Contemporary Australian theatre is influenced greatly by issues and affairs that are relevant to modern Australian culture. Prevalent examples of these issues are the treatment of Indigenous Australians, which is explored in the play ‘Stolen’ by Jane Harrison, and Australia’s vast and growing multiculturalism, which is explored in the play ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ by Lally Katz. Through numerous dramatic techniques and conventions, these plays (and Australian drama and theatre as a whole) stage a range of the different individual experiences found in Australian society.
Contemporary Australian theatre is often enhanced through several dramatic features such as a range of characters, a combination of performance styles and dramatic techniques and connections. These include the age, cultural background and situation (including Indigenous) of a character, through time, place, structure and acting style. I learned about this idea from Series 1 of our class workshops, where the group I was placed in (as well as another group in the class) was given the task of creating a short advertisement for a play based around a collage of images we were given. Because a significant portion of this collage was centred around war, we decided to make the play about a Holocaust survivor recounting her experiences during World War II to a Holocaust denier. Creating and acting in this scene helped to highlight the vast multiculturalism in modern Australian society, and established the idea that different performance styles, namely transitional acting, can demonstrate differences in time and place. Another group was given the task of creating a mural based around the poem ‘Bora Ring’ by Judith Wright. Once they had completed it, Ms McGowan scribbled over it, and wrote the words ‘RUBBISH MAY BE DUMPED HERE’ in the centre. Seeing the mural after it had been defaced by Ms McGowan helped me have a greater understanding of how much of Indigenous Australian culture was destroyed by European settlers. From this workshop, I learned about the importance of the cultural background of characters in contemporary Australia theatre, and the ways in which different performance styles can be used to convey ideas and themes. The use and melding of dramatic techniques and performance styles enhance Contemporary Australian theatre performances, and help the audience achieve a greater understanding of the experiences of modern Australian citizens.
The flow and manipulation of rhythm, as well as the use of appropriate transitions, are essential in order to properly convey characters’ expereinces in Contemporary Australian theatre. Plays that use unconventional structures (such as episodic scenes or nonlinear plot) and/or include flashbacks or sudden changes in location rely on the continuous, uninterrupted rhythm of the play, so that the audience is able to understand and follow the play’s narrative. I learned about this through participating in ‘Series 2’ of the class ‘Workshops’, where the group I was placed in was instructed to perform the first three pages of the play ‘Stolen’ by Jane Harrison. When our characters entered the stage at the beginning of this excerpt, we moved in a very mechanical, structured rhythm, which quickly dissolved into an unordered, messy rhythm when we began speaking on top of each other for some time. As well as this, we signified the ‘transition’ from present day to the past by ‘cleaning’ the stage (as the script instructed), which was done in a very fast-paced manner. From this workshop, I learned that quick changes between scenes and fast-paced (but clear) transitions, when used effectively, ensures the engagement of an audience so that they are able to comprehend the narrative of the performance. Rhythmic manipulation, and the use of clear transitions, are both extremely beneficial dramatic techniques used in Contemporary Australian Theatre to convey the experiences of individuals living in modern Australia.
The style of acting that is used by performers is an important element in contemporary Australian theatre. Both transformational and transitional forms of acting are crucial to rhythm and transitions in these plays, and can be achieved through the manipulation of physicality, voice and costume. I learned about this through Series 3 of the in-class workshops, in which the class was divided into three groups, with two groups performing extracts from ‘Stolen’, and one group (my group) performing the first scene of the second act of ‘Neighbourhood Watch’. The scene from the latter of these two plays demonstrated both transitional and transformational acting. In the scene, the character of Catherine portrays a younger version of Ana, whilst the present-day Ana watches from the side of the stage. Later in the scene, Catherine reverts back to her original character. In our performance of the scene, the actor portraying Catherine (Georgia) signified this transition using the manipulation of her voice and body movement. When playing younger Ana, she would speak with an Eastern-European accent, and her physicality was ‘traditionally ladylike’, or old-fashioned. To contrast this, she spoke with an Australian accent as Catherine, and her posture was more at ease and neutral. This signified the transition between the different characters so that the audience could distinguish the two from each other. Transformational acting was demonstrated through the scenes from ‘Stolen’ that were performed. At the beginning of this scene, each actor entered the stage as themselves, acknowledging the audience members once they reached their place on stage. Once they stepped over their blocks, however, they transformed into their characters, with their posture immediately changing from a neutral stance to the physicality of their character (e.g. Matt Warnock hunched his shoulders and started scratching his arm, which signified that his character was closed-off and socially awkward). Witnessing the actors as their normal selves before they transformed into their characters emphasised the realistic story that the play is telling. Through this workshop, I learned about the physical and vocal manipulations that can be done to demonstrate both transitional and transformational forms of acting. As an actor in the ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ scene, I learned about the importance of the use of changes in voice and movement in highlighting the difference in characters, so that this is clearer for the audience. As an audience member, I learned how changes in physicality can be used to demonstrate the transformation from one character to the next, which subsequently strengthens the audience’s understanding of the play’s purpose and themes. Through this workshop as a whole, I learned that acting style is essential in demonstrating the ways in which Australian drama conveys ideas and themes that are relevant to modern Australia. Both transitional and transformational acting styles impact Australian contemporary theatre greatly, and help refine an audience’s understanding of the characters’, and therefore the individuals of Australian society’s, experiences.
The use of space and proxemics is crucial in Australian theatre in order to convey the experiences of a play’s characters. The actors’ use of blocking in a scene, when done correctly, subsequently lessens the need for props, and can bring about imagery and symbolism, which are both essential elements in contemporary Australian theatre. I learned about this through Series 4 of the in-class workshop series, where two scenes from ‘Stolen’, and one scene from ‘Neighbourhood Watch’, were performed. In the scene from ‘Stolen’ that I performed in, Fred, Matt Warnock and I used space and proxemics to convey the themes and ideas that are presented in the script. An example of this is when Fred and I stood on top of blocks whilst listing off occupations our characters hoped to have when they were older. This was to demonstrate the hopeful and optimistic dreams of young Indigenous Australians, who believe that they can have an exciting and engaging career path. When our characters realised that the most realistic career path for them would be to become a domestic, after being told this by Matt’s character (an ‘Authority Figure’, as the script describes him/her), we slumped down and sat on the blocks, demonstrating how the hopeful attitude of young Aboriginal Australians is destroyed by white Australians. We used a similar action at the conclusion of our performance, when, after singing a darkly comic and sarcastic version of the ‘Happy Little Vegemite’ theme, we all dropped to our knees in unison. This symbolised the submissive role Indigenous Australians are forced to take in terms of their occupations (which relates to the repeated line in the song: “We love to work like slaves”), and how helpless they are in changing this. My synchronized marching with Matt during the first verse of the song reinforced this idea, as it gave the impression that these characters were being controlled or instructed by an authority figure, whilst also demonstrating how a countless number of Aboriginal Australians share the same fate. As an actor in this performance, I learned the importance of levels in terms of conveying status, as well as emotional well-being, and the importance of synchronisation in terms of demonstrating similar ideas. In the same workshop, another group performed the final scene of the 1st act of ‘Neighbourhood Watch’. The actors in this scene used space and proxemics to demonstrate the difference in times and places within the scene. For example, one side of the stage was used by the actors to show Anna’s lounge room, with the other side of the stage being used to show different spaces, such as Anna’s front door, or the streets of Budapest. As well as this, the actors playing the roles of Anna and Catherine circled the blocks and walked around the back of them to signify the passing of time and distance, so that when they stopped, they were in a different place, at a different time. As an audience member watching this performance, it was obvious to me that this was their intention, and I subsequently learned about the importance of space and proxemics in conveying the setting/s of a performance. Through this workshop, I was able to develop a greater understanding of how the different aspects of space and proxemics, such as levels, blocking and movement, are used in contemporary Australian theatre to convey ideas, themes or settings that are key aspects of the play. Space and proxemics in contemporary Australian theatre is essential to the demonstration of different individuals’ experiences in modern Australian society.
The creation of a certain mood or atmosphere is crucial to the sustaining of audience engagement. In contemporary Australian theatre, this is achieved through a wide array of dramatic conventions and techniques, whether it be through the actors themselves (e.g. volume of voice, pace of movement), or the other, technical aspects of the performance (e.g. lighting, set design). I learned about this idea through Series 5 of the in-class workshop series, in which the class was divided into three groups and told to create a ‘soundscape’ (a performance piece that is composed entirely of sounds), with each group’s performance being based around a different theme or plot point from the play ‘Stolen’. My group was instructed to create a soundscape based around the theme of ‘Babies’, in which we had to include several sounds/lines. These included a crying baby, someone singing ‘Rockabye Baby’ and a door slamming. Our soundscape seemed to have the intended effect on the audience, as they stated that the performance (especially the singing of ‘Rockabye Baby’) created a melancholy mood and made them feel “sad”. This was our intention, as we were trying to help the audience have a better emotional understanding of the experiences of the Stolen Generation, since many of them never knew their mother (or both of their parents) and were taken to live with white families at a very young age. Another group in our class performed a soundscape based around the location of a Children’s Home. This began with some actors making blowing noises that sounded like whistling winds, whilst others rustled papers and shook the door at the back of the room. These sounds created an eerie mood and gave the impression of a desolate, isolated atmosphere. As well as this, there was an army general-like voice commanding children to wake up towards the beginning of the performance, which was followed by sweeping noises. This created the impression of a prison-like environment, where children were forced into a daily routine, and were stripped of their freedom. This performance successfully achieved an atmosphere of isolation and oppression by authority, which subsequently helped me to empathise with the experiences of the Stolen Generation. Through this workshop, I was able to develop a richer understanding of how sound can be used to create a particular mood or atmosphere in a performance. Mood and atmosphere are essential elements involved in the sustaining of audience engagement in contemporary Australian theatre.
Contemporary Australian theatre uses a wide range of theatrical techniques, and combines them together to create a performance that engages audiences and highlights the different individual experiences found in Australian society. I learned about this through the in-class performance aspect of our assessment task this term, in which we had to create, direct and act in a performance comprising of a variety of scenes from either ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ or ‘Stolen’. These performances had to include each aspect of theatre that was covered by the series of in-class workshops we participated in in class. The group I was placed into was given the task of composing a performance that comprised of scenes from ‘Neighbourhood Watch’. As our performance consisted of many different scenes (including the first and final scenes of the play), our intention was to create clear transitions between scenes. To achieve this, we added short interactions between Ana and Jovanka that took place between most scenes (some of these were already in the script, whilst others were written especially for the performance). This demonstrated Ana’s cold and distrusting nature throughout the majority of the play, which subsequently made her acceptance of Jovanka’s friendship more surprising and heart-warming. To create mood and atmosphere in particular sections of the performance, I played short musical themes on my mandolin. Some of these musical themes and ideas included intense, vibrato picking of a minor 6th interval when it became clear that the character of Artur wanted to kill Ana, and a lively chord progression, reminiscent of traditional European music, when Catherine (as young Ana), Ana and Artur are walking through the streets of Budapest. To further highlight the mood and atmosphere of scenes, we used a variety of colours in the lighting of our performance. For example, light grey lighting was used during the ‘Martin and Catherine’ scene, as it created a ‘ghostly’ effect to signify that Martin is dead. As well as this, the lights quickly turned dark blue when Ana died, creating a melancholy atmosphere. Through this performance task, I learned about the importance of using a variety of theatrical techniques and conventions in order to demonstrate the key themes and ideas that are intended to be presented through the performance. Contemporary Australian theatre uses these techniques to demonstrate the experiences of individuals living in modern Australian society.
Through workshopping the plays ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ by Lally Katz and ‘Stolen’ by Jane Harrison, I learned about the importance of using a wide range of dramatic forms, performance styles, techniques and conventions in Australian Drama and Theatre to convey significant themes and ideas. Participating in these workshops helped me distinguish how Australian drama and theatre can stage a range of the different individual experiences found in Australian society.