SPARK 2024

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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

Tools that were once the preserve of professional theatres with substantial budgets are now available to educators and students alike Drama and Theatre Studies Teacher Nick Waxman shares his recommendations on the most useful software available.

The integration of technology in theatre can be traced back to the Deus Ex Machina (meaning ‘god from a machine’) of Ancient Greece, and the intricate puppetry of Sanskrit theatre. These early innovations set the stage for a continuous evolution, where each era brought its own advancements.

Recent updates to our technological arsenal have enhanced our creative processes significantly, making sophisticated theatrical tools more accessible and user-friendly. This has not only enriched the quality of productions but has also opened new avenues for teaching and learning in drama.

What follows, are some examples of user-friendly technologies that can be effectively utilised in the classroom or on stage.

QR Codes: Interactive engagement

One of the simplest yet most effective technologies I've adopted is the use of QR codes. These codes can transform traditional theatre programs into portals to a wealth of additional content. Imagine audience members scanning a code to access

backstage videos, detailed character backgrounds, or even augmented reality experiences. This technology has enabled us to extend the theatrical experience beyond the stage, adding layers of engagement and interactivity.

They have also helped us with poster design, audition information and sign up, end of class take-aways, class surveys and so much more. If you want information in someone’s hand, and on their phone forever, pop up a QR code and get them scanning.

Multiplay: Sound design

A standout tool for me is Multiplay, a free alternative to QLab. This software is a boon in educational settings, particularly due to its ease of use and accessibility. In classrooms, I've seen students quickly master Multiplay, using it to manage complex sound cues for their productions. Its user-friendly interface encourages experimentation, allowing young tech enthusiasts to create professional-level soundscapes without the burden of cost.

Chat GPT and DALL-E: Crafting visuals with AI

The possibilities of AI in theatre are endless. Tools like Chat GPT can generate creative content, while DALL -E can be leveraged to design stunning posters. With a few prompts, these AI tools can produce captivating visuals, significantly reducing the time and effort required in traditional design processes. In my experience, these tools have not only streamlined our promotional efforts but also inspired our students to explore their creativity.

Chat GPT can do so much more than write limericks about Brecht in the style of Dr Seuss. It can be used to help write professional email replies

Haileybury College’s The SpongeBob Musical, directed by Nick Waxman. Photo: Pia Johnson.

Multiplay.

when your temper is high, it can suggest and help you develop well formatted rubrics on a huge range of topics, edit and suggest ideas for class or program notes, and so much more it’s ridiculous. Try it and I challenge you to find it something it can’t do with text, numbers and information.

(I have found a few things it can’t do. It gets very confused with a number of things so do check the work as it sometimes makes things up. But these are rare.)

Tinkercad: 3D set design

Incorporating Tinkercad into our set design process has been a revelation. This intuitive CAD tool is suitable for users of all ages, making it an excellent resource for high school and upper primary students. They can design intricate sets digitally and then bring these designs to life through 3D printing. This hands-on approach to set design is not just educational; it's a fun and engaging way to involve students in the creative process.

Canva: Unlocking creativity

Canva has been a cornerstone tool for us, offering hundreds of free templates, fonts, and images. What makes Canva so valuable is its ease of use, coupled with the ability to inspire creativity. Whether it's designing posters, programs, flyers, or digital content, Canva's vast resource pool has enabled our teams to produce high-quality visual materials without needing extensive graphic design skills.

Adobe Premiere Rush: Video editing

For video editing, Adobe Premiere Rush has been useful tool when creating video content in class or on the go especially with its availability on phones. This free tool allows us to

(Continued on page

Haileybury College’s The SpongeBob Musical, directed by Nick Waxman. Photo: Pia Johnson.

Above: Spotify’s Podcaster app.

create high-quality videos complete with transitions and title screens effortlessly. Its user-friendly interface makes it accessible to beginners, and its powerful features are sufficient for more advanced projects. Using Rush, we've been able to produce videos for our 60-minute Found Footage Film Festival, and educational videos made by students on core class topics.

Spotify's Podcaster App: Podcast creation

The 'Podcasters' app from Spotify has allowed for a new approach to audio storytelling. Creating podcasts has become a simple, streamlined

process, allowing us to focus on content rather than technicalities. In the classroom, this tool has been invaluable, enabling students to produce their podcasts with just a few clips. This hands-on experience with audio storytelling has not only been educational but also incredibly fun for the students.

Moreover, this app is particularly beneficial for students who may feel less confident speaking in front of their peers. Podcasting offers a more comfortable platform for these students to express themselves, helping them develop vital voice and expression skills in a supportive, lowpressure environment.

This approach is wonderfully effective in drama education, as it encourages students to explore different aspects of vocal performance, including tone, emotion, and clarity, without the immediate stress of a live audience. As they grow more comfortable with their voices and storytelling abilities, students often find their confidence in public speaking and performance naturally improving.

The Digital Stage Awaits

My journey with technology in theatre has been nothing short of transformative. The future of theatre looks bright, promising a blend of tradition and innovation.

The digital stage is set, and I eagerly anticipate the innovative ways we will continue to use technology to enhance the magical world of theatre.

I'm a fervent advocate of technology, seamlessly integrating it into my personal, creative, and professional life. As the host of 'The Aside Podcast', I utilise both software and hardware to connect with people globally and record interviews with extraordinary guests. Additionally, I've developed over 100 interactive digital drama lessons with the Department of Education Victoria.

This series, titled ‘Drama Victoria Presents…’, covers an extensive range of drama curriculum topics, from Status to Scripts to Empathy.

Left: Adobe Premiere Rush.

How To Write An Opera

Students across Australia can access an on-line program that teaches them how to write, compose, orchestrate and design their very own opera. The Victorian Opera’s Tim Ryan describes how the Beyond the Stage program brings the creativity of opera to classrooms.

I came across Beyond the Stage as a VCE Music and Drama teacher, trawling the internet for engaging resources during the dreaded COVID19 lockdowns of 2021.

Immediately I could see the rich learning experience where my students could hear professionals talk about the techniques used in their work. This provided a confident platform to dive into composing their own works, plus, being able to watch a performance on-demand increased the quality of the teaching and learning experience.

Fast forward three years and I’m now the Education Manager for Victorian Opera. Drawing on my experience as a teacher, the company has been able to expand the program. There are now workshops exploring the science of theatre technology, and schools can attend a pre-show Q & A to grill those in non-performing roles. However, the core focus is the Commissioning of New Works workshops.

In 2023-2024 the focus for this suite of workshops is Victorian Opera’s commission, and First Nations work, The Visitors Workshops contain interviews and scaffolded learning activities that can be taken in any number of combinations to suit the subject area and learning needs of students. The workshops and performance are available as streamed on-demand videos or as incursions.

Workshop 1: Choosing the Story to Tell.

Join author and playwright Jane Harrison as she explores the cultural significance of The Visitors and how she came to the decision to tell this story. Students then use Jane’s advice to choose and begin writing their own story as a libretto.

Workshop 2: Music and the Art of Storytelling.

Composer of The Visitors, Christopher Sainsbury, explores techniques he has used to write melodies and ways of manipulating music elements to draw out the

meaning in a story. Using these techniques as a guide, students then compose melodies for the story they have written.

Workshop 3: From Page to Stage. Christopher Sainsbury takes us through the orchestration process with the aim of encouraging students to choose instruments that enhance the time and space of the story they have written.

Workshop 4: From Page to Stage.

In this workshop we meet Lighting Designer Rachel Burke and Director Isaac Drandic, who take students through the decisions they make to bring a story to life on stage. At the end of this workshop students are asked to create a mood board and create a simple blocking map for the story they have written.

Performance: Available ondemand.

Watch the livestreamed performance of The Visitors at a time and pace that suits your students and your learning plan.

Workshop 5: Discussion and Evaluation.

This is a live and interactive webinar where students can share their work.

In semester 2, 2024 the focus of these workshops will be the adaptation of Murray Bail’s awardwinning novel, Eucalyptus, composed by Jonathan Mills.

In 2025, we move to our commission of The Celestials, written by Ian David Roberts, exploring life for Chinese miners and their interaction with the Kelly Gang on the Victorian goldfields.

Beyond the Stage is our offering in the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series, free to Victorian government schools. Nongovernment and interstate schools pay a low fee of $5 per student for workshops and $25 for shows.

For more information please visit victorianopera.com.au

The Visitors Photo: Charlie Kinross.

Brainstorming For A Better Future

The internet is a complex and rapidly changing space. Technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality and the metaverse have the potential for great benefit but also carry the risk of great harm, for children and young people.

Live theatre provides a platform to explore these opportunities and challenges and empower students to take positive action in the digital world.

The eSafety Commissioner recently reported a 40% jump in cyberbullying reports. There has also been an explosion in reports of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Rather than be overwhelmed when confronted with a problem of this scale, it is vital students are empowered with the skills to deal with the risks from an early age.

They need to take responsibility for their choices, build resilience and

contribute to meaningful change in their online communities.

Brainstorm Productions has been creating live online safety performances for schools since 2007, with shows updated annually to align with the curriculum and current risks. The company is endorsed by the eSafety Commissioner as a Trusted eSafety Provider.

In 2023 Brainstorm Productions launched a new cyber safety show for primary schools called Zanna & the Lost Code. The action begins at a coding camp, when Zanna and Eddie are zapped into the Camp Captain's new game for kids.

They discover that they can change the game from the inside, to create a safer and more inclusive experience for players around the globe. The audience is transported into the world of the game with immersive soundscapes, movement, an exciting narrative, and talented actors.

The company’s creative team includes movement director Matthew Wells (Rhum & Clay, UK) and multi award winning composer Sean Peter. The performance is followed by a Q&A with the actors, and curriculumlinked lesson plans to continue the conversations in the classroom.

“Once again, an outstanding production. All our kids loved it. This is the best company delivers year after year with a clear and entertaining performance. Five stars!” wrote Wendy Jolley from Woodville Primary School.

The performance addresses bullying and exclusion in friendship groups, and unwanted contact with strangers. The protagonists are flawed and relatable, helping students to apply the strategies to their own lives. The interactions between Zanna and Eddie provide a model for healthy friendships, as they lift each other up and cooperate to complete the challenges.

Zanna & the Lost Code reflects a move towards more positive online safety education. Research has found that the most effective programs are those that frame technology in a positive light, while also building awareness of factors that increase and decrease the risk of harm.

Live theatre has the power to energise students, challenge their perspectives, and engage them in discussions. Brainstorm Productions deliver live performances in primary and secondary schools across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

Clinical psychologist Dr Ameika Johnson explains how live theatre can help young people tackle online exploitation and bullying.

Brainstorm Productions’ Zanna & The Lost Code

HSC Theatre At Actors Centre Australia

The ACA Company has unveiled a specially crafted program for high school audiences featuring talented graduates of Actors Centre Australia. This builds upon the success of the ACA Company’s inaugural 2023 season.

Adam Moulds, Drama Teacher at the International Grammar School, described it as a moving and thoughtprovoking night in the theatre. “Your actors, with both your direction and dramaturgy, did a beautiful job telling the story of The Laramie Project. The Drama students here at IGS absolutely loved the show, as did their teacher."

2024 Highlights

Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: May 22 - 25.

Directed by Anthony Skuse, A Doll’s House will be a centrepiece of ACA’s 2024 season. This timeless classic is a part of the Advanced Module B: Critical Study of Literature. Audiences can expect captivating performances, insightful storytelling, and an engaging live Q&A session that makes literature come alive on stage.

Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot: May 29 - Jun 1.

Directed by Adam Cook, enigmatic and thoughtprovoking play Waiting for Godot is linked to Extension 1 Elective 2: Worlds of Upheaval, offering a unique opportunity for students to delve into the complexities of the human condition.

Additionally, the ACA Company is excited to offer workshops for schools looking to delve deeper into the HSC texts. Specialised workshop series led by seasoned industry professionals seamlessly integrate theory and practical training in performance skills. Workshops run for four hours at Actors Centre Australia or at the chosen

ACA’s The Laramie Project (2023).

Photo: Clare Hawley.

Flexible School Stages

Safety is our top priority. Transtage stages are constructed with industrialgrade materials and sophisticated designs, all exceeding Australia's loading standard of 750kg.

Supplied to over 1000 schools Australia-wide in the past decade, Transtage specialises in providing portable staging and seating risers for events and performances of various sizes.

Portable stages have become a highly flexible solution for schools as permanent stages often can't always accommodate the needs of school events and gatherings. Thanks to the intelligent modular design, Transtage stage decks can be used either as standalone stages or easily attached to existing stages for expansion when you have a bigger event.

Our stages are also heightadjustable, making them suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, even on uneven surfaces. As a result, location is no longer a restriction for holding your school events and performances; the stage can be set up anywhere in the school.

They are also lightweight and very easy to set up; most schools we supply to are set up by the school's maintenance staff, teachers, and even senior school students.

With offices and warehouses in Australia, our dedicated team will assist you promptly when you need help, and all orders are delivered in a timely manner to ensure your stages are ready for your event. Please contact Transtage today for a quote and a tailored solution for your needs.

transtage.com.au

Stage Consultant Peter Giblin describes how Transtage is helping schools with growing student numbers expand and re-locate their performing arts programs.

Little Women

Emmaus College took out five awards at the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Bruce Awards for its production of the musical Little Women. The director, Elise Cavallo, describes the unique staging and choreography which made the production a success.

A story that transcends generations and finds new resonance today, Little Women came to me as a show suggestion from an old friend. He knew that I was searching for a unique kind of canvas; something that was classic and beloved but that also had the potential to be moulded into something new.

In Emmaus College’s version of Little Women, the writing of the novel was built into the story and the author wasn’t Louisa May Alcott, but the novel’s protagonist herself, Jo March.

In this way, Little Women became a tale of the birth of an artist a female artist, at a time that was hostile to women and the telling of women’s stories from a woman’s point of view.

The musical was adapted for the stage in 2005, featuring the prodigious Sutton Foster as Jo March. With Sutton at the helm, the production team chose to employ a small cast of 10 to support her. The production was criticised for being more of a play than a musical, with little to no choreography, lengthy scenes and the majority of ballads taking the “stand and sing” approach.

The script had heart and the characters had charm, but the interpretation seemed to be lacking the one thing that made the title so very popular in the first place: evidence of the fierce March sisters’ love and loyalty. And so, this became our focus. To take the material, with that brilliant score, and insert the sisters (and an ensemble) into the story as much as possible.

Kirra Plavin, our choreographer, worked tirelessly to add original choreography to the show, including a full company ballroom number into “Take A Chance On Me”.

We were heavily inspired by the physical storytelling of Hamilton and used this influence to weave dance throughout the show, an example being Jo’s Trio (Clarrissa, Rodrigo and Braxton), who followed Jo’s writing process and guided her to make creative choices. “Fire Within Me” was a particularly satisfying project as we took a number traditionally sung by a solo actress and created a moving montage where Jo saw herself and her sisters as children and then watched them grow up and leave her.

In her despair, Beth appeared and helped her to write her final line “but

we’ve got each other”. Jo’s sisters watched her give her manuscript the title “Little Women” as the song concluded.

In my eight years directing at Emmaus, I have never seen such a strong emotional response from an audience and consider myself lucky to have been present for that particular moment each night.

If there is anything that I have learnt from this production it is that as a director at a school, choosing a title that you feel a personal connection with is key if you wish to have success with your students.

If I can listen to a soundtrack and see a version that has not been done before, if I can feel new possibilities, then I know we should do it. Youth will follow you anywhere you go, as long as you are genuine in your belief that what you are creating is special, unique and worthwhile.

The fire that burned within us to make this story ours, to make it something that had not been staged before, is what I believe led to its success and ultimate recognition. It was no mean feat to make a 150-year -old novel feel current, alive and relatable to a modern audience, but I believe that in every young woman's heart beats the heart of Jo March and it is her fiery spirit that guided this production to become what it was something truly astonishing.

Emmaus College’s Little Women

Samwise Holmes from Action Education explains how one-hour shows help high school and primary school students navigate bullying and mental health.

When we launched Backflips Against Bullying at the beginning of 2019, in New South Wales, it exploded with popularity, and we were completely floored.

It became very clear that educators around the country understood the value of engaging the students and knew that parkour and stunts is a fantastic way to achieve this.

The program was such a hit, that despite being shut down for half of 2020 we were able to bounce back to launch teams in Queensland and Victoria, running six teams of acrobats concurrently from 2021 across the three states.

We’re excited to continue spreading this muchneeded message across Australian schools.

Building on this, Action Education has introduced a new offering: Mentally Sound, a dynamic mental health program tailored for ages 11-17. The hour-long performances are not mere spectacles; they are interactive concerts that explore critical mental health topics.

The program features three talented vocalists who, alongside singing, engage students in discussions about each topic, transcending the limitations of a traditional lecture.

Mentally Sound opens with a captivating number, setting the stage for performers to share personal struggles in interactive discussions.

Addressing topics such as Self-Esteem, Anxiety, Body Image, Depression, and Suicide, the program invites students to actively participate in their own learning journey. This approach, coupled with an evidence-based foundation, ensures that information is not only engaging but also accurate and grounded in the latest research.

Far from a typical musical performance, Mentally Sound is a thought-provoking exploration infused with comedy, an original pop/rock score, and poignant messages.

The performers, recognised as some of the country's most talented vocalists, understand their influence as role models for students.

Students, viewing the performers with admiration, establish a unique connection that allows for a deeper understanding of mental health topics.

Supported by Australian psychologist Evelyn M Field OEM FAPS, Mentally Sound takes on an evidence-based approach to ensure that the information imparted is accurate, reliable, and aligned with the latest research findings. In the symphony of education, the balanced harmony of student engagement and evidence-based research forms a melody that resonates long after the curtain falls.

Learn more about the programs provided and how to organise an incursion for your students at actionreaction.com.au

Action Education’s Mentally Sound

Sport For Jove

Damien Ryan, the Artistic Director of Sport for Jove, outlines his company’s 2024 educational program.

Hail all NSW teachers! We herald and congratulate you for another outstanding year of leadership and inspiration – in your classrooms, at your marking centres, with your preparations, your results and through your guidance.

We are proud to partner with you in your students’ relationships with the creative arts and offer an array of goodies for 2024. Sport for Jove’s work is built on passion, rigour, attention to detail and is specifically designed to marry with the work you are doing in the classroom, supporting discussion, and provoking thought in equal measure.

This year there are three mainstage productions on offer:

Henry IV, Part 1: Played in an extraordinary medieval globe like setting.

Richard III: This production gives students an incredible insight into the play and when it was written, seen through the eyes of Elizabeth I.

Romeo & Juliet: SFJ's new and furiously energetic production takes on the spirit of a filthy Italian opera, driven by love and heat, fights and fevers of the mind, and, of course, by Shakespeare’s soaring poetry.

Sport for Jove also offer other extra-curricular events, such as their highly popular HSC Performance Symposiums, this year offering King Henry IV, Part 1, Richard III, The Tempest, Merchant of Venice, The Crucible and Othello

A whole library of Digital Symposiums is also available for regional or inaccessible schools.

Youth Workshops, led by Sport for Jove staff members and industry professionals, give access to world-class theatre training.

The Shakespeare Residency is a week-long, in-school Shakespeare program, while The Shakespeare Carnival, a state -wide performance competition for students, is now entering its 8th season! Teachers are also offered detailed Student Resource Kits for all works in the season.

For more than a decade, SFJ’s Education Program has been where teachers turn to so their students can experience rich and engaging productions, deepening their understanding and relationship to the text.

Grab a seat in 2024 and have a brilliant year!

Romeo & Juliet: Riverside Theatres, May 8 to 11 and Seymour Centre, May 22 to 31

Henry IV, Part 1: Seymour Centre, March 12 to 18

Richard III: Seymour Centre, March 14 to 19. sportforjove.com.au/educationseason2024

Sport For Jove’s Romeo & Juliet. Photo: Seiya Taguchi.

Dot And The Kangaroo Triumph

Australian and New Zealand school students have won a special award at the Junior Theatre Festival in the United States.

Each year, the “Aussie All-Stars” and the “Kiwi All-Stars” take part in a program that includes Broadway musicals, workshops and a performance of their Broadway junior production after an intensive four-day rehearsal.

The All-Stars crafted their performance of Dot and the Kangaroo under the guidance of their creative team consisting of Director, Daniel Stoddart (Book writer, Dot and the Kangaroo), Musical Director, Rob Rokicki (Composer, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical), and Choreographer, Fernell Hogan (The Prom, Kimberly Akimbo)

The cast of 36 young performers travelled to Sacramento to take centre stage at the Junior Theater Festival, where they were joined by thousands of like-minded young performers from all over the world.

Their performance of Dot and the Kangaroo was awarded the prestigious accolade of Outstanding Production. Only five other groups at the festival were awarded this honour.

Auditions for this extraordinary experience are held annually at the Junior Theatre Festival Australia and the Junior Theatre Festival New Zealand in October.

For more information about the Junior Theatre Festival visit: Australia: oztheatrics.com NZ: juniortheatrefestival.nz

Shows For Schools

Online extras!

Watch a trailer for Away, or rent the entire production on demand. vimeo.com/458439371

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

Stage Whispers SPARK 2024

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.

2024 productions include The Snow Queen and Cinderella Relevant to all subjects.

Grade P - 9

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

AUSTRALIAN THEATRE LIVE

australiantheatre.live/education

Away

vimeo.com/ondemand/michaelgowsaway

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

Liam Nunan and Naomi Rukavina in Australian Theatre Live’s Away

Photo: James Green.

as secrets are exposed and the pressure of social change takes its toll.

By

Michael Gow. A Sydney Theatre Company and Malthouse Theatre production.

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Norm and Ahmed

vimeo.com/ondemand/alexbuzosnormahmed

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.

By Alex Buzo.

An Australian Theatre Live production. Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Emerald City

vimeo.com/ondemand/emeraldcityatl

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.

By

David Williamson. A Griffin Theatre Company production.

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Taming Of The Shrew

vimeo.com/ondemand/tamingoftheshrew

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.

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Erth’s Prehistoric Picnic

vimeo.com/ondemand/erthsprehistoricpicnic

Meet the ancient creatures that are remembered in the stories of the first people of our nation.

An Erth, Sydney Festival and The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust production. Study Resource Kit available.

Return To The Dirt

vimeo.com/ondemand/returntothedirt

In a year spent tending to the dead, a young man learns to live. Steve never imagined he’d end up working in the funeral industry. But when he finds himself living back home in Toowoomba to save up for his wedding, it’s the only job he can get. The year he spends working among the dead opens his eyes to what awaits us at the end and what it means to live.

By

Steve Pirie. A Queensland Theatre production. Study Resource Kit available.

Cactus

australiantheatre.live/cactus

Cactus is a brutally funny, heartbreakingly honest, awardwinning play for anyone who is or ever has been a teenager. Exploring the power of friendship and unspoken female truths, Cactus reminds us of the excitement and confusion of being confronted by the adult world.

By Madelaine Nunn. A Mad Nun Productions production. Study Resource Kit available.

Diving For Pearls

vimeo.com/ondemand/divingforpearls

Set in Wollongong during the economic rationalism of the late ‘80s, Diving For Pearls remains startlingly relevant the political decisions of that time planted the seeds of divide we continue to witness between those with opportunity, and those without.

By Katherine Thomson. A Griffin Theatre Company production.

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

This Much is True

vimeo.com/ondemand/thismuchistrue

This Much Is True continues the story of Lewis from Summer of the Aliens and Cosi. Now he’s older, a writer and lives in an inner city suburb filled with public housing, the underclass and characters who could only exist in such a place.

By Louis Nowra. A Red Line Productions production. Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

BELL SHAKESPEARE

bellshakespeare.com.au/education

Just Romeo And Juliet! Incursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/the-players-performances

Term 2 - 4

Featuring Shakespeare’s original language within a madcap adventure, follow Andy, Danny and Lisa as they rehearse the greatest love story ever known. It’s Andy Griffiths’ beloved humour in a rollicking tale of Shakespearean proportions.

Subjects: English, Drama, History

Year 3 - 6

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Shakespeare Is Dead Incursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/the-players-performances

Term 2 - 4

A funny, provocative and fast-paced rollercoaster ride through the world of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare is Dead follows a group of teenagers trying to answer the age -old question if Shakespeare is long dead, why are we still performing his plays?

Subjects: English, Drama, History

Year 7 - 10

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Shakespeare: The Human Experience

Incursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/the-players-performances

Term 2 - 4

To this day, Shakespeare is unrivaled in his ability to understand and represent humanity on stage. By holding up a mirror to nature, he shone a light on our glories and flaws, and explored what it means to be human.

Subjects: English, Drama, History

Year 10 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Excursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/a-midsummer-nights-dream

NSW: Term 1

VIC: Term 2

ACT: Term 2

Shakespeare’s classic comedy is reawakened in this production brimming with magic, mirth and mayhem. This pared-back production is fast, funny and family-friendly, this is A Midsummer Night’s Dream reimagined.

Subjects: English, Drama, History

Year 7 - 12

Study Resource Kit available.

King Lear

Excursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/king-lear

NSW: Term 2 - 3

VIC: Term 2 - 3

Shakespeare's epic of the imagination, King Lear, creates a portrait of a family and a country torn apart. Directed by Peter Evan, it stars one of Australia’s finest classical actors Robert Menzies.

Subjects: English, Drama, History

Year 10 - 12

Study Resource Kit available.

Student Workshops

Incursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/secondary-student-workshops

Term 1 - 4

Give your students an active, immersive experience of Shakespeare’s plays in their own classroom. Bell Shakespeare’s teaching artists guide students through a practical, English/Drama blended exploration of one of Shakespeare’s plays.

Subjects: English, Drama, History

Year 7 - 12

Study Resource Kit available.

Primary Shakespeare Workshops

Incursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/primary-shakespeare-workshops

Monkey Baa Theatre’s The Peasant Prince Photo: Heidrun Lohr.

Online extras!

SLAP. BANG. KISS. explores themes of activism, community and hope. youtu.be/ffB95cu7M7o

Term 1 - 4

Bell Shakespeare believes our journey with Shakespeare should start young. Primary Shakespeare workshops are designed to immerse students in the plays of Shakespeare through playful and interactive storytelling, in their very own classroom.

Subjects: English, Drama, History

Year 2 - 6

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Shakespeare Seminars

Incursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/shakespeare-seminars

Term 1 - 4

Part interactive seminar, part performance, Shakespeare Seminars are designed for students who require rich, critical analysis of Shakespeare’s plays to prepare for senior exams.

Subjects: English, Drama, History

Year 11 - 12

Study Resource Kit available.

Digital HSC Shakespeare Seminars with USYD

Available for purchase digitally bellshakespeare.com.au/digital-hsc-shakespeare-seminars-with-usyd

Term 1 - 4

Part performance, part interactive seminar, these sessions are designed to directly link to HSC modules and give students the edge in upcoming exams.

Subjects: English, Drama, History

Year 12

Study Resource Kit available.

John Bell Scholarship

Incursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/john-bell-scholarship

Term 1 - 4

Interested in a career as a performer and attend school in a

stagewhispers.com.au

MTC’s SLAP. BANG. KISS. Photo: Tiffany Garvie.

Online extras!

Bell Shakespeare’s The Players bring Shakespeare to schools across Australia. youtu.be/C0fH6rpARv8

regional area? Auditions for the John Bell Scholarship. A life -changing opportunity for budding performers, three students will spend a week training with Bell Shakespeare at their HQ in Sydney.

Subjects: English, Drama, Careers

Year 10 - 12

Work Experience

Excursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/work-experience

Students are invited to apply for one week of Work Experience at Bell Shakespeare HQ in Sydney. The Work Experience program is designed to give students insight into the entire process of making and producing theatre, not only what’s on stage.

Subjects: English, Drama, Careers

Year 10 - 11

Bell Shakespeare Shorts Festival Incursion

bellshakespeare.com.au/bell-shakespeare-shorts-festival Calling all young filmmakers, performers and storytellerswelcome to the 2024 Bell Shakespeare Shorts Festival where Shakespeare is re-told on screen. The Festival is open to young people from primary and secondary schools across Australia, as well as household entrants who may want to work on a film individually.

Subjects: English, Drama, Careers

Year 10 - 11

Bell Shakespeare’s The Players.

CARROUSEL THEATRE

carrousel.com.au

Carrousel Theatre is a puppetry theatre company based in Melbourne. It originated in Paris and has been performing in Australia since 2000. Their objective is to encourage the study of European languages: French, Italian, Spanish, German and Asian languages: Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian and Japanese via the medium of puppetry. The shows are specially crafted for school students learning a new language. The stories are based on original tales adapted for puppetry. Traditional characters and stories give the students an opportunity to enjoy and understand the diversity of cultures around the world. Each year a new performance is presented.

Cinderella

Incursion

carrousel.com.au/product/cinderella

Cinderella lives with her stepmother, Mrs Dragon and her stepsister Pearl. Both never miss an occasion to give her lots of work and sorrow. Cinderella is very unhappy until one day, with the help of her friend, Izidor the monkey she meets Prince Baltazar.

Year P - 8

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Puss in Boots

Incursion

carrousel.com.au/product/puss-in-boots

Before passing away, the father of three sons asks them to share his belongings. The oldest receives the mill, the second receives the donkey and the youngest inherits...the cat! Little does he know that this cat is about to make his fortune. Mister Puss asks only for one condition; his master has to offer him a pair of boots.

Year P - 8

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

The Jungle Book Incursion

carrousel.com.au/product/the-jungle-book

Once upon a time Mowgli, a little Indian boy and his sister Rosa went to the rainforest to find the magical leaves that could cure their sick mother when suddenly Mowgli gets lost.

Year P - 8

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Beauty And The Beast

Incursion

carrousel.com.au/product/beauty-and-the-beast

Beauty’s family is ruined! In order to repay his debts

Beauty’s father, advised by his jealous sister, decides to marry off his daughter to the neighbour. Beauty, desperate and angry, chooses to disobey her father. Suddenly a new character appears: Mister Lucifer, the devil himself. He befriends her and persuades her to marry his master by

proxy. Only too late does Beauty realise that she has married a beast!

Year P - 8

Q

& A / Study Resource Kit available.

Sēnlín Wángzǐ - The Forest Prince Incursion

carrousel.com.au/product/the-forrest

Year P - 8

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Aladdin And The Magic Lamp Incursion

carrousel.com.au/product/aladdin-and-the-magic-lamp Since the death of his father, Aladdin and his mother have had a very difficult life, until one day a mysterious uncle appears. He advises Aladdin on how to become rich by fetching an old lamp left in a tomb.

Year P - 8

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Sleeping Beauty Incursion

carrousel.com.au/product/sleeping-beauty Come and meet beautiful Sophia who on her day of christening gets cursed by Carabosse, the nasty fairy: “Sophia shall never wake up again.” Thankfully the wise fairy Melusine is here to transform the curse in a less dramatic spell: She will fall asleep for the rest of her life, unless a handsome prince kisses her.

Year P - 8

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

The Princess And The Toad Incursion

carrousel.com.au/product/the-princess-and-the-toad A princess inadvertently drops her golden ball in a well. The Toad, lord of the haunt, brings it back to her on the condition that she befriends him. She agrees, thinking that she will never set her eyes upon him until one day… someone knocks at the door.

Year P - 8

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Hans And The Witch Nettle Incursion

carrousel.com.au/product/hans-and-the-witch-nettle Based on the story of Hansel and Gretel, this is the story of little Hans who one day while wandering in the forest with his sister Greta, gets lost. The nasty witch Nettle finds him and brings him back to her house, intending to force feed him and turn him into a “fat Hans sausage”. Fortunately the good fairy of the forest comes along.

Year P - 8

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

The Woman In Black. Photo: James Reiser.

Sinbad And The Enchanted Horse Incursion

carrousel.com.au/product/7-sinbad-and-the-enchanted-horse In the kingdom of Abyssinia the Queen of Sheba is celebrating her birthday when suddenly a mysterious man named Amar appears with an enchanted horse. Intrigued, the queen asks her son Sindbad to ride it. He suddenly takes off with the horse before realising that he doesn’t know how to land.

Year P - 8

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

CDP PRODUCTIONS

education.cdp.com.au

Dogman The Musical Excursion

cdp.com.au/dogman.html

NSW: Term 1 - 2

VIC: Term 1

QLD: Term 2

ACT: Term 2

SA: Term 2

WA: Term 3

With the head of a dog and the body of a policeman, Dog Man loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture. But while trying his best to be a good boy, can he save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings?

The Smeds And The Smoos Excursion

cdp.com.au/smedsandthesmoos.html

NSW: Term 1

QLD: Term 1

VIC: Term 1 - 2

On a far-off planet, Smeds and Smoos can’t be friends. So when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love and zoom off into space together, how will their families get them back? Soar into space with this exciting adaptation of the awardwinning book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

Room on The Broom Excursion

cdp.com.au/roomonthebroom.html

NSW: Term 2

VIC: Term 1 - 2

QLD: Term 1

WA: Term 2

SA: Term 2

The witch and her cat are flying happily on their broomstick – until a stormy wind blows away the witch's hat, bow and wand. A helpful dog, bird and frog find the witch's lost things, and they all hop on the broom for a ride. But this broomstick's not meant for five and the broom snaps in two!

The Gruffalo Excursion

cdp.com.au/gruffalo.html

NSW: Term 3 - 4

VIC: Term 3 - 4

QLD: Term 3

ACT: Term 4

Join Mouse on a daring adventure through the deep, dark wood in this magical, musical adaptation of the classic picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

The Gruffalo’s Child Excursion

cdp.com.au/gruffalos_child.html

NSW: Term 2

VIC: Term 2

WA: Term 2

One wild and windy night the Gruffalo's Child ignores her father's warnings about the Big Bad Mouse and tiptoes out into the deep dark wood. After all, the Big Bad Mouse doesn't really exist...does he?

COMPLETE WORKS THEATRE COMPANY

completeworkstheatre.com

Oedipus the King Incursion

completeworkstheatre.com/season-2024/oedipus

VIC: Term 3

NSW: Term 3

SA: Term 3

Fate vs free will, wisdom and knowledge, and consequences of unchecked ambition are explored in Sophocles’ famous tragedy. Subjects: English, EAL, Drama

Year 11 - 12

Study Resource Kit available.

The Crucible Incursion

completeworkstheatre.com/season-2024/the-crucible

VIC: Term 3

NSW: Term 3

SA: Term 3

Set against the Salem witch trials of 1692, this abridged production delves deep into the complex dynamics of power, morality, truth and vengeance

Subjects: English, EAL, Drama

Year 11 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Animal Farm Incursion

completeworkstheatre.com/season-2024/animal-farm

VIC: Term 3

NSW: Term 3

SA: Term 3

This abridged adaptation condenses the novel’s powerful themes of political allegory, propaganda and the nature of authority.

Subjects: English, EAL, Drama

Year 9 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Medea

Incursion

completeworkstheatre.com/season-2024/medea

VIC: Term 1 & 3

NSW: Term 1 & 3

SA: Term 1 & 3

Exile, violence, and grief lead to a revenge plot to rival all others. Four actors perform key scenes addressing the themes of Euripides' great tragedy.

Subjects: English, EAL, Drama

Year 10 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Macbeth

Incursion

completeworkstheatre.com/season-2024/macbeth

VIC: Term 2 - 4

NSW: Term 2 - 4

SA: Term 2 - 4

Morality is put under the microscope in William Shakespeare’s brilliant examination of human temptation, ambition, and guilt. Three actors perform key scenes, playing multiple roles.

Subjects: English, EAL, Drama

Year 9 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Romeo And Juliet

Incursion

completeworkstheatre.com/season-2024/randj

VIC: Term 2 - 4

NSW: Term 2 - 4

SA: Term 2 - 4

Romeo and Juliet is an ideal introduction for teenagers to the plays of Shakespeare, told with humor and pathos; it delights as much as it saddens.

Subjects: English, EAL, Drama

Year 8 - 10

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY

mtc.com.au/education

SLAP. BANG. KISS. Excursion mtc.com.au

VIC: Term 3

NSW: Term 3

SA: Term 3

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.

Subjects: VCE Theatre Studies, Drama, English, Humanities, Literature

Year 9 - 12

Script / Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

MONKEY BAA THEATRE COMPANY

monkeybaa.com.au

Theatre Skills Workshop Incursion Program Incursion monkeybaa.com.au

NSW: Term 3

National: Bespoke workshops available year-round. Discover courage and creativity with Monkey Baa's theatre workshops! From playbuilding and scriptwriting to puppetry and comedy, gain valuable skills with experienced Teaching Artists and industry pros.

Subjects: Drama, English, Creative Arts, Visual Arts Kindergarten - Year 12, tailored to suit the year level.

The Peasant Prince Excursion monkeybaa.com.au

NSW: Term 2 - 3

VIC: Term 3

QLD: Term 2

NT: Term 2

The children’s version of Li Cunxin’s iconic autobiography, Mao’s Last Dancer, The Peasant Prince is an extraordinary

Complete Works Theatre’s Romeo And Juliet.

production of the remarkable true story of a 10-year-old peasant boy’s journey from impoverished rural China to the international dance scene. This is a story of courage, resilience and unwavering hope. Study Resource Kit available.

OPERA AUSTRALIA

Opera Australia’s School program is run by Troubie troubie.com.au

Opera’s Australia school tour of The Magic Flute was cancelled in 2024 but it hopes to resume touring in 2025.

SHAKE & STIR THEATRE COMPANY

shakeandstir.com.au

Terrortorial Incursion shakeandstir.com.au

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 Kit available.

Romeo & Juliet Incursion shakeandstir.com.au

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 Kit available. Macbeth Incursion shakeandstir.com.au

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 Kit available.

Animal Farm Incursion shakeandstir.com.au

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. shake & stir’s award-winning adaptation of Orwell’s intensely powerful tale stampedes schools for the first-time in history. Revolution has taken place at Manor Farm. The pigs have assumed control and a better life free from human service is promised to all… Over 40 animals portrayed between three dexterous performers, to bring the farmyard inhabitants to visceral life. Pig in to witness one of the most shocking, relevant and wickedly funny in-school touring productions in 2023.

Year 9 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Othello Incursion shakeandstir.com.au

Love, betrayal, and jealousy collide in a gripping retelling of William Shakespeare's classic tragedy. Set against the vibrant streets of New-World Brisbane, this 50-minute production explores the destructive power of manipulation and the consequences of unchecked emotions

Year 10 - 12

Tragic Magic Incursion shakeandstir.com.au

Everybody needs a little help sometimes - including Shakespearean characters. Join Puck (a.k.a Robin Goodfellow) as he becomes a self-appointed, self-help guru helping an assortment of recognisable Shakespearean mortals and supernatural beings through their predicaments

Year 7 - 10

The Twits Incursion shakeandstir.com.au

Roald Dahl’s The Twits is now available in schools for the first time. Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the nastiest couple you could ever hope (not) to meet. Both are on a quest to be meaner than the other – but, is there someone out there who can out-twit the Twits?

Year P - 10

Me, Myself and AI Incursion

shakeandstir.com.au

A funny fierce examination of hope and expectations struggling against anxiety and disconnection in our age of hyper-connectedness and existentialism. It’s a sci-fi riff on Shakespeare’s Ophelia that’s about finding resolve, discovering your voice, adapting to change and having to be okay with not being okay.

Year 8 - 12.

Enough Incursion shakeandstir.com.au

Follows the story of high school student Amy and her personified anxious thoughts, interspersed with personal accounts from other teens, offering helpful advice backed by a psychologist.

Year 8 - 12.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

thewomaninblack.com.au/education

The Woman In Black Excursion

QLD: Term 2

SA: Term 2

WA: Term 2

VIC: Term 2 - 3

ACT: Term 3

NSW: Term 3

Written in 1983, Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black has become one of the most successful gothic novels in the English canon. A perfect example of horror and gothic writing, readers are transported to the eerie setting of Eel Marsh House in the small market town of Crythin Gifford in the north of England.

Presented by PW Productions, Woodward Productions and Neil Gooding Productions. Study Resource Kit available.

ACTORS CENTRE AUSTRALIA

actorscentreaustralia.com.au/education

A Doll’s House Excursion

actorscentreaustralia.com.au/courses/a-dolls-house Term 2

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen explores themes of marriage, gender inequality, and the consequences of imposed social expectations on individual freedom.

Subjects: Advanced Module B: Critical Study of Literature Year 10 - 12 Q & A available.

Waiting for Godot

Excursion

actorscentreaustralia.com.au/courses/waiting-for-godot Term 2

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is an absurdist comedy of existential despair. Explore humankind’s search for meaning in this masterpiece of comic wordplay.

Subjects: Extension 1, Elective 2: Worlds of upheaval

Year 10 - 12

Q & A available.

ATYP

atyp.com.au/education

ATYP Education provides both live and digital drama experiences for school students of all stages.

From their home on Pier 2/3 in the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, students and educators can join ATYP for Past the Shallows, Intersection Festival, Student Workshops and Work Experience.

ATYP also offers a range of in-school and digital programs including Theatre Flat-Pack, Student Workshops, ATYP On Demand and On Demand Plus, as part of ATYP’s mission to make education opportunities accessible to young people and educators across the country.

Intersection Festival 2024

Excursion

atyp.com.au/learning/intersection-festival Term 3

The creative reimagining of the popular Voices Project and Intersection plays, Intersection Festival gives students the opportunity to create, perform, film and share their interpretation of brand new work written by some of Australia’s best emerging writers with a showcase performance in August 2024.

BELVOIR

belvoir.com.au/schools

Holding The Man

Excursion

belvoir.com.au/holding-the-man-2024

Term 1

Stretching from the 1970s through the early 1990s, this heartfelt and laugh-out-loud-in-the-sadness story of queer identity is a poignant testament honouring queer history.

Subjects: Drama Stage 5 - 6, English Stage 6

Year 10 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Sport For Jove’s Romeo & Juliet Photo: Kate Williams.

Lose To Win

Excursion

belvoir.com.au/lose-to-win

Term 2

Join Mandela Mathia on a journey from South Sudan to the Australian stage. A joyful solo story told by the man who lived it, celebrating resilience and the power of imagination.

Subjects: Drama Stage 5 - 6, English Stage 5 - 6

Year 10 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Nayika: A Dancing Girl Excursion

belvoir.com.au/nayika

Term 2

Nayika: A Dancing Girl is a haunting and profound story of survival told through live music and Bharatanatyam dance.

Performed by Helpmann Award-winning Vaishnavi Suryaprakash.

Subjects: Drama Stage 6, Dance Stage 6

Year 11 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Never Closer

Excursion

belvoir.com.au/never-closer-2024

Term 2

Set against the backdrop of The Troubles, an unforgettable drama of home, friends, the decision to leave or stay, and the possibility of forgiveness.

Subjects: Drama Stage 5 - 6, English Stage 6

Year 10 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Counting & Cracking Excursion

belvoir.com.au/counting-and-cracking-2024

Term 2

An epic story of love and political strife, of home and exile, of parents and children following the journey of a Sri Lankan-Australian family over four generations, from 1956 to 2004.

Subjects: Drama Stage 5 - 6, English Stage 6

Year 9 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

A Curious Incident of a Dog in the Nighttime Excursion

belvoir.com.au/curious-incident

Term 3

Part detective story, part family drama, part adventure. The adaptation of the hit book in a brand new production.

Subjects: Drama Stage 4 - 6, English Stage 4 - 6.

Year 7 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Well-Behaved Women Excursion

belvoir.com.au/well-behaved-women

Term 4

A song cycle with legends brought to life. Reimagined through powerful and often hilarious songs, celebrating ways their behaviour helped them make history. Wellbehaved? As if.

Subjects: Drama Stage 6, Music Stage 6.

Year 9 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

STC’s Julia Photo: Rene Vaile.

August: Osage County Excursion

belvoir.com.au/august-osage-county

Term 4

This American tragicomedy explores the pain and joy passed from generation to generation, and the vicious parts of ourselves that we try to hide.

Subjects: Drama Stage 6

Year 10 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

BRAINSTORM PRODUCTIONS

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Zanna & The Lost Code Incursion

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Term 1 - 3

When Zanna and Eddie arrive at Coding Camp, they embark on a magical journey inside the Camp Captain’s new game for kids. Through a series of challenges, Zanna and Eddie experience the power of empathy, respect, kindness and resilience. They change the game so that children all over the world can use it to be assertive, responsible and safe online.

Subjects: HPE/PDHPE, Personal and Social Capability, Digital Literacy, Ethical Understanding, Digital Technologies & The Arts.

Online extras!

Watch a preview of Brainstorm Productions’ Zanna And The Lost Code vimeo.com/845189183

Year K - 6 (K - 2 version available) Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Wired Incursion

brainstormproductions.edu.au/high-school-programs/wired

Term 1 - 3

This performance follows the journey of two students whose lives are spiralling in different directions: one towards stress, anxiety and overload, the other towards depression and disconnection. When their worlds collide, the audience must help them choose a different path. Wired addresses barriers to help-seeking and provides strategies for resilience, mental health and safe online relationships.

Subjects: HPE/PDHPE, Personal & Social Capability, Digital Literacy, Ethical Understanding, Digital Technologies & The Arts.

Year 7 - 11

Q & A / Curriculum-aligned Classroom Resources

COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE AUSTRALIA & FOOLS IN PROGRESS THEATRE CO.

facebook.com/commediadellart

#FoolsInSchools

Incursion

Term 1 - 4

Brainstorm Productions’ Zanna And The Lost Code

A funny show that presents the comedy, characters and controlled chaos that Commedia dell’arte is famous for. Introduce your students to the very birth of the acting profession, the ‘sitcom’ and improvised comedy with this 1 hour show and/or workshop. Students can dive deeper, playing building and performing their own Commedia Carnivale with full day workshops. Drama, History, Italian. Show can be adapted for all ages

ENSEMBLE THEATRE

ensemble.com.au/education

The Great Divide Excursion ensemble.com.au/shows/the-great-divide Term 1

Australia’s most prolific playwright David Williamson steps out of retirement to pen this new comedy with wisecracking commentary on wealth inequality and human greed.

Subjects: Drama Stage 5 & 6, English Stage 5 Year 9 - 12 Q & A available.

Uncle Vanya

Excursion

ensemble.com.au/shows/uncle-vanya Term 3

Joanna Murray-Smith breathes new life into Chekhov’s tragicomedy, unveiling a hotbed of disillusionment and allconsuming unrequited love.

Subjects: Drama Stage 5 & 6, English Stage 5 & 6 Year 9 - 12 Q & A available.

The Queen’s Nanny Excursion ensemble.com.au/shows/the-queens-nanny Term 3 - 4

Inspired by historical events, a royal scandal ignites a blistering fire between the steely Queen Mother and her children’s doting nanny in Melanie Tait’s new comedy drama.

Subjects: Drama Stage 4, 5 & 6, English Stage 4 & 5

Year 7 - 12

Q & A available.

McGuffin Park

Live Streamed on Tue 29 October at 11am ensemble.com.au/shows/mcguffin-park Term 4

The iconic Aussie documentary Rats in the Ranks meets Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in this brand-new comedy about the cut-throat world of politics and media spin.

Subjects: Drama Stage 4, 5 and 6, English Stage 4 & 5

Year 7 - 12

Q & A available.

The Heartbreak Choir Excursion

ensemble.com.au/shows/the-heartbreak-choir Term 4

Celebrating the healing power of music, The Heartbreak Choir is a joyous love song to community, friendship and togetherness. A cast of audience favorites create the perfect harmony in this life-affirming comedy.

Subjects: Drama Stage 5 & 6, English Stage 5

Year 10 – 12

Q & A available.

GLEN STREET THEATRE

glenstreet.com.au

The Peasant Prince Excursion

glenstreet.com.au/whats-on/peasant-prince Term 2

Monkey Baa’s award-winning production The Peasant Prince is the children’s version of Li Cunxin’s iconic autobiography, Mao’s Last Dancer, The Peasant Prince tells the remarkable story of a peasant boy turned dance giant. A Monkey Baa Theatre Company production.

Subjects: English, Drama, History

Year 4 - 6

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

The Alphabet of Awesome Science Excursion

glenstreet.com.au/whats-on/alphabet-awesome-science

Term 2

Join professors Lexi Con and Noel Edge (the Word Nerd and the Science Freak) for a voyage through the alphabet where sesquipedalian words inspire mind-blowing scientific surprises!

A That Science Gang production

Subjects: Science, English and Language

Year P - 6

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

The Gruffalo Excursion

glenstreet.com.au/whats-on/gruffalo

Term 3

Join Mouse on a daring adventure through the deep, dark wood in this magical, musical adaptation of the classic picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. CDP Productions presents a Tall Stories’ production.

Subjects: Literacy, English and The Arts

Year K - 3

Study Resource Kit available.

SPORT FOR JOVE

sportforjove.com.au

Sport for Jove offer extra-curricular events, such as their HSC Performance Symposiums, this year offering King Henry IV, Part 1, Richard III, The Tempest, Merchant of Venice, The Crucible and Othello

Also available for regional or inaccessible schools, their Youth Workshops, led by Sport for Jove staff members and industry professionals, give access to world-class theatre training; the Shakespeare Residency, a week-long, in-school Shakespeare program; and The Shakespeare Carnival, a state-wide performance competition for students, now entering its 8th season!

Romeo & Juliet

Excursion

sportforjove.com.au/romeoandjuliet

Term 2

SFJ's new and furiously energetic production takes on the spirit of a filthy Italian opera, driven by love and heat, fights and fevers of the mind, and, of course, by Shakespeare’s soaring poetry. Regarded as one of Jove’s best productions yet!

Study Resource Kit available.

SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY

sydneytheatre.com.au/education

Schools Days

sydneytheatre.com.au/education/schools-days Excursion

Schools Days are an opportunity for students to attend productions in STC's season through heavily discounted ticket prices and specially scheduled performances. Study Resource Kit available.

Dear Evan Hansen

Excursion

sydneytheatre.com.au/education/edu-dear-evan-hansen

Dear Evan Hansen is the raw, moving and inspiring story of a socially anxious highschooler who is suddenly thrust into the spotlight when he inadvertently invents an important role for himself at the centre of a local tragedy.

Term 4

Julia Excursion

sydneytheatre.com.au/education/edu-julia

Term 3

Julia is a compelling insight into Julia Gillard’s 2012 speech on misogyny, the person behind the public mask, and a reflection on the experience of women in contemporary politics.

Cicada

Excursion

sydneytheatre.com.au/education/edu-cicada

Term 3

A small story of epic proportions, Cicada is an allegory of difference, resilience and the light we all have inside ourselves. Children and adults will love this enchanting tale about finding one’s place in the world.

BRAINSTORM PRODUCTIONS

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Being Brave Incursion

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Term 1 - 3

Fly’s parents have separated. He misses his dad desperately and tries to be brave by keeping his emotions bottled up.

By connecting with the people in his community, Fly discovers the true meaning of being brave: sharing stories, showing feelings, keeping good memories and living life.

Subjects: HPE/PDHPE, Personal & Social Capability, Digital Literacy, Ethical Understanding, Digital Technologies & The Arts.

Year P - 6 (P - 2 version available)

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

The Flipside Incursion

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Terms 1-3

When bullying is used to wield power, Jack and Ella must create an ethical roadmap to navigate the online world. When people post words, images and videos, how will they be received? What will be the consequences? Who will speak up? The Flipside encourages students to think critically about their online values and provides strategies for empathy, resilience, help-seeking and upstanding behaviour.

Subjects: HPE/PDHPE, Personal & Social Capability, Digital Literacy, Ethical Understanding, Digital Technologies & The Arts.

Year 7 - 11

Q & A / Study Resource Kit 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 the Professor’s laboratory, they discover that thoughts and emotions are connected.

Drama, Health

Grades P - 6

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available. homunculustheatre.com.au

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.

Queensland Theatre’s Artist In Residence Program.

Photo: Stephen Henry.

Drama, English, Italian, Humanities and Social Science (History)

Grades P - 6 and 7 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Primary: homunculustheatre.com.au

Secondary: homunculustheatre.com.au

Life? It’s A Circus

Incursion

Primary: homunculustheatre.com.au

Secondary: homunculustheatre.com.au

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 Kit available.

Primary: homunculustheatre.com.au

Secondary: homunculustheatre.com.au

Workshops

A variety of workshops are available in Laughter, Drama, Clowning, Masks, Commedia dell’Árte, Absurdism, Resilience, Slapstick, Mime, Political Satire and Melodrama

Primary: homunculustheatre.com.au/primary

Secondary: homunculustheatre.com.au/secondary

QUEENSLAND THEATRE COMPANY

queenslandtheatre.com.au/educators

Excursions

Group Bookings for all school groups are made through QPAC Groups on (07) 3840 7466 or groups@qtix.com.au

Teacher previews

Teachers with a current school booking can attend the first Preview performance for free. There are limited tickets, only available for the first Preview in the season, unless otherwise notified.

Education resources

Teachers booking school groups will have access to education resources for each show to enhance the experience of Queensland Theatre productions.

The Scene Project

queenslandtheatre.com.au/tsp

Each year a playwright pens a new work and the participating drama groups are tasked with the challenge of creating their own unique 15 minute version of the play. During the rehearsal phase, Queensland Theatre artists visit the participating schools to facilitate workshops. The Scene Project is about collaboration, acknowledging students and teachers as artists, building confidence and encouraging live performance in a professional space and

Students participate in a Zen Zen Zo workshop.

manner. It is also an excellent way of participating in professional development and enhancing existing curriculum in schools.

SHAKE & STIR THEATRE COMPANY

shakeandstir.com.au

See listing in National section

ZEN ZEN ZO

zenzenzo.com/inschools

Zen Zen Zo offers workshops in a range of disciplines from physical theatre to Shakespeare to Brecht.

Romeo and Juliet Incursion

zenzenzo.com/romeoandjuliet

Term 1 - 4 (Available in other states on demand)

Zen Zen Zo's in-schools show explores Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet through the eyes of three modern high school students. The themes of love, hate, fate and betrayal explode onto the stage through dynamic physicality, contemporary beats and both classic and modern text.

AURORA THEATRE

auroratheatre.com.au

#GoodEnough Incursion

auroratheatre.com.au/shows

Term 1 - 4

#GoodEnough focuses young minds on their ability to use positive self-talk by breaking our thoughts up into characters, meet the 'Inner Critic' & 'Inner Motivator'!

Subjects: Health & P.E, Student Wellbeing, Resilience, Social & Emotional skills, Mindfulness.

Year 7 - 12.

Study Resource Kit available.

BRAINSTORM PRODUCTIONS

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Sticks & Stones (K - 6 version) Incursion

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Term 1 - 4

When things go wrong at home, at school or online, Toby’s body goes into fight/flight. He feels angry, frightened and confused by messages from peers, family, video games and YouTube. Toby reacts the only way he knows how – with aggression. When Toby meets Joe, he learns positive ways to deal with feelings and how to ask for help. He is assertive, respectful and cooperates with other kids to create a circus routine.

Subjects: HPE/PDHPE, Personal & Social Capability, Digital Literacy, Ethical Understanding, Digital Technologies & The Arts.

Year P - 6 (P - 2 version available)

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Sticks & Stones (Year 7 - 11 version) Incursion

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Terms 1 - 4

Melbourne French Theatre’s Le Petit Prince

Two energetic performers explore how harmful attitudes and behaviours can develop through gender norms and messages from peers, family, social media, YouTube and video games. The performance shines a light on issues of cyberbullying, sexual harassment, image based abuse and coercive control, and provides strategies for emotion regulation, assertiveness, help-seeking and respectful relationships.

Subjects: HPE/PDHPE, Personal & Social Capability, Digital Literacy, Ethical Understanding, Digital Technologies & The Arts.

Year 7 - 11

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

CREATIVE UNIVERSE

pot-pourri.com.au/public-performances-touring

From Figaro to Phantom Incursion (or can be an Excursion if the show is booked by Arts Centres, Festivals Councils, and a range of venues). Victoria (but the company also travels all over Australia and overseas)

Availability on request

Experience the greatest highlights from Opera to Broadway and much-loved international songs featuring some of Australia’s most talented and versatile performers. Music, Theatre, Drama, Arts, Humanities

Years 7-12 plus teachers and parents and for special dinners, concerts and school and alumni events. Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

LA MAMA

lamama.com.au/about-la-mama/engagement/education

Garage Girls

Excursion

lamama.com.au

Term 2

Meet Alice Anderson. Mechanic. Trailblazer. Entrepreneur. A rollicking ride through 1920s Melbourne! An exploration of extraordinary paths forged for women in industry. A The Shift Theatre & Three Birds production with La Mama.

Subjects: Drama, English, History, Social Studies.

Year 10 - 12.

Script / Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

The Roof Is Caving In

Excursion

lamama.com.au

Term 2

Fresh out of school two people-pleasers share an apartment and try to navigate conflicting 'home' management styles. Please no more 'pleases, sorries or thank yous'. THANKS... sorry!

A Frenzy Theatre production with La Mama.

Subjects: Drama, English. Year 10 - 12.

Script / Q & A / Study Resource Kit available. a/lone

Excursion

lamama.com.au and projectconnectensemble.com

Term 2

The challenges of being alone. In the experience of profound disconnection, when there are no more floors to crash through, the only way out is in.

A Project Connect Ensemble production with La Mama. Subjects: Drama, English, Dance.

Year 10 - 12.

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

By Jane's Hand Excursion

lamama.com.au

Term 3

A whimsical window into the magnificent mind of Jane Austen, challenging myths about her and women of her time.

Homunculous Theatre’s Life’s A Circus

A La Mama production.

Subjects: Drama, English, English Literature.

Year 10 - 12.

Script / Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Three Magpies

Excursion

lamama.com.au

Term 3

A beautiful, heartbreaking play of the Indigenous Gothic genre that provides spiritual reprieve through Creation Stories from the difficult realities of the real-world story.

By Glenn Shea. A La Mama production.

Subjects: Drama, English, Cultural Studies.

Year 11 - 12.

Script / Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

The Audition

Excursion

lamama.com.au and outerurbanprojects.org

Term 2

The stage is a country in itself. With its own rules and regulations. Or lack of them.

By Christos Tsiolkas, Melissa Reeves, Milad Norouzi, Patricia Cornelius, Sahra Davoudi, Tes Lyssiotis & Wahibe Moussa. An Outer Urban Projects production with La Mama.

Subjects: Drama, English, Social Studies.

Year 9 - 12.

Script / Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Online extras!

MALTHOUSE THEATRE

malthousetheatre.com.au/discover/education

The 2024 Malthouse Theatre Company education program includes performance and creative writing workshops, VCE Theatre Studies and exam preparation, participatory theatre for Years 9 and 10, workshops, tours and fully subsidised theatre tickets for low ICSEA schools.

Macbeth (An Undoing) Excursion malthousetheatre.com.au

Term 3

In this audacious reimagining of Shakespeare, visionary playwright Zinnie Harris merges the classic with the contemporary to interrogate events from Lady Macbeth’s perspective resulting in an exhilarating epic of manipulation, ambition, and the intoxicating need to challenge the roles others prescribe for you.

Year 11 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

The Suitcase Series Excursion

malthousetheatre.com.au

Term 4

Every two years, Malthouse creates a new script exclusively for The Suitcase Series participatory program. Drawing on Surrealism, Magic Realism and AfroFuturism, the newest commission Who No Kno Go Kno by Kuda Mapeza utilises physical theatre, song, puppetry, mask and percussion; a cross-disciplinary melding of Western and non-Western dramaturgy.

Project Connect’s a/lone

Subjects: Drama, English, Humanities

Year 9 - 10

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

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 Kit 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!

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 Kit 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 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.

Year 3 - 10

Designed flexibly and adapts to all school environments Q & A / Study Resource Kit available. Performance only - rehearsed reading

MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY

mtc.com.au/discover-more/education

World Problems

Excursion to MTC and Regional Tour mtc.com.au

Term 2

An elegy for the future we’re yet to inherit, World Problems is both comical and terrifying, gripping and cathartic. A solo time capsule catapulting across the ages, it seamlessly merges the most private and intimate reflections with a world-spanning perspective.

By Emma Mary Hall.

Subjects: Drama, English, Humanities, Literature. Year 9 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available. Limited Free Regional Workshops available through the Regional Enrichment Program.

Malthouse Theatre’s Macbeth (An Undoing)

Term 2

A rich, revealing portrait of a famously private figure. Julia represents much more than the individual who became Australia’s first female prime minister. It’s a portrait of us, right now.

By Joanna Murray-Smith.

Subjects: Drama, English, Humanities, Literature, Politics.

Year 9 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available. Limited Free Regional Workshops available through the Regional Enrichment Program

A Streetcar Named Desire Excursion mtc.com.au

Term 3

Nikki Shiels steps into one of the great roles of the stage: Blanche DuBois, the Southern belle whose shifting fortunes land her on the doorstep of her sister Stella and husband Stanley. Blanche guards a dark secret that fans the flames of an already incendiary marriage, and its revelation will set the town ablaze.

By Tennessee Williams

Subjects: VCE Theatre Studies, Drama, English, Humanities, Literature, Politics.

Year 10 - 12

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Julia Excursion mtc.com.au

ACTNOW THEATRE

actnowtheatre.org.au/for-schools

Like Me, Like You

Incursion

actnowtheatre.org.au/likemelikeyou

Term 1 - 4

Like Me, Like You is an interactive performance exploring Australia’s diverse cultures from First Nations people to new migrants. Three characters will perform scenes with songs, dance, and puppets.

Drama, Wellbeing

Year 1 - 4

BRAINSTORM PRODUCTIONS

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Sticks & Stones (Year K - 6 version)

Incursion

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Terms 2 - 3

When things go wrong at home, at school or online, Toby’s body goes into fight/flight. He feels angry, frightened and confused by messages from peers, family, video games and YouTube. Toby reacts the only way he knows how – with aggression. When Toby meets Joe, he learns positive ways to deal with feelings and how to ask for help. He is assertive, respectful and cooperates with other kids to create a circus routine.

Subjects: HPE/PDHPE, Personal & Social Capability, Digital Literacy, Ethical Understanding, Digital Technologies & The Arts.

Year K - 6 (K - 2 version available)

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

Sticks & Stones (Year 7 - 11 version)

Incursion

brainstormproductions.edu.au

Term 2 - 3

Two energetic performers explore how harmful attitudes and behaviours can develop through gender norms and messages from peers, family, social media, YouTube and video games. The performance shines a light on issues of cyberbullying, sexual harassment, image based abuse and coercive control, and provides strategies for emotion regulation, assertiveness, help-seeking and respectful relationships.

Subjects: HPE/PDHPE, Personal & Social Capability, Digital Literacy, Ethical Understanding, Digital Technologies & The Arts.

Year 7 - 11

Q & A / Study Resource Kit available.

STATE THEATRE COMPANY SOUTH AUSTRALIA

statetheatrecompany.com.au/education-program

State Educate

statetheatrecompany.com.au/state-educate-resources State Educate is designed to provide high school students and teachers with the opportunity to see professional live theatre, engage with the artists, creative team and cast involved, and participate in Q&A sessions.

Youth Workshop Intensives Excursion

statetheatrecompany.com.au/summer-school

Term 1 & 3

State Theatre Company South Australia’s holiday programs in the July and December school holidays provide a great

ACTNOW Theatre’s Like Me, Like You

opportunity for young people, ages 15-18, to deepen their knowledge and skills from recognised artists. These weeks are intensive skills-based weeks with the opportunity to devise new work or work on existing scripts toward a performance outcome.

Work Experience

Excursion

statetheatrecompany.com.au/work-experience

Term 3

Work Experience is held once per year for a small group of up to 15 South Australian secondary students only. The week will expose students to the intricacies of running a theatre company with tours of behind the scenes operations, sessions including Design, Wardrobe, Acting and Marketing. One person per school and regional students are encouraged. Note not all applicants will be successful.

On-Demand Student Workshops

Incursion

statetheatrecompany.com.au/student-teacher-workshops

Term 1 - 4

These workshops are designed to bring theatre professionals into the classroom and present a tailored workshop to cover the current studies of the students. These workshops can be one-off or part of a series, cover a wide variety of topics and are held on-site at schools for the convenience of teachers and students. Class sizes should be no more than 25 students per teaching artist. Workshops can cover a broad range of topics, from Accent work, Acting, Brecht, Characterisation, Devising, Dramaturgy, Laban, Musical Theatre, Physical Theatre, Prop Making, Shakespeare, Verbatim and Vocal Work. Contact: education@statetheatrecompany.com.au

State Theatre Company SA’s The Children

Photo: Matt Byrne.

BLACK SWAN STATE THEATRE COMPANY

blackswantheatre.com.au/learn/school-programs

Barracking For The Umpire Excursion and Regional Tour blackswantheatre.com.au

Term 2

Barracking For The Umpire returns for an encore Perth season before hitting the road on a regional WA tour. This family drama tackles the impact of Australian Rules Football on its players, community, and families.

Subjects: Drama, English

Year 10 - 12

Study Resource Kit available.

RBG: Of Many. One.

Excursion blackswantheatre.com.au

Term 2

Direct from a critically acclaimed sell-out season at Sydney Theatre Company Heather Mitchell commands the stage in this intimate theatrical portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. A Sydney Theatre Company production.

Subjects: Drama, English, HASS

Year 10 - 12

Study Resource Kit available.

Prima Facie

Excursion

blackswantheatre.com.au

Term 3

2023 Olivier Award Winning solo play exploring where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof, and morals diverge.

Subjects: Drama, English, HASS

Year 11 - 12

Study Resource Kit available.

The Children Excursion blackswantheatre.com.au

Term 3

An atomic drama about the responsibility of generations to those that follow.

Subjects: Drama, English, HASS

Year 11 - 12

Study Resource Kit available.

The Seed Excursion blackswantheatre.com.au

Term 4

A poignant family drama brimming with comedy and tension as three family members navigate finding new life amongst the rubble of old wars.

Subjects: Drama, English, HASS

Year 11 - 12

Study Resource Kit available.

BSSTC’s Barracking For The Umpire

SPARE PARTS PUPPET THEATRE

sppt.com.au/education

School of Puppetry Workshops

Incursion

learning@sppt.asn.au or (08) 9335 5044

Students of all ages can develop new skills in a fun and interactive way! All workshops are delivered by experienced puppetry artists.

Hare Brain

Excursion

sppt.com.au/events/hare-brain-school-season

Term 2

In a fantasy world of toy invention, replete with a gurgling think tank that sparks vacuum cleaners, mops and brushes into a life of their own, Hare Brain tells the tale of Harry and Toulouse who are in a slapstick race against time to find the perfect story that will fit the perfect toy.

Subjects: The Arts, English, Mathematics, HASS, Science, Health & Physical Education

Home Town

Excursion

sppt.com.au/events/hometown-school-season

Term 4

Enter a world of imagination and pure joy with Hometown, a new puppet musical that whisks you away to a magical, dreamlike world inspired by Shaun Tan. Hometown is full of extraordinary creatures and awe-inspiring landscapes.

Subjects: The Arts, English, HASS

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 Kit 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 Kit available.

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre’s Blueback

Photo: Simon Pynt.

Costuming, Props Make Up & Seating

School Musicals: To Buy Or Hire?

Mark McDowell, the co-owner of Your Show and Costumes Without Drama, shares his tips on budgeting for a school musical.

Budgets for school musicals are usually set in stone, that is: “the same as last year”. The bean counters will tell you the maximum you can spend and that is that. Some schools see musicals as a promotion of the school, and are therefore generous in financial support and less concerned about balancing the books.

All shows have different pressures on the budget. It is a constant battle to between choosing a show that is popular and one that is tried and tested but not as known to the students. As much as you want to do a particular show for artistic reasons, you have a responsibility to aim to break even. Remember there are many reasons why shows flop on Broadway or in the West End, but mostly it’s because they are not very good. My motto is whenever possible try to break even and they will leave you alone. If you make a profit, try to spend it on something that will save you money on your next production.

If you have a principal or accountant who will try to help relieve the pressure by investing some capital money, make sure you spend it wisely. They will probably look at the big ticket hire items from last year’s show and inevitably instruct you buy 20 radio mics. This is not a good idea and will come back to bite both of you. Unless you have a trained ‘Theatre Tech’ to maintain them, they will let you down and you will end up hiring them anyway.

Also, you only use this number of mics once a year; the rest of the time they sit in the cupboard deteriorating. I’m not saying don’t buy radio mics, I’m just saying cap it at six in total.

If its lights you want to buy, then first make sure that your infrastructure can support them. Moving lights require maintenance and there is no use buying them if your lighting console can’t drive them.

Budget wise, look at each show that you are considering and check out the following details.

How many locations are in the production? Can this be done with a basic set and more lighting or props? Can I hire the set?

Calamity Jane.

Barnum.

Contact Mark McDowell for a quote at: yourshow.net.au / costumeswithoutdrama.com.au Call 0412 580 977 or email mark@yourshow.net.au

How many different sets of costumes does each cast member require? Does much need to be made or can it be hired? Can it be purchased from op shops?

How many radio mics? Can this be reduced by more swaps or using corded mics with careful choreography? Will this suit the show?

Can more students be put into the orchestra to save on hiring all professionals?

Do you need moving lights? Moving lights require extensive programming. Most schools have lots of students keen to be involved, but not on stage. Can they be follow-spot operators? Every spoken line or sung lyric in a professional musical has a follow spot on the actor.

Remember follow spots don’t need to look like a hardedge circle of light following an actor around the stage. They also don’t need to be at 100 percent intensity.

Once these questions are answered you can adjust department budgets to suit the chosen show.

Don’t worry about doing a play or musical that has been done before at your school. As long as it’s over six years ago, you will have a different cohort, and may in fact get the old cohort buying tickets to compare. You also may find that you have some resources around from the last time you produced it.

Choose wisely and remember, ‘If it breaks even or makes money, it will continue to happen’.

Drama Vic trade show.

An Aladdin’s Cave Of Costumes

Stage School Australia’s Costume Department and Staging Department teams run two large warehouses side-by-side with props, staging and more than 10,000 costumes and accessories for hire.

Ranging from adorable prepaged kids costumes to adult-size period dress, the company is a one stop shop for teachers and parents.

Stage School Australia offers everything from full staging and costume packages for 100+ students, to intimate studio plays, with discounts for government schools. Customers can tour both warehouses in Melbourne, with options for adding small, beautiful props to accentuate costume selection, or go the full kit-andkaboodle with packages such as The Addams Family, Les Misérables, Wizard of Oz and Beauty and The Beast

The range of sizes, quality and scope of costumes is extensive.

Stage School Australia has Disney and animated classics including Beauty and The Beast, Shrek, Aladdin and Madagascar, as well as Broadway favourites such as Les Misérables and Singin’ In the Rain

The company also has an extensive selection of vintage and period costuming for plays and films, from medieval costuming for

VCE Shakespeare to 1920s jazz-age costumes for Chicago, plus contemporary shows including Bring It On and Legally Blonde.

Managed by a small but passionate team, many of the company’s staff have worked professionally in the performing arts industry, from large scale commercial musicals to The Australian Ballet.

Costumes are mostly hired by schools, but they also hire to film &

TV productions, independent theatre and corporate events. Clients include The Wiggles, Channel 10 and Theatre Works.

One of the company’s most popular sets of props and costumes is from The Addams Family production staged professionally as a Broadway replica in Australia. The attention to details in the spooky historical ancestors and the eccentric Addams Family members is incredible!

Get in touch with Stage School Australia’s friendly team today to discuss your options on (03) 8199 8344. stagingdept.com.au

Setting The Scene

A show-stopping backdrop is a great way to set the scene in a stage production.

Backdrops Fantastic supports theatres and schools staging a play, musical or a dance recital. The company has hundreds of unique and exclusively themed backdrop designs for hire, including popular musicals and drapery.

The available stock is displayed on the company’s website backdrop gallery with new musical and theatre backdrop designs launched in September.

Their latest series of scenic hand-painted backdrops are inspired by scenes from Aladdin, Shrek, Frozen, Mary Poppins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Grease, South Pacific and The Nutcracker

The musical and theatre series allows the option of hiring one scenic backdrop or multiple scenes from the story line, that can be interchanged by production crews between scenes.

Backdrops Fantastic Australia specialises in transforming venues large and small into fully immersive themed environments. They proudly deliver their unique backdrops across Australia and New Zealand.

Give the team a call on (07) 5520 2311, email sales@backdrops.com.au or visit backdrops.com.au

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.

Shrek.

Aladdin.

Mary Poppins.

Getting A Handle On Props

I walked down a long corridor backstage at NIDA and everywhere I looked was either a prop or a student in costume, as they prepared for their winter production seasons.

An actor walked by in a pirate hat with sparkles, next to him a wall of masks. A stampede of “techies” poured out of one door after being let out on a break.

One of their ambitious productions in the season was Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, directed by Constantine Costi with musical direction from Andrew Worboys and choreography by Shannon Burns.

For a prop maker, the “part melodrama, part Grand Guignol blood-fest” is an exciting project.

NIDA Props Student and Prop Master Gaia Stein is familiar with gory shows, having also worked on

the play Eat Me, that had a fake heart ripped out of someone.

Two of the props she is particularly proud of are the iconic Sweeney Todd meat grinder and a fake hand, both made with silicone and gel. She used a mold and finished it with sculpting and paint.

LG: What was the process of doing props for the show?

GS: “Well, it's a big and complicated show. I think there's over 250 props. And obviously a lot of it is reliant on mechanisms and things that make things happen, like all the blood stuff and the (barber’s) chair. A lot of it was trial and error, and trying to look at past shows and figure out how they did stuff. (A major challenge) was trying to not stain the costumes (with fake blood).”

LG: What was the process of making the hand/meat grinder?

GS: “The hand was made from a silicone called transil [translucent silicone rubber], to provide the translucency of skin and add flexibility for heightened realism. It was made from a live cast of an actor's hand using skin-safe silicone. Since the transil sets so quickly, if you mix it, it becomes lumpy and meat-like, so I was able to use the cure-time to my advantage to make the hand look severed.

“The meat that goes into the grinder is made from a jelly-wax, which means it's reusable and can be melted down and reformed for every performance. Because it's so soft, it also makes it easy to grind, which is perfect.”

LG: Did anything go wrong along the way? If so, what did you learn from it?

GS: “The hardest part of the production was the [fake] blood and trying not to stain the costumes.

Livia Greenberg went behind the scenes of NIDA’s production of Sweeney Todd and spoke to Gaia Stein a 3rd year NIDA Props Student about their work on the show.

In NIDA’s BFA Props and Effects, you will learn to become an adaptive and multi-skilled designer-maker, ready to join the arts and entertainment industries in areas including theatre, film, exhibitions and events. Learn more about the course at nida.edu.au/study/undergraduate/props-and-effects

“I found that as the show went on, I became quicker at problemsolving and figuring out solutions to issues that I hadn't foreseen.”

LG: Did the dark content of the script affect your prop making in any way?

GS: “The designer decided to go for a more realistic look with everything, so things like meat as well as the blood and stuff were included. It was actually fun just seeing people’s reactions to things that I was making. I just enjoyed

people coming into the room and going “Eww!” and getting disgusted.”

LG: In terms of the chair, what went into making that work?

GS: “The chair was made solely by one of my very talented classmates, but the entire frame was welded so that it could support the weight and movement of the actors going down the chute.”

LG: Is there anything you’re proud of that the audience may not notice?

GS: “I've put a lot of detail into the props. In Joanna's bedroom was a table, and in this version of the show, she's very obsessed with birds. And so I carved a little bird into her side table. And I did a whole bunch of little inscriptions that she's done in her bedroom.”

LG: What are the career prospects in terms of props making?

GS: “Since prop-making is so broad, and our skillset is so vast, our career prospects are endless. Whether it's advertising, film, TV shows, theatre, or even store-front displays, we have so many possibilities.”

NIDA’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Photo: Phil Erbacher.

NIDA props student Gaia Stein with her hand/meat grinder prop.

Falling Ceilings And Revolving Audiences

NIDA’s June Student Productions Season sent audiences on a spin with innovative scenic construction.

A production of the play Perfect Stranger placed the audience on the revolving stage, while Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again collapsed the full set during each performance, including the ceiling.

Perfect Stranger was written by Hilary Bell and directed by guest director Kate Champion.

“The challenge was to stage this play with 35 characters and 34 locations as a live theatrical experience,” said Kate.

“I was drawn into the visceral effect of its sense of perpetual movement. Even when reading it you sense it swirl about you with its intrigue and mystery. Intoxicating stuff but how do you stage such a play?”

Set Designer Hayden Relf and Costume Designer Hannah Taylor (both BFA Design for Performance year 3) met with Kate to tussle over how to bring this story to the stage.

“We wanted to avoid the

audience witnessing the many changes of scenery. We wanted the various scenes to seem to appear out of nowhere. We landed on the exciting idea of putting the audience on a revolve to create the spinning perspective from within!” said Kate.

The audience capacity was limited due to the maximum weight that the revolve could take.

“It was an incredible feat for the whole team, from the very demanding build of the set to lighting and sound design, quick changes and agile prop requirements. We also made the actor Ebony Tucker disappear in a puff of smoke and had Amy Joyce enter through a waterfall.

“My favourite moment was at the beginning of the play - the lights go down - Harrison Quast (BFA Acting year 3) enters as the old man, slowly walking in from the left of our vision then very gradually something unnerving happens - are the walls moving? Collectively the audience realises that the seating bank is turning - priceless. I even heard one woman quite audibly say ‘what’s

happening!’. It was like being at the start of a ghost train ride and that was just the beginning!”

Heather Fairbairn directed Alice Birch’s exposure of patriarchy in Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. The play disrupts accepted models of storytelling by deconstructing language, character and form. The production was designed by Angelina Meany (BFA Design for Performance year 3).

Assistant Director Alexei YmerWelsby explained that “the concept behind the stage construction was to have the performers deconstruct the set by literally ripping it apart - a metaphor for their ‘deconstruction’ of patriarchal norms at the centre of the play.

“In rehearsals, we used a full-scale mark-up of the scenography so we could choreograph in a detailed and controlled way how the actors would go about pulling off cabinets, inverting tables and smashing plates. In the performances, this precision enabled the actors to safely go about ‘destroying’ the set while giving the

NIDA scenic construction students push creativity to a new level in live productions

Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.

audience the impression that it was entirely spontaneous and anarchic.”

Matthew Hinton, in his final year of the BFA (Scenic Construction and Technologies), worked as the Constructions Supervisor. He explains that “the set was a dollhouse aesthetic pink room. It looked pristine from the start, but by the end of the show, most of the walls were stripped, cupboards were tipped, and a ceiling section had caved in.

“Working on a set that has to be pulled apart twice a day had unique challenges!” said Matthew.

“I learned a vast amount about prototyping and the ongoing development of ideas. I worked with a designer and our props supervisor Rachel Hallett (BFA Properties and Objects year 3) to ensure that each aspect of the set moved and fitted together as seamlessly as possible. A clear highlight was the first time that we dropped the ceiling in the space. Weeks of planning, building and installing all culminated in one moment of a test and justified the hundreds of hours the team had put into the production.”

Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.

Perfect Stranger’s revolving set

When I speak to audiences of nontheatre folks, I often find myself making the distinction that theatre is a collaborative art form. The painter or poet can work solo, but the theatre maker requires a team of creative people all working towards one single storytelling mission. The director of the production holds the responsibility of keeping all of the brilliant creative minds working on the show pointing in the same direction.

So, how does a director work to ensure that the audience member is seeing one unified artistic voice, not a whole bunch of disparate viewpoints?

The director must establish the “True North” of the play or musical. This is not the staging or the casting or the couch upstage right, but is the overarching, driving concept that will keep all of the collaborators working towards the same vision.

“True North” can be thought of as the central storytelling idea that the director is bringing to the script. The script and music are supplying the storyline and characters, but how you

tell that particular story is the director’s decision. The director of a production has a curatorial obligation to interpret the story that the playwright has written with a lens that brings out something new and interesting for the audience.

In a pre-production process, it is this vision that unites the team and begins the task of using the creative superpowers of each individual theatre artist in their area of expertise to make sure that the final production all lives in one world. The director’s role is to be an adept and agile communicator, using many different forms of communication to bring along the entire team. Visuals, written word, spoken word, audio whatever tools the director can find will be helpful because all of the different designers are likely different types of learners. A set designer likely is a visual storyteller and visual processor of information, where a dramaturg is more likely to connect deeply to words. The director has to be fluent in multiple languages of artistic communication.

One easy version of getting everyone to understand the “True North” of a show is a Pinterest board with images and links to audio. For instance, when I directed the premiere of the TYA version of the musical James and the Giant Peach with book by Timothy Allen McDonald and music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, I used images that captured the overall feeling of the production that I wanted to present colour, texture, era, tone but also, specific costume silhouettes that spoke to me.

I also put in ideas that didn’t yet have a full resolution, but that I was playing with in my head. I found an image of an umbrella that inspired me to present the seagulls. As we worked together as a team, it became clear that seagulls out of umbrellas were not going to work, but we ended up using umbrellas parasol size, midsize and patio size as the peach itself.

The joy of the “True North” collaboration is it allows for divergent thinking, which is one of the primary strengths of the creative mind. All ideas can flow and be out there to grow. The director is not saying, “This is how it must be.” Instead, the

Award winning Director Nina Meehan explores the process of setting the stage for a production involving young people.

Bay Area Childrens’ Theatre’s James And The Giant Peach

Online extras!

See the results of the staging choices for James And The Giant Peach youtu.be/J3iMNnLpQIk

director is using the concepts presented as an invitation to allow each artist to bring their own brilliant creative ideas into the production.

All of this is lovely and great, but for most of us in the theatre world, we are working with resource constraints. Maybe you are working in a black box theatre and there is no room for big set pieces or you have a limited budget and have to costume the show based only on what can be found in the storage room. These constraints are completely normal in our world. The good news is that it’s these constraints that can actually make the job of the director, and therefore the collaborators, easier!

The “True North” concept can be daunting without any limits. It would have been great in my production of James and the Giant Peach to have a full skyscraper to grow from a trap in the stage and meet a giant flying peach, but the space I was working in at that time had no trap and no fly system. These constraints led me to my “Anchor Point” for the production, or the element of the design or production element that is fixed and therefore the thing you build everything else off of.

Another example. In a recent production of the Jungle Book I was working on, the show was being performed in a theatre where set pieces were not an option. I decided to use pre-created projections from

Nina Meehan is the Founder and former CEO of Bay Area Children’s Theatre, the largest TYA company in California. She was an invited guest speaker at the Australia Junior Theatre Festival in 2022.

Broadway Media to bring settings to life with visual storytelling. As a result, the “Anchor Point” became those projections. The colour palette and tone were all set, but there was still a “True North” that I created that focussed on the vibrancy of the world and the jazzy style of the music. But, the hard work was done because I had settled on an “Anchor Point” early on in the process. My job as a director was actually simpler, but still artistically relevant and fulfilling.

The key to all of this is to communicate early and often. And

then communicate more. The director’s voice brings the team together and while for some people it can feel intimidating to be the leadership voice in the room, particularly in a collaborative process, the more clear and defined the director is early on, the more creative room the design team will have later in the process. The director is not in charge of managing and deciding every detail, but instead, setting the table with all the tools that the designers need to cook an exquisite storytelling meal.

Popular Perfect Props

Veteran set and prop builder Bob Peet describes some treasures, and trash that he’s converted to treasures, for community theatre stages.

During my years running the hire department at Sydney’s Miranda Musical Society, we had special props which were in high demand. The most requested was an antique looking French style telephone that was used for Daddy Warbucks’ mansion in Annie, and a lot of other classy looking shows.

Another was the magic rose from Beauty and the Beast. Our first rose was operated with fishing line attached to the petals, but this meant threading the fishing line for each use. Later we changed the operation to electromagnets attached to the petals. Press a button and the petal falls.

I have always been very particular about correct chairs for the stage. Often productions are spoiled by an ordinary chair looking so wrong. Recently in Adelaide I saw a production of a classic operetta. The

beautiful period piece was ruined by the odd bentwood chair and a lounge from someone’s home, all meaning to portray the dressing of a wealthy merchant’s mansion.

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 a supplier of reproduction furniture frames, and then I made them strong and suitable for the wear and tear of the stage. These pieces live in special road-cases and are still in excellent condition, having been used on many occasions.

It must be said, however, that the most used props, used in so many shows, are the dreaded picnic baskets. How many of the older musicals have a picnic, a market scene, or a street scene with shoppers?

Good props will continue to be used over and over again, and can make an enormous difference to a show.

I have always been a collector of roadside “treasures “, finding unwanted pieces which can be rejuvenated for a new life on stage.

I have to admit that in my recent move to South Australia, I still look for and find stuff. I needed a nice bedside table for The Hypochondriac. Then one evening after rehearsal I spotted a suitable table in a pile waiting to be taken to the tip. A bit of paint, a new shelf and wheels, and $30 later I had a faux period table.

Words alone don’t do the results justice; the pictures tell the story.

Before.

After.

Scenic Studios In Focus

Scenic Studios specialises in theatrical painting of scenic backdrops and theatre scenery. They also manufacture scenic paints and hire scenic backdrops around Australia for school productions, small theatre organisations and live events.

Their scenic hire range includes over 200 hire backdrops which are all professionally hand painted and manufactured in their studio. Scenic backdrops give depth to the scene and allow for lighting tricks, creating the atmosphere you desire for your performance.

The company has standardised the size, 12m wide x 6m drop, to fit most theatres and school auditoriums. Shows available include Wicked, The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast,

Annie, Frozen and Alice in Wonderland, whilst themes include ballrooms, forests, skies and cut cloths.

All can be found under backdrop hire on their website at scenicstudios.com.au. They also have sequin drapes, slash curtains, lame curtains and crush velvet drapes.

The company says by hiring scenic backdrops you are supporting the art of scenic painting and helping the environment, as nothing will end up in the landfill after your production.

Scenic Studios paint with their own manufactured scenic paints which are acrylic and designed to paint theatre backdrops, scenery and stage.

Paints come in 0.8L, 2.2L,4L and 10L or 15L. If you are painting a backdrop, scenery or stages you can purchase scenic paints online at scenicpaints.com.au or buy a scenic paint touch-up kit to test them first. They also stock special effects

products like membrane, texture and glazes.

The company’s scenic paints and scenic backdrops, all made locally, are environmentally friendly and can be shipped Australia-wide.

Roadside Rubbish Becomes Stage Treasures

Veteran theatre creatives Bob and Col Peet featured in a recent episode of Stage Whispers TV on mastering prop and set building.

The brothers, now based in Adelaide and Sydney, warned that it is very dangerous driving behind them on council clean-up days.

One of their favourite habits is picking up some roadside trash to save it for a time when they can make it into a stage prop.

“We have made pot stands into a buffet, and very ordinary chairs into glamorous pieces,” said Col.

Bob described how he found beautiful chairs in a clean -up.

“I stopped and picked one up. I then got an email from someone who wanted four chairs. The next morning I went back. There were the other three chairs under the rubbish. I was able to rebirth them with black upholstery. Later we turned one into the wheelchair in Wicked. It all comes apart.”

Another time Bob found a gold couch on Facebook Marketplace at the home of a drag queen.

“So, it was appropriate that it became purple, which I got from a bedspread. That ended up being a lovely piece for The Producers,” he said.

The brothers are big fans of giving community theatre casts a look at set model boxes early in the rehearsal process.

In the video they showed off their latest masterpieces.

“I do a model box at a ratio of 1: 25. When we build it, the cast say the set looks just like the model,” said Col.

The Stage Whispers TV Live Broadcast is sponsored by the Association of Community Theatre, which partners with Marsh Insurance to offer non-professional companies public liability insurance policies.

For more information visit communitytheatre.com.au

Stage Whispers TV

Spectacular School Sets

My first gigs were with regional theatre companies and designing for conferences and dinners.

Whilst I got a creative kick out of corporate events, the pressure was immense. I remember one huge corporate event staged over two days at the then Telstra Dome in Melbourne. The venue notified us that all the elements had to be rated for exterior wind loading, even though the roof was to be closed. Suddenly my construction cost blew out by $150,000.

I took a punt, showed my portfolio to a few private schools and got a job staging a season of Two Weeks with the Queen at Shore School in Sydney.

The studio theatre where we mounted the show was a brilliant space. Shore’s Creative Arts department was vibrant and motivated to stage professional level productions. I realised there was a market in education for a good designer who could also construct sets. With Christopher Reynolds and

production of West Side Story, featuring a dynamic six metre metal see-saw. The whole production was staged around the set piece as it rotated 360 degrees and tilted up and down, at times with actors riding it as

working in the industry, but they have decided to work in schools.

In 2007 I committed to drama in education and accepted the role as Production Manager at Cranbrook School in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.

it moved. The production was also fortunate enough to feature a sweeping and almost filmic lighting design by renowned artist John Rayment.

Maintaining creative relationships within education has been the

For details please visit adamlindbergdesign.com.au

his successor David MacSwan we did some fantastic productions and made some brave decisions.

You can give concepts a try within schools that would not be attempted in the professional world. One of my favourite designs was our 2002

foundation that has kept my company, Adam Lindberg Design, going for almost 30 years.

I have been fortunate to create productions with passionate and committed drama educators who could easily be professional directors

I work full time as a Production Manager on their Creative Arts program, managing venues, logistics and a student production crew, as well as designing and realising lighting, sets and other technical aspects of the productions. In my holidays I design and construct sets for other clients. I am always looking for new challenges within the education sector.

A current challenge is the increase in cost for materials. The base materials such as plywood and pine cost 200% more than last year, and up to 300% if supply shortages force you to use a higher grade than you need.

In response to increasing costs, and to inspire teachers to continue to provide their students with amazing sets to perform on, I am promoting a staging product called Multi Set. The package is a modular product that can be assembled in multiple configurations and is suitable for a range of projects. I conceived and constructed Multi Set in response to my most frequently received request over the last 20 years … “Can I have levels?”

Adam Lindberg has designed and built sets for over 150 school productions since he graduated from the NIDA design course in 1996. He explains why he enjoys working in the education sector.

Into The Woods.

Daughters Of Venice.

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

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.

CLOC’s Costume Hire Ready And Waiting!

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

completed when scissors and sequins were put away after their last sewing bee on Saturday March 14. Everything that could be completed at home has been done and CLOC, like the entire theatre industry, is awaiting ‘the vaccine’ and the easing of social distancing.

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 shows like Kinky Boots, Strictly Ballroom, Les Misérables, A Chorus Line, Mary Poppins, 42nd Street and The Phantom of the Opera.

CLOC’s Costume Centre ‘The Nancy’ is located next to CLOCworks, on the corner of Old Dandenong & Kingston Roads in Heatherton, Victoria. Visits by appointment only.

Looking for an incredible selection of costumes available to hire? Check out CLOC’s collection. cloc.org.au/cloc-hire.html

CLOC Musical Theatre’s Strictly Ballroom

Photo: Ben Fon.

CLOC’s Catch Me If You Can (2023)

Photo: Ben Fon.

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.

NIDA 3rd year costume student Avril Bradbury-Hoath dedicated her research project to women who lost their lives making watches and costumes.

Sound & Light

Don’t Forget The Tech Crew!

Leah Crockett, creator of Tech Crew HQ, explains the importance of training your crew to ensure that your show is a success.

It’s four weeks ‘til showtime time to bring in the technical crew!

Uh-oh, how do we train our new Tech Crew members so that they will be ready for the show?

If you’ve ever been involved with a school production you will know that students relish being involved in all aspects of a production even if they are not performing on stage.

However, too often we bring in students with no other theatre experience and give them a slap-dash introduction to working backstage. This approach often leads to difficulties communicating, increased safety issues and some very tedious technical rehearsals.

A well-coordinated backstage crew is the unsung hero behind every seamless performance, and the key to a great backstage crew is great

training. Technical theatre training doesn’t have to be laborious and expensive, but it does have to be theatre specific and it must have safety at its core.

That’s why Tech Crew HQ was invented; Tech Crew HQ is online training specifically designed for tech crews to give them skills and knowledge in the areas of lighting, audio, safety, stage management and vision. Being online means that Tech Crew HQ is accessible 24/7 and features lots of videos and interactive activities so that learning the skills for the next production is quick and engaging.

Tech Crew HQ is flexible enough for individuals to learn on their own, or for group training sessions.

Tech Crew HQ is theatre and live event specific, utilising Australian

theatre terms and standards, as well as showcasing Australian and New Zealand live event professionals in its regular webinars.

As more schools and community organisations access training through Tech Crew HQ, we are hearing of great things happening backstage including increased professionalism of the crew, higher confidence when operating shows, more efficient technical rehearsals and a focused approach to staying safe backstage.

If we take the time to train our technical and backstage crew effectively, shows will run smoothly, safely and these creative collaborative experiences may even provide students with a career pathway into professional theatre and live events.

Tech Crew HQ also provides face to face training for schools, colleges, community organisations and school holiday workshops. The next scheduled workshop is at North Sydney in January. Contact techcrewhq@inspiredproductions.com.au or techcrewhq.com

Transforming A School Hall

Trent Pickles from the LifeLike Group explains how his company transformed a tired school hall into a state-of-the-art AV facility that springs to life at the push of one button.

St Joseph’s College in the Sydney suburb of Hunters Hill came to us to upgrade their school hall that was, in a word, abominable.

The facility was straight out of the 1980s a hodgepodge of random lights, half-working sound, an old projector drumroll screen on stage, dilapidated curtains and the bio box was in a mess.

Our company works on projects that range from simple upgrades to a full-scale system overhaul.

In this case we gutted the entire hall and our team of experts came up with a solution to combine simplified, intelligent scene control of sound, lighting and audio visual.

The space is used regularly for assemblies, rallies, exams, mass and performances.

Now the system can change-over from a simple school assembly to a full theatrical production at the touch of a button.

The most visually striking feature of the upgrade is the screens. On the stage is a 12.5 metre wide by 4.5 metre high LED wall, surrounded by two 4 by 2.5 metre screens.

There is a new motorised curtain rig. We reinforced the ceilings and installed five motorised lighting bars. The lighting rigs comprise 20 ETC LED lights and 18 Axcor washes and spots

and the new sound system is a 24 element MARTIN line array.

In the bio box is an Allen & Heath AVANTIS sound console, an ONYX NX1 lighting console, and a Blackmagic DESIGN vision production suite.

There is an overarching Q-SYS control system for simplified operation by any user.

A teacher who knows nothing about tech can simply press one button, and it will turn the lights on, turn the video walls on, open the stage curtain and get the sound ready for presentation.

Some of our clients have gone on to use the theatre control technology to integrate site-wide school paging and audio-visual distribution.

St Joseph’s College is over the moon at the upgrade. It cost over a million dollars but we have also completed upgrades for other schools for less than $50,000

Our team has a wide range of solutions available, all dependent upon existing equipment, operational requirements and budget.

For more information reach out to the expert team via email info@lifelike.com.au or call Sydney (02) 8880 6766, Newcastle (02) 4915 9615 or Melbourne (03) 9118 8201.

lifelike.com.au

Lighting Rig’s Quick Change

NIDA’s Festival of Emerging Artists is always frantic, and to make it more challenging I was working on two spectacular shows that were complete opposites. One was a contemporary take on Caryl Churchill’s Hotel, a piece of largely physical work which had a cast of 10, and the other, Burning, a new indigenous work that explored the struggles and trauma indigenous Australians have endured over hundreds of years, told through young eyes.

Each piece had obvious lighting needs, such as having a general wash state as well as some face light, but both shows also needed to be able to interact with the lighting, letting it be a part of their stories and not just a complementary factor. Given that the two shows were performed each night, only 40 minutes apart, I had to make the overhead grid as universal as possible. I was lucky enough to have a mixture of tungsten fixtures as well as some LED and moving light fixtures. This allowed me to leave room for experimenting with different colour combinations and shapes when designing the grid.

Hotel explored themes of loneliness and escape. It had ten characters, each of them with their own storylines and motivations. My lighting would need to support them as well as act as a clutch the audience could hold onto throughout the performance.

The first image (above right) was shot during the opening sequence. Each character enters the one hotel room, one by one, with their own motivations. The woman in the image immediately walked into ‘the bathroom’ where the bright light comes on. It mimicked a real bathroom light, but also, because of how bright the light was, the audience was almost blinded for a moment. When the human eye became used to its surroundings, audience members were able to look

Creating one lighting design and rig is a tricky enough challenge, but Pip Morey, a NIDA Third Year Technical Theatre Stage Management student, had to create one universal grid for two shows.

Hotel.

Photo: Lisa Maree Williams.

Hotel. Photo: Lisa Maree Williams.

into the mirror and see the woman’s reflection. A cold stare, one of questioning and doubt, which set up her character for the entirety of the production.

The second image (opposite page below) shows the scene we called TV, and I like to call it the calm before the storm. It is the last moment before we would explore some of the characters’ own personal hardships and struggles. Although this scene was set late at night, I still wanted the audience to be able to see the characters’ faces and reactions, their interactions with their respective ‘partner’ or the reactions they feel alone in a hotel room, whether it be a positive or negative experience.

The final image (above right) is from one of the final moments of the play. All the characters but one have left the hotel and we are left with a single woman who has been the most mysterious character thus far. The lights chosen drained all the colour from the stage. I thought that these would be perfect for the last act, as the character begins to explain her reason for being in the hotel, exploring themes of depression, loneliness and desire to disappear.

(Continued on page 77)

Hotel Director: Eve Beck

Set and Costume Designer: Hayden Relf

Sound Designer: Jessica Pizzinga

Production Manager: Madeline Picard

Stage Manager: Zoe Davis

Head Electrician: Cameron Russell

Hotel. Photo: Lisa Maree Williams.

Colour is so full of emotion and as a lighting designer so much of my job is displaying how the characters are feeling onstage through the lighting. As show ends, essentially all the colour is stripped from the stage, the costumes and even the actor, and we are left with this yellow monochromatic state which just displays different tones of the same yellow.

Both shows had completely different approaches to the script. Hotel relied heavily on a sense of realism, whilst Burning existed in a blurred world, between real and metaphorical. The transition between the two shows was only 40 minutes. We had to completely bump out one set and get in the new one, also allowing the cast warm-up time within that time frame. Within the lighting changeover, we would remove the set electrics from Hotel, add a floor lighting fixture for Burning, do a gel change in the boom lights and a focus change in some of the overhead lighting.

Burning is a new First Nations piece which confronts the pain afflicted on First Nations people. It plays with the highs and lows of human emotion, going between happiness, sadness, anger and fear constantly. I knew that through my lighting choices I could

enhance these feelings, both for the audience and for the cast onstage.

This scene (above) was set in the heart of country. Three women of indigenous descent are in their own personal ‘happy place’ - safe to do and act as they please. They danced and played with each other,

(Continued from page 76)

Burning. Photo: Lisa Maree Williams.

Burning. Photo: Lisa Maree Williams.

interacting where there was no sense of danger or threat. It was a joyous scene which marked the calm before the storm. I wanted both the audience and the cast to feel safe in this scene. That’s why I chose really warm side lighting which complemented the purple and pink tones of the overhead wash, in turn creating this almost imaginary world where the characters can be truly comfortable with themselves and each other.

This scene (opposite page below) was the peak of terror of the piece, depicting the rape and murder of one of the women. I chose to make it as cold and dead as possible. With the stark white lighting, there is no place for the women to hide - no safety, no shelter - they are truly exposed to their tormentor and eventual murderer. The main lighting choice was a bright light coming from the back of the stage; this acted as an almost blinding light for the audience and through that they saw the man enter.

This scene (right), which followed immediately, was a monologue spoken by our ‘woman’ character, describing how sick and tired black Australians are of the pain and discrimination they have faced for hundreds of years. The text was so powerful that I wanted the audience to be solely focused on our women and what they were saying. Each had their own spotlight, with our main women having two tones of blue and purple. Blue correlated with sadness and depression but also accentuated facial features and expressions. The audience could see every emotion shown and every pause they made throughout the monologue.

Lighting is a tool that can enhance a space and bring an audience into the space and the story. Doing one show at a time can be hard enough, but doing two shows in the same venue, at the same time, brought way more challenges than expected. By creating a universal grid that could work for both shows, I was able to focus more directly on the shape of the light and the story it creates.

Burning

Author and Director: Amy Sole

Set and Costume Designer: Angeline Meany

Sound Designer: Jordan Magnus McCarthy

Production Manager: Madeline Picard

Stage Manager: Grace Sackman

Head Electrician: Cameron Russell

Burning. Photo: Lisa Maree Williams.

A New Outlook

One of Melbourne’s largest audio companies - Outlook Communications - has a new owner and a new direction that includes lighting.

Company founder Greg Ginger sold his business to his long-term employee Jack Jones in January, after providing audio services to schools, amateur theatres, sports and festival clients for 30 years.

Operating from a warehouse in Preston, clients ranged from the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the F1 Grand Prix to high school musicals.

Mr Ginger is concentrating on a new business called 61 productions, which focusses on professional theatre and musical productions.

Outlook Communications is now offering integrated sound and light services to customers.

“A lot of our school clients are enjoying being able to lock in a price for audio and lighting,” Mr Jones said.

The new direction for Outlook Communications was showcased last year at the Nati Frinj Biennale. The Frinj festival takes place every two years in a town called Natimuk, a regional town with a population of 500.

Outlook was the technical supplier, managing the technical

Jack Jones from Outlook Communications.

aspects across the whole festival including lighting and sound across all the venues.

The systems ranged from a basic PA to the system that was used for the main draw card of this year’s event, the lighting of giant silos.

The “bamboo exquisite tower moment” was a community lead project. The brief was to create “a bamboo tower that sits with hammocks strung up high, slacklines cut across the night sky.”

Patrons of the festival were challenged to consider “who put them there and what might come out to play on the Tower once darkness falls.”

Outlook supplied a full Funktionone res 1.5 system from the resolution series with minibass 212 subs from the bass series and a full mc2 amp kit.

The PA system, designed by Greg Ginger, supported the artful composition created by Russell Goldsmith, a highly respected Victorian based composer.

The full lighting rig was supplied by Outlook and designed by Jack Jones.

Outlook supplied 12 Horizon 300 wash movers, which gave the design a high-performance LED moving head.

A versatile unit, the Horizon 300 can fill the roles of multiple fixtures. That’s because it combines both wash and beaming functions all into one compact, easy to manage light weight fixture.

In the rig there were also 8 IP rated RGBW DMX controllable flood lights. The final fixture was 18 chauvet Freedom flex H4 IP, which is a battery operated, wireless dmx, RGBAW+UV fixture which is an amazing product as it’s 100 percent wireless. The whole production was programmed and operated on an ETC ion 6k.

The show had over 1000 people attend the performance and bought the whole community together. Outlook strives to provide innovative technical solutions for theatrical productions, concerts and events.

When Theatre Is A Way Of Life

Trent Pickles, Director of LifeLike Atmospheres, says that putting on a show can make a difference in the lives of young people by supporting their creativity, self-confidence and communication skills.

The team at LifeLike Atmospheres has been putting on shows for over 21 years now, with hundreds of school and theatrical groups, and we're proud to say that we're helping more young people shine every year.

If you're looking to put on a show, you want students to be engaged and excited about being part of the experience. The key is having them involved in the design, programming, set-up and operation of the production.

LifeLike’s team of experts in design and technology bring a passion for education and a deep understanding of what it takes to empower students. They have worked on projects ranging from $100,000 plus major musicals to a $1500 school play.

We aim to meet or exceed our client’s expectations within their budget.

Our services include:

 Lighting design, audio engineering, staging design and technical drawing as well as 3D concepts for projected backdrops.

 Equipment hire including lighting, audio, projection, LED video walls, rigging, truss, staging and special effects.

 Pre-event and onsite training programs tailored for teachers and students.

If you're ready to empower your students with everything they need to get the most out of their experience, we invite you to reach out today!

For more information reach out to the expert team via email info@lifelike.com.au or call Sydney (02) 8880 6766, Newcastle (02) 4915 9615 or Melbourne (03) 9118 8201. lifelike.com.au

Metropolitan Players’ Wicked (2016).

Mark

Stage Safety

Wilson from Theatre Compliance And

Service

explains why all venues that hang loads above people’s heads need an annual safety inspection.

A few years I was doing an inspection at a major suburban theatre when the brake failed on an old-fashioned winch and the chain went into freefall.

When the handle spins quickly it can take skin off people’s hands. I saw a technician have his finger opened quite badly because he could not get it out of the way fast enough.

Another time I saw a bar go into freefall at a school and it was lucky no one was under it. Naturally, whatever is on top of the bar a speaker or lights gets damaged.

The winches are no longer compliant and are being replaced by an electric pile hoist or an electric drum hoist. The pile hoist is the cheaper option favoured by smaller venues, whereas the drum hoist gives stage operators more control.

Sometimes schools get a handyman to hang things using chains they pick up from a hardware store. This is not acceptable. Theatres need to install a rated chain from a rigging store.

To be fully compliant, any venue in which equipment is lifted above

people’s heads, an annual inspection is needed.

My company inspects venues ranging from small schools, to rural theatres and major city venues such as Sydney’s State Theatre.

The key things we are looking for are the rigging, to make sure all the chains and shackles are rated and compliant to lift a load above people. We examine whether the nuts and bolts are tight enough and if they have the correct washers.

To arrange for an inspection contact Mark Wilson at Theatre Compliance And Service on 0419 144 868 or at mark@theatrecs.com.au theatrecs.com.au

Safety inspection at Sydney’s Knox College.

An outdated hand winch.

Lighting Up The Stage

For over 30 years, the Stage Light crew have been supporting Performing Arts in schools & colleges. Brian Walsh, Senior Production Designer, explains how his company is helping young people shine.

Involvement in performing arts promotes self-confidence, communication, creativity and team skills, as well as emotional wellbeing. Student participation is linked to positive academic, social and emotional outcomes later in life.

So, the job of creating wonderful stage experiences is one that’s taken very seriously. Igniting a love of performance in young people is something they care deeply about.

The devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts sector, and on the mental health of individuals, makes it more important than ever to get it right, now we are returning to live performances.

To give back to the community, each year the Stage Light crew collect, assess and repair used stage lighting & audio equipment, before donating them to low SES schools and fire/ flood effected venues throughout NSW. If your performance space has lost, damaged, unsafe or no lighting

and sound equipment, reach out to Stage Light.

The Stage Light crew also undertake annual volunteering at the REELise Film Festival an initiative to support youth mental health.

So, what are the key ingredients to getting it right and supporting a great show?

Production design can support the story and evolving moods of the performance. Stage Light provides lighting, audio and staging design, technical drawing and 3D concepts.

Once the design is finalised, Stage Light can help with equipment hire. They can supply lighting, audio, projection, LED walls, media servers, special effects machines, lasers, communications, rigging, ground support, scaffold, staging and inflatable decor.

Additionally, their crew provide on -site training for staff and students in most aspects of technical production.

Student participation in show production at all levels, where

practicable, is encouraged. Professional crew work with staff and students to bump-in, focus, program and operate the equipment, providing on-site training and supporting “guide to” documents.

The crew ensure your venue is safe and compliant. Student crew members complete an online safety induction.

Stage Light believes that staging a great show can make a positive difference in the lives of the students involved as well as their audience.

Stage Light provides a full range of technical production services to schools for performances of all kinds at generously discounted rates, and currently services more than 300 Schools in New South Wales.

For more information email info@stagelight.com.au, call (02) 9533 5152 or visit stagelight.com.au

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.

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.”

“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 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

German director Harald Clemen commissioned Nick to light a show at the prestigious Schillertheater/ Berlin just before the Wall came down, 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.

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 for them. It was best to do it under fluoros and with the house lights on! It was a Brechtian hangover.”

(Continued on page 87)

Bangarra’s Bennelong (2017) Photo: Daniel Boud.

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 unless he’s included from the start in that first collaborative planning with the director and other designers. He reads the script or score over and over again and, he says, he eschews tricks and focuses his lights only on advancing the meaning of the work.

“We start with that simple question - why are we doing this work? It’s all the more vital a question when it’s a classic. I’ve done five productions of Macbeth; if you don’t ask why you’re doing it here at this time and place, then they’d all look the same. And once you answer that question, you find the environment in which you’ll do it.”

All this was well tested when Nick and his frequent collaborators, director Elke Neidhardt, and set and costume designers Michael Scott 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.”

Still, five years out, he joined the creative team, all of them leaving behind their phones and locking themselves away in a Blue Mountains retreat.

“But at the end of that week at “Camp Wagner”, we’d only got as far as the first five minutes of the first

opera, and most of that was the prelude!

“Still, all that time we were addressing the whole framework with the same question - why are we doing this work yet again and why in Adelaide?”

This landmark Ring had massive, strikingly lit set pieces, but here again for the lighting designer the priority was story-telling, of not losing sight of the human stories over time.

“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 version of the film hit, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

“I’m not drawn to musicals but I was keen to get over my prejudice that they’re all flash and giggle and not much craft.”

With a colour palette beginning with hot pink, he was also repainting

(Continued from page 86)

Nick Schlieper at the lighting desk for Love Never Dies (2012).

Photo: Jeff Busby.

Médée (2019)

Photo: Thomas Aurin.

his reputation as a master of stark white light. Nick’s starting point with Priscilla was that every scene have the sparkle, the heightened colours, as though viewed through the lens of a drag show - just like back then at the famed Imperial Hotel in Newtown, Sydney. He admits that the lighting took a leap elsewhere, especially with the introduction of Brian Thomson’s magically inventive bus and a huge 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 respectfrom 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

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

(Continued on page 89)

MTC’s North By Northwest (2016). Photo: Jeff Busby.

(Continued

from

- 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 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 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!

Keeping Mics Hidden

An incredible amount of research, design and engineering goes into producing every microphone you can see (and those you can’t see) in use on the stage and in studios around the world.

This won’t guarantee perfect performance every time. There are steps you can take to improve performance - or at the very least, prevent audible interference or physical problems that arise from misuse.

Shrinking Graduation

In Primary School performances, lead roles often pass a handheld wireless microphone to each other when there is a line to deliver or a song to sing, while many Secondary School productions will feature headset microphones.

More sophisticated productions will ‘feature’ microphones totally hidden from the audience, but what is the best way to do this?

Invisible, Not Impossible

Moving to miniature microphones, often called lavalier microphones, is a step in the invisibility direction, but this usually comes at a cost. A highperformance microphone capsule smaller than your pinky fingernail is not only often priced higher than the other options, but there is no guarantee the

sound will be great, unless some careful steps are followed

Securing a miniature lavalier microphone right at the hairline, at the top of the actor’s forehead, is a great place to hide the microphone. It also picks up a very natural sound from the singer, without overloading the capsule via a ‘proximity effect’ (the more pronounced bottom end sound which you may get from a handheld mic when it is closest to the source).

Other places include elsewhere around the hairline, such as above the ear. Underneath clothing is an option for some actors and costumes, but the horrible sound of clothing rustle on a microphone capsule (which can sound like wireless microphone interference) may then arise.

Tale Of The Tape

Essential in the theatre audio toolkit is tape, and lots of it. Gaffer Tape (the 510-matte variety), Hypoallergenic surgical tape, Lav tape, and specially prepared Undercovers and Stickies are all useful in making sure the capsule stays put, and the actor is comfortable.

Should a microphone need placing under clothing, the UNDERCOVER range of adhesives makes sure that the apparel does not rub against the capsule. In an emergency, try the

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 electronics of a bodypack will decrease the functional lifetime and affect the wireless integrity.

Antennas must be clear of any metals to avoid ‘detuning’ the wireless signal and ensure they are allowed to sit in their ‘straight’ position, without an unnatural bend.

Before Moving To Miniatures

Both the “Primary” and “Secondary” microphones listed above are not without their charm and benefits. While a handheld microphone has the obvious drawback of taking a performer’s arm away, it does offer the most flexibility for a powerful singer. We can all visualise the action of a singer being able to control how far away from their mouth the microphone capsule sits, depending on how hard they’re belting out a note.

The headset solution turns fixed distance into a feature, by ensuring the microphone capsule is in exactly the same place for the entire performance. In effect, the microphone moves with a performer’s mouth, so every time they turn their head for a stage direction or choreography, the microphone capsule is right there ready to capture the sound without missing a beat.

As always, if wireless microphones are causing more headaches than you can handle, get in touch with an RF specialist to make sure you get looked after.

Artie Jones from Factory Sound shares his tips for schools and amateur theatre companies on discreet and crackle free use of microphones.

Sound Advice

Artie Jones from Factory Sound shares his tips for trouble-free use of wireless microphones.

Troubleshooting Wireless

No matter how big or small the stage may be, wireless microphones are the essential first ingredient to help bring an intimate and detailed sound to the audience.

A well-designed system will always make the complex appear simple, and reputable wireless manufacturers have done huge amounts of ‘heavy lifting’ to make the set-up of a clear channel as easy as touching a button (or two).

Dreaded Dropouts

There’s nothing worse than an unexpected ‘drop out’ of the wireless signal. It leaves the audience disappointed, while often proving to be unsettling for the performers.

For inexperienced operators, there is nothing surprising about wireless interference and drop-outs, if the golden rules of wireless tech haven’t been followed before every show.

Rule #1 - Scan, Scan, Scan

It is the most basic rule to follow, and it costs nothing!

With the maturing of wireless microphone technology over the past decade, the process is simple. It involves pressing a button on the wireless receiver (which will normally be placed at side of stage, or at the mixing desk position), allowing it to find the most clear frequency available. Then you simply sync the wireless microphone (or bodypack) to the same frequency, and voila, the system is ready for soundcheck, and the show.

The number one cause of wireless interference is failure to follow Rule #1. It doesn’t matter if the wireless system, or systems (more on that later) worked perfectly when you first pulled them out of the box, the fact remains that a scan will be the best way to avoid any problems.

Managing Multiples

Sophisticated productions usually involve more than just one wireless system, which introduces a whole range of potential Radio Frequency (RF) concerns.

Adhering to Rule #1 when you are dealing with many wireless systems will involve a little more concentration, and large-scale set ups will usually involve a laptop with some kind of Wireless System Manager on-board, to assist with frequency scanning, channel allocation, and monitoring of RF integrity.

Online extras!

Factory Sound can keep up to date with all of the latest in pro audio gear. youtube.com/FactorySound

More Antennas = More Headaches

An unfortunate side-effect of having multiple channels of RF running concurrently for a performance is that not only will the active channels have their own frequency signature taking up space in the RF spectrum, but extra nodes in between those frequencies will appear - kind of like a reflection - and this effect of intermodulation will cause, in some cases, interference to your wireless channels.

Reducing the amount of antennas around the stage area will actually decrease the amount of intermodulation, and so a well-designed Antenna Splitter is a great way to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of any multichannel wireless system.

Cables And Other Considerations

Are you using the right cable for antennas? (50ohm, not 75ohm). Are the antennas in the right position? Can you select frequencies for your area that actually minimise the amount of intermodulation?

Managing wireless microphones can seem complicated, but really, follow Rule #1 and follow it often, and when it’s time to expand or refine your system, get in touch with RF specialists for advice.

Oh, and fresh batteries for every show!

Factory Sound is Australia’s largest supplier of professional audio equipment.

For sales or hire please visit factorysound.com, email sales@factorysound.com, call 1800 816 244 or stop by their showroom located at 75-85 York Street, South Melbourne.

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

Staging A Musical Or Play

Choosing A Show

Rights holders give their tips about new and classic musicals for schools.

Music Theatre International Australasia mtishows.com.au

Finding Nemo JR

Disney’s Finding Nemo JR. is a 60 -minute musical adaptation of the beloved 2003 Pixar movie Finding Nemo, with new music by award-winning song writing team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Marlin, an anxious and over-protective clownfish, lives in the Great Barrier Reef with his kid Nemo, who longs to explore the world beyond their anemone home. But when Nemo is captured and taken to Sydney, Marlin faces his fears and sets off on an epic adventure across the ocean.

bit.ly/3ScX7vD

Alice By Heart

From the Tony winning team of Spring Awakening and the book writer of Waitress, Alice by Heart is refreshing spin on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

In the rubble of the London Blitz of World War II, Alice Spencer’s budding teen life is turned upside down, when she and her dear friend Alfred are forced to take shelter in an underground tube station. When the ailing Alfred is quarantined, Alice encourages him to escape with her into their cherished book and journey down the rabbit hole to Wonderland. Available for a limited release in early Spring 2023.

bit.ly/3IiSVpr

The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940

By John Bishop

A fast-paced play, set in a mansion with numerous secret doors and passageways. A comedy with a cast of five men and five women.

“An ingenious and wildly comic romp which enjoyed a long and critically hailed run both on and Off-Broadway. Poking antic fun at the more ridiculous aspects of “show biz” and the corny thrillers of Hollywood’s heyday, the play is a nonstop barrage of laughter as those assembled (or at least those who aren’t killed off) untangle the mystery of the ‘Stage Door Slasher.’” - NY Times.

Origin Theatrical origintheatrical.com.au

Shakespeare In Love (High School Edition)

NEW! Now available to licence! Based on the Academy Awardwinning movie, this romantic stage play reimagines William Shakespeare’s creative process and explores his inspiration as he writes Romeo and Juliet

There are two versions of this play available to perform: the full-length play and the full-length High School Edition. bit.ly/3EpPWup

Monty Python’s Edukational Show

The only authorised collection of Monty Python sketches and songs available for performance. This brandnew show is the genius of Monty Python in a hilarious 80 minute musical revue, written for performance by young actors, grades 8 through college. Primary schools, high schools and universities can license this show. bit.ly/3Ihq0lM

Head Over Heels (High School Edition)

The bold new musical comedy from the team that created Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening

This laugh-out-loud love story is set to the music of the iconic 1980’s allfemale rock band The Go-Go’s, including the hit songs “We Got the Beat”, “Our Lips Are Sealed”, “Vacation”, Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You”.

There are two versions available to perform: the full-length musical and the full-length High School Edition. bit.ly/3XViIdi

CATS (Young Actors Edition)

This is a new one-hour adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical, specially tailored for young actors. The materials have been prepared to help your school or organisation mount the best possible production and to give your young cast and crew an exciting and rewarding experience. bit.ly/3IjZurF

Maverick Musicals and Plays

maverickmusicals.com

Rocktopus

When a band of squishy invertebrates try to make it big in the undersea music business, they find that fame, fortune and stardom ain’t all they’re cut out to be. A starry eyed octopus rocker yearns to make it in “Shell City”, the number one city in the underwater music scene. With Turtles, Stingrays and Sharks, and a fun 50s rock’n’roll score!

bit.ly/3YLn6wl

An Egyptian Whodunnit

Perfect for 8 to 15 year olds, An Egyptian Whodunnit is a comedy mystery musical that takes the audience back in time to discover the real reason behind Tutankhamun’s untimely death. There are wonderful opportunities for dance, colour, and humour to flourish as well as a narrative that sticks closely to the history books.

bit.ly/3KpPQqq

Man Of Steel

An actionpacked parody of the most famous comic book superhero and a spectacular show of heroically super proportions! A comic musical that centres on the entertaining battle of our superhero (and his heroine) triumphing over the evil Countess Olga and her motley henchmen. If only he could get it right occasionally...why are tights so hard to wear?

bit.ly/3kc96gn

Binary

Tonight is Brynn’s first night out, as herself. For years they have questioned their thoughts and feelings, knowing that they are different, but unable to identify why. Not knowing if they were a he or a she, a him or a her, a son or a daughter. What pronoun does one use when they are born male but identify as female?

bit.ly/3XONLHA

David Spicer Productions davidspicer.com.au

DSP’s most popular school musicals remain the jukebox classics Back to the 80’s, Popstars the 90’s musical, The Great Australian Rock Musical and Disco Inferno bit.ly/3EkCOGz

Back To The 80s

The Australian written musical by Neil Gooding, set in in the graduating year of William Ocean High, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary production and has had more than 500 seasons in Australia and N.Z. bit.ly/3YNUrae

Australian Junior Musicals Collection DSP has recently released the Australian Junior Musicals collection comprising musicals for high schools and primary schools which have superb CD backing tracks. bit.ly/3IFNX7B

Norman Lindsay’s The Magic Pudding

books. In 2010 playwright Andrew James and award-winning composer Sarah de Jong were commissioned by the Marian Street Theatre for Young People to create this large cast adaptation. bit.ly/3xCq3U7

Price Check! The Supermarket Musical Music and Lyrics by Sean Weatherly. Book and lyrics by Cerise De Gelder. The world’s first post-COVID-19 musical, set in a supermarket the year after the pandemic. A colourful cast of quirky characters fight to keep the independent business afloat against a major chain store. They all do their best to make meaningful connections in a world full of differences, whilst suffering the pressures of their own lives. bit.ly/3behXW5

Written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay, in 1918 The Magic Pudding quickly became one of Australia’s most loved children’s

“When I read about the true story of the Royal Australian Artillery being sent out to WA to wage war on an animal that is on our coat of arms, I couldn’t believe what I was reading,” says Xavier Coy. Not only did it seem like an insane waste of resources, but it spoke to a deeper issue that we are facing in the world right now, climate change.

“For me this story was about Man vs Nature. There is no way for the people who populate the planet to overcome the might of Mother Nature. I wanted to give a voice to the animals. We, of course, have intruded on their natural habitat and had the

The Great Emu War

In 1932, in Warralakin Western Australia, land given to World War One veterans was being over-run by Emus. The army was sent in to fight the birds. Playwright Xavier Coy has penned a satire, The Great Emu War, based on what he says is the most ridiculous story in Australian history. ORiGiN Theatrical has published this new play (5M and 2W), which is also available for sale at Book Nook.

arrogance to believe that we can destroy anything to get what we want.

“The Great Emu War is a satire of many elements of Australian society. I wanted to explore, among many things, the fragility of the male ego and masculinity and our relationship with alcohol. On a global level I wanted to satirise the frivolous attitude we have when it comes time to go to war.”

In the first scene, Major Meredith gives a speech to Parliament.

I address you in parliament today to warn you of one of nature’s new enemies to Man. The emu. In the noble pursuit of rewarding our soldiers who risked their lives for our nation we have been met with a rather pernicious beast whose interests seem to be solely in destroying the crops planted by our heroes. Make no mistake. This is war.

Standing erect at six feet and two inches and weighing up to fifty

kilograms, these flightless emblems of chaos are a scourge on society at large. We simply cannot sit idly by and let these long-necked f…s run riot over this great nation of ours! I apologise for my language thus far ladies and gentlemen, I um...I lose myself sometimes. Where was I...?

Ah yes! Today, I put to you here in Parliament, a motion to take back our Australia. To put nature back in its box, to send the emu, our nation’s worthless thief of honest labour’s work, into oblivion and give our brave veterans a chance to live in prosperity and good health without the fear of feathery freaks decimating their crops and their livelihood.

I ask Parliament for the assistance of the Royal Australian Artillery to take charge, to take back enemy lines and once again, make nature take a back seat. To make Australia great again. To make nature cower to the might of Man.

High School Musicals And Plays

To celebrate the achievement of students and teachers, we present a gallery of outstanding productions.

We Will Rock You

Sheldon College, Australian School of the Arts, Brisbane.

Musical Director: Lauren Cossettini. Redlands Performing Arts Centre. Apr to May 2023.

The Australian School of the Arts unleashed the power of rock'n'roll through their successful season of We Will Rock You. Across six performances they ignited the gritty tale of love and rebellion, exhilarating audiences of all ages.

davidspicer.com.au/shows/we-will-rock-you-youngpart

Rockin’ Robin

Burnie High School, Tasmania.

Director: Ben Lohrey. Oct 2011.

The jukebox musical was staged with very high production values. In Rockin’ Robin, a drama group is rehearsing for the Rock Eisteddfod, when an electrical fault causes two of the cast to be transported through time to Sherwood Forest. Director Ben Lohrey said, “We were attracted to the musical because of the terrific score that contains many very well-known and catchy musical numbers from the 50s, 60s and 70s. This, coupled with a very humorous script, strong lead roles for both males and females and the scope for the inclusion of a very large ensemble (we had 120) made Rockin’ Robin the ideal choice.”

davidspicer.com.au/shows/rockin-robin

We Will Rock You.

Rockin’ Robin.

Titanic: The Musical

Marist and St Peter's Combined Colleges, Auckland.

Director: Stephen Dallow. Playhouse Theatre, Glen Eden. May 2023.

Director Stephen Dallow says, “I have been directing shows for over 30 years and this was a personal highlight for me, working with a cast of 100 teenagers. At our first rehearsals we researched every character in the show and the students quickly took on this honour of playing real people who had passed away during this tragic event. You could hear a pin drop at rehearsal. Everyone wanted to honour the story and tell it from an historic angle, not what we had seen in the movie. The show has beautiful music, wonderful harmonies, characters the audience will fall in love with and opportunities to do some unique theatre making. At the final number, where the survivors tell their story, we projected images of the real people they were playing on to the stage the audience left every night in tears.” origintheatrical.com.au/work/8918

The Jungle Book

Shenton College, WA.

Written and adapted by Briandaniel Oglesby from Rudyard Kipling. Director: Kate Lloyd. May 2023.

In May, the Perth school used creative costumes, scenic projections, backstage crew and musicians to turn their whole auditorium into a vision of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book davidspicer.com.au/shows/jungle-book

The Jungle Book. Photo: Michael Swallow.

Titanic: The Musical.

Disney’s Tarzan

Buderim Youth Theatre of Excellence, Queensland. May to Jun 2023.

For 23 years on the Sunshine Coast, Byte Youth Theatre has provided quality musical theatre training for young people. This year they brought audiences the classic story of Tarzan, told with the energetic music of Phil Collins in this production of Disney’s Tarzan mtishows.com.au/tarzan

Sheerluck Holmes

Georgiana Molloy Anglican School, Busselton, W.A. Director: Sue Thompson. Aug 2021.

Rachel Fentiman from Maverick Musicals said, “These talented high school students had a successful season performing this popular musical about the famed detective. The culmination of high-quality costumes, captivating choreography and the extraordinary talent of the students made this musical a memorable experience for those on and off stage, and in the audience.” maverickmusicals.com/play/sheerluck-holmes

The Jungle Book. Photo: Stacey Kilburn.

Sheerluck Holmes.

Let’s Put On A School Musical

Ten top tips from Maverick Musicals and Plays for your next school musical.

Rope others in!

Rule One - do not try to do it alone. Beg, plead, cajole or blackmail others to be involved.

Your ideal production team should consist of a producer to pull your team together, director, musical director, set designers, sound/lights tech team, set builder, costume person and advertising/media whiz.

Apply for the rights early

Aim to have approval from the representatives of the musical six months prior to your first rehearsal. Carefully note the legal obligations in the contract. All contracts will have rules about respecting the author’s intentions (sticking to the script), how you can promote the work both online and in print, videography and use of production materials.

Selecting the right school musical

Don’t pick a musical solely because you like it. Make sure it can be done well by your students.

Commonly five or six girls for each boy will be the audition ratio, so choose material that will give girls something worthwhile to do.

Auditioning

Select relevant scenes that will give an indication of the student’s ability.

Avoid choosing students who have other commitments that will prevent them from attending

rehearsals - no matter how good they are.

Rehearsals

Give cast your rehearsal/ performance schedule before starting rehearsals.

Send the schedule home to parents as soon as you can, with a note asking for their co-operation.

Design the rehearsal schedule so that only those required attend specific rehearsals.

It is a good strategy to call the chorus first and work on the music. Always make rehearsals fun for chorus and give them plenty to do.

Costume

Supply forms (with the rehearsal schedules) that require the character/s measurements asap and pass on to your costume department as soon as rehearsals begin.

Parents are more inclined to help make the costumes if you send material home that is cut out ready for sewing.

Sets and props

Make sure that the cast know the positioning of each set and give them an improvised stage set so they are used to moving around it.

Get actors used to using any handprops in the show. Improvise if they not yet constructed.

Advertising

Create an ‘event’ on social media and encourage the cast and crew to like and share - upload fun rehearsal shots, but not too many!

Encourage cast blogs.

Flood the area with posters and try for coverage on local radio.

Constantly remind the school of the forthcoming production via your social media pages, websites and newsletters.

Offer a prize to the student who sells the most tickets.

Performance

Always have a ‘preview’ afternoon which is, in fact, another valuable dress rehearsal; this time with an audience. Primary schools are usually happy to see your High School production.

Post performance

No matter how amiable you are feeling towards the cast, never attend a cast party if held at the home of a student! What you may see there, you may later be required to explain.

Have a thank-you meeting for the cast and everyone involved, including front-of-house and back-stage workers. This can be a special lunch. Have a short break, then start looking for a suitable show for next year.

Putting on the school musical is a bit like child-birth, and when you get it right, you forget the pain and recall only the joy - and find yourself doing it all over again.

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.

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

Black Lives Matter and #MeToo have changed the game for musical theatre. David Spicer reports on the new rules for the stage.

have Eliza return to Higginssubserviently.

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 himthrough 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

this year. He described some of the lines in the songs as “scary”. ‘One Night in Bangkok’ is traditionally staged in a bar with scantily clad Asian women.

“When done eight years ago, it had white people dressed as Asian people for this scene. The tricky thing is that it was a hit in the original show. What was I to do with this piece?”

“I decided to change it to a company number. Everyone sang a part of it.”

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 Barnum was Donald Trump. We made every male character a cartoon and the Ringmaster Kirby Burgess played all these men. It worked enough so that is was not so offensive, but it may not have entirely solved it. At the end we made Todd come out as a clown. In the original it ends with a triumph, but we had a different ending. Todd was speaking to an empty circus.”

(Continued on page 107)

A workshop at AMTF 2021. Photo: Melanie Kate.

Tyran’s view is that it is still acceptable to portray racism or sexism on stage, so long as there are consequences for the behaviour.

Callum Francis, the Helpmann winning lead of Kinky Boots, tackled the issue at another seminar, pushing back at cancel culture.

“If there is a troubled story which might make people uncomfortable, (we must consider that) it was written in a time from another era. Just because it is on, doesn’t mean we believe it now. I don’t believe in the cancellation of shows. It is still art,” he said.

However, Callum endorsed moves for greater authenticity in casting.

There have been high profile controversies in recent times in community theatres in Brisbane and Melbourne. Companies came under strident attack on social media for casting In the Heights (with nonLatinos) and Kinky Boots (featuring a white Lola).

Stricter casting requirements have now come into place. The new rule of thumb is that if a writer stipulates that ethnicity is critical to a character, then those wishes must be adhered to, or the rights may be withdrawn. On the flip side, if there is no ethnicity stipulated by the writer, then it should not be assumed that the actors must all be white.

A few years ago, theatrical devices were allowed to portray race. Schools were given permission to stage the musical Hairspray with the African American characters portrayed by their costumes. The seminar was told this is no longer acceptable.

Callum Francis said he is very uncomfortable at casting being portrayed by clothing.

“Absolutely not. Hairspray without the race part is just a fun, amusing musical.”

As for the character of Lola in the musical Kinky Boots, Callum agreed that this should be cast with a person of colour, as the lyrics of the songs refer to this, and a critical scene is written to it.

Having access to a high calibre of artists from diverse backgrounds is not always straightforward. It can be especially problematic in regional community theatre or schools with smaller pools of talent.

Across the board, community theatres are coming to terms with the new rules. In Priscilla Queen of the Desert, an indigenous artist must be engaged for the indigenous character in the musical. When Melbourne’s CLOC Musical Theatre could not find a male indigenous artist, they were allowed to cast a female indigenous artist.

Some musicals won’t be staged as often. The new rules are expected to affect classics such as The King and I, which is set in Thailand. Opera Australia got away with Teddy Tahu Rhodes in the lead a few years back. Could that happen again? Companies will have to work harder to widen their pool of participants at auditions.

Indigenous artist Naarah Shaye Barnes told the Diversity seminar that she would love to stage The Colour Purple in Hobart. She noted there was an audible groan from the audience at how difficult this might be to cast.

“The Hobart theatre scene is not very diverse. We have to change the communities we are talking to. I know

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.

(Continued from page 106)

My Fair Lady (2016) Photo: Jeff Busby. Chess (2021) Photo: Jeff Busby.

The Broadway Junior Shows Of Stephen Schwartz

The celebrated composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz has created some of the most beloved musicals of recent times, including Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, The Baker's Wife and Working.

Stephen Schwartz has picked up three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and a special Tony Award for his commitment to new talent.

His passion for mentoring young artists and supporting educational initiatives is matched perfectly to Music Theatre International’s (MTI’s) commitment to adapt shows for young performers and provide resources for youth theatre programs.

Together with MTI, he has been involved in adapting several of his fulllength shows for young performers, including Godspell JR, Captain Louie JR, Children of Eden JR and My Son Pinocchio JR. These shows provide age-appropriate material that is both challenging and accessible for young performers, and they have become

staples of youth theatre programs around the world.

“I think Musical Theatre as a part of education not only provides performance and teamwork skills, but also provides important life skills such as empathy, community and expanded imagination. I am honoured to have my shows available as a part of MTI's Broadway Junior series and to share my work with a new generation,” Stephen Schwartz said.

Godspell JR. is an adaptation of one of his earliest and most famous musicals, based on the biblical parables of Jesus Christ. Boasting a score with chart-topping songs, this show is designed to be staged in a simple, stripped-down manner that emphasises the message and spirit of the parables.

Based on the children's book The Trip by Ezra Jack Keats, Captain Louie JR. is a musical about a young boy who moves to a new neighbourhood and must navigate the challenges of making new friends.

In Disney's My Son Pinocchio JR., the classic tale of toymaker Geppetto's little wooden puppet is given new life as it retells the classic Disney story from Geppetto’s perspective, featuring the beloved classic songs “When You Wish upon a Star” and “I’ve Got No Strings”, alongside a host of new songs by Schwartz.

Children of Eden JR is a musical that explores the stories of the Bible's first families, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah and his family, and has been celebrated for its powerful message of family, community, and faith.

shows for young performers have become beloved staples of youth theatre programs around the world, inspiring generations of young performers to discover the magic of musical theatre and the power of storytelling.

“It was great fun for me to rethink and redesign these shows with a younger cast in mind, and I am excited to see where it takes these young artists. I encourage all young people to get involved in theatre and to discover the magic of musicals for themselves,” Stephen Schwartz said.

The musicals of Stephen Schwartz can be licensed for performance through Music Theatre International. mtishows.com.au

Stephen Schwartz's

Stephen Schwartz.

Photo: Ralf Rühmeier.

Love Never Dies Now Available For Amateur Productions

ORiGiN Theatrical in association with The Really Useful Group are thrilled to announce the amateur release of Love Never Dies in Australia and N.Z.

Our favourite characters from The Phantom of the Opera return.

It is 1907, ten years after The Phantom’s disappearance from the Paris Opera House. The Phantom has escaped to a new life in New York where he lives amongst the screaming joy rides and freak-shows of Coney Island, working on his music and yearning for his one true love and musical protégée, Christine Daaé.

Christine, now an opera superstar and struggling in an ailing marriage to Raoul, arrives with her family in New York to sing at the opening of Oscar Hammerstein’s new theatre. In a bid to win back her love, The Phantom lures

Online extras!

Listen to the soundtrack of Love Never Dies on Spotify. Scan or visit spoti.fi/40qklAU

them to the glittering and subterranean splendours of Coney Island, where all is not what it seems.

Love Never Dies features the smouldering duet “Beneath a Moonless Sky”, the haunting “The Beauty Underneath” and the triumphant showstopper “Love Never Dies”.

Characters: Christine Daaé, opera diva; The Phantom, a composer and magician known as the Opera Ghost; Raoul, married to Christine, now a stoic and functioning alcoholic; Madame Giry, the ballet mistress and mother of Meg; Meg Giry, Madame Giry’s daughter, member of the ballet chorus, Christine’s best friend; Mr Gangle, Mr Squelch, Fleck, mystical characters who comment on the story; Gustave, Christine's Son.

Orchestrations: Available for 14, 16 or 21 piece orchestra

Settings: Coney Island/Pier, Theatre at Phantasma, Madame Giry’s office, Manhattan, Hotel Suite, The Maze of Mirrors, Decrepit Bar, Dressing Room.

Credits: Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Glenn Slater. Additional lyrics by Charles Hart. Book by Ben Elton. Based on “The Phantom of Manhattan” by Frederick Forsyth.

Apply for the rights and order a perusal at origintheatrical.com.au/work/12761 or email kim@originmusic.com.au

Study Resources

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

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 littlebut 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 rewardingor 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

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 batteredand 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

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!

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.

Left: ‘Albert the Magic Pudding’ puppets from various Marionette Theatre of Australia productions of The Magic Pudding

Terracotta Ancient Greek dolls, exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Photo: Giovanni Dall’Orto.

Right: The Magical Tintookies Return in 1975.

All puppets pictured are from the S,B&W Foundation collection. sbwfoundation.com

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.

Sydney’s First Play

On 4 June 1789, a little over a year after the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Cove, a “party of convicts” presented the lively comedy The Recruiting Officer to celebrate the birthday of King George III.

The play, a favourite of the time, was performed in “a convict-built hut” and honoured by the presence of His Excellency the Governor, Captain Arthur Phillip and an audience of 60 officers and their wives.

The only way we know about this significant event is due to the writing of Colonel David Collins, who stated: “The aims of this first company of players were modest. They professed

no higher aim than humbly to excite a smile, and their efforts to please were not unattended with applause.”

The Recruiting Officer was written by the Irish playwright George Farquhar in 1706, and follows the social and sexual exploits of two officers on a recruiting drive in the town of Shrewsbury. The play enjoyed great popularity throughout the 18th century and was performed everywhere from London playhouses

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 response from the authorities in England. Convicts weren’t to be enjoying themselves, were they?

Author Thomas Keneally based his novel The Playmaker on the performance, which was later adapted into a play, Our Country’s Good

.

Cultural historian, Dr Heather Clarke explores the history, and the dance and music associated with the play at bit.ly/3vS7wQo

Check the website for other stories of convicts, sailors, and settlers, all examined through music and dance.

Harry The Hippopotamus, a rabbit, and Leo the Lion from the production of The Mysterious Potamus in 1979.

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.

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 120)

Boy Swallows Universe

All photos: David Kelly

Boy Swallows Universe

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 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.

Craig Wilkinson (our video designer) said ‘Have a look at this’ and gave me a little sneak peek. I nearly fell off my chair! If this is like 30 seconds of what I’m going to see, I’m going to be in the theatre with my jaw dropped. Watching everybody’s element come together in rehearsals has been an absolute delight - it’s beyond delight. Delight doesn’t even cut it.

BK: What do you hope audiences will take away from the stage adaptation?

Video Design

Craig Wilkinson

In his top five reasons why he wrote Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton noted:

Australian suburbia is a dark and brutal place.

Australian suburbia is a beautiful and magical place.

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

Tim: I hope that audiences will see the work from a completely new perspective - because theatre is a very different medium to reading a bookand 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 Bellbecause 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.

Photo: David Kelly

Sam Strong.

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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 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 movedthat’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 mewhich 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.

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 storyhow 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 different associations with them. Sam and I work on things and Tim’s been great too - we’ve used some of the

The 2021 Boy Swallows Universe season in QPAC’s Playhouse began with previews on August 30 and ran throughout Brisbane Festival until October 3.

qpac.com.au

tracks that are mentioned in the script - I think we’ve got a really good collection.

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 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.

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.

Training

NIDA Creative Schools Programs

The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) offers performing arts educational activities to support learning for both school students and school teachers.

Reflective of NIDA’s worldrenowned approach to education and training, developed over 60 years, the schools programs are carefully designed to provide dynamic and engaging skills development to enhance the early childhood, primary and secondary syllabuses.

It reflects NIDA’s practice-based conservatoire training model and emphasises the importance of collaboration and communication.

The schools programs include specialist training, access to industry

professionals, guest artists, teacher resources and workshops.

NIDA’s customised workshops are available for preschool, primary and secondary school students. The workshops integrate creativity into student learning, and are based on a collaborative approach that recognises the expertise of teachers in creating programs that best meet the needs of their school community.

Customised courses can take place at NIDA (in Sydney or Melbourne) or onsite at a school. Learning

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.

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 curriculums. The program is ideal for schools looking to access specialist skills in performance styles, rehearse scenes from a prescribed text, develop practical skills in devised performance or use drama as pedagogy to enhance literacy outcomes.

NIDA’s teaching resources include notes on acting, creative voice, and movement as well as a suggested reading list for students. Their online program NIDA Devised: Group Performance, which follows professional actors as they brainstorm, develop and showcase work is now free to all Australian secondary school teachers.

Western Australian senior drama students attend a NIDA workshop.

Lucy Durack.

‘Never work with children or animals’ goes the saying. A desperate Debora Krizak, locked down in a COVID-19 hotspot, seeks help from a professional doggie stage trainer Peta Clarke and music theatre star Lucy Durack.

Please know, today was a good day, even though I don’t know what day it is anymore. It doesn’t matter apparently. Not until we reach 80%. It’s almost 11am and a flutter of excitement comes over me as I switch on the telly in anticipation of the daily press conference. For a split second, it feels like opening night nerves but then my mind catches up and I realise I’m still in my PJ’s, slurping unapologetically on my cup of instant coffee.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about my ‘Behind the Scenes’ feature this month but it seems somewhat futile to spotlight the fabulous work being done by my peers when, let’s face it - the lights are off and everybody’s home. So, I’m coming to you live from my locked down LGA in Sydney where Gladys has finally closed Bunnings and every parent in lockdown grapples with the reality that home schooling is like being trapped in an episode of Survivor

It’s time for P.E. and the twins have been instructed to do something “physical”. They both look pale and unengaged so when they plead with me to do the latest Gladys workout posted on Tik Tok, who am I to say no? I can’t sugar coat this whole fiasco any longer. If they want to attempt a burpee every time Gladys repeats herself, they can knock themselves out. While they’re at it, they can knock me out too and wake me up when we’re at 70% - just so I

have enough time to primp and preen myself before we reach that magic 80% and are released back into the wild.

In the meantime, I’ve been lured into the online world of puppy scams. The kids thought we should utilise our time in lockdown to get a puppy. Feeling sorry for them, I start browsing the net. This proves to be a welcome distraction from arguments with anti-vaxxers on Facebook who claim that Ivermectin is the cure for coronavirus. Lockdown brings out the worst in us all - especially the scammers - but like all the antivaxxers, they underestimate the power of proven research. I digress...

We welcome our new puppy “LuLu” into home detention, and I suddenly remember what it is like to be locked up with a destructive toddler. Nothing is off limits and I have unwittingly become the sole carer of a weeing, pooing, chewing ball of brown chocolate fluff. Luckily, I have nothing else to do - thanks Gladys. The cuteness factor lasted an entire day for the kids until LuLu decided that bedspreads and pillows were the ideal place to do a number two.

It was time for some serious puppy training. But where do I start? Time to call in the big guns, which leads me to my next artist in spotlight - animal trainer Peta Clarke from “We Do Animals”.

Peta has been training animals in film, TV and theatre for years. Some of her credits include professional stage productions of Legally Blonde, Annie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and feature films such as The Invisible Man, Top End Wedding and the soon to be released My Life Is Murder. She knows that picking up poo is par for the course. Likening her profession to “running away and joining the circus”, Peta initially studied for a degree in child psychology, but it was animal behaviour that piqued her interest. I asked her what traits an animal trainer needed in the entertainment industry.

“You need to have good problemsolving skills as well as the ability and patience to observe animal behaviour. You also need to have the backbone to say no when a job is not in the best interest of the animal. You are the animal’s voice and need to ask all the questions for them.”

I ask Peta what she thinks about the saying ‘never work with children or animals’. Her response - “You’ve never worked with us!”

Her passion and love for animals clearly outweighs the challenges. A workday for Peta can be anything from working with writers, to producers and directors, actors and animal owners, as well as making sure her animals are trained to the script.

(Continued from page 126)

“At script development stage, we offer insights into the natural behavioural repertoire of the species in question, creating believable animal action on screen. We liken ourselves to puppeteers and love creating behaviours and actions that evoke an emotional response from our audience, which helps to establish the animals as strong characters within each story.”

Perhaps the most important training aspect is to instil a confidence in the animal to feel comfortable and settled in their work setting. The emotional and physical well-being of Peta’s animals is paramount.

“We are consistently thinking about real world exposure. A film or theatre set can be a scary and unusual place for an animal. It’s not for

everyone’s pet. Every day, every interaction, every time they are exposed to something in their environment - we are shaping their response to it.”

So, how is an animal selected for a career in the entertainment industry? Surely, they’re not subjected to hours of unpaid auditions and self-tapes from the doghouse? I recently discovered that LuLu’s father is, in fact, a performing toy poodle. Clearly the universe thought we needed another locked down performer in our house. When it comes to choosing the right animal for the job, Peta considers the overly confident and enthusiastic character traits perfect opportunities to cast the right animal. Sometimes the best trained dog isn’t the best performer because they are ‘over trained’.

“Like actors, we have to audition our animals. It’s all about confidence and bounce back. They need to be able to take anything the ‘make believe’ world can throw at them.”

This is beginning to resonate with me. All actors are experts at bouncing back and we’ve all worked with overconfident types. Perhaps there is a career in this for my LuLu after all. She seems to bounce back effortlessly when I pull her off my brand new, white duvet.

Whilst some animals may impress with their ‘audition’ skills, performing the task consistently, night after night, requires specialised attention to detail. Some of that training includes scent work, where an animal relies on their sense of smell in locating objects and is rewarded with a treat at the other end. On movie sets, where a trainer may not be able to reward the animal immediately, a clicker is used and the animal instantly recognises that the treat is coming. Stick training is also used for specific sightlines on set, but the main tool used by most animal trainers is repetition.

Peta was the animal trainer responsible for the roles of Bruiser and Rufus in the 2013 musical Legally Blonde, starring Lucy Durack as Elle Woods. I asked Peta what it is like for animals to work with actors’ eight show-a-week schedule.

“The dogs know the difference between a rehearsal and an actual show. It’s as obvious to them as it is to us. We make sure all the training work gets done before and during rehearsals so that we can maintain consistency on stage. Things can fall apart very easily. The repetition of the same thing can be a massive help, but if things do go wrong, or something changes, it can be a huge hindrance. One of the funniest things that happened was when my little Chihuahua, who played Bruiser in Legally Blonde, had a cameo at the end of a scene and had to walk on set and cock his leg on a tin can and walk out. He was listed in the credits as the Pissing Dog.”

As actors, it can be both a challenging and rewarding experience to work alongside animals on stage.

Debora Krizak and LuLu.

But how do they develop a rapport with their human co-stars while learning to navigate uncharted territory? I spoke with Elle Woods herself, Lucy Durack, about how this impacted her show preparation and rehearsals.

“I felt very lucky. Each morning I would have at least an hour to get to know and play with all the dogslearning how they worked while playing and rehearsing. Only those of us who worked with the dogs on stage were allowed to play with them, so it felt like a great privilege!”

How do the cast on stage adapt their performance when things go awry? I remember seeing a preview performance of The Wizard of Oz when Toto proceeded to lick the lead actress for an entire song. It made for wonderful viewing but I’m sure the sentiment of the song was completely lost on the audience.

Lucy recalls the time when one of the understudy dogs had to have knee surgery and a new little dog was brought in to start the bonding process with the actors. Lucy said that one of the perks was being able to take the dog home for the night in order to fast-track the training. Being familiar and comfortable with a lead actor is a necessity when it comes to delivering scenes together. But just like human actors, the dogs all bring their own personalities to the role and respond to varying types of positive reinforcement.

“The Chihuahuas would always perform for food and the bulldogs would perform for hugs! They all had such interesting and different personalities. Quinn was lovely and a bit more reserved, Audrey was a bit of a princess and Sparrow was legitimately a star - reincarnated from Hollywood!” says Lucy.

Star power aside, having witnessed the antics of my very own puppy over the course of a week, I think animal trainers themselves deserve a Helpmann. Whether it’s treats or hugs that motivate these cute and complex creatures, I’m still a long way off getting this ‘Ugg boot obsessed’ puppy of mine to “Pissing Dog” credit status.

It’s A Dog’s Life

Most memorable job description?

Peta Clarke: Rat Trainer. I trained 100 rats for Mel Gibson’s movie Hacksaw Ridge!

Stage or Film?

Peta Clarke: Theatre is one of my favourite places to work. I love the sense of family and camaraderie amongst the cast. The actors often come into the dressing room to spend time with the dogs every day. There’s a consistency with theatre that the dogs respond to well.”

Biggest “fur” pas

Peta Clarke: Not warming up one of the Chihuahua’s voices before a show and he couldn’t bark on cue!

Lucy Durack as Elle Woods with Bruiser in Legally Blonde (2012) Photo: Eva Rinaldi.

Top Drama Comes Home

Television streaming services are coming at us from every corner: Foxtel, Netflix, Disney, Paramount, Apple, Stan, etc. You don’t have to travel one step beyond your TV set to experience every available filmed or videotaped happening.

And live theatres are getting in on the act, too. Broadway titles and Britain’s National Theatre are available in your home.

Now Australian theatres (and music and acrobatics) are joining in. Australian Theatre Live, from a small building in Sydney’s Rozelle, has launched its own subscription platform.

Forget ticket prices, or hearing difficulties, or physical disabilities, or

COVID-19. Regardless of geographical or economic barriers you can now see these shows as they were originally produced without leaving your living room.

Grant Dodwell, the Creative Director of Australian Theatre Live says, “People often have this perception that recorded theatre is not as enjoyable as the live thing. However, due to the beautiful camera angles and crisp sound quality, our films offer a level of intimacy beyond that of the usual audience member’s experience. Watching an Australian Theatre Live film is like watching a play from on the stage.”

For $7.99 per month (and a first week free) you can gain access to titles from the Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney Festival, Kings Cross Theatre, the Old Fitz and more.

For instance:

This Much is True by Louis Nowra, at The Old Fitzroy Theatre, 2017. A writer (Lewis Septimus) comes to The Rising Sun, a rundown Sydney pub, and finds a group of Sydneysiders waiting to be discovered, including drag queen Venus (Justin Stewart Cotta). Enthralling. Director Toby Schmitz gets full value from a fabulous script.

The Gospel According to Paul by (and featuring) Jonathan Biggins, at the Playhouse Theatre, Sydney Opera House, 2019, directed by Aarne Neeme. Biggins rises to the challenge of presenting Paul Keating in all his

Frank Hatherley has sampled the newest streaming service Australian Theatre Live On Demand which now offers a wide variety of locally staged plays, revue, music acrobatics and opera.

Orontea.

Photo: Brett Boardman.

incendiary brilliance. Singing as Tom Jones, affectionate and irreverent, he emerges as a 3-dimensional bloke. ‘Right,’ he concludes, ‘now you can all bugger off!’

Norm and Ahmed by Alex Buzo, at the Riverside Theatre, Parramatta, 2021. A 55-year-old Australian study in racism, this brilliant play shows us what happens when an older Aussie bloke meets a bright Pakistani Arts student late at night. It all boils down to the final two words.

Diving for Pearls by Katherine Thomson, at the Griffin Theatre, Sydney, 2017. Directed by Darren Yap, this is an excellent production of a play that highlights the death of mining activity in Wollongong. Great performances all round, especially from Steve Rodgers and Ursula Yovich.

Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, from Queensland Theatre, directed by Damien Ryan in 2021. Rousing, all-action version of this play, directed in Ryan’s Sport for Jove manner.

Away by Michael Gow at Sydney Opera House, 2017. Directed by Matthew Lutton, it opens with a school play version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that sets the scene for what follows. Brilliant performance from Heather Mitchell, ‘henpecking at a million miles an hour’.

Online extras!

Watch the launch video for Australian Theatre Live On Demand. Scan or visit youtu.be/Jy39OOjcLyI

Australian Theatre Live On Demand

To get your subscription, go to stream.australiantheatre.live

The Dapto Chaser by Mary Rachel Brown, at the Griffin Theatre, 2015. Directed by Glynn Nicholas, about a family of greyhound lovers at their home in Dapto, south of Sydney. Winner of Most Outstanding Independent Production of its year, with perfect performances from Danny Adcock and company.

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity by Geoffrey Atherden, at the Ensemble Theatre, 2013, with just a few in the audience. Caroline Brazier stands out

in this excellent 3-hander, directed by Shannon Murphy. What happens when you’re asked to answer a ‘few simple questions’?

Emerald City by David Williamson, at the Griffin Theatre, Sydney, 2014. Directed by Lee Lewis, this production of Williamson’s 1987 play is fresh, bright and cutting, with wonderful Sydney sets by Ken Done.

Plus two versions of The Wharf Revue, from 2015 and 2021, with full original Sydney casts.

And acrobatics and music combine in The Pulse. 26 black-clad female singers warble away while 22 acrobats fling themselves about playing ‘stacks on the mill’, at the Roslyn Packer Theatre for the Sydney Festival, 2022.

Or there’s Italian Baroque with Circa, also from Sydney Festival 2022, mixing music from the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and acrobatics from a richly versatile mob of gymnasts.

Not to mention Platée, an opera by Jan Philippe Rameau, directed by Neil Armfield, performed by Pinchgut Opera in December 2021 for only 5 performances. Luckily they taped it and now it’s available to us all!

Away.

Photo: Pia Johnson.

Taming Of The Shrew. Photo: Brett Boardman.