Seizing the Senior Syllabus Presenter: Rachel Ford Date: 10 th March 2018 1
Overview Bruce Burton Drama and Theatre Studies Years 11 and 12 $72.95 October 2018 Cover design 2
Author Bruce Burton 3
Living Drama 5e It has been 30 years since Living Drama was first published. Since then, it has become the number one, senior drama and theatre text, for year 11 and 12 students, in Australia. Key changes to Living Drama 5e: 1 Increased emphasis on Australian Theatre and Theatre Practitioners 2 Addition of new theatrical forms and techniques including multimodal texts and verbatim theatre 3 Industry profiles (case studies) 4
The Australian Theatre Scene WRITE your own play and stop effing around with everybody else s. It s lazy. It s easy. It s conservative. And it ignores the vibrancy of the contemporary voices that sound you. Playwright and screenwriter Andrew Bovell The Australian Theatre Directors are hooked on classics as the adaptations take over May 25 2013 5
Seizing the Senior Curriculum The best way to prepare students for external exams and formal assessment is to give them lots of practice, in a variety of forms. Keeping in mind that Queensland has a reverse chronology approach to drama, Living Drama 5e is written so that every chapter stands alone. 6
Overview of Queensland Senior Drama Syllabus 7
Overview of Queensland Drama in Practice Syllabus 8
Overview of Verbatim Theatre During the twentieth century humans acquired a new skill. Aided by all manner of portable devices, we learnt how to tell a people s history by capturing the real voices (with or without images) of our families or strangers, of famous monarchs or ordinary citizens, of those confronting crises and trauma or people negotiating everyday life. The origins of verbatim theatre lie in this alignment of new technologies with ancient storytellers craft, which brought new dimensions to oral traditions of sharing human experiences. Brown, P. Verbatim Staging Memory & Community Currency Press, Sydney, 2010 p. vii. 9
Overview of Verbatim Theatre Uses the words of a person/community to tell the narrative. Verbatim Theatre can be traced back to the 1950s and has close links to documentary theatre and community theatre. Traditionally involves creating scripts from interviews, but can also involve the use of letters (Letters to Lindy), Hansard reports (A Certain Maritime Incident), newspaper reports, songs etc. Can be performed in traditional performance styles as well as nontraditional styles such as multi-disciplinary theatre. Can be performed in liner and non-linear dramatic forms. The National Theatre on Verbatim Theatre The National Theatre on A Guide to Creating Verbatim Theatre The National Theatre on The Ethics of Verbatim Theatre 10
Scripted Verbatim Theatre - Alana Valentine Parramatta Girls by Alana Valentine Question: who is the community being documented in the play? Question: why is it important to inform an audience about this community? Letters to Lindy by Alana Valentine Question: according to Alana Valentine, what is a play (storytelling practice) about? 11
Scripted Verbatim Theatre - Workshop Workshop: Analysing a Verbatim Text Choose a verbatim text for example: Aftershocks, Run Rabbit Run, Embers, Beyond The Neck, Letters To Lindy, or another recent verbatim play. Identify the characteristics of verbatim theatre in the play. Identify the community being represented and the story being told. Analyse the narrative structure of the play. Analyse the use of the elements of drama. Present the analysis as a short written report. Note: use the extract from Letters to Lindy pp. 32-34 12
Scripted Verbatim Theatre - Workshop Workshop: Creating a Verbatim Text Working in pairs, interview each other about an event or experience in your lives, recording the interview. Use the interview to devise a short piece of verbatim theatre based on this interview. In the performances, you should, wherever possible, use the exact words of the person you interviewed, however you may change the order of sentences and phrases in order to effectively use the elements of drama for example to create dramatic tension. In changing the order of sentences and phrases in the text, you should not change the meaning of the text. Perform the piece for another member of the class, preferably not the person you interviewed, and ask them to analyse the performance with reference to the elements of drama. Revise the performance based on the feedback received. Perform the revised piece for the class. 13
Overview of Headphone Verbatim Theatre Headphone-verbatim is a paperless form of verbatim theatre featuring the faithful reproduction of speech patterns. This technique operates on the principle there is as much information embedded in how someone speaks, as there is in what they are saying. As the name suggests, headphone-verbatim requires actors to wear headphones throughout the performance, via which they are fed a carefully edited audio-script constructed from recorded interviews. Oades, R. Verbatim Staging Memory & Community Currency Press, Sydney, 2010 p. 84 14
Overview Headphone Verbatim Theatre Headphone verbatim theatre comes in two forms. The actors wear the headphones, - Draws on realism and Brechtian performance techniques - Requires close observation by the actor, - Is suitable for all students. The audience wear the headphones, - Multi-disciplinary in nature, - The audience can hear and share the same experience as the performer, - Engages students in ICT skills. 15
Headphone Verbatim Theatre - Roslyn Oades I m Your Man by Roslyn Oades Question: based on the interview with Roslyn Oades, do you think she is celebrating, documenting, empowering or informing the audience about the boxing community? Justify your answer. Billy The Kid Dibb on I m Your Man Question: what are the key acting techniques? Question: what is the process that Roslyn and Mohammed undertook to create the performance? 16
Headphone Verbatim Theatre - Workshop Workshop: Analysing a Verbatim Text Choose a verbatim text for example: Aftershocks, Run Rabbit Run, Embers, Beyond The Neck, Letters To Lindy, or another recent verbatim play. Identify the characteristics of verbatim theatre in the play. Identify the community being represented and the story being told. Analyse the narrative structure of the play. Analyse the use of the elements of drama. Present the analysis as a short written report. NOTE: This time, use the extract from I m Your Man pp. 102-105 17
Headphone Verbatim Theatre - Workshop Workshop: Audience headphones and found sounds Choose a monologue from one of the verbatim plays listed below. Read through the monologue and identify the sounds that could be used to enhance an audience s experience of a performance of the monologue. Record the sounds, using found sound sources, for example, an explosion could be replicated by blowing up and popping a paper bag, a slap could be replicated through body percussion. Practice performing the monologue with the found sounds. As you rehearse, mark down the timing for each sound so that they can be edited together. Create a single audio file of the recordings to be played through the audiences own device during a performance of the monologue. Perform the monologue with the found sounds played through the audience s own device, with the audience listening to the found sounds on their headphones. Note: use the extract from Run Rabbit Run pp. 58-61 18
Headphone Verbatim Theatre - Workshop Workshop: Audience headphones and found sounds Talking to Brick Walls by Claire Christian & The Empire Arts Impact Ensemble, Playlab, Brisbane, 2014 The Violin Player by Catherine Fargher, Australianplays.org, Hobart, 2009 Stories of Love and Hate in Acts of Courage by Roslyn Oades, Currency Press, Sydney 2014 Apocalypse Perth by Kate Rice, Australianplays.org, Hobart, 2008 Grounded in Cyberbile/Grounded by Alana Valentine, Currency Press, Sydney 2013 Run Rabbit Run by Alana Valentine, Currency Press, Sydney 2004 CMI (A Certain Maritime Incident) by Version 1.0 in Staging Asylum, Currency Press, Sydney 2013 19
Scripted Verbatim Theatre - Workshop Workshop: Headphone Verbatim with Found Sounds Working in groups of 3 5 five, identify a group in your local community who you would like to create a verbatim performance piece with. This could be a traditional group such as members of the local nursing home, refugees, immigrants or veterans. Or this could be a non-traditional group such as the local croquet club, a group involved in citizen science, young people who have lost a local recreational venue or a sporting team that has had a victory. Prepare for and conduct a series of interviews with the group about an event that is of importance to them. Use the interviews to create a script about the people and the event. The script should use the same words as the interviewees, but can appear in a different order, as long as the meaning of the interview is not changed. Create a found sound audio track to accompany the performance. Rehearse the script and the found sound recording making adjustments to the found sound audio as needed. Perform the script with the audience listening to the found sounds through their own devices using their own headphones. 20
How can you modify one of the Unit 3 or 4 assessment tasks for a unit of work in Unit 1?
Assessment Unit 3: Performance Students work as actor to collaboratively create a polished performance of a published text that makes social comment for a chosen audience. The text must draw on the inherited practices on the Absurd or Epic styles of theatre or an appropriate text that makes social comment. Working as actor, students will interpret and rehearse a published text to realise the dramatic purpose inherent in the selected text. Drama 2019 v1.0, General Syllabus, Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority, July 2017, p. 37 22
Assessment Unit 4: Practice-led project Students will work as a director to create a directorial vision through manipulating the elements of drama and conventions of Contemporary performance to transform an inherited published text. The vision will be articulated through a multimodal pitch vision, including evaluation and justification of their dramatic choices. Informed by ideas in the directorial visions, students will present, as an individual or as an ensemble, an excerpt of the selected text as a Contemporary performance. Drama 2019 v1.0, General Syllabus, Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority, July 2017, p. 48 23
Additional resources - Verbatim Texts Gaybies by Dean Bryant, Playlab, 2017** April s Fool by David Burton, Playlab, Brisbane, 2010 Talking to Brick Walls by Claire Christian & The Empire Arts Impact Ensemble, Playlab, Brisbane, 2014 Embers by Campion Decent, Playlab, Brisbane, 2008 The Violin Player by Catherine Fargher, Australianplays.org, Hobart, 2009 Beyond the Neck by Tom Holloway, Playlab, 2008 OneFiveZeroSeven by Suzie Miller, Playlab, Brisbane, 2015 * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content ** Sensitive material 24
Additional resources - Verbatim Texts I m Your Man in Acts of Courage by Roslyn Oades, Currency Press, Sydney, 2014 Stories of Love and Hate in Acts of Courage by Roslyn Oades, Currency Press, Sydney 2014 Apocalypse Perth by Kate Rice, Australianplays.org, Hobart, 2008 Cyberbile in Cyberbile/Grounded by Alana Valentine, Currency Press, Sydney, 2013 Grounded in Cyberbile/Grounded by Alana Valentine, Currency Press, Sydney, 2013 * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content ** Sensitive material 25
Additional resources - Verbatim Texts Ladies Day by Alana Valentine, Currency Press, Sydney, 2016 Letters to Lindy by Alana Valentine, Currency Press, Sydney, 2017 Parramatta Girls and Eyes to the Floor by Alana valentine, Currency Press, Sydney, 2007 Run Rabbit Run by Alana Valentine, Currency Press, Sydney, 2004 CMI (A Certain Maritime Incident) by Version 1.0 in Staging Asylum, Currency Press, Sydney, 2013 Today we re Alive by Linden Wilkinson, Playlab, Brisbane, 2014* * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content ** Sensitive material 26
Additional resources - Texts Verbatim Techniques in Contemporary Documentary Theatre Will Hammond and Dan Steward (Editor) Verbatim: Staging Memory and Community Paul Brown (Editor) Actions: The Actor s Thesaurus Caldrone & Lloyd Williams 27
Additional resources 1. Centre Stage 2. Cue the Chorus 3. Not in Print 4. Currency Press 5. Playlab 6. AustralianPlays.org 28
Identify one thing that you are going to do with your students next week.
Questions and discussion
Contact: rachel.ford@cengage.com