VCE English and EAL

PHOTOGRAPH 51 by Anna Ziegler

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(Studied in comparison with My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin)

Photograph 51 rewrites the story of the discovery of DNA, high- lighting the role of Rosalind Franklin in a discovery conventionally attributed to James Watson and Francis Crick. Anna Ziegler’s play highlights that history is really HIS-story; the stories of men told at the expense of the female voice.

While we examine the stories of contemporary women, we look back through the lens of time to rural Australia in the 1890s as depicted in My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. In this novel, we are taken on the journey of Sybylla Melvyn, a woman who is left to deal with the fallout from the poor business decisions of her father. Sybylla resolves to remain unmarried, not because of a staunch view against marriage, but because of her depleted self-esteem as a woman.

In the workshop, we compare My Brilliant Career with Photograph 51. The protagonists, Franklin and Melvyn are not the same archetypal woman but despite being over a hundred years apart, there are frighteningly common threads of sexism that only become obvious when we continue the project of telling HER-stories.

Reserve your spotNO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller

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(Studied in comparison to The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham)

At first glance, the contrast between the comedy of The Dressmaker and the high drama horror of The Crucible is glaring. But there are obvious similarities too. Both are set in small-town frontier com- munities, riddled with political alliances and hidden tales of infidelity, resulting in a woman being scapegoated. Both explore deceit, guilt, and the loss of identity.

Contrasting The Crucible and The Dressmaker exposes elements of their stylistic differences. The hysteria in The Crucible has farce-like qualities as did McCarthy’s own ‘witch trials’. The grotesque comedy of The Dressmaker is counterpointed and sharpened by sitting against the backdrop of tragic and sinister aspects of The Crucible.

Our workshops will explore some of these themes as well as examining points of comparison between the two texts’ characters.

Because it is my face, and it is yours

Reserve your spotNO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

EXTINCTION by Hannie Rayson

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A seemingly simple story about saving the Tiger Quoll from extinction that contains a complex critique of ‘heroes vs villains’ narratives, highlighting those narratives unsuitability for the modern world.This play deals with a wide variety of possibly interrelated extinctions: the extinction of the Tiger Quoll; the impending threat of global warming and the extinction of humanity; the extinction of white picket fence monogamous heterosexual life partnerships; the extinction of didactic concepts of good and evil.These are just some of the themes that this play subtly mines.

This workshop will provoke questions and give young audiences the tools to explore individual answers to the play and how to tackle the next phase of life on this planet.

“Perhaps extinction is just part of the cycle of life”

Reserve your spotNO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare

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Performance

This short performance is a joyful bubbling brook of a rom-com with a warning sign that malice, power games and social critique lurk beneath the surface. Is love a virus or a cure? In a world
of deceptions and masks, the lines between romance, violence, desire, and revenge blur. Do we celebrate existing notions of love or deconstruct them and strike courtship down? Can we do both? What is the role of leaders and their relationship to compassion, equality, and justice? Are they the source of our ‘bum jokes’ or elected to maintain the status quo?

Workshop

Where the performance blends light and dark interpretations, our workshop investigates how the text supports more ex- treme readings. One could read Don Pedro and John as harm- less tinkering jesters or powerful men quick to exact violence if their whims are not met. Could Hero and Claudio be pure and innocent lovers or representations of the transactional transfer of possessions and influence? And are Beatrice and Benedick potentially gullible egos influenced by pandering and conflict, or brilliant minds, burning in loneliness that realise they need not be alone?

“I do spy some marks of love in her.”

 

Reserve your spotNO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

WOMEN OF TROY by Euripides

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Performance

The screams of the women of Troy reverberate through time, echoing into the contemporary world.This stylised ensem-
ble piece is a great introduction to the story of the Trojan War but also draws our attention to how parable functions
in Greek drama through archetype and myth.The tales of Hecuba, Helen, Cassandra, Andromache, and Talthibius become representations of familiar characters, social types and catego- ries.The result is a powerful, cathartic production that reaches out to young audiences making this ancient tale relevant and immediate.

Workshop

Through questions and replaying scenes we examine how directorial choices in the production eclipse and highlight certain themes in the text.Alternative readings ofTalthibius and Helen tease out mechanisms of institutional violence and the dynamics of relationships shaped by seductive power and the concept of ‘the vixen’.Where time permits, we examine how dramatic moments may have achieve a different cathartic effect by highlighting individual character voices and less sym- bolic dramatic choices.

“The mortal who sacks fallen cities is a fool, his own turn must come”

Reserve your spotNO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller

by

(Studied in comparison to The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham)

At first glance the contrast between the comedy of one and the high drama horror of the other is glaring. But there are obvious similarities too. Both are set in small-town frontier communities, riddled with political alliances and hidden tales of infidelity, resulting in a woman being scapegoated. Both explore deceit, guilt, and the loss of identity.

Contrasting ‘The Crucible’ and ‘The Dress Maker’ exposes elements their stylistic differences. The hysteria in The Crucible has farcelike qualities as did McCarthy’s own ‘witch trials’. The grotesque comedy of ‘The Dressmaker’ is counterpointed and sharpened by sitting against the backdrop of tragic and sinister aspects of ‘The Crucible’.

Our workshops will explore some of these themes as well as examining points of comparison between the two texts’ characters.

Because it is my face, and it is yours

Price (ex GST)

$17 per student (minimum total fee $1,700)

Reserve your spotNO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

PHOTOGRAPH 51 by Anna Ziegler

by

(Studied in comparison to The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood)

Various feminist movements comment that history is really HIS-story; the stories of men told at the expense of the female voice: if Homer’s Odyssey can be thought of as the father of all stories, Atwood’s ‘Penelopiad’ weaves a new archetypal womens’ tale. Atwood has been a powerful force in writing the female voice and has undoubtedly been an inspiration to Ziegler in her own efforts to tell the stories

of contemporary women. Photograph 51 rewrites the story of the discovery of DNA, highlighting the role of Rosalind Franklin in a discovery conventionally attributed to James Watson and Francis Crick.

Franklin and Penelope are not the same archetypal woman but despite being thousands of years apart, there are frighteningly common threads of sexism that only become obvious when we continue the project of telling HER-stories.

Price (ex GST)

$17 per student (minimum total fee $1,700)

Reserve your spotNO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare

by

Performance

This short performance is a joyful bubbling brook of a rom-com with a warning sign that malice, power games and social critique lurk beneath the surface. Is love a virus or a cure? In a world of deceptions and masks the lines between romance, violence, desire, and revenge blur. Do we celebrate existing notions of love or deconstruct them and strike courtship down? Can we do both? What is the role of leaders and their relationship to compassion, equality, and justice? Are they the source of our ‘bum jokes’ or elected to maintain the status quo?

Workshop

Where the performance blends light and dark interpretations, our workshop investigates how the text supports more extremes readings. One could read Don Pedro and John as harmless tinkering jesters or powerful men quick to exact violence if their whims are not met. Hero and Claudio could be pure and innocent lovers or representations of the transactional transfer of possessions and influence? And are Beatrice and Benedick potentially gullible egos influenced by pandering and conflict, or brilliant minds, burning in loneliness, that realise they need not be alone?

“I do spy some marks of love in her.”

Price (ex GST)

$17 per student (minimum total fee $1,700 )

Reserve your spotNO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

WOMEN OF TROY by Euripides

by

Performance

The screams of the of the women of Troy reverberate through time, echoing into the contemporary world. This stylised ensemble piece is a great introduction to the story of the Trojan War but also draws our attention how parable functions in Greek drama through archetype and myth. The tales of Hecuba, Helen, Cassandra, Andromache, and Talthibius become representations of familiar character and social types and categories. The result is a powerful, cathartic production the reaches out to young audiences making this ancient tale relevant and immediate.

Workshop

Through questions and replaying scenes we examine how directorial choices in the production eclipse and highlight certain themes in the text. Alternative readings of Talthibius and Helen tease out mechanisms of institutional violence and the dynamics of relationships shaped by seductive power and the concept of ‘the vixen’. Where time permits, we examine how dramatic moments may have achieve a different of cathartic effect by highlighting individual character voices and less symbolic dramatic choices.

“The mortal who sacks fallen cities is a fool, his own turn must come”

Price (ex GST)

$17 per student  (minimum total fee $1700 )

Reserve your spotNO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

EXTINCTION by Hannie Rayson

by

A seemingly simple story about the saving the tiger quoll from extinction contains a complex critique of ‘heroes vs villains’ narratives, highlighting those narratives unsuitability for the modern world. This play deals with a wide variety of possibly interrelated extinctions: the extinction of the Tiger Quoll; the impending threat of Global warming and the extinction of humanity; the extinction of white Pickett fence monogamous heterosexual life partnerships; the extinction of didactic concepts of good and evil. These are just some of the themes that this play subtly mines.

This workshop will provoke questions and give young audiences the tools to explore individual answers to the play and how to tackle the next phase of life on this planet.

“Perhaps extinction is just part of the cycle of life”

Price (ex GST)

$17 (minimum total fee $1,700 )

Reserve your spotNO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED