the co-dependence on one of Earth’s most precious and finite resources in November with Ella Hickson’s play Oil. This epic drama asks: is blood thicker than oil? Spanning 150 years and traversing the globe through Tehran, Hampstead, Baghdad, and then back to Cornwall, Oil is an explosive collision of empire, history and family. It stars Hayley McElhinney (Doctor Doctor), with a formidable ensemble of nine actors.
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Shows For Schools
Online extras!
Watch a trailer for Away, or rent the entire production on demand. vimeo.com/458439371
Liam Nunan and Naomi Rukavina in Australian National Theatre Live’s Away. Photo: James Green.
everything with them to create that theatre magic. They bring shows to your local area so everyone has the chance to experience a full theatrical show, no matter the venue. They are a group of dedicated theatre professionals who adapt classic stories into powerful metaphors for our lives, as well as highly entertaining and fun comedy shows! As a group, they have been touring for over 16 years and are dedicated to what we do. Relevant to all subjects. Grade P - 9 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
AUSTRALIAN THEATRE LIVE australiantheatre.live
ALPHA SHOWS
alphashows.com.au/shows Incursion All states except WA and NT Real, quality theatre. That comes to your school. Let your imagination run wild and experience real quality theatre, in any venue you choose. Alpha Shows brings 15 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
Away australiantheatre.live It’s the summer of 1967, and three families head away for a beach holiday. Set against a backdrop of war and social revolution, they find themselves caught up in their own storm of secrets and conflict. Michael Gow’s classic Australian play explores themes of loss and change, as three mothers deal with their own personal grief and their attempt at letting go. Relationships are pushed to the edge as secrets are exposed and the pressure of social change takes its toll.
Norm and Ahmed australiantheatre.live Fifty-three years since its premiere in Melbourne, Alex Buzo’s tense two hander remains alarmingly relevant, confronting issues of racism, xenophobia, female politics, cultural difference and assimilation. This season played at the Riverside Theatres and was live captured for online digital release in 2022. Emerald City australiantheatre.live A fast-moving, wisecracking commentary on contemporary urban mores and morals, and the rivalries and passions to be encountered on the road to success. Colin, a screenwriter, and his wife Kate, a publisher, move to the ‘Emerald City’, where fame and fortune are there for the taking, but surprises are in store for them both. Taming Of The Shrew australiantheatre.live Two sisters. One wants to marry, one doesn’t. What could possibly go wrong? With a sprinkle of old-time movie magic, this classic love story is transported to a time when Kate is a promise of great women to come, filled with glamour, romance, song and laughter.
BELL SHAKESPEARE bellshakespeare.com.au
The Wonderful World Of Will Incursion bellshakespeare.com.au Terms 1 - 3 Travel back to 1599 and meet William Shakespeare himself, as well as a host of memorable characters from history in this spirited, funny and informative show designed for primary students. English, Literacy, Drama Grade 2 - 7 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. bellshakespeare.com.au/play-resources Shakespeare Is Dead Incursion bellshakespeare.com.au Terms 1 - 3 A funny, provocative and fast-paced rollercoaster ride through the world of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare Is Dead is designed to challenge negative, preconceived notions about the world’s most famous playwright. Shakespeare is Dead follows a group of teenagers who embark on a journey asking the ultimate question - if Shakespeare is long dead, why are we still performing his plays? Bell Shakespeare’s The Players’ The Wonderful World Of Will.
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English, Literacy, Drama Year 7 - 9 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. bellshakespeare.com.au/play-resources Shakespeare The Human Experience Incursion bellshakespeare.com.au Terms 1 - 3 Traversing youthful wonder, innocence and first love, through to experiences of guilt, grief, loss, hate, prejudice, persecution, empathy, mercy, courage and rebellion, students will meet a host of characters and explore the complexities, anomalies and paradoxes of the human experience as explored by Shakespeare. Shakespeare: The Human Experience includes extracts from The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, the refugee speech from Sir Thomas More, and many more. English, Literacy, Drama Year 10 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. bellshakespeare.com.au/play-resources
its diversity. Alphabetical Sydney: All Aboard! is a celebration of the ocean baths, noisy streets, and magical corners that make this city unique. Year P - 12
The Box Show Junkyard Beats and Critical Stages Touring criticalstages.com.au Excursion April 13 - 14 at Glen Street Theatre NSW glenstreet.com.au May 5 - 6 at Laycock Street Theatre, NSW centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/theatres May 10 - 11 at Goulburn Performing Arts Centre NSW gpac2022.sales.ticketsearch.com May 17 - 18 at Dubbo Regional Theatre NSW dubbo.com.au June 30 at Manning Entertainment Centre NSW manning.sales.ticketsearch.com July 2 at Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre NSW shoalhavenentertainment.com.au July 5 - 6 at Blue Mountains Theatre NSW bluemountainstheatre.com.au July 8 - 9 at Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre NSW thejoan.com.au CRITICAL STAGES July 13 at Casula Powerhouse NSW criticalstages.com.au tickets.casulapowerhouse.com July 15 at Cessnock Community Performing Arts Centre NSW Black Sun Blood Moon cessnockperformingartscentre.com.au Critical Stages Touring August 16 - 17 at Moncrieff Entertainment Centre QLD criticalstages.com.au whatsonbundaberg.com.au Excursion to The Playhouse at The Civic, Wagga Wagga August 19 at Gladstone Entertainment Centre QLD civictheatre.com.au gladstoneentertainment.com May 19 - 21 August 22 - 23 at Redland Performing Arts Centre QLD Two intertwining storylines - one magical, the other all too rpac.com.au real - bring two unlikely heroes to the stage in a new work August 24 at Ipswich Civic Centre QLD inspired by the Fridays for Future student-led protests of ipswichciviccentre.com.au 2019. Black Sun Blood Moon follows Maddy, a ten-year-old August 25 - 26 at Empire Theatre Toowoomba QLD climate champion, and Katie, an underachieving assistant of empiretheatre.com.au a climate-denying politician, as they set out to save the September 20 at Frankston Arts Centre VIC planet. Maddy’s journey will put her at increasing risk as artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au she takes her message to the powers that be, while Katie September 22 at Gippsland Performing Arts Centre VIC will find herself on the back of eagles and dolphins as she latrobe.vic.gov.au/gpac attempts to fulfil a fantastical quest from the future. September 24 at Bunjil Place VIC Grade 6 - 12 bunjilplace.com.au September 27 - 28 at Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre VIC Alphabetical Sydney All Aboard wpacc.com.au Critical Stages Touring September 30 - October 1 at Illawarra Performing Arts criticalstages.com.au Centre NSW Excursion to Riverside Theatres, Parramatta merrigong.com.au riversideparramatta.com.au October 5 at The Twyford Theatre, Merimbula NSW March 30 - April 1 twyfordhall.com.au Inspired by the best-selling picture book Alphabetical October 7 - 8 at The Concourse Theatre, Chatswood NSW Sydney, this exciting new stage production for theconcourse.com.au children combines music, puppetry, theatre and creative Ordinary household items are transformed into play, taking audiences of all ages on an adventure around extraordinary musical instruments and unwanted junk the world’s most famous harbour city. comes alive in exciting and surprising ways! Our tour guides - the chaotic Ibis and tough but tenderFollow four characters during their daily activities in a world hearted Nanna - take us on a trip to discover Sydney in all made of cardboard boxes and junk. The contents of an 17 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
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Online extras! Junkyard Beats and Critical Stages’ The Box Show.
Watch a trailer for The Box Show. Scan the QR code or visit youtu.be/dlGCEBWsN9s stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 18
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abandoned kitchen and wheelie bins become the greatest drum set in the world; plastic bags are an amazing musical instrument and the human body becomes a unique sound machine. Tag along for a day in the life of a bunch of musical misfits as they reinvigorate the junk that the world has forgotten. Learn about sustainability with this music-in-education performance combining drumming, dance, theatre and comedy. Grade P - 12 The Year Of Magical Thinking Critical Stages Touring criticalstages.com.au Excursion June 8 at Portland Arts Centre VIC portlandarts.sales.ticketsearch.com June 10 at Clocktower Centre VIC clocktowercentre.com.au June 11 at Whitehorse Centre VIC whitehorsecentre.com.au June 15 at Frankston Arts Centre VIC artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au June 17 - 18 at The Engine Room, Bendigo VIC bendigoregion.com.au June 21 at The Bowery VIC creativebrimbank.com.au/bowery June 23 - 25 at Theatre Royal Hobart TAS theatreroyal.com.au June 28 at Byron Bay Theatre NSW 19 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
The Listies’ and Critical Stages’ Rolling On The Floor Laughing.
byroncentre.com.au June 30 at Jetty Memorial Theatre NSW jettytheatre.com July 2 at Blue Mountains Theatre NSW bluemountainstheatre.com.au July 5 at Cowra Civic Centre NSW cowraciviccentre.com July 7 - 9 at Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre NSW theq.net.au July 14 at Zenith Theatre, Chatswood NSW zeniththeatre.com.au Joan Didion’s memoir is brought to life by Jillian Murray in a solo performance that reunites her with director Laurence Strangio. This highly personal account of loss through the lens of hope unpacks a surreal and overwhelming time in Didion’s life as she faces the sudden loss of her husband John, and later her daughter Quintana. This is one woman’s story of the journey to find acceptance, and the lessons learnt in letting go. Year 9 - 12 Rolling On The Floor Laughing The Listies & Critical Stages criticalstages.com.au Excursion June 25 at Bowery Theatre VIC creativebrimbank.com.au/bowery June 28 at Swan Hill Town Hall VIC swanhilltownhall.com
Shake & Stir's Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts. Photo: Dylan Evans.
June 30 at Horsham Town Hall VIC horshamtownhall.com.au July 2 at Gippsland Performing Arts Centre VIC latrobe.vic.gov.au/gpac July 6 at Shirley Burke Theatre VIC kingstonarts.com.au July 7 at The Chapel Theatre - Chapel Off Chapel VIC chapeloffchapel.com.au July 12 - 13 at Theatre Royal Hobart TAS theatreroyal.com.au July 15 - 16 at Illawarra Performing Arts Centre NSW merrigong.com.au July 23 at Ararat Town Hall VIC ararattownhall.com.au July 26 - 27 at Portland Arts Centre VIC portlandarts.sales.ticketsearch.com July 29 at Gannawarra (TBA) September 17 at Eastbank Centre Shepparton VIC riverlinksvenues.com.au September 20 at Gladstone Entertainment Centre QLD gladstoneentertainment.com September 22 at Venue 114 - Sunshine Coast QLD venue114.com.au September 24 at SunPAC QLD sunpac.net.au September 27 at Gympie Civic Centre QLD September 28 - 29 at Redland Performing Arts Centre QLD rpac.com.au October 4 at Dubbo Regional Theatre NSW drtcc.com.au
October 6 at Blue Mountains Theatre NSW bluemountainstheatre.com.au October 8 at Byron Bay Community Theatre NSW byroncentre.com.au ROFL sees The Listies tackle the most terrifyingly tortuous family situation of all: BED TIME. Rich, the exhausted parental proxy, is trying to get an early night while his hapless, hopeless housemate, Matt, deploys every trick in the book to stay up late. Featuring toilet paper cannons, a real life Cowasaurus, lullabies of doom, detachable legs, a panoply of puns, and possibly too many Aldi gags. Ages 3 - 10 Them Critical Stages Touring criticalstages.com.au Excursion July 27 - 29 at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta NSW riversideparramatta.com.au August 9 - 10 at Logan Entertainment Centre NSW loganarts.com.au/events August 12 - 13 at Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre NSW shoalhavenentertainment.com.au August 16 - 17 at Casula Powerhouse NSW tickets.casulapowerhouse.com August 19 - 20 at Zenith Theatre, Chatswood NSW zeniththeatre.com.au August 23 - 24 at Capital Theatre, Bendigo VIC bendigoregion.com.au stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 20
SPARK 2022 New Zealand Playhouse's Rumpelstiltskin.
August 25 - 26 at Bunjil Place VIC bunjilplace.com.au August 30 - September 3 at HotHouse Theatre NSW hothousetheatre.com.au September 6 - 7 at Belconnen Arts Centre ACT belcoarts.com.au Them tells the story of one young family as they face the decision whether to flee their war-torn city. Omar, Leila and their young child are counting down the days. Their friends enjoy fantasies of escape and the arrival of Omar’s sister brings a real chance to get out - but at what cost? Theatre and Drama Year 9 - 12 FoRT Asking for Trouble & Critical Stages criticalstages.com.au Excursion 3 July at Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre NSW shoalhavenentertainment.com.au 5 July at Ararat Town Hall VIC ararattownhall.com.au
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7 July at Swan Hill Town Hall VIC swanhilltownhall.com 12 July at Zenith Theatre, Chatswood NSW zeniththeatre.com.au 14 July at Laycock Street Theatre NSW centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/theatres FoRT is a circus/physical theatre production, which delves into the art of play and the creation of worlds from everyday objects. Two strange characters appear hunting for whispers of adventure. In a series of vignettes a couch, table, cushions, sheets and broomsticks transform into rockets, trampolines, cliffs and tents...places to explore. Images appear and disappear. FoRT is full of ridiculous clowning, spectacular acrobatics, poetic visual imagery and celebrates the kind of creative genius that has been known to turn lounge rooms into volcanoes, trees into castles and cardboard boxes into racing cars. Ages 3 - 10 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
NEW ZEALAND PLAYHOUSE newzealandplayhouse.co.nz
Rumpelstiltskin Incursion newzealandplayhouse.co.nz VIC and TAS Term 3 This adaptation of Grimm's fairy tale will have your students (and teachers) laughing and thinking about the value of kindness and cooperation, consequences of not telling the truth and the importance of keeping a promise. Drama Ages 5 - 13 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. newzealandplayhouse.co.nz/resources
PERFORM! EDUCATION performeducation.com
Book Week in Schools 2022: Story Quest Incursion performeducation.com August 1 - September 9 Join Marley on her new Story Quest adventure as part of CBCA Book Week 2022 and celebrating the CBCA Book Week 2022 theme: "Dreaming With Eyes Open..." . Students will be immersed into the storytelling and interaction with the books featured from the CBCA 2022 shortlist woven into a narrative filled with music, adventure and intrigue! English, Health and Physical Education, The Arts (Drama, Music, Dance), Humanities & Social Sciences.
SPORT FOR JOVE
Science Week in Schools 2022: Window To The World Incursion sportforjove.com.au performeducation.com VIC and NSW Romeo & Juliet August 8 - 26 sportforjove.com.au Jump through a Window To The World to discover the Excursion to the Seymour Centre NSW unsung hero of STEM - Glass! At the heart of the global seymourcentre.com transformation of communications, technology, medicine, July 21 - August 19 transport and global sustainability is the sandy substance of Excursion to HOTA, QLD glass. We can’t live the way we do without it - from fibrehota.com.au optics, the internet and mobile phones, to its indispensable September 7 - 8 role in improving our quality of life and helping us live more A brand new production. The existential crisis facing our sustainably in the future. world today has triggered a deafening chorus of ‘How dare With comedic science sketches delivered by professional you!’, screamed from the heart of our planet’s youth. And Actor/Educators, your students will laugh & learn all about it’s not just about climate issues. What can children teach the every-day impact of glass, how it is driving a sustainable us in their struggle to be heard? future, and the incredible impact of some of Australia’s A thrilling introduction to Shakespeare for young audiences famous scientists who have led the way. and such an important work for students to experience live. Science, Technologies (Design & Technologies), English and Middle School English & Drama syllabus - Introduction to The Arts (Drama). and sophisticated analysis of Shakespeare’s plays and Grade 5 - 9 theatrical practices. Senior English - Year 11. Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 22
SPARK 2022 Monkey Baa Theatre's Saltbush.
SHAKE & STIR THEATRE COMPANY shakeandstir.com.au
Terrortorial Excursion shakeandstir.com.au QLD: Term 1 - 4 TAS: Term 2 NSW: Term 3 Stephen, Craig and Sophie are about to face the unimaginable - starting grade 7. Targeting those students about to enter the terrifying world that is high school, this production arms your youngest students with an artillery of valuable tools designed to tackle change head on, renewing their confidence and reassuring them that everything will work out just how it’s supposed to. Year 7 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Jane Eyre Excursion shakeandstir.com.au National tour May - November Brontë’s gothic tale of a spirited orphan in search of love, family and a sense of belonging. Following a childhood spent suffering at the hands of her cruel Aunt, Jane finds employment at Thornfield Hall - the impressive yet mysterious home of Edward Rochester. As Jane and Rochester become inexplicably drawn to each 23 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
Online extras!
Check out highlights from Saltbush. Scan the QR code or visit vimeo.com/77964031
other, the dark secrets locked within the walls of Thornfield start to unravel forcing Jane on a heart-wrenching journey toward truth and freedom. Drama and English Year 9 - 12 Romeo & Juliet Excursion shakeandstir.com.au QLD: Term 1 - 4 TAS: Term 2 NSW: Term 3 A tale of two young lovers, trapped in their social roles, struggling to be heard in a world drowning in conflict, intolerance and hate. In this reimagined version, the live action is contrasted against retrospective on-screen interviews with the play’s minor characters allowing these key players to consider what they would have done differently, had they had their time again. When your first true love is also, devastatingly, your last. Year 8 - 10 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Macbeth Excursion shakeandstir.com.au QLD: Term 1 - 4 TAS: Term 2 NSW: Term 3 Murder, corruption and manipulation. Is Macbeth a brave
soldier or a cowardly slave to evil? Appearances can be deceiving and a hole-in-one- story this ain’t. Performed against a dynamic, cinematic background, interspersed with interviews from some of the key minor players, this take guarantees Shakespeare’s shortest play sticks with you the longest. Year 10 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Hamlet Excursion shakeandstir.com.au QLD: Term 1 - 4 TAS: 2 NSW: Term 3 How quickly circumstances can change. Prince Hamlet was excelling at uni, had the girlfriend of his dreams and a future fit for a King - but that’s all in the past. Forced to defer and move back home to come to terms with his drastically altered family situation, Hamlet’s whole world soon unravels faster than his mother’s hasty remarriage… Angst. Revenge. Madness. Love. Loss. Year 10 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
Right Clique Excursion shakeandstir.com.au QLD: Term 1 - 4 TAS: Term 2 NSW: Term 3 2 teens from incompatible social cliques struggle to be together in a world where image is everything. Can an online relationship stack up to the real thing? Jai and Jay are in love but they’ve got their reputations to consider nobody at school knows the truth. Because the truth is explosive. Well, for them at least. Jay is cool. She’s sporty, popular and confident. She doesn’t like her own company. Jai is different. He’s introverted, shy and mysterious. He keeps to himself. Against the odds, these two connected online and are now having difficulty transitioning to the real world. In a schoolground where everyone wears their emojis on their sleeve, is an authentic connection possible anymore? Year 7 - 9 or 10 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
Belvoir's Opening Night. Photo: Brett Boardman.
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SPARK 2022 1984 Excursion shakeandstir.com.au QLD: Term 1 - 4 TAS: Term 2 NSW: Term 3 Shake & Stir’s adaptation of Orwell’s classic dystopian tale returns in 2022. Oceania is a place perpetually at war. Cameras watch every move, Thought Police roam the streets and Big Brother rules. What happens when one man stands up in an attempt to maintain some control over his otherwise totally controlled life? Big Brother is back on our televisions and back in schools - more psychotically relevant today than ever. Year 10 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Ruff Stuff Excursion shakeandstir.com.au QLD: Term 1 - 4 TAS: Term 2 NSW: Term 3 Let the games begin. High school has its challenges, and not just for students. Ruff Stuff examines the relevance of Shakespeare for modern audiences through the eyes of two opposing teachers - this is Physical Education VS Drama in a dramatic showdown that sees each teacher arguing their point through demonstration. The language remains intact as scenes from some of the Bard’s most-iconic plays are put through their paces. But there can only be one winner so who decides? That’s where Karen from Admin comes into play. Expect blood, sweat and… meticulously filled out paperwork. Year 7 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Dirty Beasts Excursion shakeandstir.com.au QLD: Term 1 - 4 TAS: Term 2 NSW: Term 3 Roald Dahl’s Dirty Beasts leap off the page to entertain your students in this action-packed, side-splitting, verse extravaganza. Featuring all nine poems from the book including The Tummy Beast, Sting-A-Ling the Scorpion and The Porcupine plus a few fairytale favourites from Revolting Rhymes thrown in for good measure. This title is exclusive to shake & stir by special arrangement with the Roald Dahl Story Company. Grade P - 10 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
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MONKEY BAA THEATRE COMPANY monkeybaa.com.au
Edward The Emu Excursion or Incursion monkeybaa.com.au Term 1 Edward is bored with his lot. Being the only emu at the zoo leaves him feeling glum and under the impression that the grass is greener in another animal’s enclosure. Convinced that the other creatures are more popular, Edward breaks ranks in search of fun and finds Edwina along the way! Come on an adventure with the emus as they hilariously navigate their feathered existential crises, seeking to find their place in the world. Meanwhile, the zookeepers are in hot pursuit to restore order to the zoo. Featuring puppetry, an original score, and storytelling. The team behind Possum Magic and Diary of a Wombat return, bringing two beloved Australian picture books by Sheena Knowles and Rod Clement to life. Grade K - 4 Robot Song Arena Theatre Company Term 2 monkeybaa.com.au Excursion When 11 year old Juniper May receives a petition signed by her entire class stating that she is ‘the most hated person in the school’ her life is thrown into a complete meltdown. After exhausting all other avenues her parents resort to the only thing they have left, a giant singing robot. Based on the writer’s experience of raising a child on the autism spectrum, Robot Song is a new musical that illustrates the profound, transformative nature of creativity; that when combined with unconditional love, becomes an unstoppable force of self-acceptance. Robot Song uses digital technology integrated with live performance and songs. Year 3 - 6
Neighbourhood Watch Excursion monkeybaa.com.au Term 3 Delve into the themes, theatrical devices and worlds of Neighbourhood Watch by Lally Katz with Director Sandra Eldridge and Education Manager Alexander Andrews. Watch as a cast of professional actors perform key scenes from the play, while Sandra and Alexander unpack how directorial choices and the Elements of Drama can be used to bring the script to life. Sandra shares her directorial process and offers a unique insight into the opportunities and challenges of directing Neighbourhood Watch, focusing on theatrical forms such as Epic Theatre and Magical Realism, and the Elements of Production. Alexander draws on his experience as an HSC Drama teacher to discuss how this process can be implemented in the classroom using the Elements of Drama. Throughout the seminar, students engage in discussion with the actors and creatives, allowing them to ask questions that support their study of Neighbourhood Watch and give them insight into Australian Theatre. Drama stage 6. Year 11 - 12
Verbatim Theatre Excursion monkeybaa.com.au Term 3 A seminar on Verbatim Theatre built around two HSC texts and the process of creating a play based on direct testimony. Join Director Sandra Eldridge and Education Manager Alexander Andrews in exploring the performance styles, techniques and conventions of Verbatim Theatre and the tension between maintaining truth while creating dramatic shape, theatricality and audience engagement. Throughout the seminar, students will devise an original piece of Verbatim Theatre, as Sandra and Alexander lead them through the process of recording and editing testimony and shaping it into a theatrical piece. Students will also engage in discussion with the actors and creatives, allowing them to ask questions that support their study of Verbatim Theatre and Playbuilding. Drama stage 6 Year 11 - 12. Saltbush Insite Arts & Compagnia TPO Excursion monkeybaa.com.au Term 3 The narrative centres on the journey of two friends and their spiritual guide on foot as they cross Australian
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SPARK 2022
Online extras!
Check out a preview of The One. Scan the QR code or visit youtu.be/LBZ5Z_w8If4 Ensemble Theatre’s The One.
landscapes - river country, an urban landscape, desert, and the sea. The journey is one of discovering the land, growing an understanding and acknowledging how it challenges or provokes personal journeys. With unique multi-media features, children can interact, play, and perform in the production providing children and teachers with an immersive experience of the artwork. Year K - 5
and in overcoming difficult challenges, he discovers a resilience in himself that he never knew he had. Year 3 - 6.
SPORT FOR JOVE sportforjove.com.au
Macbeth sportforjove.com.au Yong Excursion to the Seymour Centre Excursion seymourcentre.com monkeybaa.com.au May 5 - 14 Term 4 A storm rages. Thunder cracks, the wind a mournful howl, Excursion to the Riverside Theatres, Parramatta riversideparramatta.com.au rain falls and waves crash. The wooden boat bucks and heaves. Yong holds on tight. He looks up at the moon and May 25 - June 4 English - Stage 4 & 5; also suitable for all years in Drama; thinks of home. Language, Literature, Literacy; The Arts, Theatre and Set against the backdrop of the Australian Goldrush of Cultural Studies. 1857, Yong is a new Australian play by Jenevieve Chang. Mixing historical fact and narrative fiction, Yong takes us on Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. a journey across land and sea, from China to the goldfields Othello sportforjove.com.au of Australia. Excursion to the Seymour Centre Yong and his father leave their small village and travel across the seas hoping to strike gold and find their fortune seymourcentre.com June 9 - 17 in the goldfields of Ballarat. However, despite his family’s Excursion to the Riverside Theatres, Parramatta desperate need for money, Yong does not want to be on riversideparramatta.com.au/show/othello this journey. On the surface, he is an honourable son, but bubbling below is deepening resentment for his father June 21 - 24 Othello, easily Shakespeare’s most relentless and tightly and a longing for home. Faced with momentous change, compressed drama, is a dark, brooding thriller. Yong’s courage and inner strength are tested, 27 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
Choose from 1,300 plays at our online store
booknook.com.au
stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 28
SPARK 2022 English - Stage 5 & 6; Drama - Stage 4 and 5; Language, Literature, Literacy; The Arts, Theatre and Cultural Studies. Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. The Merchant of Venice - Symposium sportforjove.com.au Excursion to the Seymour Centre seymourcentre.com March 17 - 18 The Merchant of Venice is an eternally relevant study of justice, mercy and religious division. Sport for Jove’s new Performance Symposium offers a unique opportunity for students to dissect this formidable play. English - Stage 6 HSC; Stage 4, 5: also suitable for younger years in Drama; Language, Literature, Literacy; The Arts, Theatre and Cultural Studies Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. The Tempest - Symposium sportforjove.com.au Excursion to the Seymour Centre seymourcentre.com April 4 - 7 One of Shakespeare’s truly original and most personal plays, The Tempest is a symphonic vision of forgiveness,
Online extras!
Enter the incredible make-believe world of Asking For Trouble’s FoRT. vimeo.com/180666326
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discovery and self-discovery - famous for its language, context, enchanting characters and breathtaking theatricality, a reflection of the world’s most famous playwright at the height of his powers and at the end of his remarkable career. Sport for Jove will unpick the play with students through live performance and analysis and direct contrast and comparison with Atwood’s Hag-seed in this brand new Performance Symposium series. English - Stage 4, 5 & 6 HSC: also suitable for younger years in Drama; Language, Literature, Literacy; The Arts, Theatre and Cultural Studies. Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Richard III - Symposium sportforjove.com.au Excursion to the Seymour Centre seymourcentre.com March 10 - 11 Richard III is about curses, dreams and fate and its sidelined and disenfranchised women will prove its truest storytellers. A brand new Performance Symposium of one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. Advanced Module A: Textual Conversations; Senior English Year 11 & 10. Drama - Year 10 - 12 - introduction to and sophisticated analysis of Shakespeare’s plays and theatrical practices. History - Interpretation and Propaganda. Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Asking For Trouble and Critical Stage’s FoRT. Photo: Cheeky Monkey.
The Crucible - Symposium sportforjove.com.au Excursion to the Seymour Centre seymourcentre.com June 6 Excursion to Riverside Theatres, Parramatta riversideparramatta.com.au June 2 Arthur Miller’s parable of mass hysteria is a portrait of the ordinary evils latent in any society, of mindless, hysterical persecution through ignorance, fear of ‘otherness’ and our capacity to serve ourselves above all others, making it one of the world’s most transcendent and important stories, in any age. Damien Ryan’s intensive and detailed Symposium on The Crucible offers an opportunity for students to meet the characters, look beneath the play - its language, characters, form and theatricality - and discuss the big ideas with professional actors who have a long relationship with the play. English - Stage 4, 5, & 6: Drama; Language, Literature, Literacy; The Arts, Theatre & Cultural Studies. Study Resource Kits available.
OPERA AUSTRALIA
opera.org.au/events/schools-programs Cinderella Incursion troubie.com.au Term 2 & 3 Based on Rossini’s Cenerentola, this new production, with striking costumes and sung in English, will enchant students with a young Angelina’s fight for love. Primary School Music. Kindergarten - Grade 6. Study Resource Kits available.
SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY sydneytheatre.com.au/education
The Picture of Dorian Gray Excursion to Roslyn Packer Theatre sydneytheatre.com.au April 28 and May 4 Hailed as a “dizzyingly beautiful tour de force” (The Guardian) and “a theatrical coup to rival the best of Robert Lepage or Complicité” (Sydney Morning Herald). “The Picture of Dorian Gray is a monumental work of Australian theatre and an odyssey of theatrical storytelling, featuring an awe-inspiring performance from Eryn Jean Norvill that is “out of this world”. (Limelight). English and Drama. Year 7 - 10
City of Gold Excursion to Wharf 1 Theatre sydneytheatre.com.au May 25 and June 8 Breythe is slogging it out on the East Coast, building an acting career and trying to balance the road to success with honouring his heritage as a Wongutha-Yamatji man. When he’s called back to Kalgoorlie to mourn his father’s tragic death, he discovers a family reeling in pain and anger and a home he feels increasingly estranged from. Drama. Year 11 - 12 Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Excursion to Roslyn Packer Theatre sydneytheatre.com.au August 31 Performed by just two actors, including Ewen Leslie (Julius Caesar), the tale of the doomed and divided Jekyll, the rapacious Hyde, and the transfixed Utterson, caught in between, will become a prismatic theatrical experience like no other: a production that will blur the lines between good and bad, the self and the other, the public and the private, and the artist and the audience. English and Drama. Year 11 - 12 The Tempest Excursion at Roslyn Packer Theatre sydneytheatre.com.au November 23 and November 30 Considered by many to be Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest is vast, full of magic and contains all the wit and joy of Shakespeare’s best comedies alongside the profound human insight of his tragedies. English and Drama.
BELVOIR
belvoir.com.au/education Opening Night Excursion belvoir.com.au Term 1 It’s the role of a lifetime. But she’s losing her mind. English and Drama. Year 11 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Wayside Bride Excursion belvoir.com.au Term 2 Sydney in the Seventies. Misfits, visionaries, and how love finds a way. English and Drama. Year 10 - 12 Q & A available at selected performances. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 30
Light Shining in Buckinghamshire Excursion belvoir.com.au Term 2 Faith. Resistance. Revolution. And what comes after. English and Drama. Year 10 - 12 Q & A available at selected performances. Sexual Misconduct Of The Middle Classes Excursion belvoir.com.au Term 3 A contemporary drama of truth and deceit, in an acclaimed production. English and Drama. Year 11 - 12 Tell Me I’m Here Excursion belvoir.com.au Term 3 The life-changing memoir, now a Belvoir play English and Drama. Year 11 - 12 Q & A available at selected performances.
Looking For Alibrandi Excursion belvoir.com.au Term 4 The beloved novel of migration, growing up, and Sydney now a play! English and Drama. Year 10 - 12 Q & A available at selected performances. The Jungle And The Sea Excursion belvoir.com.au Term 4 Ancient myths and very contemporary dilemmas, from the team who brought us Counting and Cracking. English and Drama. Year 10 - 12 Q & A available at selected performances.
SHOPFRONT ARTS CO-OP & MILK CRATE THEATRE shopfront.org.au
Shopfront School Incursions come to you. Shopfront works across art forms and can shape their workshops, projects or Sydney Theatre Company’s The Picture Of Dorian Gray. Photo: Daniel Boud.
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SPARK 2022
Sport For Jove’s The Tempest. Photo: Seiya Taguchi.
performances to the needs of your school. They use digital media, film, performance, theatre, sculpture, installation, and art-making to encourage creative expression and to build confidence and community. shopfront.org.au/arts-leadership/schools
ENSEMBLE THEATRE ensemble.com.au/education
A Letter For Molly Excursion to Ensemble Theatre ensemble.com.au Term 2: May 9 - June 4 Free-spirited artist Renee has a sobering revelation at a New Year’s Eve party. With vivacious best friend Nick by her side, she now faces a life-changing decision. This celebration of culture brings to light the importance of identity and the emotional power of a mother-daughter relationship. Drama Stage 5 & 6; English Stage 5 & 6. Year 9 -12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available at selected performances.
A Doll’s House Excursion to Ensemble Theatre ensemble.com.au Term 2: June 10 - July 16 To the world, Nora Helmer has it all. But an unwanted visitor might shake her seemingly solid marriage to the core. Renowned playwright Joanna Murray-Smith gives a fresh perspective to Ibsen’s classic about throwing open the door to life’s possibilities. Drama Stage 5 & 6; English Stage 6 Year 9 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available a selected performances. The One Excursion to Ensemble Theatre ensemble.com.au Term 3: July 22 - August 27 Mel has a lot on her plate, never mind caring for her mother’s prized poodle! The One unravels the complexities of what it means to be Eurasian in contemporary Australia. Drama Stage 4 & 5; English Stage 4 & 5 Year 9 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available at selected performances. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 32
Photograph 51 Excursion to Ensemble Theatre ensemble.com.au Term 3: September 2 - October 8 1951, the race is on to unlock the secret to life. An ambitious young scientist, Rosalind Franklin, might hold the key to decoding DNA and have a Nobel Prize worthy discovery within her reach. In a world dominated by men, a dedicated woman sacrifices her life in a relentless pursuit of science. Drama Stage 5 & 6; English Stage 5 & 6. Year 7 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available at selected performances and teaching resources available. The Caretaker Excursion to Ensemble Theatre ensemble.com.au Term 4: October 14 - November 19 Discover a literary masterpiece that delves into the turbulent relationships between a homeless man and two polar opposite brothers. Pinter cranks up the tension, piles on the laughs and teases out the emotional foibles of three lonely men in this compelling absurdist theatrical event. Drama Stage 5 & 6; English Stage 6. Year 9 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available at selected performances and teaching resources available.
HOMUNCULUS THEATRE COMPANY homunculustheatre.com.au
Thoughts Have Feelings Too Incursion homunculustheatre.com.au Term 1 - 4 Thoughts Have Feelings Too shows students how to think positively about the feelings they experience in their day-today lives in a primary school environment. The students meet two clowns: Sweet ‘Clown’ and the absent-minded ‘Professor’. When the two clowns meet in A Christmas Carol the Professor’s laboratory, they discover that thoughts and Excursion to Ensemble Theatre emotions are connected. ensemble.com.au Drama, Health Term 4: November 25 - December 30 Grades P - 6 John Bell is penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge in this reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic tale. Christmas spirits Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. homunculustheatre.com.au are conjured up with music, pantomime and other surprises. Drama Stage 4, 5 & 6; English Stage 4, 5 & 6. Year 7 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available at selected performances and teaching resources available.
RIVERSIDE THEATRES PARRAMATTA riversideparramatta.com.au/category/education
Giving students educational experiences by targeting their learning outcomes. Whether it’s seeing a beloved book come to life on stage, broadening their knowledge of the communities and societies they live in, interrogating social issues or experiencing a skill directly from the experts. Secondary School Education Program riversideparramatta.com.au Primary School Education Program riversideparramatta.com.au
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20 Lazzis In A Hat Incursion Primary: homunculustheatre.com.au Secondary: homunculustheatre.com.au Term 1 - 4 Audiences will discover the origins of Commedia dell’Arte and witness, first hand, its improvised nature. The performance showcases numerous masked stock characters, hilarious burle and 20 of Commedia’s famous traditional lazzi consisting of verbal asides on current political, social and literary topics, pratfalls and acrobatics. Drama, English, Italian, Humanities and Social Science (History) Grades P - 6 and 7 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Primary: homunculustheatre.com.au Secondary: homunculustheatre.com.au Life? It’s A Circus Incursion Primary: homunculustheatre.com.au Secondary: homunculustheatre.com.au
SPARK 2022
Members of the Opera Australia Regional Children’s Chorus perform in The Magic Flute (2016) in Katherine, NT. Photo: Ashlee Hints.
Online extras!
OA’s Regional Children’s Chorus gives kids a chance to perform in an opera. youtu.be/pncZ0b9IbfM Term 1 - 4 Through the use of high level physicality, balloons, poetry, balancing chairs, acrobatic antics and clown, these two highly experienced circus theatre performers promise to take you on a thought provoking and thoroughly entertaining journey through the ups and downs of life. Drama; Health and Physical Education Grades P - 6 and 7 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Primary: homunculustheatre.com.au Secondary: homunculustheatre.com.au
- are facilitating a lecture on 4 adaptions of 4 absurdist plays (Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett, The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter, The Chairs by Eugène Ionesco and Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco.) Drama, English and Humanities and Social Science (History). Year 9 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. homunculustheatre.com.au
The Spirit Of The Mask Incursion homunculustheatre.com.au Absurd 4 Term 1 - 4 Incursion The Spirit of the Mask is a unique in-schools production, homunculustheatre.com.au (versions for primary & secondary available) - created by Term 1 - 4 Tony Kishawi. It is an interactive performance and Two Actors. Twelve Characters. Four Absurdist Plays. workshop in one, designed to demonstrate the essential Claude and Tina - an internationally acclaimed comedy duo conventions of traditional Commedia as well as comic and from The United Kingdom Theatre For The Absurd Academy mask performance. The focus of the show explores the stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 34
SPARK 2022
ways these comic traditions continue to engage audiences. Characters showcased and explored include the Zanni, the Lovers (Innamorati), Il Capitano, Il Dottore and Pantalone. Commedia conventions demonstrated include lazzi, burle, canovacci, improvisation, audience interaction, status relationships and heightened physicality. Drama, English, Italian, Humanities and Social Science (History). Year 7 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. homunculustheatre.com.au
QUEENSLAND THEATRE queenslandtheatre.com.au/educators
Queensland Theatre works closely with state educators to broaden and enhance the opportunities for schools to access the Company, with opportunities both on and off the stage. Discover the current season, suitability, educational resources and booking details at queenslandtheatre.com.au
Opera Australia’s 2021 national tour of The Barber of Seville.
Student Pathways Program For students in Year 10 - 12, this week-long program offers the chance to engage with a range of departments at Queensland Theatre, showcasing the different career pathways the arts in general can offer. Students will develop a detailed and authentic understanding of the responsibilities of these various roles and have the opportunity to apply their learnings through a series of hands-on, practical tasks. queenslandtheatre.com.au The Scene Project Queensland Theatre’s largest Education offering, The Scene Project encourages drama students throughout the state to engage in the creative process of performance, from rehearsal through to presentation. queenslandtheatre.com.au
Digital productions for regional schools In a first, Queensland Theatre is offering digital recordings of Taming of the Shrew and Return to the Dirt exclusively to regional classrooms. Both productions are part of our top Artist in Residence picks for schools and have direct curriculum links. Artists in Residence (AIR) is a flexible program that has been queenslandtheatre.com.au designed for schools to access professional artists and workshops that are connected to the curriculum. queenslandtheatre.com.au 35 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
COMPLETE WORKS THEATRE COMPANY completeworkstheatre.com
Macbeth by William Shakespeare Incursion completeworkstheatre.com Term 1 - 4 An abridged version of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy exploring ambition, guilt and temptation. Focusing on key scenes following Macbeth, his rise to power and his ultimate downfall. English, Drama Year 10 - 11 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
Homunculous Theatre’s 20 Lazzis In A Hat.
stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 36
SPARK 2022
Malthouse Theatre’s The Return. Photo: Zan Wimberley.
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare Incursion completeworkstheatre.com Terms 1 - 4 An abridged version of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, performed by three actors, follows star-crossed lovers as they try to outwit fate and end their family feud. English, Drama Year 8 - 9 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare - Online Incursion completeworkstheatre.com Terms 1 - 4 Benedick and Claudio arrive in Messina after the war. Through conflict and parties, Claudio and Hero are betrothed, while Beatrice and Benedick reignite their courtship. Drama Year 11 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Extinction by Hannie Rayson Incursion completeworkstheatre.com Terms 1 - 2 Extinction by Hannie Rayson explores the complex relationship between conservation and industry. What will 37 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
be compromised in the quest to save the endangered tiger quoll? English, Drama, EAL Year 11 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. The Women of Troy by Euripides - Online Incursion completeworkstheatre.com Terms 1 - 4 Euripides’ anti-war tragedy is a story told by the anguished voices of women; collateral damage in a war they didn’t make, powerless and tragic. English, Drama Year 11 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Medea by Euripides - Online Incursion completeworkstheatre.com Terms 1 - 4 Jason abandoned his wife, Medea, and two children in order to marry Glauce, the daughter of Creon the King.. An ultimate betrayal ending in tragedy. English, Drama Year 10 - 11 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
The 7 Stages of Grieving & The Longest Memory Incursion completeworkstheatre.com Term 3 A comparative study integrating scenes from both texts into performance, enabling students to make clear thematic comparisons and contrasts between the two stories. English, Drama Year 11 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
are Twelfth Night by Williams Shakespeare, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. English, Drama Year 11 - 12 Study Resource Kits available.
The Crucible & The Dressmaker Incursion or Excursion. Incursion completeworkstheatre.com Term 3 A comparative study integrating scenes from both texts into performance, enabling students to make clear thematic comparisons and contrasts between the two stories. English, Drama Year 11 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
Hearth May 18 - 29 May
Photograph 51 & My Brilliant Career Incursion completeworkstheatre.com Term 3 A comparative study integrating scenes from both texts into performance, enabling students to make clear thematic comparisons and contrasts between the two stories. English, Drama Year 11 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
Jane Eyre July 11 - 17 Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte in 1847, and adapted by writer and director Christine Davey, is a theatrical reimagining of this evocative and timeless classic, presented by Skin of Our Teeth Productions. Theatre Studies Year 11 - 12
Australian Poetry Incursion completeworkstheatre.com Terms 1 - 4 A presentation of performance poetry, expressing diverse Australian voices. An interactive workshop with the actors provides students with ideas for writing their own poetry. English, Drama Year 7 - 8 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
LA MAMA
lamama.com.au/about-la-mama/engagement/education
Mother Courage and Her Children June 1 - 19 Not seen in production in Victoria since 1993, Mother Courage and her Children is considered to be one of the most important plays of the 20th century. Drama Year 11 - 12
Dirt Cloud August 1 - 21 Dirt Cloud offers a poetic and sophisticated imagining of a reconciled Australia in all its complexity, with richly drawn characters that eschew cliché or stereotype. Theatre Studies Year 11 - 12
MALTHOUSE THEATRE
malthousetheatre.com.au/discover/education
The Return Excursion Literary Workshops malthousetheatre.com.au Incursion May 26 and June 2 completeworkstheatre.com Through an epic story spanning 250 years, writer John Term 1 - 4 Harvey (Heart is a Wasteland) examines the return of the VCE and Literature Workshops, available exclusively online bodily remains of Indigenous men, women, and children. for small groups, are tailored to meet specific teaching units Year 11 - 12 and areas of study, making daunting texts accessible for Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. students and teachers alike. Staged readings of key scenes are followed by detailed discussion and analysis. These Looking for Alibrandi interactive workshops enable students to gain a greater Excursion understanding of their study text. This workshop series is malthousetheatre.com.au designed in collaboration with a focus group of English July 21 and 28 teachers. 2022 Workshops Series includes Othello by A story about intergenerational trauma, the webs of William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale by William migration, the power of women, history and how all these Shakespeare, Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov. Also available aspects intersect, this theatrical experience examines the stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 38
Italian-Australian experience through the lives of three generations of women. Adapted by Vidya Rajan from the best-selling novel by Melina Marchetta and directed by Stephen Nicolazzo (Loaded, Merciless Gods). Year 11 - 12 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
Queensland Theatre’s Artist In Residence program. Photo: Stephen Henry.
MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY mtc.com.au/discover-more/education
Slap Bang Kiss Excursion to Southbank Theatre, The Lawler mtc.com.au April 19 - April 30 Exploring themes of activism, community and hope, this bold new play from multi-award-winning playwright Dan Giovannoni tracks three young people whose stories transform them into global symbols of revolution. Year 9 - 12 Cyrano Excursion to Southbank Theatre, The Sumner mtc.com.au Sep 24 - Oct 29 Virginia Gay’s joyous, gender-flipped retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac is packed with music, wit and aching romance. Year 10 - 12 Study Resource Kits available. mtc.com.au
MELBOURNE FRENCH THEATRE melbournefrenchtheatre.org.au
A unique Australian theatre company presenting plays in French, organising events and serving as an agency for French actors for all multimedia applications Le Petit Nicolas Incursion (Performance or Workshop) and Excursion melbournefrenchtheatre.org.au Term 1 - 4 10 market scenes in French and English from the film. French and Drama. Grade 3 - 6 (Performance only) or Year 7 - 10 (Performance or Workshop) Designed flexibly and adapts to all school environments Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Courtes Lignes de Courteline Incursion and Excursion melbournefrenchtheatre.org.au Term 1 - 4 Performance of 2, 3 or 4 of the following short sketches by Georges Courteline in modern/contemporary adaptation: Monsieur Badin - Mr Badin: A public servant who never shows up for work! 39 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
L’Extra-Lucide - the Super Clairvoyant: A sleepwalking fortune teller with a 6th sense! Une lettre chargée - A Registered Letter: A letter is trapped by a post office official. Avant et Après - Before and After: A picnic goes wrong between Marthe and René. French and Drama. Grade 3 - 6 (Performance) or Year 7 - 12 (Performance) Designed flexibly and adapts to all school environments. Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Le Petit Prince Incursion and Excursion melbournefrenchtheatre.org.au Term 1 - 4 A pilot (the narrator) crashes his plane in the middle of the desert a thousand miles from anywhere. Thinking he’s all
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alone and with limited water supplies, he starts to attempt to fix his plane. But a young boy suddenly appears one morning as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He demands that the pilot draw him a sheep. Slowing, through the following days, the pilot, hearing the little prince’s story, rediscovers some truths about the truly important things in life. The little prince comes from another planet, a very small planet. He leaves due to troubles getting on with his rose and decides to travel to learn about life. During his journey he visits six planets and meets their inhabitants: a must see experience for students French and Drama. Grade 3 - Year 10 Designed flexibly and adapts to all school environments Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Performance only - rehearsed reading
EPR PRODUCTIONS eprproductions.com
Cultural Dance Experience Incursion and Excursion Ela Rose Studios, Fairfield Terms 1 - 4 A journey through Dance from around the world including Spain, South America (including Brazil & Argentina), Cuba, Central America, Italy, Greece & much more! An interactive presentation with a colourful array of instruments, dance, costumes & culture exploring the various dance styles that are celebrated from numerous cultures. Culture, Multicultural, Physical Education, Harmony Day Grade P - 9 stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 40
Cactus Incursion SPARK 2022 rav.net.au Term 2: May 2 - 6 REGIONAL ARTS VICTORIA By exciting new playwright Madelaine Nunn, Cactus follows rav.net.au Abbie and her best friend PB as they navigate the last tumultuous year of high school. It’s going well. Milestones Ardna are being met. Exams are drawing near. Freedom is on the Incursion horizon. Then Abbie receives unexpected news that turns rav.net.au her life upside down. Can she still share this with her best Term 2: June 6 - 17 friend? And what will it mean for the future she hadn’t A unique collaboration between creatives Aseel Tayah, who even imagined yet? moved to Australia in 2013, and Jason Tamiru from Yorta Drama, Theatre Studies, Visual Communication Design, Yorta country. Ardna (Arabic for “our land”) is a storytelling English and dance performance exploring physical connection to Year 9 - 12 land. Drawing on both lead artists’ relationships to Country, the work invites us to interrogate and reflect on our connection to land and place through a series of dances, songs and other stories from both middle eastern and Indigenous Australia. The work invites children to think about the part they play in caring for the place where they live, their role in the space they are connected to, and what we can do better to help the land, the people and the intercultural connection between us survive. Drama, Dance, Music, Visual Arts, Humanities (History & Civics and Citizenship). Grade P - 10
Black Swan State Theatre Company’s The Glass Menagerie. Photo: Frances Andrijich.
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VCE Workshops Incursion rav.net.au Term 1 - 4 Galvanise the creative processes for students working on their Ensemble and Solo tasks. The workshops can be tailored to your students if they have already received a stimulus and started work. Drama. Year 12
Intro To Shakespeare Incursion Shakespeare Without Tears shakespearewithouttears.com Term 1 - 4 This production will inspire students who are venturing into Shakespeare for the very first time, emphasising elements of the plays that demystify Shakespeare. The Arts, Drama, History, English Year 7 - 12
THE FLYING BOOKWORM
The World Of Banjo Incursion flyingbookworm.com.au Term 1 - 4 Inspiring students with a focus on language, poetry and Australiana, this is a fantastic show for looking at Literature & Australian History. The Arts, Drama, English, History Year 3 - 6
flyingbookworm.com.au
Magic Journey - Fairytales and Rhymes Incursion flyingbookworm.com.au Terms 1 - 4 Journey through the magic fairy tales of classic stories, guest starring your students! The Arts, Drama, English, History, Languages Grade: P - 3 Bully Incursion flyingbookworm.com.au Term 1 - 4 Bully is a series of sketches examining bullying in schools, the workforce, and the effects of bullying on the victims and society as a whole. Drama, Health And Physical Education Year 7 - 9 Macbeth Incursion Shakespeare Without Tears shakespearewithouttears.com Term 1 - 4 This production of Macbeth will motivate, educate and demystify the bard’s language, characters, themes and humour. Drama, History, English Year 7 - 12 Romeo and Juliet Incursion Shakespeare Without Tears shakespearewithouttears.com Term 1 - 4 Students are guided through the Verona of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, highlighting the key themes and scenes that make this such a compelling work. The Arts, Drama, History, English Year 7 - 12
STATE THEATRE COMPANY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
statetheatrecompany.com.au/education-program Cathedral Excursion to Space Theatre, and touring statetheatrecompany.com.au Term 2 The story of one man and his life told through his love of diving. His discovery of love, loss and ultimately hope is shaped by water and his experiences as he travels around the world. Cathedral will use technology and soundscape to provide the theatrical pool in which this story will swim. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 42
SPARK 2022 Year 9 - 12 English, Creative Arts, Drama and Outdoor Education. Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Antigone Excursion to Odeon Theatre statetheatrecompany.com.au June 2 and 6 In the classic tale of Antigone, we see a young civil disobedient girl rise up. In this epic retelling, Elena Carapetis brings her raging into the 21st century in this subverted take on one of the worlds most revered classic plays. Year 9 - 12 English, Drama, Creative Arts, History, Women’s Studies. Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. Chalkface Excursion to Dunstan Playhouse statetheatrecompany.com.au August 11 In the staff room and ready for the new year, the wisdom and experience of Pat’s 35 years faces-off with the enthusiasm and energy of new graduate teacher Anna ‘The Child Whisperer’. A black farcical new comedy from Angela Betzien. Year 9 - 12 English, Drama, Creative Arts, Society and Culture. Q & A / Study Resource Kits available.
BLACK SWAN STATE THEATRE COMPANY bsstc.com.au/learn/school-bookings
City of Gold Excursion to Heath Ledger Theatre bsstc.com.au March 17 - 27 Sunshine Super Girl Breythe is never just an actor. Always an Indigenous actor. Excursion to Dunstan Playhouse Always in the black show, the black play. Put him in that statetheatrecompany.com.au Australia Day lamb ad. Get that ‘authenticity’. City of Gold September 8 urgently questions injustice and racism in Australia today, Evonne Goolagong is a name that we all know, a and asks: have things changed? household name by 19 and a young girl from the bush who Drama, English, Humanities and Social Science. dared to dream. This heart-warming story is a celebration Year 9 - 12 of spirit and passion and asks us to consider the future of Study Resource Kits available. our nation and the part we all play in celebrating spirit over adversity. The Glass Menagerie Year 6 - 12 Excursion to His Majesty’s Theatre. English, Creative Arts, Drama, Aboriginal Studies, Women’s bsstc.com.au Studies. August 2 - 21 Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. The Glass Menagerie is the timeless family drama that thrust Tennessee Williams into the international spotlight. Single Asian Female With Amanda Wingfield’s socialite adolescence behind her, Excursion to Dunstan Playhouse she now puts her energies into pushing her children, Tom statetheatrecompany.com.au and Laura up the social and financial ladder from which she November 10 has fallen. Two generations of Wong women stand at a crossroads. Drama, English and Literature Mei is a teenager grappling with her identity, while older Year 7 - 12 sister Zoe is having a life crisis after some terrible online Study Resource Kits available. dating. Pearl, the matriarch of the family balances it all The Glass Menagerie is presented through special whilst harbouring a secret. arrangement with The University of the South, Sewanee, Year 8 - 12 Tennessee. English, Creative Arts, Drama, Women’s Studies Q & A / Study Resource Kits available. 43 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
Melbourne Theatre Company’s Cyrano. Photo: Jeff Busby.
Online extras!
Virginia Gay talks about the motivation behind her production of Cyrano. youtu.be/zhYfNF4nKkY
Barracking for the Umpire Excursion to Subiaco Arts Centre bsstc.com.au October 3 - 23 Doug Williams is the greatest footballer Donnybrook has ever seen. Hard as flint. Salt of the Earth. But the sure hands of this once great player are starting to fumble the ball. Barracking for the Umpire is an original comedy about the fragility of our body, our family, and our community, and asks what are we willing to sacrifice for the great game? Drama and English Year 7 - 12 Study Resource Kits available. Oil Excursion to Heath Ledger Theatre bsstc.com.au November 5 - 27 Spanning 150 years and traversing the globe through Tehran, Hampstead, Baghdad and then back to Cornwall, Oil is the time travelling story of a mother and her daughter as they navigate a shifting world and the age of oil. An epic, explosive play about empire, history, and motherhood as it charts the lifespan of one of our most precious commodities.
Drama and English Year 9 - 12 Study Resource Kits available.
PERTH ARTS COMPANY pertharts.com
Suitcase Stories Incursion All year Eight different people from eight different countries and eight different eras tell of coming to Australia. Australian History, Multiculturalism. Grade 2 - 6 Study Resource Kits available. The Lucky Country Incursion Western Australia and NSW All year Eight different people from eight different countries and eight different eras tell of coming to Australia. Australian History, Multiculturalism. Year 7 - 11 Study Resource Kits available. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 44
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Costuming, Props Make Up & Seating
stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 46
Taking It To The Next Stage Stage School Australia’s The Staging Dept in Melbourne is a treasure trove of theatrical sets and props, many produced specially for the company, with others purchased from other productions. Popular items include sets and props from the Australian premiere of The Addams Family, full sets and props for Wicked, Les Misérables and Spring Awakening, Professor Marvel’s caravan and Emerald City Gates from The Wizard of Oz, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car, props and handprops from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Secret Garden, Alice in Wonderland, Honk, and many more. Similarly, The Costume Dept is a veritable Aladdin’s cave of costumes from a range of shows and eras. Responsible for costuming all of the performances and production seasons of Stage School Australia, the Costume Dept has sets of costumes for casts as young as four years, all the way up to adult sized costume sets for shows such as 47 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
Wicked, Les Misérables, Hairspray, Grease, Mary Poppins, Shrek, Babe, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Madagascar Jr, Joseph and lots more. “We’ve been making our costumes available for school and production hire for about ten years,” said Artistic Director Robert Coates. “In that time we’ve gone from costuming about 10 external shows per year, to over one hundred this year. Most days a team of five or more costume staff are working on production, maintenance and assisting hirers with their requirements. Plus, each semester we’re adding hundreds of new costumes to the collection - so even if you’ve come and had a look before, it’s always worth another visit.”
To get help bringing your production to life, visit: costumedept.com.au stagingdept.com.au
Alice In Wonderland.
GMS Costumes
Gosford Musical Society has been staging musical productions for over 75 years, earning a reputation for beautiful costumes and props. The company - on the NSW Central Coast - has its own rehearsal floor/ costume and prop building facility, connected to their home, the Laycock Street Theatre. The ‘shed’ is a veritable trove of costumes, props and sets. A team of costume makers has assembled an extensive catalogue of stunning and historically accurate costumes and accessories, for hire as full sets or just for a few leads. The company’s full show sets include The Sound of Music, Shrek, Jekyll & Hyde, My Fair Lady, Young Frankenstein, Grease, The Boy from Oz and Madagascar. The last two GMS productions were Alice in Wonderland and Mamma Mia! The Alice set comprises over 110 costumes, suited to a junior production with cast aged between 8 and 18. The Mamma Mia! show set includes the classic ‘Abba’ style costumes for the
leads, a unique set of wedding dresses for the whole cast and quirky swimsuits for the boys. Although musicals are the company’s speciality, their extensive stock of historical and modern costumes allows them to help costume plays and drama productions such as The Importance of Being Ernest and The 39 Steps. GMS staff are experienced costumiers and designers who can assist theatres and schools in planning their productions. The company not only wants its clients’ productions to look amazing, but also to come at an affordable price. Gosford Musical Society also has a large range of props for hire, including Freddie Mercury (We Will Rock You), mobile TV cameras from the 60s (SHOUT!), the Wardrobe, Teapot, Lumiere, Cutlery (Beauty and the
Visit the GMS website to view costume galleries and to make an appointment. gmscostumes.com.au Beast), and ensemble supporting pieces. In addition, there’s a period organ (The Phantom of The Opera), grand pianos (not in working order) and books of all types. The company also has a banquet of prop food including turkeys, suckling pigs, fruit and vegetables, bread and buns, sausages and a large range of cakes.
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Tracy Nuthall from Costumes Without Drama explains how to think locally and act globally in costuming your next theatre production. The world currently has more clothing than our population could ever need. On average each Australian consumes 27 kilograms of new clothing and disposes 23 kilograms of clothing to landfill each year. Over the years, the costume industry has become mass-produced and disposable. While cheap online options may be tempting, these purchases don’t last and are often quickly discarded. Since 2001, Costumes Without Drama has been saving teachers time, energy and resources by providing affordable, sustainable, quality costume hires for school productions. I have always believed it’s much more environmentally friendly to hire and reuse costumes than to buy, import or make new costumes from scratch. Costume hire can help minimise landfill and promote the benefits of sharing and borrowing with young people. If sustainable practices are important to you, it’s worth asking a
49 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
few questions before you sign your hire agreement. How are your costumes sourced or made? How do you take care of your costume collection? What is the laundering process for your costumes? Our warehouse has more than 12,000 inventoried items, with over 95% of our stock made on location in Melbourne to original designs. When it comes to materials, we use a mix of discontinued stock, repurposed fabrics and new fabrics. We’re always looking for the best, most durable fabric for the job at an affordable price. Choosing materials in this way increases the longevity of costumes, as they hold their colour longer and wash and wear more robustly. We also love to upcycle and modify fabrics, costumes and clothing items to give them a new life. We don’t subscribe to a glitzy, impractical look or loads of sequins. Instead, we offer costumes we know
students will feel comfortable in and that look great on stage (and on film) with professional lighting. Lots of school shows have a specific theme or requirements. It can be expensive and wasteful to buy brand new costumes for every performance. That’s not to mention the issue of storage. We take lots of care with all our costumes, handling them minimally and hanging or folding each item as close to laundering as possible. Once you’ve finished with your Costumes Without Drama costumes, simply pack them back into our reusable boxes and bags and return them. We launder all costumes on-site using locally made, low impact cleaning products. We favour natural, chemical-free products to treat stains and frequently air dry to reduce power consumption. You don’t need a team of parents working around the clock to sew, or teachers trying their luck in op shops
Over the years I assembled a collection of chairs for all types of settings. A set of rustic timber chairs for a rough tavern scene has been used often. I picked up a set of 16 bentwood chairs in fibreglass resin from IKEA, which has become an instant café on many occasions. I made a big investment in a suite of reproduction Louis furniture. I found Veteran set and prop builder Bob a supplier of reproduction furniture Peet describes some treasures, and frames, and then I made them strong and suitable for the wear and tear of trash that he’s converted to the stage. These pieces live in special treasures, for community theatre road-cases and are still in excellent stages. condition, having been used on many During my years running the hire occasions. It must be said, however, that the department at Sydney’s Miranda most used props, used in so many Musical Society, we had special props shows, are the dreaded picnic which were in high demand. The baskets. How many of the older most requested was an antique musicals have a picnic, a market looking French style telephone that scene, or a street scene with was used for Daddy Warbucks’ shoppers? mansion in Annie, and a lot of other Good props will continue to be classy looking shows. used over and over again, and can Another was the magic rose from make an enormous difference to a Beauty and the Beast. Our first rose show. was operated with fishing line I have always been a collector of attached to the petals, but this meant roadside “treasures “, finding threading the fishing line for each unwanted pieces which can be use. Later we changed the operation rejuvenated for a new life on stage. to electromagnets attached to the I have to admit that in my recent petals. Press a button and the petal move to South Australia, I still look falls. for and find stuff. I needed a nice I have always been very particular bedside table for The Hypochondriac. about correct chairs for the stage. Then one evening after rehearsal I Often productions are spoiled by an spotted a suitable table in a pile ordinary chair looking so wrong. waiting to be taken to the tip. A bit Recently in Adelaide I saw a of paint, a new shelf and wheels, and production of a classic operetta. The $30 later I had a faux period table. beautiful period piece was ruined by Words alone don’t do the results the odd bentwood chair and a justice; the pictures (below) tell the lounge from someone’s home, all story. meaning to portray the dressing of a wealthy merchant’s mansion.
Popular Perfect Props
or chain stores. To ease the pressure on school resources we offer: Extended hire periods for extra dress rehearsals A detailed inventory with barcode labels Pick up, courier or delivery options Costumes that arrive in reuseable bags, individually packaged and labelled for students No laundering - simply pack back into boxes and bags and return. The world doesn’t need any more loose sequins or once-worn costumes that end up in landfill. Our approach to school costuming is a holistic one, with sustainable practices and the enjoyment of young people at its heart.
For more details visit costumeswithoutdrama.com.au
Before.
After.
stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 50
Forgotten Fabrics Get Chance To Shine
sewing rooms, waiting for that ‘ah ha’ moment when its time came to shine. I personally know each of the 13,000 inventoried items, and could probably tell you the source of the fabric. Providing costumes for school productions is a privilege Costumes costume pieces which are likely to be without Drama honours by providing Tracey Nuthall from Costumes used in the ‘dress up’ box at home. without Drama shares her a full inventory of items supplied, with Right from the start we chose not everything packaged and labeled. philosophy, after running her to buy cheap imported garments, or It was not trendy or even ‘cool’ to company for almost 19 years. garments made by cheap labour send costumes out to schools in overseas. Most costumes are made on recycled bags when we started. I have Costumes without Drama was site or locally. noticed progressively over the years started primarily as a reaction to the We always used reusable bags, that there is finally an understanding waste produced by making costumes for a single use (sometimes even out mostly cloth bags made from fabrics that we do not have to re-invent the saved from landfill, dumped due to wheel for every production. We do of paper, and other materials which being unfashionable designs etc. not have to spend a lot of money, are not able to be laundered) and Many fabrics used have originated and it is OK to use something which ending up either taking up storage has been used by someone else room, never to be used again, or sent from sources other than fabric wholesalers. Garments have been before. to landfill. There are only so many lovingly created from fabric unearthed Finally, as I approach 20 years in items a school can use on multiple business, I am in fashion! occasions, and there are only so many languishing in friends’ and family’s
costumeswithoutdrama.com.au
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Anthony Phillips Costume Exhibition Launceston’s Encore Theatre Company hit the jackpot when acclaimed costume maker Anthony Phillips retired to their town. Highlights of his 40-year career in Sydney included making costumes for The Phantom of the Opera over several decades and for Star Wars movies. The company leapt at the opportunity to have him create sets of costumes for their musical theatre productions. An exhibition of some of his recent creations for Les Misérables, Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You and The Sound of Music was on display during the Australian Musical Theatre Festival and was the subject of an episode of Stage Whispers TV. Encore have several sets and key set pieces from their past productions available for sale or hire, along with an ever-growing wardrobe of costumes and a vast array of props.
Discover the range for hire at encoretheatre.org.au/hire
Online extras!
Stage Whispers TV visits the Anthony Phillips costume exhibition. Scan or visit youtu.be/VubNpM4_iDs
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Digital Scenery For All Scenic projections are becoming more affordable for community and school theatre, bridging the gap between cinema and live performance. Working with a tight budget? Has your rehearsal and production time been significantly reduced due to COVID-19 shutdowns? Music Theatre International, Australasia (MTIA) and Broadway Media are offering digital scenery for MTI’s top titles in Australasia. Scenic ProjectionsTM are full-show digital scenery packages that can be projected onto a screen or surface behind onstage performers as a backdrop. The product follows the official licensed script. Harnessing the growing utilization of projection design as a core element of theatrical design, Scenic ProjectionsTM is projected digital art and animation that moves seamlessly with - and enhances - the action onstage. A popular title is The Little Mermaid Junior. Product manager
Brianna Spicer describes the style as “cartoonised realism”. “We show visible paint strokes with simplified shapes and softened background elements, garnering inspiration from various concept art pieces of underwater scenes and ships. “The Little Mermaid JR package helps make the musical more immersive. The ocean surface changes from calm to stormy depending on what is happening. In the palace hall scene, the sunset and colour change help to indicate that Ariel has run out of time. Any opportunity to help make the story clearer is taken advantage of.” Broadway Media combine their projection cueing software with beautiful artwork that includes all the scenes, settings and special effects in the script. Scenic Projections will be available in animated or still image
For more information about Scenic Projection Show Packages, visit broadwaymedia.com/shows/music-theatre-international-australasia For additional information on MTI and licensing, please visit mtishows.com.au 53 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
Let’s Put On A Show
variants for MTIA’s most popular fulllength and Broadway JuniorTM titles. “Scenic Projections is the tool you need to elevate your production values, all from the touch of a button and at an affordable price. We are excited to keep offering you new resources to bring the magic of theatre to your school or community,” says Stuart Hendricks, Managing Director of MTI Australasia. Broadway Media says there is no steep learning curve to use its digital scenery as the product is supported by free how-to resources and customer support. “We are a mission-driven company, serving a global theatre community. Our decision-making centres around one simple question, ‘does it make participation in the performing arts more accessible?’” says Quentin Sanford, President, Broadway Media. “Through our products, our partnerships and advocacy, Broadway Media is dedicated to the universal access to the joy of theatre-making, regardless of space, place, or budget.”
Easily project scenic backgrounds like these from your laptop.
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Pelican Productions’ Chicago - High School Edition.
Scenery Magic For Local Productions Australia’s largest commercial set building facility has been acquired by Theatre Safe Australia (TSA) and is open for business for theatre companies and schools of all sizes. Since the Scenery Workshop’s launch in Adelaide in 1979, the facility has been the set manufacturing powerhouse behind a massive range of productions, from The Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Matilda to Moulin Rouge! The Musical. TSA took over management from the Adelaide Festival Build your vision with the TSA Workshop Centre in August of the facilities, described as a hub for theatresafe.com.au/scenery-workshop the fine art of scenic building, painting, construction and electrics. The company is offering its services for major touring productions and smaller companies on a budget. In a recent project, the workshop team created a visually stunning set which they hired to Pelican Productions for their stage show Chicago - High School Edition.
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Pelican Productions is a vital part of the performing arts community in South Australia, with a dedicated team of professional vocal tutors and choreographers who foster young up-and-coming talent in musical theatre. The set is also being adapted for their latest production, School of Rock, which is financially beneficial for the company, enabling it to spread the hire cost across different shows. Kylie Green, Director of Pelican Productions said, “The visual effects of the scenic elements that were added to the stage helped to bring our production to life. Our budding young performers were immersed in the magic of theatre, along with the vibrant and enthusiastic audience.” Now part of TSA, Duncan Barton, Workshop Production Development Officer, explains how it’s opened the workshop to new channels to reach local schools and community theatre. “Our passion for creating magnificent scenery does not stop in the workshop. We want to assist creating pathways for young people and aim to inspire the future of performing arts in Australia. Our skilled team work closely with schools, colleges and universities to build and maintain stage sets that bring local productions to life.” Under one roof the TSA Workshop offers carpentry, engineering, sculpture and props, scenic painting, set electrics, rigging and automation, theatre maintenance, drapes, scenery hire, workshop tours and educators’ professional learning events. For the schools and local community theatre, the workshop can now offer set building and hire, rigging and automation and maintenance programmes.
Rosco Celebrates 30 Years Creative Film and Theatre Solutions is the exclusive agent for Rosco Products in Australia and New Zealand - supplying to the performing arts and entertainment industries for 30 years. The company has kept its business ticking over under trying circumstances in 2020 but is excited about the year ahead. Rosco Laboratories - a lighting equipment, live entertainment, film and broadcast equipment supplier - is committed to being a one stop shop for producers. Products include paint for scenery and props, and digital compositing paint for blue and green screens - formulated with the assistance of video technicians. The company has what they describe as world's largest catalogue of gobo templates, created by lighting designers. They also have LED Effects Projectors capable of throws of up to 33-ft (10m) engineered to create “stunning” illumination effects. Other products include a full range of flooring. A popular line is Rosco's Chroma Floor, which solves the long-standing problem of repainting a studio floor for every shoot. Creative Film and Theatre Solutions ship to all areas via their Sydney warehouse and have dealers in most capital cities.
Check out the product range at au.rosco.com/en, or get in touch with them on (02) 9906 6262 or by emailing sales@cfats.com.au. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 56
CLOC’s Costume Hire Ready And Waiting!
CLOC Musical Theatre’s Strictly Ballroom. Photo: Ben Fon.
Walking through the aisles of CLOC Musical Theatre’s Costume Centre ‘The Nancy’ is a stroll through centuries of style, fashion, colours, history and memories. This mammoth collection has well over 12,000 items from more than 110 productions over 55 years. Right now, however, it’s like walking through a ghostly parade of the most bejewelled, bedazzled, and brilliant costumes sewn for Priscilla Queen of the Desert waiting to take life when the COVID-19 crisis is over. The amazing CLOC Sewing Team began sewing Priscilla last October and had 90% of the production
But when that happens, CLOC will be ready! Ready to assist theatre companies and schools hire at very reasonable rates from individual costumes to entire costume sets for completed when scissors and sequins shows like Kinky Boots, Strictly were put away after their last sewing Ballroom, Les Misérables, A Chorus bee on Saturday March 14. Everything Line, Mary Poppins, 42nd Street and that could be completed at home has The Phantom of the Opera. been done and CLOC, like the entire CLOC’s Costume Centre ‘The theatre industry, is awaiting ‘the Nancy’ is located next to CLOCworks, vaccine’ and the easing of social on the corner of Old Dandenong & distancing. Kingston Roads in Heatherton, Victoria. Visits by appointment only.
Contact CLOC’s Wardrobe Manager Patsi Boddison for advice and service on 1300 826 788 or by email costumes@cloc.org.au CLOC Musical Theatre’s 42nd Street.
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NIDA 3rd year costume student Avril Bradbury-Hoath dedicated her research project to women who lost their lives making watches and costumes. What is the theme of the costume? The theme of the costume is invisible poisons in textiles with a specific focus on the tragic story of the 1920s “Radium Girls” who painted watch dials, with radium paint, for the Radium Dial Company. Why did it interest you? The topic of poisons in fabric throughout history and the health effects on the people who wore them fascinated me. Examples of this include arsenic used to dye dresses in the Victorian era and mercury used to stiffen hats leading to the term the “mad hatter”. It was when I was listening to the podcast “My Favourite Murder”, which covered the story of the 1920s Radium Girls who painted watch dials with poisonous radium paint, that I decided to create a costume to draw attention to their tragic story. In summary, the girls who were employed to paint watches in the 1920s were being poisoned. The watches, used by soldiers in dark trenches, were painted by the girls using radium paint for its night-time glow. They were instructed to use a technique called “lip pointing”, which required the painter to place the tip of their brush in their mouth before dipping the brush in the paint, to produce a finer brush stroke. After their shifts working at the factory, the girls’ clothes would glow in the dark when they were walking home, due to the radium paint particles coming in to contact with their clothing. They became known as “the ghost girls”. Essentially, the girls were slowly poisoned by the radium in the paint, became ill and eventually died. What is the dress made of? The under layer is made up of a black linen, cupro and tencal blend. The outer layer is made from 100% polyester taffeta, which has newspaper articles from that period of time printed on it and which glows in the dark. I chose this fabric as it was commonly used in the 1920s for the robe de style and it is also suitable to run through the
sublimation printer which heat sets the newspaper articles onto the fabric. The dress is finished with UV paint (non-poisonous) to create the glowing effects of the radium.
print from a special paper onto textiles. To ensure that the underdress aligned with the overdress and to also fasten the cape, I used magnets, which I covered with fabric to fasten them in the perfect position. When painting the fabric with the UV paint, I used the lighting studio. NIDA Technical Theatre students assisted me by rigging UV lights so that I could see the paint I was applying. How long did it take to make it? I spent approximately 67 hours on
For information on courses at NIDA call (02) 9697 7600 or visit nida.edu.au Any unusual processes to create it? To create my newspaper fabric, I had to produce my pattern to fit the newspaper articles into the exact shape of the garment. I then used Photoshop to edit and adapt the articles I found in the archives of the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune to ensure their best position on my pattern pieces. The newspaper articles need to be warped slightly in order to create a visually straight line on a 3-dimensional body. I created my very own newspaper fabric by using the process of heat setting, which transfers the sublimation
my project. This included 40 hours on pattern making, cutting, fitting and construction, 24 hours creating my newspaper print using Photoshop, and three hours spent in the lighting studio painting. How do you look after glow in the dark costumes? Glow in the dark costumes created with UV paint need to be heat set at 160 degrees for 2 to 3 minutes to lock the paint into the fabric permanently. I would choose to hand wash the costume delicately and let it dry naturally. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 58
Caring For Costumes Tracey Nuthall from Costumes Without Drama makes a priority of caring for costumes after a performance. “We are fanatical about sorting. After scanning costumes back in, they are thrown straight into tubs. There will be a tub for hand washing, one for whites, blacks, reds, blues, greens, etc. “Please be kind to our planet. Choose environmentally friendly detergents and avoid tumble drying. “We hang wet costumes directly onto coat hangers, trying to straighten and shake out creases then leave them to air dry on racks. “But, if you wish to save yourself all this work, you can always hire costumes from Costumes Without Drama. “Our costumes are all barcode labeled. The costumes are picked out and chosen specifically for your students, with respect and sensitivity to your student’s specific sizes. Where possible, you receive costumes approximately two weeks before the concert, and, best of all, we do all the laundering on return.”
Contact Tracey by phone on (03) 8838 2616 or email info@costumeswithoutdrama.com.au
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Buttons To Dye For Tracey Nuthall from Costumes Without Drama pins down the secret to gorgeous fasteners. Buttons can make or break a costume. Did you know how easy it is to dye buttons? The process is simple: in fact, it is easier than dying fabric. Start with plain white buttons or translucent buttons. Dying synthetics involves a different process to dying natural products. Sublimation dying incorporates the dye right into the structure of the fibres/plastic, meaning that the colours last longer, and remain stable - we all know that a cotton garment will fade when laundered synthetics and their colours last much longer. Sublimation dying generally requires heat, pressure and duration to set the If you need custom made costumes, or anything from colour, so when printing a synthetic t-shirt, Costumes Without Drama’s collection of more than 12,000 the dye is printed onto transfer paper in inventoried items for hire, visit costumeswithoutdrama.com.au reverse, and pressed onto the t-shirt with heat and pressure, for a set period of time. Dying fabric usually involves putting the garment into a or on a hot washing machine setting. The washing machine container or pot and heating over a stove, in a microwave on a very long hot cycle gives a great result, usually with an even finish. Buttons use very little dye and can be dyed in a coffee cup. Simply mix equal quantities of liquid dye, vinegar and water in a cup (10 -15 ml of each would suffice) add the buttons, place in a microwave for thirty seconds then wait 30 seconds. Lift one button out with a fork or spoon and check for the intensity of colour. If it isn’t dark enough, heat and wait another couple of times (I find about 3 X 30 seconds gives a good rich colour). If it still isn’t dark enough add some more dye to the cup and repeat the heating and standing until the colour is attained. Once the correct colour has been reached, lift the button/s out of the liquid and rinse under water. Dry with a towel. If it is too dark, you cannot go back, so it is strongly recommended that you start with a weaker solution and gradually add more dye. In theory, from start to finish it can take less than 5 minutes. The dye bath in a cup may be used for multiple buttons in one go - remembering to stir well between heating, or batches one after another. The dye colour will gradually become weaker, so add more dye concentrate if necessary. Don’t forget, different proportions of dye, vinegar and water may change the colour slightly so batch colours will vary (quite a bit of the water evaporates as part of the microwave process). stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 60
Study Resources
Sport For Jove’s Macbeth.
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Browse Our Catalogue
Missed one of our past editions or want to re-visit a favourite feature? With more time on our hands, it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up on our extensive back catalogue by clicking on the covers below.
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Playbuilding Drama teacher and author Carol Wimmer shares her tips on helping drama students navigate their journey through group devised drama.
Funny how when you type ‘playbuilding’ many computers still don’t recognise it or want to convert it to two words - yet we’ve been using the term in Drama for years. Along with improvisation, playbuilding is the core of many Drama syllabuses. The process of playbuilding requires students to work in a group to devise an original script and performance. In doing so, they call on their practical skills, their knowledge and experience and their ability to work collaboratively. Every improvised task, every style, form or practitioner of theatre studied informs students’ knowledge of drama and theatre. Every workshop broadens their acting skills and their understanding of the wide variety of dramatic and theatrical techniques and devices. From every play they read or perform in, every play or musical they see, they learn more about dramatic structure and theatrical techniques. All of this informs the playbuilding process, beginning with sharing, improvising and researching ideas to finding the best way to structure them into a performance - then putting that together formally as a performance and a published script. Thus, playbuilding involves everything a playwright does...with the added task of performing the work. So if, as a director, you see young people typing or drawing madly on their iPads or taking photos of sets or costumes or props, this is their way of 63 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
adding to their knowledge and experience - and eventually their playbuilding expertise. It’s the reason they might ask to sit in and observe you at work, or ply you with questions about your ‘vision’ or your decisions about where you’ve set the production, your design ideas or the actors you’ve chosen. In NSW, students from Years 9 to 12 are given progressively more demanding playbuilding tasks. The stimuli they are offered vary: words, phrases, headlines, extracts from novels, historical events or personalities. The process varies little but becomes more informed and prescriptive as the students progress in their studies - and every stage is recorded. Logbooks are as important a part of drama as the Visual Diary is to Art. Students are encouraged to record all their drama experiences in their logbook, and this can include classwork, evaluations of their own work and the work of others, research, character studies, photos, theatre programs, reviews, script extracts... Playbuilding usually begins with brainstorming - discussing, recording, checking and researching words or ideas. This could involve each member of the group taking on a specific task, recording the results in their own logbook, copying it or sharing it with the group, and often collecting or summarising all the results in a group logbook.
The next step usually involves improvising some of the ideas and developing the characters. This process is fundamental in establishing a working scenario - but it can take a long time and change vastly as ideas develop, or further research broadens the theme. For instance, the stimulus “outlaws” could begin with improvisations of an American western, then evolve to a gold rush hold up or a biographical study of Ned Kelly or covert hackers invading a government department...or something totally different to the normal meaning of the word...like a family living ‘off the grid’ and evading laws and taxes. It is amazing just where brainstorming and impro can take an imaginative, thoughtful group of actors. As ideas are tried, changed and developed, formats and styles are discussed. It may be that the final idea will be best performed as a comedy, or as theatre of the absurd, or as a didactic Brechtian piece, or as street theatre using masks, puppets and banners. Senior students will have studied a variety of forms and styles, different theatre practitioners and a range of plays and scripts. Their study will have involved class workshops on all of these, group devised work based on their study, individual research and observations, and as many theatre visits as can be arranged, either as a class group or as individuals. Students will also need to work further on their characters, developing their personalities, their relationships with each other, establishing their background, and specific research if they are based on a real person or come from a period in the past. Acting skills are taught from as early as Year 7 in some schools and students develop and further their skills in voice, movement, character development, focus, tension and mood throughout their studies. The next stage is crucial. This is where structuring the performance begins. It’s important that, whatever the style, the piece has a clear beginning, middle and end, distinct scenes, realistic characters, a clear message, a defined style. To achieve this, students are encouraged all along
the way to keep their audience in mind. Is the piece easy to follow? Is the meaning clear? Are their ideas rational? Will the audience go away convinced rather than confused? It’s at this stage that the group must begin to look at their work critically. To do this, they may film their work and self-evaluate. They may perform for another group and their teacher and use their evaluations to inform further decision-making. This process can be extremely rewarding or very painful. They might find something that is very clear to them, because they are so close to the piece, is completely confusing to an audience. Students, nevertheless, usually take any evaluation on board - especially as their work is to be assessed. At this stage it is still a work-in-progress. If it isn’t working, it needs to be restructured. Sometimes they change the style completely. Disheartening as
that may seem, it often leads to a richer, more meaningful performance. Next comes the difficult work of editing: paring down scenes if they seem too long, paring down the whole piece if it is not within the time length designated in the task (the time of the Group Performance for the HSC is only 7-12 minutes!). Often this involves having to ‘lose’ a whole scene or changing a character. It might involve clarifying the opening or restructuring the ending. It will involve many rehearsals and reevaluations before the group is satisfied enough to begin finalising costumes, props, sound effects - and perhaps a lighting plan, dependent on the school’s facilities. With the ‘building’ part completed, the piece is ‘committed’ to paper as a finished script, including title, character list, setting and stage directions; and the polished performance, whether for assessment, other drama students, an invited
SPARK 2022 audience - or a panel of visiting HSC markers. As well as writing and acting, playbuilding teaches cooperation, creative collaboration, sharing, listening, watching, appreciating, evaluating, accepting, letting go...all the things that are important in any production - at school, in community theatre or on the professional stage. Drama students come to the theatre with this background. They have had their egos both boosted and battered and come back for more! Playbuilding is a very effective preparation for the exacting world of the theatre.
Carol Wimmer is the author of Acting in Person and in Style in Australia. Published by Cengage, it is available at booknook.com.au/product/acting-in-person-and-in-style-in-australia
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Online extras!
Studying drama teaches students creativity, confidence and empathy. vimeo.com/653631644
Reinventing Drama Australia’s oldest Drama teachers’ association has been forced to reinvent itself under pressure from the pandemic. Pamela Peelen from Drama Victoria reports. The past two years have seen Drama Victoria caught in the maelstrom of lengthy and recurrent COVID-19 lockdowns, whilst arts practitioners have lost employment and income. The loss of face-to-face communication saw the closure of Drama Victoria’s inner city Melbourne office, with industry members clamouring for remote teaching resources. Rallying to the demand, Drama Victoria developed a suite of content-rich, online professional learning workshops, conferences, festivals and networking events. This had the knock-on effect of increasing accessibility - allowing participants to attend events synchronously or asynchronously regardless of where, or in what time zone they lived. Inadvertently the 65 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
pandemic has led Drama Victoria on a journey of reinvention, providing new opportunities for connection across curriculum areas and the arts industry. Although Drama Victoria continues to respond to this unprecedented demand, the past two years have also seen an exodus of students from the Performing Arts. The political environment has steered students toward the Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Maths curriculum areas on the basis of increased employment prospects. Research, however, indicates that our workforces are looking for employees who are confident communicators, able to share their ideas and solutions and to work effectively in a team environment. Successful Drama students are critical thinkers and innovators. It has long
been demonstrated that ‘Drama based pedagogy has a significant positive effect on achievement, attitudes, 21st century skills, arts skills and motivation outcomes in literacy and has an important impact on students learning across many areas’ (Bridget Kiger Lee, PhD Patricia Enciso, PhD Megan Brown). To stem the exodus, Drama Victoria developed of a suite of promotional materials to showcase the diverse areas of employment in which drama graduates excel. The material highlights the role drama plays in facilitating curiosity, imagination, expression, planning, self -discipline, adaptability, initiative and a raft of positive attributes - qualities which enhance critical thinking, interpretation, analysis and problem solving. Drama Victoria maintains the acquired skills are transferable and highly relevant to real work scenarios. Drama Victoria is also advocating for the uptake of drama in primary schools and assisting rural and regional primary schools with support materials consisting of lesson plans for teachers, interactive videos, and
accompanying worksheets for their students. The principle of drama as a tool is applied across learning areas where the students establish a shared representation of a story or concept. This process enables students to visualise and empathise with the concept or story in ‘real-time’. The teacher invites reflection, encouraging students to question, comprehend and interpret. For example, learning about analysis of argument is in English and History, learning about effective responses to the environment is in The Arts, learning about the design of innovative solutions is in Technologies. Drama Victoria is creating practical programs where drama can be applied as an aid for deep learning across curriculum areas and capabilities in secondary schools. An example of this is their Connections Festival, which includes the ‘Get Back to the Land’ resource pack. The resource was developed with the involvement of a First Nations Artist and includes eight units of drama-based work guiding the teacher through a series of lessons and activities responding to an indigenous artwork. It provides learning intentions and outcomes exploring diversity, nurturing inclusivity and positive representations of culture and identity. These dramabased tools enable more schools to engage with First Nations artists and artworks and can be implemented to
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Discover the range of teaching resources available at dramavictoria.vic.edu.au teach Reconciliation with confidence by any teacher accessing the resources. The Connections Festival culminates with participating schools sharing their creation of a 15 minute performance video using the indigenous artwork as a stimulus for developing the performance. Drama Victoria’s most recent initiative has been to create a new position, Director of Innovation. This position is aimed at facilitating drama across the curriculum by establishing strong links to other learning areas and capabilities including the Humanities, English, Arts: Music, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability. This focus will provide opportunities to liaise and collaborate on the
development of drama-based teaching modules with other relevant subject associations. As we step out into a post lockdown world, Drama Victoria’s achievements in professional learning will also hone in on another critical dimension - wellbeing. In the rapidly changing Anthropocene era, creative solutions to issues are required. As has earlier been argued, Drama is a portal for creative thinking and problem solving. It can be used as a creative platform for the wellbeing of students, as well as to support teachers and industry members in their own wellbeing. Pamela Peelen is the Director of Innovation, Drama Victoria.
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The Art & History Of Puppetry Are puppets all child’s play? Not according to Susan Mills. The archivist for the S,B&W Foundation says that puppetry is a universal, ancient art form which is for everyone. A Puppet History Historians believe puppetry developed spontaneously from religious rites and rituals in societies where objects represented gods and deities. From there, the entertainment and storytelling art of puppetry was born. Clay and ivory puppets have been found in Ancient Egyptian tombs. The Ancient Greek philosopher Xenophon wrote about an entertainer from Syracuse present at a banquet with his ‘neurospasta’. This roughly meant ‘to pull threads’ of ‘marionette puppets’. Indian legends tell of the divine creation of puppets when the God Shiva and his wife Parvati inhabit two wooden dolls, making them dance beautifully. The artisan who made the dolls is said to have been inspired to invent a system of strings so he could make them dance himself. In Japan, a style of puppetry called Bunraku evolved in Osaka. The large puppets are operated by three visible puppeteers with their hands and rods, accompanied by chanting narration and shamisen string instruments. A performance of Bunraku can last for hours. This style can be seen The Lion King character of Timon. Puppets range from simple finger puppets to Jim Henson’s fantastical world of Muppets and films such as Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. There are shadow puppets, rod puppets, and string puppets. Marionettes, or ‘string puppets’, allow lifelike movement of heads, fingers and knees. Further head mechanisms move the jaw, eyes and eyelashes. ‘Marionette’ means ‘little Mary’ in French, a reference to biblical puppetry of the Middle Ages. Usually, marionettes have around 10 strings. The Salzburger Marionettentheater use up to eighty!
Left: ‘Albert the Magic Pudding’ puppets from various Marionette Theatre of Australia productions of The Magic Pudding.
Right: The Magical Tintookies Return in 1975.
In Australia, puppetry after European settlement was influenced by British traditions of ‘Punch and Judy’. Amateur hand puppet and marionette productions became popular from the 1940s. The Marionette Theatre Of Australia In 1965 the Marionette Theatre of Australia was founded by Peter Scriven and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. Previously, in 1956, the pioneering puppeteer had staged his ground-breaking puppet musical The Tintookies - the ‘little people’ from the sandhills. It was the first large-scale puppet show in Australia with unique local themes. For more than 20 years, they entertained Australian families, and toured Europe and Asia. By 1983, the company had its own theatre in The Rocks, until closing in 1988.
Terracotta Ancient Greek dolls, exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Photo: Giovanni Dall’Orto.
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All puppets pictured are from the S,B&W Foundation collection. sbwfoundation.com
Stage Heritage
Harry The Hippopotamus, a rabbit, and Leo the Lion from the production of The Mysterious Potamus in 1979.
Deep in the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation archives collection in Sydney, safe and sound in their custom-made calico ‘sleeping bags’, are many of the company’s surviving puppets. A warehouse fire in 1969 destroyed 350 of their early puppets. There are 150 surviving puppets in the collection. They include The Explorers, The Magic Pudding, The Water Babies, Tales from Noonameena, The Magical Tintookies Return, The Mysterious Potamus and Sydney Coves. The Magic Pudding, first performed in 1960, is based on the 1918 children’s book - written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay, who also drew the characters for the puppet designs. Bunyip Bluegum (a koala), Bill Barnacle (an ex-sailor), and Sam Sawnoff (a penguin) are favourites. The little people made a triumphant comeback in the 1975 revival The Magical Tintookies Return, featuring new puppets based on the 1956 originals that were destroyed in the warehouse fire. The Mysterious Potamus (1979) puppets were designed by Norman Hetherington, the creator of the popular Australian television puppet Mr Squiggle, and made by
Ross Hill, who later worked as a designer and builder at the famed Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Puppetry Now And In The Future Puppetry is an overlooked art form. Puppets are an important part of the human tradition of storytelling. Recent examples include The Lion King, War Horse and the King Kong musical. In Australia, Bluey’s Big Play featuring Bunraku-style puppets has been a recent hit! In 2019, the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation and the Horizon Theatre Company held puppet shows for the North Sydney Children’s Festival in our library and events space. The children were delighted to use music to help wake up the puppets from the Foundation’s collection! Many grown-ups were also entranced, recalling the popular puppets from their own youth. Preserving the specialised art of puppetry for the public, as well as researchers, honours the vision of Dr Rodney Seaborn in preserving all aspects of Australia’s unique performing arts heritage.
to provincial towns, and country fairs, as well as colonial Australia. Governor Arthur Phillip makes no mention of the performance in his official report, perhaps fearing the On 4 June 1789, a little over a year after the First Fleet arrived in response from the authorities in Sydney Cove, a “party of convicts” presented the lively comedy The England. Convicts weren’t to be Recruiting Officer to celebrate the birthday of King George III. enjoying themselves, were they? Author Thomas Keneally based his The play, a favourite of the time, no higher aim than humbly to excite novel The Playmaker on the was performed in “a convict-built a smile, and their efforts to please performance, which was later hut” and honoured by the presence were not unattended with applause.” adapted into a play, Our Country’s of His Excellency the Governor, The Recruiting Officer was written Good. Captain Arthur Phillip and an by the Irish playwright George Cultural historian, Dr Heather audience of 60 officers and their Farquhar in 1706, and follows the Clarke explores the history, and the wives. social and sexual exploits of two dance and music associated with the The only way we know about this officers on a recruiting drive in the play at bit.ly/3vS7wQo. significant event is due to the writing town of Shrewsbury. The play Check the website for other of Colonel David Collins, who stated: enjoyed great popularity throughout stories of convicts, sailors, and “The aims of this first company of the 18th century and was performed settlers, all examined through music players were modest. They professed everywhere from London playhouses and dance.
Sydney’s First Play
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How do you create a world premiere during a global crisis and ensure that the production is the jewel in the crown of a much-anticipated Brisbane Festival? To find out, Beth Keehn spoke to the creative team Queensland Theatre enlisted to take best-selling novel Boy Swallows Universe from page to stage. We will never know how, after the plague had decimated London’s theatres in 1593, Shakespeare pulled his next play together. But we do know that he didn’t rehearse his players remotely by Zoom while quarantining in Stratford. When the Elizabethan theatres did reopen, the playbill advertised The Comedy of Errors, a sweeping exotic tale based on a Roman play by Plautus called The Two Brothers. More than 400 years later, an eagerly awaited Australian production is another tale of two brothers - Eli and August Bell - not set in the exotic Greek city of Ephesus, but in the Brisbane suburbs during the mid-1980s. Trent Dalton’s gritty dreamlike Boy Swallows Universe is set in an explosion of colour, with a cacophony of characters, moving at a blur in a unique coming-of-age tale. Dalton mines his own dysfunctional upbringing - a mother with a heroin addiction, a step-father who deals drugs, an ex-crook as baby-sitter and best friend, connections to the suburban criminal underworld - and a determination to escape on an epic scale, navigating the violence and trauma with humour. In Eli’s case, it’s words that come to his rescue - he writes letters and stories and aspires to work on the local newspaper. His brother, August, refuses to speak and only writes in the air with a scrawling finger. But at the heart of the darkness is an unconditional love of family.
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SPARK 2022 Boy Swallows Universe. All photos: David Kelly.
Weathering the storm of the global pandemic and the series of onagain, off-again lockdowns has taken a lot of time, talent, tenacity, and sheer will. With a year-long delay, it has demanded dedication, passion and patience to bring the play to life. When I spoke to the creative team, rather than pressure and stress, the two words I kept hearing were ‘gift’ and ‘generosity’. The Director is Sam Strong. Beth Keehn (BK): Sam, what’s it like working on a brand-new theatre piece - is it more stressful or is it liberating? Sam: I think working on a world premiere is always more exciting because the degree of difficulty is greater. And I think the other key difference here is that Boy Swallows Universe is such a cherished property and story - so many Australians have loved this book - that naturally informs the process, but for us that’s a gift rather than a source of pressure. As a creative team, we saw our job as channelling the spirit of the novel into the theatre, and the spirit of the novel has found its way into the rehearsal room - so that sort of ultimate optimism in the face of adversity that is the story of the novel has been the story of the making of the show as well - and that’s pretty heartening. We talk about all the disciplines working collaboratively, but underlying that you’ve got the best (Continued on page 72) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 70
SPARK 2022
Boy Swallows Universe. Photo: David Kelly.
Online extras!
Go behind the scenes at rehearsals with the Boy Swallows Universe team. youtu.be/oqYoa3TX158
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Cast rehearsals. Photo: David Kelly.
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creative artists in the country in all of their disciplines. Whether that’s adapting, set and costume design, audio-visual design, lighting design, movement direction, or composition and sound design. The ambition of the story requires an ambition and audacity from each of the artists and in each of their disciplines. And to see all of that come together in a way that ultimately will be quite seamless is pretty wonderful. What’s most exciting is that the story gives all of those great artists the chance to just kind of let rip! Transferring The Novel To The Stage Tim McGarry This play has been three years in the making for playwright Tim McGarry, who has been working with novelist Trent Dalton and director Sam Strong to adapt the best-selling novel for the stage. BK: How did you start to shape the script? Tim: When we did the first read-through it was a six-hour play! Or at least twice as long as it is now (at around 2.5 hours). It’s been a threeyear process of Sam Strong. slowly whittling it down, but when the creative team came on board, so many of the elements that they created on the work meant you don’t need so many words. The music, visuals, costumes and set, and the lights all create sound and atmosphere, and the movement tells story beautifully. And of course, the actors, through emotion and through their talent tell the story - so it’s gone down from around 170 to 95 pages. BK: And you’ve enjoyed the rehearsal process? Tim: What’s been extraordinary is watching the collaborative process, and to see it all unfold just blows my mind! We were in a meeting and
Craig Wilkinson (our video designer) Video Design said ‘Have a look at this’ and gave me Craig Wilkinson a little sneak peek. I nearly fell off my In his top five reasons why he chair! If this is like 30 seconds of what wrote Boy Swallows Universe, Trent I’m going to see, I’m going to be in Dalton noted: the theatre with my jaw dropped. Watching everybody’s element come Australian suburbia is a dark and together in rehearsals has been an brutal place. absolute delight - it’s beyond delight. Australian suburbia is a beautiful Delight doesn’t even cut it. and magical place.
BK: What do you hope audiences will take away from the stage adaptation? Tim: I hope that audiences will see the work from a completely new perspective - because theatre is a very different medium to reading a book and there is nothing like sitting in a theatre with people around you experiencing a work for the first time. From a social justice point of view, I hope that audiences will rediscover an empathy for the family of Eli Bell because one of the story’s big themes is ‘what is good and bad?’ We all have good and bad in us, and this family has experienced life in a very difficult way.
On the stage, that dichotomy is writ large in exploding visuals, changing locations - interiors and exteriors, night and day - through videography by Craig Wilkinson. This allows us to travel across Brisbane to Bich Dang’s Vietnamese restaurant at Darra, to Boggo Road Jail, to the clocktower at Brisbane’s City Hall. The element of the novel that allows it to work on an imaginative level (and not descend to a harsh underbelly of ‘true crime’) is its magic realism and dream-like atmosphere. Director Sam Strong insisted that the unique stage craft elements (Continued on page 73) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 72
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movement, lighting, sound, music, videography, and multimedia - serve the story rather than detract from it. He and video designer Craig Wilkinson have used technology to underline the story’s positive themes - as Eli Bell’s flights of imaginative fancy in the novel help him through the tougher times, stage devices and techniques were used to underline this theme of ‘transcending trauma’. BK: Craig - this is a very visual story - where did you start and where did you finish? Craig: It starts with lots of research, pulling up images and videos. It’s not just about location, it’s also about how we emotionally feel that space. We don’t necessarily dive completely in and decide to have 40 scenic spaces that we need to be in. The basis for us is seeing the world through Eli’s eyes - finding his journey, and how far he might dive into a certain moment. Whether it is reality; whether it is a moment of trauma; whether it is the ‘moon pool’ dream - our foundation is always seeing it through Eli’s eyes. Some moments we go ‘full floral’ - in the realisation of a certain place or space. We don’t go full on throughout the whole thing - it’s about finding light and shade. I hope the play is an emotional rollercoaster for the audience and we grip them from the beginning right to the end. Costumes & Set Design Renée Mulder Renée Mulder’s set is a blank concrete canvas that allows the suburban streets, multiple settings and dreamscapes to come to life. Her costumes are a laundry basket of 80’s classic pieces, spun dry with op-shop honesty. BK: Renée, Trent Dalton has said that your set is “like his head come to life.” Renée: Wow! It’s very generous of Trent to say that. Personally, I grew up 73 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
in Brisbane in the 1980s, so the era is close to home. I don’t have to look far - I just talk to Mum and Dad. And Trent’s world has lent itself to being such an imaginative space - we’re in Eli’s imaginative world. We have over 40 scenes and it travels at lightning speed at times - so it has to serve everything. BK: Is it true you have searched every op shop in Brisbane? Renée: Absolutely! We were able to track down key pieces from the 1980s, and we were lucky enough to make a few things from scratch as well. BK: What do you hope people will take away from this production? Renée: We come together, and we watch this story - ultimately to be entertained, and also to be moved that’s the biggest, sweeping thing for me and that’s what people will remember. Music Composition & Sound Design Steve Francis Music and pop culture play a significant role in Boy Swallows Universe - and the 1980s setting has inspired several Spotify playlists! Composer and sound designer Steve Francis has cleverly chosen pop songs that don’t just evoke the era, but emotionally resonate the times too. His original music adds the tension and tenderness so crucial to the story. Steve has worked with director Sam Strong for many years. After last year’s delayed opening due to the lockdown, Steve had continued to stay in touch with Sam, swapping music files to begin to get a sense of the feel of the play. Steve was anticipating “some very bold storytelling with video and sound design” and was looking forward to setting up his studio in a friend’s garage for the six-week rehearsal period. But then the latest wave of the pandemic hit and Steve found himself stuck in Sydney in lockdown. BK: Steve, how have you been connecting with the team? Steve: It’s been tricky, but I’ve Zoomed in to all the rehearsals - even when Nerida (Matthaei) is doing a movement class, I’m able to watch all
that - in fact I joked with Renée recently that I might never go to rehearsal again - because I can watch what’s going on. It has been a gift being able to work on a show. Tim and Sam have allowed Nerida to work on some movement pieces with me which you wouldn’t normally see in the context of a show like this, and I’m pleased with how that is working musically. All of my colleagues are pretty desperate - you know, every day there’s another show cancelled and it’s awful. So, this show has been medicine for me. This is such a beautiful book - and musically, with the score, I’ve tried not to shy away from sentiment without being sentimental - I think there’s a beauty in that. So, I’ve been able to make some music I’m proud of. In some shows, you don’t have the
opportunity to flex your muscles - for this one Sam encouraged me to go the full Hans Zimmer (Academy award winning film composer) when necessary! Craig goes the ‘full floral’; I go the ‘full Hans Zimmer!’ BK: Steve, there are various music pieces and pop songs in the story how do you choose specific tracks? And how did your composing progress? Steve: I’m an instinctive creator - I can’t plan much - I just sort of faff around until I find something that resonates with me for the story. When you pick songs, different people have
The Boy Swallows Universe season in QPAC’s Playhouse began with previews on August 30 and runs throughout Brisbane Festival until October 3. qpac.com.au different associations with them. Sam and I work on things and Tim’s been great too - we’ve used some of the tracks that are mentioned in the script - I think we’ve got a really good collection.
based in instinct, and everybody starts the day with creative play that they then take through the entire day. So, for me it’s about the energy that we’ve created in the space while we are building the show.
Movement Direction Nerida Matthaei Eli Bell and his best mate, Slim Halliday, toy with time - slowing time down or speeding it up to cope with reality, to control and connect in life or a dreamlike state. This aspect of the novel could not exist on the stage without Nerida Matthaei’s work on movement with the performers, adding just the right balletic or animated feel to vital scenes. BK: Nerida, tell us about the work you’ve been doing. Nerida: It’s a multidisciplinary piece, so everything is kind of woven together. I’ve been working closely with the team - we’ve embedded a movement language across the entire piece. Then we find ways to tell the story through very specific movement pieces that speak to Eli’s story on a psychological level and the situation that he’s in. Steve and I have created beautiful movement pieces. For something that’s considered more of a drama (rather than a movement) piece, I’ve been involved more than you normally expect movement to be. We’ve been able to weave our styles together. BK: What has been a highlight of the process for you? Nerida: Something I’ve enjoyed the most is the generosity of the performers. We’ve been setting up a training session in the morning where we improvise. We’ve created this language together as a group, and everybody trusts each other - it’s
Lighting Design Ben Hughes Ben Hughes has designed a lighting palette that works in synch with all the other elements on stage to caress the story out of the shadows, but let it linger there when needed. BK: Have there been any surprise moments? Ben: Something unexpected is just how incredible some of the movement sequences are. I also do a lot of work with contemporary dance companies, and it’s quite different to see how people move across the genres. Often when you do movement with actors in a drama, it doesn’t work because they are not necessarily trained to do that - but I think that Sam and Nerida have managed to get that movement happening in a way that feels seamless. And it can change some of how I think about lighting the piece. Because you’re pulling in from the dance world and other genres, I can use some of the techniques that come from that world too. BK: Ben, is there a key aspect of the work for you? Ben: For me it’s about the overall show. But the big thing is getting the audience to come on the journey with us. It’s such a big show and potentially has such an array of styles and forms that people might not have seen before. For a play of this scale, with so much going on, part of my role is being functional and making sure we keep the play flowing, keep the speed up - and guide an audience through the journey. Boy Swallows Universe. Photo: Brett Boardman.
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The writer and composer of hit Australian musical Fangirls, Yve Blake, spoke to Peter Eyers for his Stages podcast. In high school Yve Blake was discouraged from choosing music as a subject because she could not play an instrument. Now she’s penned a hit musical, after learning how to use music composition software on YouTube. Her musical Fangirls is based on a teenager whose crush on a pop star gets out of control. The career of the writer/composer/actor is now on a star trajectory with a string of movie and TV commissions.
said, ‘Sure, who is he?’ And then she they’re at a concert at several points said, ‘Harry Styles.’ I laughed at her with lasers and smoke machines. even harder, because at the time he PE: You’re obviously a fan of was a big pop star in the world’s musical theatre. Why is it such a great biggest boy band. And then she said, form? ‘Don’t laugh at me, I’m serious, I YB: Sometimes people see it as a would slit someone’s throat to be genre, and they see it as capable of a with him.’ I was just arrested by her sort of narrow set of things, like tits conviction. From a place of morbid and teeth or singing or dancing, but I curiosity, I was, like, I must write think there is so much more to about this. explore. If you see a play and it I became obsessed with touches you, it’s ephemeral and you researching fangirls. I assumed it was remember it. But it’s slightly out of Peter Eyers: What were you like as going to be super aggressive and your grasp, and something that’s so competitive, and all about young girls a 14-year-old? Yve Blake: Very ostentatious. competing for the attention of a boy Fangirls is sort of a love letter to my and attacking each other, but I was wrong. There were so many stories 14-year-old self. I just had no idea how to be in my body. I’d walk to about fangirls that were these high school and not know where to extraordinary reflections of young put my arms. I remember running my female enthusiasm and its capacity for thumb nail down the sides of my nose good. It felt unfair that fangirls were and I was a disgusting, smelly grease described as hysterical, but the image ball. But around me, the whole world of young men screaming at a football was telling me that to be a teenage match was described as passionate girl, and to do it right, was to be like and loyal. (For young men) that’s the young and hot and sexy. I was love of the game, whereas women watching TV shows where 30-yearscreaming at a pop concert was olds who looked like models were minimalized and ridiculed. playing teenagers, and all had PE: So, I guess you could quite possibly have grandmothers taking boyfriends. And I just remember constantly feeling I could never get their grandchildren to the musical, anything right. with the Nannas having experienced the same thing with The Beatles that PE: Did you have any crushes yourself? their grandchildren experienced with YB: The reason I wrote this show is One Direction. that, as a teenager, I was not a YB: It’s fun that people of all “Fangirl”. I felt above it all. Was that generations are going. I loved to see an internalised misogyny? That being so many teenage faces and glinting expressive is too feminine and being braces in the audience. The clever feminine is weak and uncool? thing about the show, too, I think, is the production concept is very Privately I was obsessed with theatre and playwrights. immersive. The audience feels like PE: What then drove you to write about this obsession that (other) teenage girls had? Online extras! YB: I met a 13-year-old girl who Pick up a copy of Fangirls from Stage told me she met the man she was Whispers books. Scan or visit going to marry. I laughed at her and I bit.ly/3qyffBv 75 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
Belvoir’s Fangirls (2021). Photo: Brett Boardman.
powerful to me about musicals is you can go home and smash the cast album and continuously relive it. And so, the lyrics in these shows can be like spells and handrails that you reach for in tough moments of your life. I certainly have felt that way with musicals. PE: Did you learn an instrument as a child? YB: I got assigned the euphonium in Year Four, and then after a year of piano I could only play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. Year Nine music (Continued on page 77)
Belvoir’s Fangirls (2021). Photo: Brett Boardman.
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rolled around, and they were like ‘Listen, um, you can’t play any instruments, so you can’t do this subject.’ I had a couple of singing lessons in high school because I wanted to get into the school musicals, but I could not read or write music. PE: How then did you end up composing a musical? YB: I had always made up songs and sung them into my phone. But it had felt like I was a computer with no printer. There was no way to get them out. So, when I was 20, I started on a music composition software called Ableton Live. I watched a lot of YouTube videos of sweaty teenage boys giving me tutorials on how to use it, and I taught myself how to use it to compose songs. Then somebody takes that and arranges it (for musical instruments). PE: When you’re writing a musical, what comes first, the music or the lyrics? YB: (Sometimes) I meditate on a certain theme- say the theme was the feeling of being a teenager and not feeling at home in your body. I would just write mad sentences and then I would cherry pick which ones seemed interesting. And then I would say them and try and notice if there were any rhythms and if I wanted to say them with pauses in them. (Then I explored) how those words work with melody. Another way in is I would spit out these little sections (of music) that were maybe four bars long and just go on a walk and repeat and hum them to myself. I came up with drafts of songs that were way too long, and then I would work with my dramaturg on Fangirls - Johnathan Ware - and he would help me condense it down. PE: What’s the most difficult thing that you had to write about? YB: Oh, whoa, that’s such a good question. The thing that maybe was the most painful is a ballad, from the perspective of (the lead character) Edna’s mother. She’s trying to get through to her daughter but there’s 77 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
PE: What wisdom did you gain from playing the lead role? YB: Being in the show humbled me. As a writer it gave me so much appreciation of what actors put their bodies through. Doing that show eight times a week for two and half hours, and this show has stunts, is very physical. PE: Were you a zombie after hours? YB: Completely. It was challenging to also have a full-time job as a writer. The energy or blood you need to flow to your brain to come up with writing are spent on big dance numbers. It was a complete privilege. I am so Peter Eyers spoke to Yve delighted to hand it over. I finally get Blake for his Stages podcast to watch the show. PE: What is the future for Fangirls? stagespodcast.com.au YB: I have been lucky enough to kind of nothing she can say. Every have been offered a (screen deal). For time she tries to appeal to Edna to a couple of years, I’ve been working look out for her best interests, she just on it with some really cool people. I’m can’t get in. In this moment she just interested in a kind of a new way to tries to explain that it is just because I go about it. (As a stage production love you. This was the fastest song I overseas) we’ve had a lot of nibbles. A wrote in the show. The unbelievable producer came from New York to see Sharon Millerchip played my mother it but that is on hold with COVID-19. in the (original season) and sang that PE: What else are you working on? song, and every night we would both YB: All of my commissions are for just be sobbing. screen. I am co-writing a feature PE: Can only young people tell about the Rock Eisteddfod for stories about young people? Aquarius Film - they did Lion. I am YB: I don’t think that’s necessarily writing a movie musical I can’t talk true, but it’s something I reflect on a about for a company in the States. I lot. I am in my late twenties and I’m am also co-writing a podcast musical writing about teenagers, but I don’t for Playful Productions (on feminist) know what it’s like to grow up with Mary Wollstonecraft. the Internet at the scale that an actual PE: Where would you like to see 15-year-old does now. There are yourself in five years? some things that will never change YB: Oh, wow. I love these about being a teenager. questions. I hope in five years I’m PE: For the first season in Sydney making checks in my pyjamas. I hope and Brisbane you were in the lead I’m having a really good time working role. What was it like in the rehearsal with legends. Big opportunities can room when you were the writer, and come knocking but my manager leading player? Did you have always says to me like, if I get a big arguments with yourself? offer, what’s it worth in grief? Like, YB: The director Paige Rattray are you working with people who you really supported me. She was like, we want to be on the phone with till two can meet before rehearsals and you AM? can have your writer’s hat on, but I (also) want Fangirls to be in high then as soon as the clock strikes 10 schools as I wrote it for teenagers. I and everyone shows up, you are an won’t rest until the day that I see the actor. Just be an actor until six, when tallest girl in Year 11 play the mum we’ve finished, and then you can put and that’s my dream. your writer’s hat back on. Yve Blake.
Staging A Musical Or Play
Mad Musicals’ Supernova The Musical!
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Read scripts, listen to music and order free catalogue at: davidspicer.com.au david@davidspicer.com (02) 9371 8458
The Australian Junior Musical Collection
Superb locally adapted musicals for young performers with CD backing tracks.
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Smithy.
Simon Denver is represented by Maverick Musicals. This year the company, founded by Simon’s family, was proudly taken over by new owners Rachel Fentiman and Howard Tamplin. Between them they have over 50 years of theatrical experience. “We believe we have the best job in the industry: helping you, your school or theatre group discover the best play for your needs,” they told Stage Whispers. “It’s our privilege to guide teachers, directors, producers and everyone in-between, all over the globe, to find that perfect play. We will help you narrow down plays that have the right cast size, theme, genre and whatever else you’re looking for to make your play a roaring success.”
For samples and online rights applications visit maverickmusicals.com
The Benefits Of Youth Theatre Simon Denver, the writer of Man of Years ago, I read the results of an international survey on fear. The greatest fear facing an individual was not Thermo-Global Nuclear War. Neither was it cancer, terminal illness or extinction-level events such as asteroids, volcanoes, tsunamis or climate change. The eventual winner left them all in its wake. Divorce, losing your job and the aforementioned fears were all in the shadow of the undisputed number one: the fear of public speaking. No wonder the rest of society looks upon performers in a strange way. It's not that we don't have this fear - it's because we have learned to rise above it. And how? Here is a recap of what belonging to a youth theatre, or being in a school musical or play, should teach you. Trust All theatre is a huge trust exercise. And just as you are trusting everyone will get their bits right, they trust that you will get your bit right. When working to a deadline you don't have time to develop your "relationship" with everyone; certain shortcuts must
seemed like an impossible journey over a frighteningly short time frame.
Pride You soon learn to take a pride in your work. No matter whether you are chorus, lead or backstage you Steel, shares his trade secrets. should take pride in your work and be taken. You have to learn to trust strive to constantly be better. A chain your co-workers from the get-go. You is only as good as its weakest link. forge an effective working Your pride in yourself and your relationship with people, whether you project should make sure that this is like them or not. You must learn to not you. trust early and completely. Confidence Teamwork Any show is a monumental The more disciplined and achievement in its own right. This rehearsed any theatre team or achievement gives you confidence in ensemble is, the better the result. yourself. I recently went to a youth Getting something right is never easy. theatre reunion. Dozens turned up. If it was easy then everyone would One of the common topics discussed always get everything right. It sounds over a few refreshing ales was strange but the more disciplined the confidence. Many claimed youth rehearsals, the more the team has fun theatre had given them skill sets, led and finds solidarity. It's never a case of by confidence, to guarantee they'd learning your place in the team, it's never fail a job interview. about realising that the team actually needs you and it isn't quite the same Adaptability without you, and vice versa. A great skill set to hone. The more theatre you do, especially Camaraderie improvisation, the more you learn to The friendships you make in youth think laterally. Theatre tends to theatre stay with you for life. Why? present us with almost inconceivable Because you share that special time problems that need us to come up that "outsiders" just don’t understand. with some incredible solutions. It You were part of a highly emotionally teaches us how to explore a situation charged project which had what from more than one viewpoint. In short - it keeps you on your toes. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 80
Maverick Musicals & Plays’ picks maverickmusicals.com
SPARK 2022 Music Theatre International Australasia’s picks mtishows.com.au Working - Localised version
songs from the animated film, plus five new songs written for the Broadway production. Available to schools in New Zealand, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. West Side Story School Edition
Add local worker interviews to personalise Stephen Schwartz’s musical Working to create a special production honouring your own community. Updated for a modern age, this new version features songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Stephen Schwartz, James Taylor, Micki Grant and more. Live Stream rights available. Godspell
Rocktopus by Mark Bourgeois and Craig Chambers An undersea Recreating Jerome Robbins’ adventure set to a innovative choreography and playing fun 1950’s rock n Bernstein’s gorgeous score has been a roll score. When consistent challenge for high school Rocktopus and his performers. This School Edition band of squishy removes these obstacles by providing invertebrates try an official Choreography Manual and to make it big in videos featuring easy-to-follow the undersea music business, they instructions for the show’s iconic find that fame, fortune and stardom dance numbers. ain’t all they’re cut out to be. A Killer Party: A Murder Mystery Musical
The three versions of Godspell the original off-Broadway 1971 version, the revised 2012 version and the Broadway JR version - are now available for licensing by schools, amateur groups and professional This 90-minute online, theatres across the Australia and New Zealand. performance-ready show sends up classic murder mysteries. Created by 50 Broadway professionals during Pippin 2020, the production is available to stream in your community.
Pippin is the story of one young man’s journey to be extraordinary. The 2013 Broadway revival, with an updated book and orchestrations, is available for school performances. Frozen JR. Bringing Elsa, Anna and the magical land of Arendelle to life onstage, Frozen JR. features all of the 81 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
Bingle Jells by Tim Tuck The impulsive Andy Clapper has little hope of finishing his bellmaking apprenticeship when a mysterious customer seeks his help to stop the Snow Queen and Jack Frost from stealing the world’s bells.
Almost, Maine (School version) A version of John Cariani’s Almost, Maine about the small town’s residents falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways with language appropriate for conservative middle schools.
Wasteland by Chris Schuman Environmental musical featuring a child named Zeeco, who tries to turn around a dystopian community by starting a simple allotment. It’s an uphill struggle at first but with the help of some nearby talking animals and plants their plan comes to fruition. There is opposition from Baron von Slick, who learns that there is oil under the allotment. King Arthur (All Shook Up) by Mark Wheeller and Paul Ibbott A comic minimusical suitable for use in either a concert or staged version. It retells the Sword in the Stone story in a lively, up-to-date manner, fully sung by the large cast.
David Spicer Productions’ picks davidspicer.com.au The 2022/23 catalogue of plays and musicals is out now. To order a copy email david@davidspicer.com. We Will Rock You Young@Part There are now three editions of the blockbuster by Queen and Ben Elton - the Global edition, the School edition, which has a few of the adult themes removed from the West End production, and the new Young@Part version, which is a 60 minute edition for youth theatres and primary schools.
Peter Pan comes to the rescue, having fun with a band of clumsy pirates before facing Hook in a chilling showdown. This play with music has opportunities for young actors, dancers and gymnasts. Cast: 10 to 40. The Time Machine H.G. Wells’ classic tale, adapted by Mark Scharf, about a Victorian inventor who builds a time machine and visits the far future is beautifully adapted into a ninety-minute play. It explores how individuals fit into society and asks whether technology always leads to progress and where it is taking humanity. Cast: 11 and ensemble.
Masks, puppets, and a trip to the Starbucks in the cell-phoneobsessed city make this new adaptation of The Jungle Book a delight. Cast: 11 and ensemble.
Rockin’ Robin Judith Prior’s most popular high school musical has had almost 40 productions since she staged it in 2009. A drama group (or school) is rehearsing a number for the Rock Eisteddfod when an electrical fault in the special effects department causes The Jungle Book two of the cast, Maddie and William, Peter Pan’s Treasure Adapted by Briandaniel Oglesby. to be transported back through time Adapted by Helen Dickson. A fresh Mowgli struggles to fit in with the to medieval Sherwood Forest. take on J.M Barrie’s classic sees wolves, monkeys, and even the The swashbuckling Robin Hood Wendy, John and Michael Darling humans on his journey to discover adventure is set to songs from the return from their adventures in where he belongs, in this new 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s, including Neverland to find the world changed. imagining of Rudyard Kipling’s classic. “Horror Move” and “Locomotion”.
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2022/2023 catalogue out now. Order your free copy at: davidspicer.com.au david@davidspicer.com (02) 9371 8458 KEEPING THEATRE GOING
MOST POPULAR
Congratulations to every company and school which managed to keep theatre going in very difficult times, and commiserations to those who had to cancel.
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We Will Rock You Back to the 80’s Popstars Ladies in Black The Boy from Oz Masquerade Aotearoa Song Contest The Great Australian Rock Musical 10. Essgee’s Pirates
The Centre Stage Event Company in Albury had to postpone twice to navigate COVID-19, then had to navigate rules from two different states, to get its production of We Will Rock You to the stage. A high school in the COVID-19 free bubble of The Northern Territory miraculously got a production of The Great Australian Rock Musical up at the peak of the crisis. Chookas to companies resuming disrupted seasons and wishing everyone a safe return to the theatre.
Albury.
The Great Australian Rock Musical.
NEW RELEASES
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Black Lives Matter and #MeToo have changed the game for musical theatre. David Spicer reports on the new rules for the stage. Classic musicals with glorious scores but problematic story lines or histories are under threat in a new order, as the world slowly returns to the stage. Some musicals have been withdrawn, others are being reinvented and strict new rules are being applied to the authenticity of casting. Just over a decade ago a Broadway revival of Finian’s Rainbow was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The New York Times’ critic at the time lauded the “comforting pleasures of infectious song, exuberant dancing, jokes both lovably corny and unexpectedly fresh.” In Finian’s Rainbow a spell is cast on a racist politician, turning him into a black man, so that he can experience life from the other side. What was accepted as satire only a few years ago is now considered offensive. The issue was the hot topic across the Australian Musical Theatre Festival held in Launceston in May. Finian’s Rainbow is not the only musical now considered problematic. Another is Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr. How you ask? Well, it is all about the song “Zip-A -Dee-Doo-Dah”, sung by a caterpillar to lift the spirits of Alice. Influenced by the 1830s folk song “Zip Coon”, “ZipA-Dee-Doo-Dah” was originally composed for the Disney movie Song of the South. Released in 1946, that movie is considered racist for evoking stereotypes of African Americans. One of the characters in the movie even describes how he missed being a slave.
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Also on the sidelines is Disney’s Peter Pan, for its depiction of Native Americans as Redskins. (Disney+ also recently quietly removed several movies from its children’s channels, including Dumbo and Aristocats, for similar reasons.) Tyran Parke - head of Music Theatre at the VCA - tackled the issue of how to save creaky old shows with wonderful scores with a campaigner’s zeal at the festival. In one seminar he described how his job changed after COVID-19. “I used to think my job was to stage a show. Now I need a position on text to make sure it is not racist, homophobic, or sexist,” he said. The problem, as he described it, is that music theatre has largely been the domain of white middle class men. He has been challenged by his students to give them work to perform and study from a more ‘diverse’ group of writers (Tyran prefers the term inclusive rather than diverse, to include all backgrounds). “It is not good enough just to put on stage what we have seen before. I am fighting the nostalgia of what I loved at the age of nine. I would show up to the VCA and 60 people would see the world differently from what I saw before. The students got ahead of me in respect to social change.” Tyran now believes that if a musical makes someone from a minority group uncomfortable then it needs to be withdrawn or reinvented. As an example, he cited a season of Thoroughly Modern Millie staged by The Production Company in 2019. The
musical has a lead character posing as an Asian woman with two Asian sidekicks. A white woman in yellowface sings ‘Mammy’ in Cantonese. “An actor of colour in the audience was upset. If any person of colour finds it offensive, then it is offensive. Whilst the production was incredibly successful ten years ago, The Production Company did not read the room,” (in terms of how it reacted to the criticism) he said. Tyran said that the musical is now being re-written, while he also claimed that the furore contributed to the decision to close The Production Company. Sentiment at the seminar was divided. Some called for outdated musicals to be dropped. “Nostalgia for what?” was one comment. “I have always shied away from old musicals. Maybe we can revisit them and make them relevant,” said another participant. With that in mind, Tyran described how two directors recently approached one of the classic musicals - which has what he describes as a problematic ending. The musical was My Fair Lady. “One (recent production) was offensive. The other was remarkable. Not a word was different.” In the original play Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw has Eliza walking out on Professor Higgins to marry Freddie in the last scene. However, when it was made into a musical, the ending was changed to
have Eliza return to Higgins subserviently. As the text is written in the musical, Professor Higgins says in the last line, “Where the devil are my slippers?” He slumps in his chair, with his hat slipping down his face before the music swells. The revival, directed by Dame Julie Andrews for Opera Australia, took the traditional approach as it was a faithful revival of the original Broadway production. This approach left Tyran unimpressed. “What do young women make of that?” A different staging took place in the recent revival on Broadway. Tyran said the director made the last scene a moment of empowerment for Eliza. She went to find his slippers, then stopped and walked out on him through the audience. Professor Higgins then rose to give her a standing ovation as she leaves him. “Eliza had become bigger than he made her. This staging goes some of the way to solving it,” he said. Another case study was a concert version of Chess, which Tyran directed
Tyran also wanted the lines “You’ll find a God in every golden cloister, and if you’re lucky then the God’s a she” removed from the song. The lyric alludes to the hope that a lady picked up in a Thai bar is female. In this case he wrote to the lyricist Tim Rice and was given permission to change the words to “If you are lucky they will set you free.” The musical Tyran described as the most “problematic” that he has directed is Barnum. It was staged in a season in Melbourne starring Todd McKenney. “Barnum is deeply offensive. So how did we do it? We decided that this year. He described some of the Barnum was Donald Trump. We made lines in the songs as “scary”. ‘One every male character a cartoon and the Night in Bangkok’ is traditionally Ringmaster Kirby Burgess played all staged in a bar with scantily clad Asian these men. It worked enough so that is women. was not so offensive, but it may not “When done eight years ago, it had have entirely solved it. At the end we white people dressed as Asian people made Todd come out as a clown. In for this scene. The tricky thing is that it the original it ends with a triumph, but was a hit in the original show. What we had a different ending. Todd was was I to do with this piece?” speaking to an empty circus.” “I decided to change it to a company number. Everyone sang a (Continued on page 87) part of it.” A workshop at AMTF 2021. Photo: Melanie Kate.
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My Fair Lady (2016). Photo: Jeff Busby.
Callum Francis said he is very uncomfortable at casting being Tyran’s view is that it is still portrayed by clothing. acceptable to portray racism or sexism “Absolutely not. Hairspray without on stage, so long as there are the race part is just a fun, amusing consequences for the behaviour. musical.” Callum Francis, the Helpmann As for the character of Lola in the winning lead of Kinky Boots, tackled musical Kinky Boots, Callum agreed the issue at another seminar, pushing that this should be cast with a person back at cancel culture. of colour, as the lyrics of the songs “If there is a troubled story which refer to this, and a critical scene is might make people uncomfortable, written to it. (we must consider that) it was written Having access to a high calibre of in a time from another era. Just artists from diverse backgrounds is not because it is on, doesn’t mean we always straightforward. It can be believe it now. I don’t believe in the especially problematic in regional cancellation of shows. It is still art,” he community theatre or schools with said. smaller pools of talent. However, Callum endorsed moves Across the board, community for greater authenticity in casting. theatres are coming to terms with the There have been high profile new rules. In Priscilla Queen of the controversies in recent times in Desert, an indigenous artist must be community theatres in Brisbane and engaged for the indigenous character Melbourne. Companies came under in the musical. When Melbourne’s strident attack on social media for CLOC Musical Theatre could not find a casting In the Heights (with nonmale indigenous artist, they were Latinos) and Kinky Boots (featuring a allowed to cast a female indigenous white Lola). artist. Stricter casting requirements have Some musicals won’t be staged as now come into place. The new rule of often. The new rules are expected to thumb is that if a writer stipulates that affect classics such as The King and I, ethnicity is critical to a character, then which is set in Thailand. Opera those wishes must be adhered to, or Australia got away with Teddy Tahu the rights may be withdrawn. On the Rhodes in the lead a few years back. flip side, if there is no ethnicity Could that happen again? Companies stipulated by the writer, then it should will have to work harder to widen their not be assumed that the actors must pool of participants at auditions. all be white. Indigenous artist Naarah Shaye A few years ago, theatrical devices Barnes told the Diversity seminar that were allowed to portray race. Schools she would love to stage The Colour were given permission to stage the Purple in Hobart. She noted there was musical Hairspray with the African an audible groan from the audience at American characters portrayed by their how difficult this might be to cast. costumes. The seminar was told this is “The Hobart theatre scene is not no longer acceptable. very diverse. We have to change the communities we are talking to. I know (Continued from page 86)
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Chess (2021). Photo: Jeff Busby.
so many (POC) families in Hobart who sing in church. Those people don’t know they could be in theatre. Staging The Colour Purple in Tasmania is 100 percent possible.” Issues of racism and attitudes to women came to a head in Sydney this year when the Notable Theatre Company advertised auditions for Miss Saigon. On social media, a writer called for a boycott charging that the musical is “famously racist and misogynistic and enforces a narrative about a southeast Asia politically and sexually subservient to white supremacy.” Others countered that showing ‘uncomfortable truths’ is a pathway to further learning and further acceptance. Indigenous artist Brittanie Shipway told the seminar that if Miss Saigon “is not put on, then all the Asian women in that community will miss out on an opportunity.” The Notable Theatre Company attracted a large pool of quality audition candidates. Many in the cast have family connections to the Vietnam War. The company further resolved to “engage with representatives of the Vietnamese community to seek input to the staging of the production in a culturally-sensitive way.” Callum Francis noted that when Miss Saigon opened in London, white British actor Jonathan Pryce wore prosthetics to alter the shape of his eyes, and make-up to alter the colour of his skin, to play the part of the scheming pimp called The Engineer. His reaction to this had one syllable “Eek!” Acts like this have been consigned to history.
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Sound & Light
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Multi-award-winning Nick Schlieper talks to Martin Portus about the rigour and magic of lighting our landmark operas, plays and dance works for four decades.
STC’s Saint Joan (2018). Photo: Brett Boardman.
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Nineteen-year-old Nick Schlieper first plugged into his craft alone backstage at Doris Fitton’s old Independent Theatre in North Sydney in 1977. It was a time in Australian theatre when the lighting guy was usually one of the mechs. Nick was the Independent’s resident stage manager; restless, he began experimenting every night during the show by shifting around the lights. Actors learnt to just work around it. Schlieper has been playing with light ever since, earning - and demanding - a respect for the precision, invention and storytelling role of his craft, and his very distinctive signature in lights. It’s no surprise that painters are his first inspiration - think Turner and Edward Hopper and Nick’s own late brother. Michael Schlieper, Nick’s senior by 11 years, would work on his canvases through the night at the family home in Chatswood. Every morning, getting ready for school, Nick would observe the added layers, the depths appearing from new light and colours. “I think I learnt most about lighting design and light from that exposure, watching him painting and then, growing up, talking to him about it, and watching his style change radically over a few decades,” says Nick. “He started out as a wildly abstract painter, went through a very figurative, so-called Teutonic, social commentary period and then ended up painting landscapes but with a great facility for technique, which I learnt from him.” Nick’s start in stage management also added a practical insight into the logistics of theatre - and the required diplomacy. He was soon responsible for casts and crews far older than he, calling shows, later operas, with the big companies in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. Finally as a production manager, young Schlieper always had work …until, that is, he put out his shingle as a freelance lighting designer. The jobs were few but, somehow, he scored the lighting gig on the STC’s Summer of the Seventh Doll and
Away, both of which went to New York in 1988. He remembers Roger Kemp’s three model houses signifying the three families intersecting in Away. “It was played in tight areas and was the first time I had to create a naturalistic pool of light in an abstracted stylised space yet evoking a sense of place. And I approached it from an incredibly simple point of view - of standing under a light bulb, but expanded.” German director Harald Clemen commissioned Nick to light a show at the prestigious Schillertheater/ Berlin just before the Wall came down,
angles, very cold light, all things very unfashionable then.” Home he may be, but Nick was also staggered at the absence in Germany of expressive techniques in lighting design. Images of German theatre may look stunning, but the lighting was fixed. The idea of leading the audience’s eye, lighting the actor and expanding on the emotion was becoming essential to Nick’s story-telling toolkit back in Australia but, then at least, it was foreign in Germany. “Germans called it dramaturgical lighting, and actors even said to me that they resented me doing their job
Bangarra’s Bennelong (2017). Photo: Daniel Boud.
which was, he says, like “dancing on a volcano “ with the arts integral to everyone’s fervent conversation, and part of the arsenal between East and West. “And at the theatres I suddenly understood where my aesthetic had come from - it was like coming home,” says Nick, whose family immigrated from Germany. “In Australia I was jokingly criticised for my work being very Teutonic, very stark, without much colour. I spent a lot of time making people look right, not nice - which is not the same thing. I do use very steep
for them. It was best to do it under fluoros and with the house lights on! It was a Brechtian hangover.” Times have changed. Nick went on to work regularly across Germany, and notably at the Salzburg Festival: he’s just returned from there, lighting a brilliantly urbane contemporary version of Médée. For more than a decade he’s taught lighting design in Munich and he went on to see WAAPA in Perth establish Australia’s one major lighting course. But ‘dramaturgical’ remains his best descriptor. He rejects all jobs (Continued on page 93) stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 92
“We always made sure that after fabulous visuals we came back to a permeable box with no scenery in it, just lots of light and that light in those interludes, even more than usual, with a focus all about the singers.” With a set that filled 38 shipping containers (an average opera may fill three) and a lighting rig with a thousand lamps, this was the biggest theatre show ever staged in the country. Oddly for the celebrated designers, the job offers then dried up. “You’re so easily pigeon-holed by this industry. I think we were branded as, they only do huge now!” Nick however did join another trusted collaborator, director Simon Phillips, in 2006 to create the stage Still, five years out, he joined the version of the film hit, Priscilla, Queen (Continued from page 92) creative team, all of them leaving of the Desert. unless he’s included from the start in behind their phones and locking “I’m not drawn to musicals but I that first collaborative planning with themselves away in a Blue Mountains was keen to get over my prejudice the director and other designers. He retreat. that they’re all flash and giggle and reads the script or score over and over “But at the end of that week at not much craft.” again and, he says, he eschews tricks “Camp Wagner”, we’d only got as far With a colour palette beginning and focuses his lights only on as the first five minutes of the first with hot pink, he was also repainting advancing the meaning of the work. opera, and most of that was the his reputation as a master of stark “We start with that simple prelude! white light. Nick’s starting point with question - why are we doing this “Still, all that time we were Priscilla was that every scene have the work? It’s all the more vital a question addressing the whole framework with sparkle, the heightened colours, as when it’s a classic. I’ve done five the same question - why are we doing though viewed through the lens of a productions of Macbeth; if you don’t this work yet again and why in drag show - just like back then at the ask why you’re doing it here at this Adelaide?” famed Imperial Hotel in Newtown, time and place, then they’d all look This landmark Ring had massive, Sydney. He admits that the lighting the same. And once you answer that strikingly lit set pieces, but here again took a leap elsewhere, especially with question, you find the environment in for the lighting designer the priority the introduction of Brian Thomson’s which you’ll do it.” was story-telling, of not losing sight of magically inventive bus and a huge All this was well tested when Nick the human stories over time. and his frequent collaborators, director Elke Neidhardt, and set and Médée (2019). costume designers Michael Scott Photo: Thomas Aurin. Mitchell and Stephen Curtis, started planning what was Australia’s first full production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. It was premiered by the modest sized State Opera Company of SA in 2004, but years earlier Nick was getting his head around a score lasting 16 and a half hours. And it was all the harder, given his block about Wagner, one he suggests is common in many Germans. “It just makes me very uncomfortable, to the base of my spine, since it’s so laden with his vile thoughts…. so learning what I find fairly repugnant music was a challenge.” Nick Schlieper at the lighting desk for Love Never Dies (2012). Photo: Jeff Busby.
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tech budget. And Nick finished up with a lighting plot of 2,500 cues. The arc of Nick Schlieper’s career has seen an ever-growing respect from audiences, critics and industry colleagues - for the craft of a lighting designer, and an astonishing shift in the technology at their fingertips. “I’ve seen manually operated desks replaced by computer boards; football -sized globes replaced by ones golfball -sized; and colour temperature and heat emissions have changed so much we can have an expanded palette of colour gels. And importantly we can now have a whiter, less yellow light. “At first with computers doing a lighting fade we missed the skill of a good operator, but now these have a control which is incredibly sensitive. You can virtually move a host of lights throughout a show without the audience being aware of what you’re doing.” A negative for Nick is LED technology. He argues it reduces the colour ring spectrum to just 70%; with the missing 30% so critical because that’s the light most sympathetic to
MTC’s North By Northwest (2016). Photo: Jeff Busby.
skin tones, to lighting the actors and telling the story. It didn’t stop him, however, employing a huge back wall of white light in the STC’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The lighting bank initially simmered and then blasted direct into the audience, suggesting the fireworks - and raw emotions - that climaxed at the end of the play.
Nick has the perfect collaborator in STC artistic director Kip Williams, whose own stage signature often strips everything to an empty space, often with a revolve, defined with little set or clutter, and so often dramatised by cross lighting. Their recent credits also include (Continued on page 95)
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(Continued from page 94)
Chinamerica, with its complex storytelling across countries and decades; the epic dramatisation of Ruth Park’s Harp in the South; Brecht’s Arturo Uri with Hugo Weaving; White’s ghoulishly vaudevillian A Cheery Soul; and Shaw’s St Joan. He just finished lighting Simon Phillips’ STC production of Stoppard’s The Real Thing. He remains a big fan of white light and cross-lighting, and his reasoning, of course, comes back to what’s true to the performers. “It solves the age-old problem of people standing next to each other talking as we do in real life, by lighting along the axis they’re speaking to each other. “And it gives such a sculptural impact to dancers. It makes bodies look fantastic and faces so much more interesting and more present.” Nick has lit six notable shows by Bangarra. With Patyegarang and the most recent, Bennelong, he’s lit Stephen Page’s significant shift to a dance theatre storytelling involving
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Ring (2004).
Nick Schlieper spoke to Martin Portus for a State Library of NSW oral history project on leaders in the performing arts; the full interview is now available on amplify.gov.au points of view both indigenous and colonial. “In terms of the practical, it’s about being very careful about colour and choosing the optimum angle for dancers … but with the episodic story of Bennelong I also had to be wary about leaving the audience with a clear dramatic structure.”
He’s getting over being what he describes as “the whitest thing possible in that context, yes Aryan even! “It’s a very useful reminder - as if it’s needed - of how strongly you can feel being the ‘other’, and useful to have the boot on the other foot.”
Video Wizardry The Sydney Theatre Company’s production of The Picture of Dorian Gray has won rave reviews for technical wizardry and acting. Eryn Jean Norvill played all 26 roles in the Oscar Wilde classic. On multiple screens, she interacted with her own pre -recorded performances as different characters. One of the highlights was a dinner party where live Eryn sits at the end of a table and has a razor-sharp repartee with a smorgasbord of eccentric characters. Read David Spicer’s full review bit.ly/36PrlyL.
Photo: Daniel Boud.
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Check out the product range at au.rosco.com/en, or get in touch with them on (02) 9906 6262 or by emailing sales@cfats.com.au. stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 96
triangle-tape technique, to secure and surround a lavalier capsule. Stashing The Pack For each mini microphone, a wireless transmitter (bodypack) will be required. It’s easy to imagine simply popping it under some clothing, but steps need to be taken to ensure both the integrity of the wireless signal, and also the longevity of the wireless transmitter. Sweat from an actor’s skin is the number one enemy of sensitive electronics, so care must be taken to avoid direct skin contact. A protective neoprene pouch is often used to safely strap a pack to the waist area. Sometimes an extra layer of protection via a latex sheath is used if the actor is “a sweater”. Moisture seeping into the Artie Jones from Factory Sound shares his tips electronics of a bodypack will decrease for schools and amateur theatre companies on the functional lifetime and affect the discreet and crackle free use of microphones. wireless integrity. Antennas must be clear of any An incredible amount of research, sound will be great, unless some metals to avoid ‘detuning’ the wireless design and engineering goes into careful steps are followed signal and ensure they are allowed to producing every microphone you can Securing a miniature lavalier sit in their ‘straight’ position, without see (and those you can’t see) in use on microphone right at the hairline, at the an unnatural bend. the stage and in studios around the top of the actor’s forehead, is a great world. place to hide the microphone. It also Before Moving To Miniatures This won’t guarantee perfect picks up a very natural sound from the Both the “Primary” and performance every time. There are singer, without overloading the capsule “Secondary” microphones listed above steps you can take to improve via a ‘proximity effect’ (the more are not without their charm and performance - or at the very least, pronounced bottom end sound which benefits. While a handheld microphone prevent audible interference or physical you may get from a handheld mic has the obvious drawback of taking a problems that arise from misuse. when it is closest to the source). performer’s arm away, it does offer the Other places include elsewhere most flexibility for a powerful singer. Shrinking Graduation around the hairline, such as above the We can all visualise the action of a In Primary School performances, ear. Underneath clothing is an option singer being able to control how far lead roles often pass a handheld for some actors and costumes, but the away from their mouth the wireless microphone to each other horrible sound of clothing rustle on a microphone capsule sits, depending on when there is a line to deliver or a song microphone capsule (which can sound how hard they’re belting out a note. to sing, while many Secondary School like wireless microphone interference) The headset solution turns fixed productions will feature headset may then arise. distance into a feature, by ensuring the microphones. microphone capsule is in exactly the More sophisticated productions will Tale Of The Tape same place for the entire performance. ‘feature’ microphones totally hidden Essential in the theatre audio toolkit In effect, the microphone moves with a from the audience, but what is the best is tape, and lots of it. Gaffer Tape (the performer’s mouth, so every time they way to do this? 510-matte variety), Hypoallergenic turn their head for a stage direction or surgical tape, Lav tape, and specially choreography, the microphone capsule Invisible, Not Impossible prepared Undercovers and Stickies are is right there ready to capture the Moving to miniature microphones, all useful in making sure the capsule sound without missing a beat. often called lavalier microphones, is a stays put, and the actor is comfortable. As always, if wireless microphones step in the invisibility direction, but this Should a microphone need placing are causing more headaches than you usually comes at a cost. A highunder clothing, the UNDERCOVER can handle, get in touch with an RF performance microphone capsule range of adhesives makes sure that the specialist to make sure you get looked smaller than your pinky fingernail is not apparel does not rub against the after. only often priced higher than the other capsule. In an emergency, try the options, but there is no guarantee the factorysound.com
Keeping Mics Hidden
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Going Wireless Using a hard wired intercom system was proving one big headache for students and production staff at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts at ECU.
WAAPA is recognised nationally and internationally for the quality of its graduates. It provides the most comprehensive range of performing arts training in Australia. WAAPA’s world-class staff, working in state-ofthe-art performance and teaching facilities, provide rigorous and specialised training of the highest order. Over the course of its academic year, WAAPA stages around 25 key productions of musicals, plays, dance, jazz and classical concerts. With such a rigorous production schedule, having a reliable communications infrastructure is paramount in the successful delivery of each show.
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Speaking with Tim Landauer, Venue Services Coordinator of WAAPA, he explained a few of the challenges that WAAPA faced before he found a new wireless system, installed by Riedel Communications. “The best approach in teaching is with clear concise communication. However, after using the old hardwired system for production communication between technical crew such as lighting, sound, stage managers and mechanists, we saw around 50 hours of downtime annually.” Maintenance delays and fault finding hampered WAAPA’s ability to
put on modern productions and the downtime was amplified in all the key departments, leading to hundreds of ineffective student hours as staff triaged the breakdowns in communication. “It was obvious our systems were at the end of their useful life in terms of supporting multiple productions. This left us with the choice of investing in reliable, state of the art technology or ultimately a reduction in production
capability, which was simply not an option,” said Tim. In May 2018 WAAPA commenced installation of a Riedel Bolero Wireless System into their venues. The modular system has been used both on and off campus for a major musical production, highlighting several benefits of the portable wireless system, including: Using a modular and integrated design allows for fast setup times and cost efficiency No extra hardware is required, only minimal configuration changes No risk of cable entanglement with machinery - such as fly lines and large moving trucks Safe and reliable communication for stopping elements and calling out hazards. “Riedel Systems are Industry standard in the broadcast and theatre production/event workspace meaning that our production students receive training on technology they will use in the real world. Riedel can also provide additional equipment when required on a rental basis which keeps our total cost of ownership down,” Tim added. Publication and recording management is integrated with digital
rights management and IP control allowing a neatly edited face to the world backed by well managed campus-wide infrastructure. Prior to the upgrades WAAPA hired two discreet systems annually, at a substantial cost for the equipment, whilst having to pay the associated support costs on top. With Riedel, WAAPA receives convenient support in a local time zone after setup, training and install. “It is not impossible to foresee the end of analogue technology’s general use for this purpose within the industry,” explained Tim. “We also found that Riedel’s experience in major performing arts venues, theatres and universities across Australia was invaluable in helping us optimise the system design.”
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It Keeps On DASHin’ Ross Hopkins from Creative Film and TV highly recommends a new hand held LED light, the Rosco DMG DASH. Don’t let its size fool you, the battery-operated DMG DASH can produce up to an incredible 500 lumens of output - all from a fixture that’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. DMG DASH features Rosco’s patented six-chip MIX® Technology enabling it to produce the same colour-quality and True Rosco Color™ gel matches that other MIX lights do! Each DMG DASH Kit ships with a set of beam-shaping accessories, including a flat diffuser panel, dome diffuser, eggcrate, and a gel holder for adding any Rosco gel or diffusion material desired DMG DASH is controlled from its on-board 1.3” OLED user interface, via the free myMIX® mobile app, or through optional wireless DMX by LumenRadio to provide CRMX and W -DMX control. It charges using a standard USB type-C connector and lasts three hours at 100% intensity. The DMG DASH Quad Kit includes four fixtures and four sets of accessories. The kit also includes a DMG DASH LINK that can connect all four lights together into one unit! DMG DASH is constructed from a lightweight aluminium alloy with an IP54 rating to provide a shockresistant and weatherproof housing. It takes a thrashin’ and keeps on DASHin’!
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Online extras!
Find out more about the versatile and portable DMG DASH. Scan or visit youtu.be/WkqZuZkimPs
1,300 Scripts
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A custom-made gobo.
Gobo Light Magic
For 25 years Gobotech has remained the only Australian manufacturer supplying a full range of custom gobos. At their Gold Coast factory, the company employs a mix of time-proven methods of photo lithographic production, as well as world-leading laser technology, to produce gobos which can transform the stage. Uses range from setting the scene in a play or musical to projecting a school crest in vivid colour. At Gobotech you can speak directly with technicians and graphic designers to turn your ideas into reality and achieve a fast turnaround. In theatre, gobos can be used to instantly and cheaply change a backdrop. A production could switch from a busy streetscape to a walk in the woods or change the mood of the stage with dappled light. All changes can be done with the flick of a switch using a gobo in a theatrical lantern. The COVID-19 disaster has decimated the arts and events industries. To help companies get back on their feet Gobotech is offering a $99 arts package to Stage Whispers readers to help school and small venue productions incorporate gobos. The company wishes everyone in the industry a brighter end to 2021 and an awesome 2022.
Contact Gobotech via sales@gobotech.com.au or call them on (07) 5573 3177 for more details. gobotech.com.au
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Hearing The People Sing Again What does an audio event company do when it goes from expecting its busiest year ever to zero bookings? David Betteridge from Loud and Clear Audio in Sydney explains that kindness and Government policy saved his business.
When asked to reflect on the impact of COVID-19 on our industry, as technical suppliers to the arts sector, it struck me how important the mantra is, that a business is defined by its people. Building the right team and sustaining them leads to passion and growth, and loyalty to your brand and one another. We have a core staff of five in the office here in Sydney, and like many in our industry, have a huge list of freelancers. Our primary source of work is musical theatre, both full production and hire, with a small amount of corporate event work, and a growing pro audio sales division. On paper 2020 was looking like the busiest year in our history by a big margin - and we were suitably hyped and preparing ourselves, about to invest in more equipment, staff and training. Then came those crazy few weeks at the beginning of March when the news was of nothing but the rising pandemic, and the phones started ringing and ringing. Within two weeks our planner was completely empty. Not a single job on the books. As a business owner the first thing that comes into your mind is how to protect your staff. And to this end I congratulate the Federal Government for their response. I know many will disagree with me - but for us, it was tailored correctly and implemented quickly. Yes, we were one of the first industries to shut down completely, purely based on the nature of what we do, and will likely be one of the last to fully open again. Yes, it would be nice if there was some additional means testing specific to our game to extend it further. Yes, it was a bit glitchy at the very start - but without it, we would no longer be trading. JobKeeper provided just the right amount of wages support to reflect the work we found to do. (Continued on page 105)
Notable Theatre Company’s Les Misérables. Photo: Grant Leslie Photography.
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(Continued from page 104)
We did what nearly all in the biz did - reduced hours, talked with banks and suppliers, and learned to manage a world of uncertainty. The warehouse team cleaned everything we owned, at least twice. The accounts managers spent their days rebooking and cancelling and re-booking work. Suppliers were amazing, extending deadlines. But what about the banks? Ours was bloody useless! It managed to screw up just about everything it promised to do. Looking forward it would be helpful if JobKeeper was extended, and we would most likely still qualify but (and I speak only for myself here) eventually someone, and that someone is each and every one of us, has to repay that debt. And as much as we love our industry, just like sound is one department of many in a full-blown musical production, we are just one industry in a nation of many working towards the same goal. I think we can survive from here, now that things are beginning to slowly open again. I do want to thank many of my colleagues with small businesses that we collaborate with, who throughout the whole period would call to see how we were, or drop in for a chat and a coffee. They supported us with solidarity, encouragement, and friendship. Another significant factor in our survival was the loyalty and kindness shown by our customers. “What can we do?” many of them asked. I suggested to some that they look at replacing old and worn-out equipment, and sales increased dramatically in some months. We also collaborated with companies to live stream events, all within the social distancing restrictions in place. A select few schools were determined to produce their shows, no matter what. How do you produce and perform a full-blown musical production when you can only have five singers, all spread apart from each other, and when musicians cannot play together? Well, you record the whole thing, piece by piece, master it down, and then mix the entire thing with whatever live portions the rules allow! Pre-production took two or three weeks alone for each show, but the results were amazing and allowed some of our customers to give their casts the opportunity to stage shows that looked impossible on first pass. We are blessed in having a lot of diversity within our customer base. Between professional, community, school 105 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
PLC Sydney’s Virtual Choir Project - an online concert facilitated by the team at Loud And Clear. youtu.be/t9VXttFhse4
and corporate there was always a sector that needed a solution. Early in 2021 a lot of work continued to play the cancellation game, but in equal measure a whole raft of new work sprang from nowhere. Also encouraging is the speed and efficiency of the health system in identifying new outbreaks of the virus and containing them within very short windows. And so, to today. The cancellations have (almost) stopped. I am still fearful for so many of our community theatre groups - some faced with even more issues than just COVID-19, such as losing their venues at the same time. I do know that their customers, the theatre-going public, are desperate to get out and see their work again. I hope that all the suppliers who contribute to making their work a reality (venues, rights holders, tech suppliers like us to name but a few) will stand by them and help them all to recover as quickly as possible. If ticket sales to Notable Theatre Company’s production of Les Misérables a few weeks back (our first community show since it all began) are anything to go by, then I already see the public are there in force to support them. 2021 is going to be a hard slog for us. But I believe that it will pave the way to 2022 being our biggest year ever. Everything that 2020 promised, just 24 months late.
Loud And Clear’s warehouse staff were kept busy on cleaning duty.
Notable Theatre Company’s Les Misérables. Photo: Grant Leslie Photography.
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Training
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Western Australian senior drama students attend a NIDA workshop.
NIDA Creative Schools Programs
opportunities can range in length from a one hour visit to artist in residence programs lasting up to a year. Working in collaboration with classroom teachers, NIDA customises the workshops to address state The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) offers performing arts curriculums. The program is ideal for educational activities to support learning for both school students schools looking to access specialist and school teachers. skills in performance styles, rehearse Reflective of NIDA’s worldprofessionals, guest artists, teacher scenes from a prescribed text, develop renowned approach to education and resources and workshops. practical skills in devised performance training, developed over 60 years, the NIDA’s customised workshops are or use drama as pedagogy to enhance schools programs are carefully available for preschool, primary and literacy outcomes. designed to provide dynamic and secondary school students. The NIDA’s teaching resources include engaging skills development to workshops integrate creativity into notes on acting, creative voice, and enhance the early childhood, primary student learning, and are based on a movement as well as a suggested and secondary syllabuses. collaborative approach that reading list for students. Their online It reflects NIDA’s practice-based recognises the expertise of teachers in program NIDA Devised: Group conservatoire training model and creating programs that best meet the Performance, which follows emphasises the importance of needs of their school community. professional actors as they collaboration and communication. Customised courses can take place brainstorm, develop and showcase The schools programs include at NIDA (in Sydney or Melbourne) or work is now free to all Australian specialist training, access to industry onsite at a school. Learning secondary school teachers.
For more information or to discuss creative learning programs for school students, go to nida.edu.au/schools-and-teachers or call 1300 450 417.
Online extras!
See what NIDA’s student improvisation and playbuilding workshops entail youtu.be/hmLYV2q4wD4 stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 108
SPARK 2022
Study Musical Theatre In England Australian students are being invited to study Musical Theatre in England, in an accelerated course developed by the International College of Musical Theatre (ICMT) and Coventry University. The two-year degree has been designed to help get students on stage sooner, to cut the cost of their education and allow more people to enter the profession with a degree. Principal and ICMT co-founder Kenneth Avery-Clark says, “during our research, we found that 95% of students (who took a three-year degree course) said they would have preferred to do their training in two years.” The BA (Hons) Musical Theatre Performance degree will be delivered out of the ICMT Campus in Central London. A faculty of current performers, directors, choreographers, musical directors and singers take students through intensive practical-based 109 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022
triple-threat training across the disciplines of singing, acting, and dancing. “It’s completely practical training, which makes us different from traditional university courses. There’s little written work, because, ultimately, you’re going into a practical industry. You don’t learn to be a chef in a classroom, you learn in a kitchen. Equally, if you’re going to be a performer you have to learn to perform.” Australians can apply for a Youth Mobility Scheme Visa at the website in the details box on the next page. “This allows them to study in the UK for up to two years. We currently have 24 different nationalities training at our college who want to experience
world-class practical training in the heart of London,” said Avery-Clark. The course co-founder explains that ICMT has campuses in multiple countries, including the US (New York) and Italy (Rome), and students will be trained to audition for musical theatre projects in Europe, in particular Germany, which has the European Union’s largest musical theatre industry. “We also offer a One-Year Level 4 Diploma in Musical Theatre, awarded by Trinity College London, which is ideal for a gap year. Practical training such as singing, dancing and acting take place every day of the course. This option is also available through the Youth Mobility Scheme.”
Applications are now open for the course starting in September 2022. To apply or for more information please contact info@theicmt.com theicmt.com/london BA (Hons) Musical Theatre Performance bit.ly/3p1bcif Diploma in Musical Theatre Foundation Course bit.ly/3v221BP Youth Mobility Scheme visa gov.uk/youth-mobility Judith Mossman, Pro-ViceChancellor for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Coventry University said the collaboration is another chapter in the university’s proud history of championing the arts. “During the pandemic we have all missed the unique buzz musical theatre can give. Coventry University has a proud history of championing the arts, thinking internationally, and developing industry ready graduates,” she said.
ICMT student production of Rent (2021). Photo: Craig Sugden.
Online extras!
Discover the two-year BA (Hons) Musical Theatre Performance degree. youtu.be/mAI8F3rZj5Y stagewhispers.com.au Stage Whispers 110
Read our 2022 Course Guide online at stagewhispers.com.au/training 111 Stage Whispers SPARK 2022