Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Australian drama'
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1
Az-Zubaidy, Thamir Rashid Shayyal. "Multiculturalism in contemporary Australian drama." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/43029.
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This thesis investigates the representation of Australia's cultural diversity in contemporary Australian drama from 1990 to 2014. It traces Australian governments' reports and statements of the policy of multiculturalism from 1977 to 2017 and critiques their promulgation of Australian multiculturalism as mainly aligning with the dominant culture. Through its analysis of nine plays by eleven playwrights from diverse cultural backgrounds, plays which reflect Australia's linguistic and cultural diversity, this thesis contends that literary writing - and drama in particular - opens a space for alternative models of multiculturalism. Through its exploration of the journey motif in most of those plays, the thesis challenges the assumption that themes of displacement, alienation and belonging are restricted to works by playwrights from migrant backgrounds. In this sense, it argues that multicultural writing is not restricted to works by writers from migrant backgrounds or dealing with the issues of migration. Through its engagement with the relationship between form and content in these plays, and the role of form in conveying the fluidity of Australian identity, the thesis contributes to scholarship on postcolonial drama. It also argues that resistant postcolonial writing is not restricted to Aboriginal writing but can incorporate works by white and migrant Australians as well.
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Lyssa, Alison. "Performing Australia's black and white history acts of danger in four Australian plays of the early 21st century /." Thesis, Electronic version, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/714.
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Thesis (MA)--Macquarie University (Division of Humanities, Department of English), 2006.Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in English in the Division of Humanities, Dept. of English, 2006. Bibliography: p. 199-210.
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May, Harvey Brian. "Australian Multicultural Policy and Television Drama in Comparative Contexts." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2004. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/15835/1/Harvey_May_Thesis.pdf.
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This thesis examines changes which have occurred since the late 1980s and early 1990s with respect to the representation of cultural diversity on Australian popular drama programming. The thesis finds that a significant number of actors of diverse cultural and linguistic background have negotiated the television industry employment process to obtain acting roles in a lead capacity. The majority of these actors are from the second generation of immigrants, who increasingly make up a significant component of Australia's multicultural population. The way in which these actors are portrayed on-screen has also shifted from one of a 'performed' ethnicity, to an 'everyday' portrayal. The thesis develops an analysis which connects the development and broad political support for multicultural policy as expressed in the National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia to the changes in both employment and representation practices in popular television programming in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The thesis addresses multicultural debates by arguing for a mainstreaming position. The thesis makes detailed comparison of cultural diversity and television in the jurisdictions of the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand to support the broad argument that cultural diversity policy measures produce observable outcomes in television programming.
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May, Harvey Brian. "Australian Multicultural Policy and Television Drama in Comparative Contexts." Queensland University of Technology, 2004. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15835/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines changes which have occurred since the late 1980s and early 1990s with respect to the representation of cultural diversity on Australian popular drama programming. The thesis finds that a significant number of actors of diverse cultural and linguistic background have negotiated the television industry employment process to obtain acting roles in a lead capacity. The majority of these actors are from the second generation of immigrants, who increasingly make up a significant component of Australia's multicultural population. The way in which these actors are portrayed on-screen has also shifted from one of a 'performed' ethnicity, to an 'everyday' portrayal. The thesis develops an analysis which connects the development and broad political support for multicultural policy as expressed in the National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia to the changes in both employment and representation practices in popular television programming in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The thesis addresses multicultural debates by arguing for a mainstreaming position. The thesis makes detailed comparison of cultural diversity and television in the jurisdictions of the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand to support the broad argument that cultural diversity policy measures produce observable outcomes in television programming.
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Dorian, Jennifer. "Constructions of Australianness in contemporary Australian drama : Blue heelers & Heartbreak High." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1999.
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This thesis will examine how Australianness is constructed in two contemporary Australian television dramas - Heartbreak High and Blue Heelers. Founded on the critical tradition of "Cultural Studies", this work will employ text analysis to deconstruct these dramas and examine the ways in
which they manifest Australian cultural identity. However, this thesis recognises that Australianness is not a constant, tangible phenomenon, but rather a series of constructions, each purporting to be "real". Hence I will be
acknowledging that there is not one, singular national identity from which to draw representations, but many different, conflicting cultural identities. Each program constructs a very different view of Australian life and culture. Heartbreak High follows the lives of a group of high school students amidst a multicultural, urban environment and is aimed primarily at a teen audience.
On the other hand, Blue Heelers appeals to an older, more conservative audience with its focus on a small police station in rural Victoria. Some of the issues to be addressed in the main body of the text include the programs
constructions of "Australian" characteristics such as mateship and egalitarianism, and whether these dramas perpetuate the cultural division between rural and urban Australia. Overall this thesis aims to provide a thorough examination of the images of Australia these two programs
construct and to question their origin, meaning and relevance tocontemporary Australian society.
6
Potter, Anna. "Internationalising Australian Children's Television Drama: The Collision of Australian Cultural Policy and Global Market Imperatives." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2005. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16016/1/Anna_Potter_Thesis.pdf.
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When considering the effects of cultural policy on international trade in television programming there is an area that is frequently overlooked, that of classification and censorship. The role that classification and censorship play as tools of cultural policy is poorly understood, as is their impact on the ease with which television programs can be traded. A broad definition of cultural policy has been used here, in order to
encompass both its theoretical and practical elements. Cultural policy as expressed through television classification and censorship is seen here as having three layers. These layers are legislative policy such as local content quotas, the content gate keeping carried out by television producers prior to production, and program classification, that is the implementation of local programming codes by broadcasters.
It is important to understand the effects of television regulatory regimes, including those that govern content classification, on the international trade in programs for two reasons. One is the precedence international economic agreements generally take over cultural policy, because classification and censorship can quietly undermine this precedence in a way which currently receives little attention. The second is the importance of the export market to the Australian television production industry, which
is unable to fully fund its program output from local markets.
Australian children's drama and its export to the UK are the focus of this research as this provides an excellent example of the current tensions between cultural policy and economic imperatives. Australian children's drama is tightly regulated through government policy, particularly the demands of the 'C' (children's) classification. It is argued here that the demands of current Australian cultural policy are making it extremely difficult for Australian producers to internationalise their product and thus cultivate a competitive advantage in international markets.
With the advent of digital technology and the end of spectrum scarcity, the television landscape is changing rapidly. Australian producers of children's programming are facing commercial challenges that have been created by the proliferation of children's channels in the UK and particularly the popularity on those channels of American animation. While the need to cultivate a competitive advantage is pressing, Australian producers of children's programming are also having to accommodate the three layers of cultural policy described earlier, that is the demands of government policy regarding the 'C' classification, the local programming codes of their export market, in this case the United Kingdom, and their own internalised cultural values as expressed through
their gate keeping roles.
My Industry experience in a senior compliance role in the pay television industry led to an awareness of the impact of local classification procedures on international trade in programming and provided the initial starting point for this research. Through scholarly investigation and interviews with three key producers of Australian children's programs and a senior UK programmer, certain findings regarding the impact of regulatory regimes on the export of Australian children's programs have been reached.
The key findings of this research are firstly, that the rationales and operations of national classification schemes seem to be fundamentally untouched by supranational trade agreements and arguably are able to act as restraints on international trade. Additionally, programs that do not conform to the societal values of the countries to which they are being exported, will not sell. Secondly, multi-channelling is having the unexpected effect of driving down prices achieved for children's programs which is a cause for concern, given the importance of international sales to Australian producers.
Part of this decline in pricing may be attributed to the rise in popularity of inexpensive animation, which now dominates children's channels in the UK. Thirdly, this research finds that Australian cultural policy is preventing Australian producers cultivating a
competitive advantage in international markets, by making demands regarding content and quality that render their programs less attractive to overseas channels.
If the Australian government believes that certain culturally desirable forms of television such as high quality, children's programming should continue to exist, it may in future have to modify its cultural policy in order to attain this objective.
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Potter, Anna. "Internationalising Australian Children's Television Drama: The Collision of Australian Cultural Policy and Global Market Imperatives." Queensland University of Technology, 2005. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16016/.
Full textAbstract:
When considering the effects of cultural policy on international trade in television programming there is an area that is frequently overlooked, that of classification and censorship. The role that classification and censorship play as tools of cultural policy is poorly understood, as is their impact on the ease with which television programs can be traded. A broad definition of cultural policy has been used here, in order to encompass both its theoretical and practical elements. Cultural policy as expressed through television classification and censorship is seen here as having three layers. These layers are legislative policy such as local content quotas, the content gate keeping carried out by television producers prior to production, and program classification, that is the implementation of local programming codes by broadcasters. It is important to understand the effects of television regulatory regimes, including those that govern content classification, on the international trade in programs for two reasons. One is the precedence international economic agreements generally take over cultural policy, because classification and censorship can quietly undermine this precedence in a way which currently receives little attention. The second is the importance of the export market to the Australian television production industry, which is unable to fully fund its program output from local markets. Australian children's drama and its export to the UK are the focus of this research as this provides an excellent example of the current tensions between cultural policy and economic imperatives. Australian children's drama is tightly regulated through government policy, particularly the demands of the 'C' (children's) classification. It is argued here that the demands of current Australian cultural policy are making it extremely difficult for Australian producers to internationalise their product and thus cultivate a competitive advantage in international markets. With the advent of digital technology and the end of spectrum scarcity, the television landscape is changing rapidly. Australian producers of children's programming are facing commercial challenges that have been created by the proliferation of children's channels in the UK and particularly the popularity on those channels of American animation. While the need to cultivate a competitive advantage is pressing, Australian producers of children's programming are also having to accommodate the three layers of cultural policy described earlier, that is the demands of government policy regarding the 'C' classification, the local programming codes of their export market, in this case the United Kingdom, and their own internalised cultural values as expressed through their gate keeping roles. My Industry experience in a senior compliance role in the pay television industry led to an awareness of the impact of local classification procedures on international trade in programming and provided the initial starting point for this research. Through scholarly investigation and interviews with three key producers of Australian children's programs and a senior UK programmer, certain findings regarding the impact of regulatory regimes on the export of Australian children's programs have been reached. The key findings of this research are firstly, that the rationales and operations of national classification schemes seem to be fundamentally untouched by supranational trade agreements and arguably are able to act as restraints on international trade. Additionally, programs that do not conform to the societal values of the countries to which they are being exported, will not sell. Secondly, multi-channelling is having the unexpected effect of driving down prices achieved for children's programs which is a cause for concern, given the importance of international sales to Australian producers. Part of this decline in pricing may be attributed to the rise in popularity of inexpensive animation, which now dominates children's channels in the UK. Thirdly, this research finds that Australian cultural policy is preventing Australian producers cultivating a competitive advantage in international markets, by making demands regarding content and quality that render their programs less attractive to overseas channels. If the Australian government believes that certain culturally desirable forms of television such as high quality, children's programming should continue to exist, it may in future have to modify its cultural policy in order to attain this objective.
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Davis, Laurel F. "Voyage to Terra Australis." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2004. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1648.
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This thesis in Writing is composed of two parts, a creative work for stage, and an essay that both informs the writing of the drama and reflects upon it. The creative work, entitled Ann Flinders Remembers, a musical drama based on the life and journals of Matthew Flinders, navigator and cartographer, and his wife, Ann Flinders. The drama consists of lyrics, letters, extracts, dialogue, monologue, and stage directions, the story told from the point of view of Ann Flinders remembering, and by the all-knowing Chorus, of early Greek theatre. The essay, entitled 'Reflections on and of the Pastoral', traces the genre from the early Greek plays through to more recent theatre, and precedes the creative work to show how I came to the point of writing a musical drama based on the Pastoral genre, and what literature and theory might have been an influence. In the essay, I challenge some widely held conceptions of the Pastoral, at the same time re-acquainting myself with the techniques used by dramatists throughout history. Such a course enables me to reveal the habit of mind that lies at the source of the ancient genre.
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Syron, Liza-Mare. "Ephemera Aboriginality, reconciliation, urban perspectives ; Artistic practice in contemporary Aboriginal theatre /." Access electronically, 2004. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20060220.155544/index.html.
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Makeham, Paul B. ""Across the long, dry stage": Discourses of Landscape in Australian Drama." Thesis, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, 1996. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/8980/1/c8980.pdf.
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This thesis is concerned with the representation of landscape in nine Australian plays. The introduction examines the functions and effects of landscape discourses within Australian culture generally, and on the stage in particular. The introduction is followed by three chapters, each of which examines three plays. In the sequence in which they are discussed, the plays are: 'At Dusk' (1937) by Millicent Armstrong; 'Pioneers' (1919) by Katharine Susannah Prichard; 'The Drovers' (1919) by Louis Esson; 'The Fields of Heaven' (1982) by Dorothy Hewett; 'Too Young For Ghosts' (1985) by Janis Balodis; 'Inside the Island' (1980) by Louis Nowra; 'Bran Nue Dae' (1990) by Jimmy Chi and Kuckles; 'The Kid' (1983) by Michael Gow; and 'Aftershocks' (1991) by Paul Brown and the Workers' Cultural Action Committee. The readings proposed here proceed on the understanding that landscapes are systems of representation rather than topographical entities. Landscapes are thus conceivable as textual formations, constituted of discourses and inscribed with a variety of ideologies. 'Discourse' here refers both to the spoken (dialogic) and the visual (scenic) modes of dramatic expression. A wide range of thematic concerns and dramaturgical forms is encompassed by these nine plays; accordingly, a variety of reading strategies is applied to them. In each of the plays examined, landscape and character are shown in a dynamic, mutually determining relationship, even in those realist works in which landscape is rendered as 'background' to the primary sites of interpersonal action. The thesis traces a movement from early realist one-act plays set in bush landscapes, to more recent, non-realist works of full-length set partially or wholly in cities. This structure might be characterised as a movement from the landscapes of 'nature' to the cityscapes of 'culture'.
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Wilding, Derek. "AIDS and pro-social television : industry, policy and Australian television drama." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1998. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/36314/6/36314_Digitised%20Thesis.pdf.
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This thesis examines the intersection of popular cultural representations of HIV and
AIDS and the discourses of public health campaigns. Part Two provides a
comprehensive record of all HIV related storylines in Australian television drama
from the first AIDS episode of The Flying Doctors in 1986 to the ongoing narrative
of Pacific Drive, with its core HIV character, in 1996. Textual representations are
examined alongside the agency of "cultural technicians" working within the
television industry. The framework for this analysis is established in Part One of
the thesis, which examines the discursive contexts for speaking about HIV and AIDS
established through national health policy and the regulatory and industry
framework for broadcasting in Australia. The thesis examines the dominant liberal
democratic framework for representation of HIV I AIDS and adopts a Foucauldian
understanding of the processes of governmentality to argue that during the period of
the 1980s and 1990s a strand of social democratic discourse combined with
practices of self management and the management of the Australian population. The
actions of committed agents within both domains of popular culture and health
education ensured that more challenging expressions of HIV found their way into
public culture.
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Fawns, Kathleen Mary. "Mater Hill : a screenplay." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1999.
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Mater Hill is loosely based on a true story. Liz has always craved and been denied her mother's love. After several years of trauma caused by losing her mother in a boarding house fire, she discovers that arson was involved and investigates, seeking justice. When she mediates with her mother's killer, she effects an emotional substitution. They fall in love and she persuades him to help her convict the main culprit. Even before the trial fails, she begins to reject him, psychologically completing the process of her own separation and individuation. Once Liz has this stronger sense of self, she can experience real compassion for the arsonist.
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Sawada, Keiji. "From The floating world to The 7 stages of grieving the presentation of contemporary Australian plays in Japan /." Phd thesis, Australia : Macquarie University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/13213.
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Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media & Philosophy, Department of Critical and Cultural Studies, 2005.Bibliography: p. 274-291.
Introduction -- The emergence of "honyakugeki" -- Shôgekijô and the quest for national identity -- "Honyakugeki" after the rise of Shôgekijô -- The presentation of Australian plays as "honyakugeki" -- Representations of Aborigines in Japan -- Minorities in Japan and theatre -- The Japanese productions of translated Aboriginal plays -- Significance of the productions of Aboriginal plays in Japan -- Conclusion.
Many Australian plays have been presented in Japan since the middle of the 1990s. This thesis demonstrates that in presenting Australian plays the Japanese Theatre has not only attempted to represent an aspect of Australian culture, but has also necessarily revealed aspects of Japanese culture. This thesis demonstrates that understanding this process is only fully possible when the particular cultural function of 'translated plays' in the Japanese cultural context is established. In order to demonstrate this point the thesis surveys the history of so-called 'honyakugeki' (translated plays) in the Japanese Theatre and relates them to the production of Western plays to ideas and processes of modernisation in Japan. -- Part one of the thesis demonstrates in particular that it was the alternative Theatre movement of the 1960s and 1970s which liberated 'honyakugeki' from the issue of 'authenticity'. The thesis also demonstrates that in this respect the Japanese alternative theatre and the Australian alternative theatre of the same period have important connections to the quest for 'national identity'. Part one of the thesis also demonstrates that the Japanese productions of Australian plays such as The Floating World, Diving for Pearls and Honour reflected in specific ways this history and controversy over 'honyakugeki'. Furthermore, these productions can be analysed to reveal peculiarly Japanese issues especially concerning the lack of understanding of Australian culture in Japan and the absence of politics from the Japanese contemporary theatre. -- Part two of the thesis concentrates on the production of translations of the Australian Aboriginal plays Stolen and The 7 Stages of Grieving. 'This part of the thesis demonstrates that the presentation of these texts opened a new chapter in the history of presenting 'honyakugeki' in Japan. It demonstrates that the Japanese theatre had to confront the issue of 'authenticity' once more, but in a radically new way. The thesis also demonstrates that the impact of these productions in Japan had a particular Japanese cultural and social impact, reflecting large issues about the issue of minorities and indigenous people in Japan and about the possibilities of theatre for minorities. In particular the thesis demonstrates that these representations of Aborigines introduced a new image of Australian Aborigines to that which was dominant amongst Japanese anthropologists.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
291 p
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Blackmore, Ernie. "Speakin' out blak an examination of finding an "urban" Indigenous "voice" through contemporary Australian theatre /." Click here for electronic access to document: http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20080111.121828/index.html, 2007. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20080111.121828/index.html.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2007."Including the plays Positive expectations and Waiting for ships." Title from web document (viewed 7/4/08). Includes bibliographical references: leaf 249-267.
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Wellman, Jessica-Anne. "Drama, education, artistry: Australian practitioners fostering connections across cultures and disciplines in China." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2022. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2546.
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This study examines the experience of Australian drama educators working as professional development facilitators in China between 2017-2019. Limited literature exists that highlights the perspectives of professional development facilitators in this field. This thesis highlights the impact of engaging in this role on the practice of drama educators. Using an autoethnographic approach, data were collected from five individuals through semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 2004) highlighted that the participants' experiences acted as critical moments that led to positive personal and professional outcomes. Three key supporting factors for positive outcomes were identified: 1) critically reflective practice; 2) knowledge and experience in theatre practices and drama pedagogies; and 3) collaborative approaches to delivering professional development.
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Prior, Ross W. "Characterising Actor Trainers' Understanding of their Practice in Australian and English Drama Schools." Thesis, Griffith University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366623.
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Institutionalised actor training, which is essentially a twentieth century phenomenon, often remains a mysterious facet of the theatre industry due largely to the unarticulated understandings of pedagogical practices of acting tutors. This thesis examines acting tutors instructional approaches to actor training in leading drama schools in Australia and England. Using qualitative case study, the report found that tutor responses could be grouped in terms of tutors views of themselves, drama schools and the training process. The goals that the tutors had for actor training could be divided into four interrelated categories: intellectual, personal, social and practical, with a strong emphasis on personal and social meanings. In Phenix's (1964) terms, the informants' meanings were synnoetic - direct, personal, and experiential; and the informants were using metaphor and narrative to try to communicate these meanings. In the terms of Broudy (1977) they were using different contextual frameworks of 'knowledge(s)-with' and these meanings were often expressed as polarisations or divides in meaning: for example teaching versus inspiring; conservatoire versus university; artist versus academic; systematic versus eclectic; trust versus scepticism; and experiential versus intellectual. The data suggest that the meanings that the tutors had constructed on acting and on the teaching of acting were difficult to communicate in conventional ways. These difficult-to-convey and sometimes polarised meanings are developing in the drama school community of practice, over time, as a result of the different experiential histories of people who work within these schools. Most of the informants in the study had come from careers in acting, had worked in the theatre industry more broadly and also themselves had initial drama school training. It is possible that their differences in constructing meaning may be due to differences in their historically derived frameworks or contexts against which they construct meaning - different 'knowledge(s)-with'. However, much of what these tutors articulate is underpinned by core understandings of acting and actor training. As a result, there had developed a shared 'craft-based way of knowing' what acting is and how actor training should proceed. That is, the acting tutors had brought their own synnoetic meanings to the drama school context, and this had developed over time into the shared mixture of seemingly quasi-pedagogical and anti-pedagogical tutor objectives. The expression of informants meanings echoes Bruner's (1986) differentiation between paradigmatic or logico-scientific' modes of knowing from a narrative mode. Paradigmatic modes of knowing are used for good theory and logical proof whereas the application of the narrative mode involves good stories and historical (although not necessarily 'true') human accounts. The study acknowledges the different ways in which individuals apprehend experience, access the meanings that they construct on experience, and how they seek to render and communicate those meanings to others. Actor training, like acting itself, contains meanings which have consolidated over time into automated ways of knowing and are difficult to convey in conventional ways. Although it appears that much of their discussions of practice remained largely tacit, tutors demonstrated both tacit and explicit forms of knowledge, which were derived from various kinds of experiences. A perceived separation between the 'academic' ('theoretical' or the 'intellectual') and the 'practical' appeared to be largely derived from experientially acquired knowledge. In actor training, approaches to pedagogy are hard to capture by virtue of particular meanings being constructed vicariously through the process of moving from novice to expert. This is unlike traditions of generalist teaching which have sought to communicate a more explicit understanding of pedagogy and thus giving rise, perhaps, to why it is often claimed that acting cannot be taught.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Vocational, Technology and Arts Education
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Buchanan, David. "Contextual thesis Part I & Part II : Book of poems, "Looking off the Southern Edge" ; Stage play (full-length): Ecstasis." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2001. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1015.
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This thesis, which accompanies my book of poems Looking Off the Southern Edge and my full-length stage play Ecstasis, is submitted in two parts: Part-I and Part-II. Part-l contextualises the writing practice of the above poems in considering the epistemological, autobiographical and landscape contexts of my poetry. Part-I then discusses how the poetry is involved in the process of decentring subjectivity within the southern India/Pacific arena. It should be pointed out that Part-I was submitted and marked last year, as the first year component of the Master of Arts (Writing) course. It is included this year because much of its thesis informs Part-II (and indeed is referred to and referenced by Part-II), especially in terms of my general theoretical approach to writing poems, plays, as well as the relevance of my music, painting and stained glass practices. Part II mostly addresses the writing of the play Ecstasis. I have however, discussed why I have re-edited, augmented and re-submitted my book of poems. I have then contextualised the writing of the play, by addressing the areas of Apophasis and the Aporia of 'the story', An Ecstatic Dramaturgy and the Undecidable Subject, and Ecstasis and an Endemic Specificity. This play was written, workshopped and enjoyed a partially moved reading (as late as the 11th, November) in the course of this year. While the writing of the piece is addressed under the previous headings, the workshopping and reading process is discussed in Workshopping the 'Spectacle Text' in the Co-operative Medium of 'Theatre. I have also included Appendix (i) in support of this process, in particular, the changes inspired by the reading. The conclusion discusses some of the boundaries for my writing of A Poetry and The Spectacle Text for theatre, and hints at the context required for any writing of experimentation in the southern Indian/Pacific arena.
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Lovering, Christine. "I see a spark and blow on it: Drama practice in Year 1 and the new Australian Curriculum in the Arts." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2015. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1740.
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New educational directives have an effect on the practice of teachers in schools. This study is propelled by the introduction of a national Australian Curriculum and subsequent changes to the Arts curriculum. As one of the five arts subjects, drama has been included in the primary school curriculum in Western Australia since 1997, however, its inclusion and the teaching of drama has not been consistently realised.
Teacher perspectives and beliefs about specific Learning Areas influence their planning and practice; often this is related to past experiences. This study aims to determine Year 1 teachers’ perspectives of, and practices in, drama. In addition, knowledge of the new Australian Curriculum in the Arts and the level of support required during the implementation process are sought. The study focuses on the Year 1 level, as this particular year marks a significant transition in a young child’s life from a Pre‐primary setting to the Year 1 classroom; considering the playful quality inherent in drama experiences, it is a time when drama pedagogy could be explored fully.
Data collection instruments were generated based on previous research and state curriculum documents. Participants in the study were asked to complete a questionnaire. The data provided an insight into Year 1 teacher perspectives and practice and the new Arts curriculum. The subsequent semi‐structured interviews were conducted to augment the questionnaire data.
The study found that Year 1 teachers extolled the positive benefits of using drama; however, experiences in drama, both as teacher and participant, affected their willingness to implement it. Teachers were using drama, yet analysis of semi‐structured interviews revealed a common practice of implementing incidental and unplanned drama experiences. A foundation for the implementation of drama in the new Arts curriculum with recommendations for possible professional development and support for drama practice are provided.
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Garde, Ulrike 1964. "The Australian reception of Austrian, German and Swiss drama : productions and reviews between 1945 and 1996." Monash University, German Studies, 2000. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/8820.
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Payne, Benjamin John. "Facing reality: idealism versus conservatism in Australian theatre and politics at the turn of the twenty-first century." University of Southern Queensland, Faculty of Arts, 2005. http://eprints.usq.edu.au/archive/00001484/.
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This dissertation aims to provide an analysis of mainstream Australian playwriting at the turn of the 21st Century. It will argue that mainstream theatre in the 1990s and early 2000s in many ways reflects the concurrent national political developments, in particular the revision of many of the dominant ideals of previous eras, such as those of the sixties. In this dissertation, I will attempt to outline briefly some of the hallmarks of the theatre of the New Wave, and their relation to the broader social movements occurring in Australia at the time. I will trace the beginnings of disillusionment and revising of these ideals in the late seventies and early eighties. The majority of the argument will then discuss the ways in which early nineties theatre engages with and frequently rebuts these earlier ideals, just as nineties politics saw a revision of many of the ideals of the sixties in society as a whole. I will argue that in the latter nineties, mainstream playwrights begin to reverse this conservative shift, reinstating a number of the ideals of the earlier period. I will demonstrate that Australian mainstream theatre at the turn of the century is integrally related to the politics of the society of the time, and that mainstream theatre demonstrates both radical and conservative tendencies through the period under consideration.
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Lockley, Gavin Todd. "Morgan’s Run: a compositional, structural and philosophical self-analysis of the creation of an Australian music drama." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/17711.
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ABSTRACT: Morgan's Run is an Australian music drama with libretto by Colleen McCullough and music by myself, the writer of this thesis. The thesis discusses the collaborative process and the creation of this work from an authorial perspective and as such is a unique case study as detailed self-analyses of music drama creation are mostly limited to shorter length exegeses accompanying compositional portfolios. The thesis also, and through the lens of Morgan's Run and other music dramas, discusses the boundaries between the genres 'opera' and 'musical' both from the perspectives of 'work' and also 'performance'. It does this through a series of case studies analyzing important works in both the operatic and musical theatre genres. Finally, the thesis considers the future of 'opera' and 'musical', particularly as regards the abandoning of traditional performance venues and what this means for the future of the genres. Thus, the future of Morgan's Run as dramatic live performance event is contextualised within the current trend of live ‘opera’ and ‘musical’ performance.
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Moor, Andrea L. "Contemporary actor training in Australia." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2013. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/63083/1/Andrea_Moor_Thesis.pdf.
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This professional doctorate included a major research project investigating the efficacy of acting methodologies taught at four leading Australian actor-training institutions - National Institute of Dramatic Art, Queensland University of Technology, Victorian College of the Arts, and Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. This study represents the first review of its kind, in which the 'castability' of acting graduates from each of these schools was scrutinized by industry leaders. The study not only reveals the methodologies and philosophies of each school but determines an ideal set of practices for future consideration. The doctorate also included two practice-led projects examining the candidate's transition from actor and teacher of actors to theatre director. The candidate's qualitative study was also underpinned by reflective practice on her extensive professional experience as actor, teacher and director.
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Corbett, Scott. "Influence of a drama based education program on the development of empathy in year 10, Western Australian students." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2019. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2223.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to understand which elements of the drama processes are most conducive to increasing empathy in adolescents. Empathy can have a significant impact on situational and dispositional pro-social behaviour in adolescents. It is positively related to moral development, healthy relationships and problem-solving skills; and negatively related to bullying behaviour, aggression, and victimisation. The practice of Creative Drama, in particular the work of Dorothy Heathcote and Bruce Burton, has informed drama programs that foster empathy in participants. This process, combined with the Actor Training system of Constantin Stanislavski, and the Forum Theatre model developed by Augusto Boal, was tested for its efficacy in increasing empathy in adolescents.
This study took the form of a ten-week drama-based program intervention (The Empathy Program) conducted at one secondary school in the Perth metropolitan area with a group of Year 10 students. A constructivist, mixed methods approach was utilised to frame the study. Data was collected through structured self-response surveys for students in both experimental and control groups, as well as semi-structured written reflections completed by students in the experimental group after each week of the intervention. Findings of this research showed a significant increase in participant empathy, which highlights the potential for drama to improve student empathy. Results also detailed six key elements that were effective in the development of empathy amongst participants, including explicit instruction and the importance of imagination and role-play. This research reflects the important role that drama can have in the social and emotional development of young people and recommends strategies for inclusion in current drama pedagogical practices.
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Nimmo, Heather. "Three plays : The other woman, Banana split, Awa' the crow road ; and an essay, Writing the end." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2005. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/645.
Full textAbstract:
The Other Woman is an eighty-minute stage play which asks the question: Do women really play the political game differently? A high-flying politician can't admit to a small mistake. A woman kills herself. Does her mother want justice or revenge? Banana Split is a ninety-minute comedy for two actors which investigates life after divorce, the connections between risk and reward, and the implications of doubling (or coupling). The play asks a number of questions: Is it riskier to stay or to go? Which is the more damaging to a relationship-nostalgia for a golden age or the fantasy of a perfect future? Awa’ the Crow Road is a half-hour play for radio. Two brothers are brought to Australia from Scotland, as children. Their father tells them;' We're here. We're Australian. We're not going back.' One brother goes back 10 Scotland. never to return. The other stays in Australia, never to leave. Thirty years pass. They meet again when their father is 'awa' the crow road'. The essay, Writing the end, examines selected literary and performance theory on endings from the perspective of the playwright who must write the end but avoid 'a strangulation'. Later sections of the essay use the endings of the three plays that make up the creative project, to illustrate more specific aspects of writing the end.
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Pike, Shane. "(Re)presenting Masculinity: A theatre director's critical observations of, and theatrical experimentation with, (re)presentations of masculinity in selected works of contemporary Australian theatre." Thesis, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, 2014. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/93340/1/93340.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Health professionals, academics, social commentators and the media are increasingly sending the same message – Australian men are in crisis. This message has been supported by documented rises in alcoholism, violence, depression, suicide and crime amongst men in Australia. A major cause of this crisis, it can be argued, is an over-reliance on the out-dated and limited model of hegemonic masculinity that all men are encouraged to imitate in their own behaviour. This paper, as part of a larger study, explores representations of masculinity in selected works of contemporary Australian theatre in order to investigate the concept of hegemonic masculinity and any influence it may have on the perceived ‘crisis of masculinity’. Theatre is but one of the artistic modes that can be used to investigate masculinity and issues associated with identity. The Australia Council for the Arts recognises theatre, along with literature, dance, film, television, inter-arts, music and visual arts, as critical to the understanding and expression of Australian culture and identity. Theatre has been chosen in this instance because of the opportunities available to this study for direct access to specific theatre performances and creators and, also, because of the researcher’s experience, as a theatre director, with the dramatic arts. Through interviews with writers, directors and actors, combined with the analysis of scripts, academic writings, reviews, articles, programmes, play rehearsals and workshops, this research utilises theatre as a medium to explore masculinity in Australia.
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Jackson, Janett Kajic. "Through drama to cross cultural understanding : ... the use of drama methodology in the development of positive attitudes towards Japanese culture by a select group of Australian Year Seven students studying aspects of Kabuki theatre /." Title page, contents and introduction only, 1993. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09arj128.pdf.
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Pike, Shane Laurence. "(Re)presenting Masculinity: A theatre director’s critical observations of, and theatrical experimentations with, (re)presentations of masculinity in selected works of contemporary Australian theatre." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2014. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1526.
Full textAbstract:
The “crisis of masculinity” has become a catchphrase synonymous with reports of alcohol-fuelled violence, depression and, even, suicide amongst Australian males, particularly young men aged between 18 and 30. This thesis explores, through the practices of theatre, the notion that there is a link between these kinds of destructive behaviours and the concept of masculinity, particularly as it may be understood in an Australian context. By analysing theatrical (re)presentations of young Australian males, onstage during performance and in the rehearsal room, this thesis seeks to generate a deeper understanding of what “masculinity” actually means in an Australian theatre context. By challenging mainstream constructions of masculinity, this study raises questions of change and subversion in identity impasses. Notions of masculinity are explored via staged (re)presentations of men in recent productions of contemporary Australian theatre: Ruben Guthrie by Brendan Cowell, Blackrock by Nick Enright and two new works created as part of this project, Yesterday’s Hero and FUCK!Dance. There is also a short foray into representations of masculinity and notions of nationhood in two Noël Coward productions, Ways and Means and Fumed Oak. The underlying argument is that masculinity is a performance, both onstage and off and, through manipulating how masculinity is (re)presented onstage, we may also begin to uncover how society more generally perceives masculinity. Such shifts begin to challenge/alter/subvert mainstream notions by encouraging critical reflection through theatre-makers and audiences about how we, as a society, may be encouraging our men to emulate an image of masculinity that could be causing them harm.
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Evans, Christine. "My vicious angel : a one-act play with music /." View thesis, 1998. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20030909.105022/index.html.
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Carroll, Kieran. "Joanna Murray-Smith and Daniel Keene : class oppositions." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2007. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16604/1/Kieran_Carroll_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Joanna Murray-Smith and Daniel Keene are both successful mid-career Melbourne playwrights. Taking them as a starting point and re-tracing an Australian theatrical lineage, this project explores new Melbourne narratives in which two branches of the Australian theatrical idiom converge in a single creative work, my play Friday Night, In Town. An analysis of the writing of Friday Night, In Town, authored by myself and presented for examination herein, demonstrates its narratives are structured with deliberate reference to Murray-Smith and Keene revealing a new form of contemporary urban playwriting. The play's originality, it will be shown, and its contribution to new knowledge, lie in its engagement with these playwrights and their Australian predecessors. These elements combine with a redeployment of the medieval pageant-play, which is thus reinvigorated as a mode of contemporary playwriting practice. The play text presented herein (Friday Night, In Town) represents 75 per cent of the weighting for this M.A. (by Research) with the exegetical component weighted at 25 per cent.
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Carroll, Kieran. "Joanna Murray-Smith and Daniel Keene : class oppositions." Queensland University of Technology, 2007. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16604/.
Full textAbstract:
Joanna Murray-Smith and Daniel Keene are both successful mid-career Melbourne playwrights. Taking them as a starting point and re-tracing an Australian theatrical lineage, this project explores new Melbourne narratives in which two branches of the Australian theatrical idiom converge in a single creative work, my play Friday Night, In Town. An analysis of the writing of Friday Night, In Town, authored by myself and presented for examination herein, demonstrates its narratives are structured with deliberate reference to Murray-Smith and Keene revealing a new form of contemporary urban playwriting. The play's originality, it will be shown, and its contribution to new knowledge, lie in its engagement with these playwrights and their Australian predecessors. These elements combine with a redeployment of the medieval pageant-play, which is thus reinvigorated as a mode of contemporary playwriting practice. The play text presented herein (Friday Night, In Town) represents 75 per cent of the weighting for this M.A. (by Research) with the exegetical component weighted at 25 per cent.
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Moss, Merrilee Anne. "Tango Femme : placing the lesbian centre stage." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2009. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/32157/1/Merrilee_Moss_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
The play Tango Femme places the lesbian centre stage by creating characters, narrative and drama in the world of same-sex dancing. The accompanying exegesis examines the problems and issues associated with creating lesbian characters in theatre, using a synthesized, practice led methodology.
During the process of imagining, constructing and writing my case study play, I have investigated lesbian theatre productions and companies in order to make sense of my personal experiences in the theatre world. I have also reflected on the lesbian as represented in mainstream theatre and popular culture. Through journal writing and contemplation, I have sought to identify difficulties inherent in writing this type of play, using my own journey as a focus.
My study illuminates the historical and sociological circumstances in the eighties and nineties in Australia and concludes that as a lesbian playwright I was caught between a rock and a hard place: the rock being lesbian theatre on a community level, as defined and attended primarily by separatist lesbians, and the hard place being mainstream theatre, located within the dominant, heteronormative discourse. The play Tango Femme has developed in conversation with my reflective practice and research and is written in the space outside the master narrative as "an instance of lesbian discourse" (Davy 1996, p.153).
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Clifford, Sally Margaret. "Why have you drawn a wolf so badly? : community arts in healthcare." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1997. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/35893/1/35893_Clifford_1997.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Community arts is often criticised for its tendency to be more about welfare than art. This thesis investigates this claim through the environment of a growing number of
arts projects taking place in healthcare settings. Healthcare settings inherently deal with the field of welfare. This research has recognised that many of these projects are participation-based community arts projects. I have termed these projects arts-inhealth
and they form the case studies of this research.
Arts-in-health is not art therapy. Arts-in-health is a community arts-based approach to artmaking which enables people to access art processes and skills which are not part of the treatment or diagnosis of their illness. This thesis recognises that people belong to a communal web of relationships which can often be severed when they
become ill. Because arts-in-health encourages artmaking beyond a treatment framework, it can re-connect people to their communal web. is thesis claims that for community art to have this impact it must be designed and
implemented through artistic processes and not treatment, therapeutic or clinical ones. If community art processes do become distorted by therapeutic processes, they
will become more about welfare and less about art; consequently, they contribute less to the community in which individuals live.
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O'Donnell, David O'Donnell, and n/a. "Re-staging history : historiographic drama from New Zealand and Australia." University of Otago. Department of English, 1999. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20070523.151011.
Full textAbstract:
Since the 1980s, there has been an increasing emphasis on drama, in live theatre and on film, which re-addresses the ways in which the post-colonial histories of Australia and New Zealand have been written. Why is there such a focus on �historical� drama in these countries at the end of the twentieth century and what does this drama contribute to wider debates about post-colonial history? This thesis aims both to explore the connections between drama and history, and to analyse the interface between live and recorded drama.
In order to discuss these issues, I have used the work of theatre and film critics and historians, supplemented by reference to writers working in the field of post-colonial and performance theory. In particular, I have utilised the methods of Helen Gilbert and Joanne Tompkins in Post-Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics, beginning with their claim that in the post-colonial situation history has been seen to determine reality itself. I have also drawn on theorists such as Michel Foucault, Linda Hutcheon and Guy Debord who question the �truth� value of official history-writing and emphasize the role of representation in determining popular perceptions of the past. This discussion is developed through reference to contemporary performance theory, particularly the work of Richard Schechner and Marvin Carlson, in order to suggest that there is no clear separation between performance and reality, and that access to history is only possible through re-enactments of it, whether in written or performative forms.
Chapter One is a survey of the development of �historical� drama in theatre and film from New Zealand and Australia. This includes discussion of the diverse cultural and performative traditions which influence this drama, and establishment of the critical methodologies to be used in the thesis. Chapter Two examines four plays which are intercultural re-writings of canonical texts from the European dramatic tradition. In this chapter I analyse the formal and thematic strategies in each of these plays in relation to the source texts, and ask to what extent they function as canonical counter-discourse by offering a critique of the assumptions of the earlier play from a post-colonial perspective. The potential of dramatic representation in forming perceptions of reality has made it an attractive forum for Maori and Aboriginal artists, who are creating theatre which has both a political and a pedagogical function. This discussion demonstrates that much of the impetus towards historiographic drama in both countries has come from Maori and Aboriginal writers and directors working in collaboration with white practitioners. Such collaborations not only advance the project of historiographic drama, but also may form the basis of future theatre practice which departs from the Western tradition and is unique to each of New Zealand and Australia. In Chapter Three I explore the interface between live and recorded performance by comparing plays and films which dramatise similar historical material. I consider the relative effectiveness of theatre and film as media for historiographic critique. I suggest that although film often has a greater cultural impact than theatre, to date live theatre has been a more accessible form of expression for Maori and Aboriginal writers and directors. Furthermore, following theorists such as Brecht and Brook, I argue that such aspects as the presence of the live performer and the design of the physical space shared by actors and audience give theatre considerable potential for creating an immediate engagement with historiographic themes. In Chapter Four, I discuss two contrasting examples of recorded drama in order to highlight the potential of film and television as media for historiographic critique. I question the divisions between the documentary and dramatic genres, and use Derrida�s notion of play to suggest that there is a constant slippage between the dramatic and the real, between the past and the present. In Chapter Five, I summarize the arguments advanced in previous chapters, using the example of the national museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, to illustrate that the �performance� of history has become part of popular culture. Like the interactive displays at Te Papa, the texts studied in this thesis demonstrate that dramatic representation has the potential to re-define perceptions of historical �reality�. With its superior capacity for creating illusion, film is a dynamic medium for exploring the imaginative process of history is that in the live performance the spectator symbolically comes into the presence of the past.
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Johnson, Valerie. "Drama teaching: Understanding what we do." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2002. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/732.
Full textAbstract:
Drama teaching in secondary schools in Western Australia has become an increasingly complex discipline in recent years. This study has considered the work of Drama teachers from the point of view of those practising the discipline, using a phenomenological methodology which allowed the voices of the participants to be heard directly. In the discussion, consideration is given to the way in which these teachers practice the dynamic which is drama, are influenced by the art form of theatre, and deliver the school subject, Drama.
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Teoh, Lay Mui Lucilla. "Happy families : a search for form." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1998. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/35908/1/35908_Teoh_1998.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Based on Iain Chambers' observations in Migrancy, Culture, Identity (1994, pp. 6-24), the process of migration can be summarized as the relentless transformation of a single entity into multiple spaces and tempos while various histories of language, of politics, of culture and of experiences are distilled. The migrant then has to negotiate the shared
occupation of the same new signs with the 'natives' of the new host country. This ongoing process is evident as each new community of migrants arrives in Australia. As each new generation matures, they contribute or
distill elements of their home cultures into the fabric of multicultural Australian society. The genesis of Happy Families as a play could be attributed to what Chambers calls the 'relentless transformation' of my
migrant family as it attempts to negotiate the spaces in the various communities into which it has been transplanted. This transformation has many facets; some painful, some pleasant, and all inevitable. Hence the
play is an attempt to analyze the forces and the circumstances surrounding the transformation such as the issue of assimilation with the attendant loss
of cultural roots and the recent unprecedented rise in racial tensions in multicultural societies like Australia.
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Krause, Shane Peter. "Not welcome : writing horror in Australia." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2005. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16449/1/Shane_Krause_-_Acolytes.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
"Not Welcome" is a thesis containing an original dark genre screenplay called Acolytes and an exegesis called "Not Welcome": Writing Horror in Australia.
The screenplay is about two boys, victims of years of bullying, who find a way to rid themselves of their bully for good, exchanging one problem for something much worse. But it's an elaborate and calculated lie. The truth is Acolytes is about the concealment of a crime and not the vengeance of a victim. Acolytes is intentionally moody, oppressive and obtuse--it has a true crime-scene ambience. The power of the story lies in its truth--the truth that it seeks to uncover and the truth of the style of its telling--and, just as is the case with real-life crime, the "truth" is often murky and far from clear-cut.
The accompanying exegesis explores the domestic funding and production climate for dark genre projects. It argues that Australian genre scriptwriters and filmmakers have often faced hostile funding agencies and genre-timid producers. It examines the requirements of dark genre scriptwriters and filmmakers in bringing their work from page to screen. It argues that the onus is on Australian dark genre writers and filmmakers to think beyond funding agencies and institutionalised Australian producers to realise their projects.
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Krause, Shane Peter. "Not Welcome: Writing Horror in Australia." Queensland University of Technology, 2005. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16449/.
Full textAbstract:
"Not Welcome" is a thesis containing an original dark genre screenplay called Acolytes and an exegesis called "Not Welcome": Writing Horror in Australia. The screenplay is about two boys, victims of years of bullying, who find a way to rid themselves of their bully for good, exchanging one problem for something much worse. But it's an elaborate and calculated lie. The truth is Acolytes is about the concealment of a crime and not the vengeance of a victim. Acolytes is intentionally moody, oppressive and obtuse--it has a true crime-scene ambience. The power of the story lies in its truth--the truth that it seeks to uncover and the truth of the style of its telling--and, just as is the case with real-life crime, the "truth" is often murky and far from clear-cut. The accompanying exegesis explores the domestic funding and production climate for dark genre projects. It argues that Australian genre scriptwriters and filmmakers have often faced hostile funding agencies and genre-timid producers. It examines the requirements of dark genre scriptwriters and filmmakers in bringing their work from page to screen. It argues that the onus is on Australian dark genre writers and filmmakers to think beyond funding agencies and institutionalised Australian producers to realise their projects.
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Milne, Christina Lucy, University of Western Sydney, and of Performance Fine Arts and Design Faculty. "Group devised performance: the study of a group devised performance piece as a rehearsal method in a high school environment." THESIS_FPFAD_XXX_Milne_C.xml, 1998. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/264.
Full textAbstract:
Using the research methods from grounded theory and action research, the study examines a research method used for the development of a Group Devised Performance Piece. It details and analyses the process used in the transactional system of change and action/interaction resulting from the specific conditions that surrounded the Group Devised Performance, and examines the products of that process: the written script and the final performance. The study was conducted with a group of HSC 2 Unit Drama students at a non-government high school in March 1996. The performance formed part of an assessment program for these students and was student devised and student driven. The research methods included the collection of data in questionnaires, the maintaining of detailed daily records, video tapes, photographs and the compilation of the written script. Like any series of rehearsals, the process produced surprising and unplanned consequences (outcomes) and provided an environment that encouraged interaction and involvement, companionship and competition,Master of Arts (Hons) (Performance)
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Green, Joshua Benjamin. "Acts of Translation: Young People, American Teen Dramas, and Australian Television 1992-2004." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2005. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16143/1/Joshua_Green_Thesis.pdf.
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The thesis examines American teen dramas on Australian television in the period 1992 to 2004. It explores the use of the genre by broadcasters and its uptake by teenagers in an environment where American popular culture has frequently been treated with suspicion and where there are perennial arguments about the Americanisation of youth and their vulnerability to cultural imperialism. The thesis argues concerns about Americanisation and cultural imperialism in relation to youth culture, young people and the media are misplaced. American teen dramas are investigated as an example of the ways imported programs are made to cohere with national logics within the Australian mediasphere (Hartley, 1996). Utilising Yuri Lotman's (1990) theory of cultural 'translation' this thesis argues teen drams are evidence of dynamic change within the system of television and that this change does not result in a system dominated by imported product, but rather a system that situates foreign programming amongst domestic frames of reference.
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Green, Joshua Benjamin. "Acts of Translation: Young People, American Teen Dramas, and Australian Television 1992-2004." Queensland University of Technology, 2005. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16143/.
Full textAbstract:
The thesis examines American teen dramas on Australian television in the period 1992 to 2004. It explores the use of the genre by broadcasters and its uptake by teenagers in an environment where American popular culture has frequently been treated with suspicion and where there are perennial arguments about the Americanisation of youth and their vulnerability to cultural imperialism. The thesis argues concerns about Americanisation and cultural imperialism in relation to youth culture, young people and the media are misplaced. American teen dramas are investigated as an example of the ways imported programs are made to cohere with national logics within the Australian mediasphere (Hartley, 1996). Utilising Yuri Lotman's (1990) theory of cultural 'translation' this thesis argues teen drams are evidence of dynamic change within the system of television and that this change does not result in a system dominated by imported product, but rather a system that situates foreign programming amongst domestic frames of reference.
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Lovesy, Sarah Caroline, University of Western Sydney, of Arts Education and Social Sciences College, and School of Education. "Drama education secondary school playbuilding : enhancing imagination and creativity in group playbuilding through kinaesthetic teaching and learning." THESIS_CAESS_EDU_Lovesy_S.xml, 2003. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/787.
Full textAbstract:
This research investigates the drama eduction form of playbuilding, and particularly the phenomenon of kinaesthetic teaching and learning which is aimed at enhancing group imagination and creativity. Playbuilding is a process whereby groups of students devise and act in their own plays using a variety of dramatic elements and theatrical conventions. This research explores the playbuilding learning experiences of two secondary school drama classes and the playbuilding teaching experiences of four drama teachers. The research underpins current drama and theatre education praxis that relates to learning through embodiment, symbolic creativity, and the purpose and function of metaxis in a secondary drama classroom. The study relied on qualitative research grounded theory techniques, focus groups, student workbooks, classrooms practices, closed questionnaires, face to face interviews and videotaped materials. Central to this research are the phenomena of imagining and creating that occur in secondary drama playbuilding groups learning through a group kinaesthetic paradigm. This study concludes that there is a paradigm which identifies secondary drama students as group kinaesthetic learners, and that kinaesthetic teaching and learning practices open up pedagogic spaces in playbuilding that significantly improve the effectiveness of group embodied learning in drama educationDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
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Timms, Heather A. "The journey of making meaning in drama : a case study in a metropolitan priority school." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1995. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1176.
Full textAbstract:
Children with a low socio-economic background frequently fail within our schools. The school milieu is a potential contributor to this scenario, as schools are generally designed for the attributes, needs, and skill levels that are characteristic of middle• class children. It is therefore important to explore alternative learning frameworks that will enable these children to function within the school system. Drama offers unique and exciting possibilities in this field. Previous research endorses the use of drama in education for this specific purpose; and the theories propounded by learning and language theorists and drama educationalists provide a strong theoretical framework.
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Pratt, John L. "Grey hair." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2007. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/294.
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Lott, Lucy A. "Exploring support for young people transitioning from care to independence: developing an applied drama process for understanding social need." Thesis, Griffith University, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/403801.
Full textAbstract:
This study addresses a current gap in Australian transition-from-care literature around the social support needs of young people transitioning from care. The purpose of the study was two-fold; to reveal insights around social support needs and to investigate how an applied drama process facilitated the generation of knowledge and supported participation and engagement among research participants. An overarching Applied Theatre as Research (ATAR) methodology was adopted which utilised applied drama techniques in the development of a participatory workshop positioning participants as co-researchers. Participants with a transition-from-care experience took part in both the workshop and interviews, which were conducted alongside an interview with a professional which provided a service-provider perspective. Findings revealed the importance of the nature of relationships – and relational qualities – over the number, presence, or absence of certain relationships within a young person’s network. The variety contained within a young person’s social network in their lead up to transition was also identified as a marker for a more robust and satisfying level of support into adulthood. Data also revealed systemic barriers to the development of social support and the maintenance of relationships, particularly those with peers and family. The applied drama process highlighted the disparity of experience for young people transitioning from care and elicited a range of emotions towards transition and social support not otherwise evident from the interviews alone. The methods adopted during the workshop generated positive feedback from participants, and provided a framework for group collaboration, shared meaning-making, and reflection on participants’ personal experiences and those of their peers. There are both research and practice implications for this research. The findings revealed areas for future study and suggested that participatory and applied drama methods may be usefully applied across a transition planning and preparation process, and in future research with this cohort. The applied drama process has the potential to facilitate engagement and enable active decision-making. It also provides an opportunity for young people transitioning from care to story their experience within a social and creative environment that may help to make sense of aspects of their experiences alongside, and in collaboration with, others on a similar journey to independence.Thesis (Masters)
Master of Arts Research (MARes)
School of Hum, Lang & Soc Sc
Arts, Education and Law
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Massey, Belinda. "Investigations in learning and teaching through metacognition and critical and creative thinking practices in secondary Drama Education." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2020. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2362.
Full textAbstract:
Historically, there has been an achievement gap between the performance and written exams in the Year 12 ATAR Drama course in Western Australia, which is illustrated by the disparity in Drama ATAR results since 2010. The aim of the study was to improve students’ written marks in Year 12 ATAR Drama and to explore the development of metacognitive skills through a variety of performance and writing approaches for secondary Drama. The research explored the use of theatrical techniques and workshops to express and articulate ideas in written and verbal responses, which required students to be conscious of their cognitive processes.
The research utilised an iterative action research cycle to present a case study, which drew upon performance and written tasks, exercises and simulated exam conditions to provide a reproducible teaching platform for secondary Drama teachers. The research methods included observation and participant observation, reflection and video documentation through field notes, video and photographic capture, interviews, focus groups, and inclass and examination assessments. The findings confirmed that students’ written marks had, to varying degrees, improved in the course, especially through an increased awareness of their metacognition skills. The research offers a reproducible teaching methodology for secondary Drama teachers and provides evidence in support of the development of students’ metacognition skills for lifelong learning.
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Mack, Tony. "To delight and to profit : are schools in the early childhood area being offered a markedly different theatre experience since December 1991, when the Australia Council Drama Committee changed its funding guidelines? /." Title page, preface and contents only, 1994. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09arm153.pdf.
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Milne, Christina Lucy. "Group devised performance: the study of a group devised performance piece as a rehearsal method in a high school environment." Thesis, View thesis, 1998. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/264.
Full textAbstract:
Using the research methods from grounded theory and action research, the study examines a research method used for the development of a Group Devised Performance Piece. It details and analyses the process used in the transactional system of change and action/interaction resulting from the specific conditions that surrounded the Group Devised Performance, and examines the products of that process: the written script and the final performance. The study was conducted with a group of HSC 2 Unit Drama students at a non-government high school in March 1996. The performance formed part of an assessment program for these students and was student devised and student driven. The research methods included the collection of data in questionnaires, the maintaining of detailed daily records, video tapes, photographs and the compilation of the written script. Like any series of rehearsals, the process produced surprising and unplanned consequences (outcomes) and provided an environment that encouraged interaction and involvement, companionship and competition,
48
Low, Polly. "They reckon I need a dramaturg : examining the value of a dramaturg to both the playwright and the professional theatre company in Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2011. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/507.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines aspects of dramaturgy delivered by a dramaturg, and the practical contributions of dramaturgs to both the writer and the theatre industry in Australia. It investigates elements of the working relationship between dramaturgs and playwrights, looks at the chameleon-like nature of the theatre dramaturg and examines how Australian writers, directors and dramaturgs perceive the role/s of the dramaturg. The thesis is partly a reflective investigation of personal practice, partly an historical investigation of the emergence of Australian ideas about dramaturgy, and partly an active investigation into what can help to make a constructive playwright/dramaturg relationship. A major aim of this investigation is to examine the practical aspects of the dramaturg’s work, and the effect of dramaturgy on playwrights and their scripts. What outcomes of a writer/dramaturg relationship can be observed? Can the effect of discussion and oral examination of a script be measured accurately? Outlining the areas considered by a dramaturg when discussing a script gives an indication of how a playwright is urged to think more deeply about the world of his or her play. Additionally, placing myself in the position of receiving dramaturgical input has expanded my understanding of the doors dramaturgy opens and the dead-end alleys it can warn against. Through my research I have discovered that there are important questions to consider regarding the parameters of the playwright/dramaturg relationship. These considerations need to be addressed at the beginning of any collaboration between a dramaturg and playwright. However the two individuals are also subject to the ambiguous nature of dramaturgy in the Australian setting, which brings external pressures to bear on the relationship by companies and other stakeholders.
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Rice, Jeremy F. "My worst ever night at the best school ball ever : creating taboo theatre for teenagers." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/849.
Full textAbstract:
My Worst Ever Night at the Best School Ball Ever (School Ball) is a new play for teenage audiences. The action takes place on the night of a ball for final year students. A prank with a goat goes horribly wrong, a photo of a girl pissing in a pot plant is widely circulated, and everyone finds out about the boy in a sexual relationship with a teacher. At the heart of the play are teenagers, armed with mobile phones, trying to find their way in a contradictory and confusing world.
The creative development of School Ball centred on practice-based artistic research into the field of theatre for young audiences (TYA) through my practice as a director. The research question was: how to produce taboo theatre for teenagers?
School Ball was conceived as a production that would tour to schools. The school ball concept was popular with teachers, parents and theatre company board members but I encountered strong resistance to the story of a male student in a sexual relationship with a female teacher. Even though such relationships were being reported weekly in the media, the content was perceived to be taboo for young audiences. Developing School Ball investigated the complex relationships between TYA and the education system, as well as artistic and production strategies to navigate School Ball past school gatekeepers and reach its target audience.
Young people are at the centre of the research practice, participating in workshops, collaborating with artists, and responding to the work. Their involvement helped make School Ball accurately reflect adolescent experiences, such as the centrality of text messaging – another taboo in the school environment.
Australian TYA is considered to be at the forefront of international practice: innovative in creative process and theatrical form, imaginative and daring in content. But TYA practice is neither homogenous nor self-contained. In artistic practice, means of production and competition for audiences, TYA intersects with Theatre in Education (TIE), Young People’s Theatre (YPT), drama education, adult and commercial theatre. Part of the research aimed to understand the TYA landscape and the place of School Ball within it.
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Makeham, Paul Benedict. "'Across the long, dry stage': discourses of landscape in Australian drama." Thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1312573.
Full textAbstract:
Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)This thesis is concerned with the representation of landscape in nine Australian plays. The introduction examines the functions and effects of landscape discourses within Australian culture generally, and on the stage in particular. The introduction is followed by three chapters, each of which examines three plays. In the sequence in which they are discussed, the plays are: At Dusk (1937) by Millicent Armstrong; Pioneers (1919) by Katharine Susannah Prichard; The Drovers (1919) by Louis Esson; The Fields of Heaven (1982) by Dorothy Hewett; Too Young For Ghosts (1985) by Janis Balodis; Inside the Island (1980) by Louis Nowra; Bran Nue Dae (1990) by Jimmy Chi and Kuckles; The Kid (1983) by Michael Gow; and Aftershocks (1991) by Paul Brown and the Workers' Cultural Action Committee. The readings proposed here proceed on the understanding that landscapes are systems of representation rather than autonomous topographical entities. Landscapes are thus conceivable as textual formations, constituted of discourses and inscribed with a variety of ideologies. In the context of these readings, 'discourse' refers both to the spoken (dialogic) and the visual (scenic) modes of dramatic expression. A wide range of thematic concerns and dramaturgical forms is encompassed by these nine plays; accordingly, a, variety of reading strategies is applied to them. In each of the plays examined, landscape and character are shown in a dynamic, mutually determining relationship, even in those realist works in which landscape is rendered as 'background' to the primary sites of interpersonal action. With regard to its structure, the thesis traces a movement from early realist one-act plays set in bush landscapes, to more recent, non-realist works of full-length set partially or wholly in cities. This structure might be characterised as a movement from the landscapes of 'nature' to the cityscapes of 'culture'.