Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Theatre – Australia – History'
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1
Shorter, Mark Travers. "Variety theatre, performance art and the carnivalesque." Phd thesis, Sydney College of the Arts, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/12477.
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Fantasia, Josephine Vita. "Entrepreneurs, empires and pantomimes : J. C. Williamson's pantomime productions as a site to review the cultural construction of an Australian theatre industry, 1882 to 1914." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1617.
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'Entrepreneurs, Empires and Pantomimes' examines how Williamson influenced the form and content of one theatrical genre within his theatrical empire between 1882 and 1914. As the frontispiece signals in spectacular fashion, the pantomime was a vitally popular dramatic form. I believe that my findings have serious implcations for the formation of an Australian theatre industry with regard to the 'development'of Australian drama. Ironically, as J.W. Gough points out in 'The Rise of the Entrepreneur' (1969), the word 'entrepreneur' first appeared in the 'Oxford English Dictionary' in 1897 as referring to "the director or manager of a public musical institution: one who 'gets up' entertainments, especially musical performances."
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Fantasia, Josephine Vita. "Entrepreneurs, empires and pantomimes : J. C. Williamson's pantomime productions as a site to review the cultural construction of an Australian theatre industry, 1882 to 1914." University of Sydney, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1617.
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Doctor of Philosophy'Entrepreneurs, Empires and Pantomimes' examines how Williamson influenced the form and content of one theatrical genre within his theatrical empire between 1882 and 1914. As the frontispiece signals in spectacular fashion, the pantomime was a vitally popular dramatic form. I believe that my findings have serious implcations for the formation of an Australian theatre industry with regard to the 'development'of Australian drama. Ironically, as J.W. Gough points out in 'The Rise of the Entrepreneur' (1969), the word 'entrepreneur' first appeared in the 'Oxford English Dictionary' in 1897 as referring to "the director or manager of a public musical institution: one who 'gets up' entertainments, especially musical performances."
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Sobb, Ah Kin Camilla. "A Chance Gathering of Strays: the Australian theatre family." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8200.
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Tuffin, Zoe. "Claiming Shakespeare for our own: An investigation into directing Shakespeare in Australia in the 21st century." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2014. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1285.
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Shakespeare has been performed on Australian stages for over two hundred years, yet despite this fact, in Australia we still treat Shakespeare as a revered idol. It seems that, as a nation of second-class convicts, consciously or not, we regard Shakespeare as a product of our aristocratic founders. However deeply buried the belief may be, we still think that the British perform Shakespeare ‘the right way’. As a result, when staging his plays today, our productions suffer from a cultural cringe.
This research sought to combat these inhibiting ideologies and endeavoured to find a way in which Australians might claim ownership over Shakespeare in contemporary productions of his plays. The methodology used to undertake this investigation was practice-led research, with the central practice being theatre directing. The questions the research posed were: can Australian directors in the 21st century navigate and reshape Shakespeare's works in productions that give actors and audiences ownership over Shakespeare? And, what role can irreverence play in this quest for ownership? In order to answer these questions, a strong reference point was required, to understand what Shakespeare, with no strings attached to tradition and scholarly reverence, looked and felt like. Taiwan became an ideal reference point, as the country is a site for unrestrained and strongly localised performances of the Shakespearean tradition. The company at the forefront of such Taiwanese productions is Contemporary Legend Theatre (CLT). Wu Hsing-kuo, the Artistic Director of CLT, creates jingju (Beijing opera) adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, the most renowned of which is his solo King Lear, titled Li Er zaici.
The intention of the practice-led research was to use the ideas gathered from an interview with Wu and through watching a performance of Li Er zaici, to form an approach to directing Shakespeare in Australia today, which was free from the restrictions commonly encountered by Australians. The practical project involved trialling this approach in a series of workshops and rehearsals with eight actors over eight weeks, which ultimately resulted in a performance of an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
Wu’s approach generated a sense of ownership over Shakespeare amongst the actors and widened their dominant, narrow concept of Shakespeare performances in Australia to incorporate a wealth of new possibilities. Yet, from this practical experiment, the strength and depth of the inhibiting ideologies surrounding Shakespeare in Australia was made apparent, as even when consciously seeking to remove them, they formed unconscious impediments. Despite the initial intention, a sense of veneration towards Shakespeare’s text entered the rehearsal process for Romeo and Juliet. This practice-led research revealed that as Australians we have an almost inescapable attachment to Shakespeare’s text, which ultimately begs the contrary question: in order to stage an irreverent and owned production of Shakespeare in Australia, how much of Shakespeare and his traditions must we abandon?
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Jordan, Noel. "'Controversial art' : investigating the work of director Rosemary Myers." Connect to thesis, 2001. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/1160.
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Arena Theatre Company’s Eat Your Young is examined as an intrinsic case study. The aim is to investigate the role of a director in the creation of an original multi-media theatre production designed for young people. The study explores the current social, political and cultural position of young people and argues that they are viewed and portrayed as a marginalised “other”. The history of Arena Theatre Company is documented in relation to the development of Theatre in Education from its British roots to the Company’s current emphasis on contemporary artists exploring the possibilities of multi-art form technology. The development of multi-media usage in theatre over the past century is outlined in order to gain an understanding of Arena’s place within this technological experimentation. Utilising ethnographic methodology, including participant observation, “unstructured” interactive interviews and the construction of participant monologues, the creative rehearsal and planning process of Eat Your Young is chartered over a five month period. The outcomes of the study confirm the literature relating to the qualities of a good director: they are leadership, vision and the ability to collaborate. The metaphor chief architect is coined to describe the central figure of the director, Rosemary Myers. The case study discusses the development of a Company culture where artists work in an intensive social and interactive environment and it identifies the unique pressures and individual responsibility of the role of director.
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Conte, Susannah. "The Fifth Sparrow: In Memory of Mollie Skinner." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2018. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2080.
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This thesis offers a case study in adapting Australian literary biography to the theatre, specifically in the form of a one woman show or monologue performance. The thesis consists of a novel play script, together with exegetical writing which outlines the source materials used and the process and themes under consideration. These themes include those of family (specifically a difficult relationship with her mother), love (including a lesbian affair), life as an aspiring writer, and the protagonist’s difficult to shake sense of damage, pain and struggle. The play offers a portrait of West Australian writer Mollie Skinner (1876- 1955). Sources included her autobiography (both the original manuscript and that edited and published by Mary Durack), Mollie’s novels and her letters—particularly her extensive correspondence with the British author D.H. Lawrence, who she met in WA—and secondary writings. Skinner’s writing has been described as akin to an “untended garden,” rich in imagery, but scattered and often difficult to follow. In recognition of this, my play takes the form of a series of vignettes and images, a succession of heightened moments, choreographed with sound and movement elements for dramatic impact. Mollie’s life thereby emerges as one marked by pain and suffering, yet suffused with rich language and visions. Although Mollie was more than just a friend of D.H. Lawrence, it is nevertheless clear that the better known author offered her support and encouragement that few others did. Together with her Sybil these two figures emerge as Mollie’s only true loves and companions, figures physically separated from her, yet who enabled her life and many of her joys. Skinner emerges then as a modest but indomitable spirt, poised on the veranda, looking at the world through her failing eyesight; touched by the beauty of it all.
The aim of the play is thus to do justice to the spirit of Skinner, without presenting an exhaustive account of her entire life, and in doing so, to present her story to a new generation of West Australians.
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Beaton, Hilary. "Millennium bridge: a contemporary Australian history." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2006. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16435/1/Hilary_Beaton_-_Millennium_Bridge.pdf.
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The script, Millennium Bridge, is an investigation into the passions and fears that are shaping contemporary Australia today. Charting the political climate of the past decade, at the play's centre a man is building a bridge from Australia to Asia. The central dramatic question being asked is "In an environment where the emphasis on economic prosperity overrides that of human rights and freedom of speech--what will be the consequences for the Australian people?" The accompanying analysis of the ten-year period it took to write Millennium Bridge illuminates the significance of institutional issues on a play and playwright's development. Written from the perspective of a mid-career playwright, the paper argues that the professional and personal circumstances within which a work of art is created (and their effect on the playwright's confidence and financial capacities) are a significant determinant of the productivity of playwrights.
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Beaton, Hilary. "Millennium bridge: a contemporary Australian history." Queensland University of Technology, 2006. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16435/.
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The script, Millennium Bridge, is an investigation into the passions and fears that are shaping contemporary Australia today. Charting the political climate of the past decade, at the play's centre a man is building a bridge from Australia to Asia. The central dramatic question being asked is "In an environment where the emphasis on economic prosperity overrides that of human rights and freedom of speech--what will be the consequences for the Australian people?" The accompanying analysis of the ten-year period it took to write Millennium Bridge illuminates the significance of institutional issues on a play and playwright's development. Written from the perspective of a mid-career playwright, the paper argues that the professional and personal circumstances within which a work of art is created (and their effect on the playwright's confidence and financial capacities) are a significant determinant of the productivity of playwrights.
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Parsons, Julie. "Undressing and redressing the harlequin: An Australian designer's perspective." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2009. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/125.
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In undressing and redressing the Harlequin from an Australian designer’s perspective, the question is why has the Harlequin costume endured for over 500 years and in locations far away from its country of origin? Why do we associate its lozenge pattern with energetic joyous mischief? What are the Harlequin costume codes and how have they been manifested in Australia? The thesis components are divided as follows: The Designer’s Notebook is a pictorial and historical review of the iconic costume, which is made up of a complex patchwork of triangles where colour placements form a diamond pattern called a lozenge. The Harlequin, a stock character from commedia dell’arte, who emerged in Italy and France during the 1500s, wears the lozenge costume. The notebook traces possible connections and reasons for the emergence of both the costume and the Harlequin figure prior to his catalyzation as a character in commedia dell’arte. Having arrived at the manifestation of Harlequin and his lozenge costume, the focus moves to the forms of expression in which he has participated and the mutations which have occurred in the costume. Harlequin High Jinks Down Under is concerned with the manifestation of both the harlequinesque figure and its associated costume codes in circus and the harlequinades in Australia from the 1850s, when a kind of Australian larrikinism began to develop as the national identity. From this unique environment a century later sprang the satirist, Dame Edna Everage and the social and political comic, Joel Salom, associated with Circus OZ. On the international front, these Australian performers have joined comic book characters in keeping the harlequinesque costume codes alive, but something deeper is happening with the Harlequin and his lozenge attire. For instance, some philosophers have come to accept Harlequin as a visual code for the union of multi-nationalities. The Research additionally explores the enduring contribution of the lozenge code not only through the historical tracing of harlequinesque imagery but also through the designing of a 2 square meter art–piece created at an international residency in Vietnam to reflect the energetic universality of the lozenge form. Here Harlequin’s liminality is explored. Finally two new costume designs have been created for the Australian performers, Everage and Salom, to further the design of the harlequinesque into an imagined future.
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Missingham, Racheal. "Australia's Deaf theatre: Past, present and future." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2021. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/226867/1/Racheal_Missingham_Thesis.pdf.
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The research into the past, present and future of Australia’s Deaf theatre allows us to understand the social, cultural, professional and political landscape of Deaf theatre companies and Deaf theatre practitioners. It provides reflection on the lessons learnt within arts management practices of Deaf theatre companies and creating performances with Deaf theatre practitioners.
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Comans, Christine Anne Wilmington. "La Boite Theatre 1925 to 2003: an historical survey of its transformation from an amateur repertory society to an established professional company." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2006. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16306/1/Christine_Comans_Thesis.pdf.
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This study addresses the central question of how Brisbane's La Boite Theatre negotiated its transformation from an amateur repertory society to an established professional company and, despite set-backs and crises, survived, changed and developed in an unbroken line of theatrical activity from its genesis in1925 to 2003. To answer the question, La Boite's history is surveyed within its three status modes of amateur, 'pro-am', and professional. Effective artistic and organizational leadership and a set of key manifestations of effective leadership are identified as crucial to the company's successful transformational journey. Such a transformation is a distinctive achievement in Australian repertory theatre history and, in exploring it, this study makes an original and important contribution to the history of Australian theatre organizations, very few of which have been the subject of scholarly research.
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Comans, Christine Anne Wilmington. "La Boite Theatre 1925 to 2003: an historical survey of its transformation from an amateur repertory society to an established professional company." Queensland University of Technology, 2006. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16306/.
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This study addresses the central question of how Brisbane's La Boite Theatre negotiated its transformation from an amateur repertory society to an established professional company and, despite set-backs and crises, survived, changed and developed in an unbroken line of theatrical activity from its genesis in1925 to 2003. To answer the question, La Boite's history is surveyed within its three status modes of amateur, 'pro-am', and professional. Effective artistic and organizational leadership and a set of key manifestations of effective leadership are identified as crucial to the company's successful transformational journey. Such a transformation is a distinctive achievement in Australian repertory theatre history and, in exploring it, this study makes an original and important contribution to the history of Australian theatre organizations, very few of which have been the subject of scholarly research.
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Jordan, Richard. "The space between: Representing 'youth' on the contemporary Australian stage." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2006. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16173/2/Richard_Jordan_Exegesis.pdf.
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Young characters throughout the history of Australian theatre have traditionally been represented as tragic, transient, and dangerous; discourses which have defined and limited their construction. 'Youth' itself is a concept which has been invented and perpetuated within Western Art and Media for much of the twentieth century and beyond, creating an exclusive 'space' for young people: a space between childhood and a standard human being. This thesis seeks to explore the implications of this space, as well as contextualise a new creative work - the stage play like, dead - within the canon of Australian theatre texts which portray young characters. like, dead will be shown to be a work which reappropriates clichéd youthful discourses through the use of irony, humour, and a sense of postmodern 'performativity' among its characters. In so doing it will demonstrate an alternative approach to representing young people on the Australian stage, by enhancing the constructedness of traditional images of 'youth' and pursuing the creation of young characters which are not solely defined by the term.
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Jordan, Richard. "The space between : representing 'youth' on the contemporary Australian stage." Queensland University of Technology, 2006. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16173/.
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Young characters throughout the history of Australian theatre have traditionally been represented as tragic, transient, and dangerous; discourses which have defined and limited their construction. 'Youth' itself is a concept which has been invented and perpetuated within Western Art and Media for much of the twentieth century and beyond, creating an exclusive 'space' for young people: a space between childhood and a standard human being. This thesis seeks to explore the implications of this space, as well as contextualise a new creative work - the stage play like, dead - within the canon of Australian theatre texts which portray young characters. like, dead will be shown to be a work which reappropriates clichéd youthful discourses through the use of irony, humour, and a sense of postmodern 'performativity' among its characters. In so doing it will demonstrate an alternative approach to representing young people on the Australian stage, by enhancing the constructedness of traditional images of 'youth' and pursuing the creation of young characters which are not solely defined by the term.
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Cork, Kevin James, of Western Sydney Nepean University, and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. "Twenty-four miles around Nelungaloo : the history and importance of cinema exhibition in pre-television times to a country area of central-western New South Wales." THESIS_FHSS_XXX_Cork_K.xml, 1994. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/684.
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Little research into historical, architectural and social significance of the picture theatre in pre-television rural Australian society has been undertaken. Taking a New South Wales country area (to represent a microcosm), this thesis records the picture venues and qualitative research material from past patrons and theatre staff. The study 1/. establishes the environment created by a picture theatre 2/. shows that New South Wales was typical of Australia in film attendance before the 1960s 3/. introduces the Central-West subject area, and describes how data was gathered from available records 4/. shows the development of the picture venues within the subject areas 5/. gives 'life' to the occasion formerly associated with going to the pictures 6/. suggests the success ot the rural picture shows was a happy co-incidence: the exhibitors' desire to make money and the patrons' desire for a social experience (and entertainment). A recommendation is made that one of the venues discovered during the course of research should be investigated for heritage listing. It is important that we should acknowledge the vital part that going to the pictures once played in pre-television days, especially in rural areasMaster of Arts (Hons)
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Stewart, Lucy Claire. ""Theatre of the dancing language" : new possibilities in contemporary Australian playwrighting." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2008. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/28477/1/Lucy_Stewart_Thesis.pdf.
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This study focuses on trends in contemporary Australian playwrighting, discussing recent investigations into the playwrighting process. The study analyses the current state of this country’s playwrighting industry, with a particular focus on programming trends since 1998. It seeks to explore the implications of this current theatrical climate, in particular the types of work most commonly being favoured for production. It argues that Australian plays are under-represented (compared to non-Australian plays) on ‘mainstream’ stages and that audiences might benefit from more challenging modes of writing than the popular three-act realist play models. The thesis argues that ‘New Lyricism’ might fill this position of offering an innovative Australian playwrighting mode. New Lyricism is characterised by a set of common aesthetics, including a non-linear narrative structure, a poetic use of language and magic realism. Several Australian playwrights who have adopted this mode of writing are identified and their works examined. The author’s play Floodlands is presented as a case study and the author’s creative process is examined in light of the published critical discussions about experimental playwriting work.
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Stewart, Lucy Claire. ""Theatre of the dancing language" : new possibilities in contemporary Australian playwrighting." Queensland University of Technology, 2008. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/28477/.
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This study focuses on trends in contemporary Australian playwrighting, discussing recent investigations into the playwrighting process. The study analyses the current state of this country’s playwrighting industry, with a particular focus on programming trends since 1998. It seeks to explore the implications of this current theatrical climate, in particular the types of work most commonly being favoured for production. It argues that Australian plays are under-represented (compared to non-Australian plays) on ‘mainstream’ stages and that audiences might benefit from more challenging modes of writing than the popular three-act realist play models. The thesis argues that ‘New Lyricism’ might fill this position of offering an innovative Australian playwrighting mode. New Lyricism is characterised by a set of common aesthetics, including a non-linear narrative structure, a poetic use of language and magic realism. Several Australian playwrights who have adopted this mode of writing are identified and their works examined. The author’s play Floodlands is presented as a case study and the author’s creative process is examined in light of the published critical discussions about experimental playwriting work.
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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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Brook, Simon Richard. "Industrial playwriting : forms, strategies, and methods for creative production." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2009. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/30137/1/Simon_Brook_Thesis.pdf.
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This study, in its exploration of the attached play scripts and their method of development, evaluates the forms, strategies, and methods of an organised model of formalised playwriting. Through the examination, reflection and reaction to a perceived crisis in playwriting in the Australian theatre sector, the notion of Industrial Playwriting is arrived at: a practice whereby plays are designed and constructed, and where the process of writing becomes central to the efficient creation of new work and the improvement of the writer’s skill and knowledge base.
Using a practice-led methodology and action research the study examines a system of play construction appropriate to and addressing the challenges of the contemporary Australian theatre sector. Specifically, using the action research methodology known as design-based research a conceptual framework was constructed to form the basis of the notion of Industrial Playwriting. From this two plays were constructed using a case study method and the process recorded and used to create a practical, step-by-step system of Industrial Playwriting. In the creative practice of manufacturing a single authored play, and then a group-devised play, Industrial Playwriting was tested and found to also offer a valid alternative approach to playwriting in the training of new and even emerging playwrights. Finally, it offered insight into how Industrial Playwriting could be used to greatly facilitate theatre companies’ ongoing need to have access to new writers and new Australian works, and how it might form the basis of a cost effective writer development model. This study of the methods of formalised writing as a means to confront some of the challenges of the Australian theatre sector, the practice of playwriting and the history associated with it, makes an original and important contribution to contemporary playwriting practice.
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Brook, Simon Richard. "Industrial playwriting : forms, strategies, and methods for creative production." Queensland University of Technology, 2009. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/30137/.
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This study, in its exploration of the attached play scripts and their method of development, evaluates the forms, strategies, and methods of an organised model of formalised playwriting. Through the examination, reflection and reaction to a perceived crisis in playwriting in the Australian theatre sector, the notion of Industrial Playwriting is arrived at: a practice whereby plays are designed and constructed, and where the process of writing becomes central to the efficient creation of new work and the improvement of the writer’s skill and knowledge base.
Using a practice-led methodology and action research the study examines a system of play construction appropriate to and addressing the challenges of the contemporary Australian theatre sector. Specifically, using the action research methodology known as design-based research a conceptual framework was constructed to form the basis of the notion of Industrial Playwriting. From this two plays were constructed using a case study method and the process recorded and used to create a practical, step-by-step system of Industrial Playwriting. In the creative practice of manufacturing a single authored play, and then a group-devised play, Industrial Playwriting was tested and found to also offer a valid alternative approach to playwriting in the training of new and even emerging playwrights. Finally, it offered insight into how Industrial Playwriting could be used to greatly facilitate theatre companies’ ongoing need to have access to new writers and new Australian works, and how it might form the basis of a cost effective writer development model. This study of the methods of formalised writing as a means to confront some of the challenges of the Australian theatre sector, the practice of playwriting and the history associated with it, makes an original and important contribution to contemporary playwriting practice.
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Faulkner, Natalie. "Section 24 of the criminal code : navigating veracity and verisimilitude in verbatim theatre." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2007. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16641/1/Natalie_Faulkner_Thesis.pdf.
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This research project comprises a stage play Section 24 of the Criminal Code, and accompanying exegesis, which focuses upon the experience of a woman accessing the Criminal Justice system after she is raped. The play is in the verbatim model and draws upon court transcript, which is deconstructed to reveal the workings of Defence counsel 'storylines' and meta-narratives of gender, sexual availability and power. The exegesis investigates attitudes toward rape and rape victims perpetuated by Australian popular culture, and the way that myths about false rape complaints and 'deserving victims' continue to influence the reporting and conviction rates for rape. The thesis argues that recent reforms have yet to make an impact on the conviction rate or experience of women accessing the Justice system, because of entrenched misogyny within the system itself. Several factors contribute to widespread ignorance of the reality of our own Criminal Justice system, and the thesis proposes that a work of verbatim theatre may redress the paucity of understanding that enables the dysfunction of the current system. The paper explores the different approaches taken by Verbatim theatre practitioners and the appropriateness of the Verbatim theatre model for communicating this particular (lived) experience. Questions of ownership over one's story, and representation in that story indicate the emancipatory potential of a work. Where practitioners do not have a personal connection to their subject matter or material and access material that is already in the public domain, they may feel a greater freedom to manipulate story and character for dramatic effect, or to suit an activist agenda for change. It is shown that a playwright with a personal connection to her material and subject must address issues of ownership, ethical representation, veracity and verisimilitude when creating a piece of verbatim theatre. Preferencing the truth of the Complainant Woman's experience over the orthodoxies of the well-made play may contribute to a negative response to the work from male audiences. However, the thesis concludes that the subject of rape and its prosecution invokes a gendered response in itself, and ultimately questions the desirability of presenting a play that delivers a palatable story rather than an unpleasant truth.
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Faulkner, Natalie. "Section 24 of the criminal code : navigating veracity and verisimilitude in verbatim theatre." Queensland University of Technology, 2007. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16641/.
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This research project comprises a stage play Section 24 of the Criminal Code, and accompanying exegesis, which focuses upon the experience of a woman accessing the Criminal Justice system after she is raped. The play is in the verbatim model and draws upon court transcript, which is deconstructed to reveal the workings of Defence counsel 'storylines' and meta-narratives of gender, sexual availability and power. The exegesis investigates attitudes toward rape and rape victims perpetuated by Australian popular culture, and the way that myths about false rape complaints and 'deserving victims' continue to influence the reporting and conviction rates for rape. The thesis argues that recent reforms have yet to make an impact on the conviction rate or experience of women accessing the Justice system, because of entrenched misogyny within the system itself. Several factors contribute to widespread ignorance of the reality of our own Criminal Justice system, and the thesis proposes that a work of verbatim theatre may redress the paucity of understanding that enables the dysfunction of the current system. The paper explores the different approaches taken by Verbatim theatre practitioners and the appropriateness of the Verbatim theatre model for communicating this particular (lived) experience. Questions of ownership over one's story, and representation in that story indicate the emancipatory potential of a work. Where practitioners do not have a personal connection to their subject matter or material and access material that is already in the public domain, they may feel a greater freedom to manipulate story and character for dramatic effect, or to suit an activist agenda for change. It is shown that a playwright with a personal connection to her material and subject must address issues of ownership, ethical representation, veracity and verisimilitude when creating a piece of verbatim theatre. Preferencing the truth of the Complainant Woman's experience over the orthodoxies of the well-made play may contribute to a negative response to the work from male audiences. However, the thesis concludes that the subject of rape and its prosecution invokes a gendered response in itself, and ultimately questions the desirability of presenting a play that delivers a palatable story rather than an unpleasant truth.
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McPherson, Ailsa School of Theatre Film & Dance UNSW. "Diversions in a tented field : theatricality and the images and perceptions of warfare in Sydney entertainments 1879-1902." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Theatre, Film and Dance, 2001. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/18264.
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This thesis examines the theatricality which accompanied the establishment, development and deployment of the colonial army in New South Wales during the last two decades of the nineteenth century. It investigates the transfer to the colony of the military ethos of the Imperial power, and explores the ways in which performances of military spectacle, in both theatrical and paratheatrical contexts, were interpreted by the colonists. The primary sources for the research are the Sydney press and the Mitchell `Australiana' collection of the State Library of New South Wales. The framework of the argument is presented in five chapters. The first, Displaying, investigates the relationship between civilians and the military forces at training camps, and then the performances of sham fights. The second, Committing, explores the attitudes of civilians and soldiers at the departures of New South Wales troops to the Soudan and Boer Wars. Informing, thirdly, investigates how the Imperial military ideology was conveyed through performance, and how this information was interpreted in the colony. Accommodating analyses songs and theatre performances which first reflected colonial anticipations at the commitment to conflict and then attempted to accommodate the actuality of the experience. Lastly, Desiring, explores the colonists' endeavours to invent traditions which satisfied the discrepancy between their hopes and their experiences of Imperial war. This thesis asserts that the colonial reinterpretation of military ideology was influenced by concepts both of service to the Imperial power and of national identity. The interplay between these influences led to the colonists' idealising the Imperial association. This ideal was not demonstrated in the practice of association. The result of this experience was a defining of the differences between colonial and Imperial perceptions, rather than a reinforcement of their similarities. Much of the exploration of thesis also prepares the ground for a fuller cultural understanding of the issues at play in the final emergence of the Anzac tradition at the engagement of colonial soldiers against Turkish troops at Gallipoli in April, 1915.
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Robinson, Raymond Stanley. "Dreaming tracks : history of the Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme, 1972-1979 : its place in the continuum." Thesis, View thesis View thesis, 2000. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/76.
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Dreaming Tracks was chosen for the title of this history because of its reference to the journeys and routes taken by the ancestral founders of each of the extended family clans. As they travelled they recorded the events and situations they encountered along the way , which they left in story, painting, song lines and dances for the future survival of their people. The history of the Aboriginal/Islander Skills Development Scheme also pertains to a journey. This journey records the events that brought about the establishment of the longest surviving, urban Indigenous dance organization. It's a voyage that identifies the obstacles and accomplishments of its founding members, who dedicated themselves to the hard work to ensure the continuum of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance. It was their dream, to have an Australian Black Dance Company that would create a link between past and present, traditional and urban. The pathways they created equipped urban Indigenous Australians with a unique dance identity of their own, and established the path to continued contact with the traditional owners. Dreaming Tracks is contemporary Dreaming lore that begins with the contention for land rights in the early 1970's and follows the progress of the Aboriginal/Islander Skills Development Scheme to the end of the decade. It records the desires, dreams and conflicts that brought this organization into being. In parallel, the concerns of the founder, Carole Y. Johnson, sets the path for the journey, which by the end of the twentieth-century witnessed the establishment of an accredited dance course, two dance companies (The Aboriginal/Islander Dance Theatre and Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australia) and students who are key participants in the artistic design of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney Australia
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Robinson, Raymond Stanley. "Dreaming tracks : history of the Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme, 1972-1979 : its place in the continuum of Australian indigenous dance and the contribution of its African American founder, Carole Y. Johnson /." View thesis View thesis, 2000. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20030604.085603/index.html.
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Thesis (M.A.) (Honours) -- University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 2000.A thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Honours) - (Performance), School of Applied Social and Human Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 2000. Bibliography : Vol. 1, leaves 202-209.
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Fry, Garry. "Position, the command of expressive space : the function of ritual and legitimacy instanced in late twentieth century Australia theatre." Phd thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/148398.
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Arrighi, Gillian Anne. "A circus and its context: the FitzGerald Brothers' Circus in Australia and New Zealand, 1888-1906." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1312413.
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Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Throughout the 1890s and early years of the twentieth century, the FitzGerald Brothers' Circus was the largest and most popular homegrown circus touring in Australasia. Their productions were at once fabulous and educational, parochial and cosmopolitan, political and sensual. The company's principals, Dan and Tom FitzGerald were astute showmen, sensitive to the shifting tastes of their public, and people of all ages and stations found something in their shows that appealed. Drawing on a diverse range of primary source material, this thesis examines the ways that a range of shows produced by the FitzGeralds articulated a variety of narratives, not all of which were congruent, concerning nation, identity, allegiance, and belonging, in Australasia at the turn of the twentieth century. As a history of a performance company, it traces the artisitic career of the circus from their emergence in 1888 to the company's dispersal in 1906. It brings forward and analyses many of the acts which the FitzGeralds promoted as their key attractions and in which they invested much of their identity. While the story of the FitzGeralds' Circus constitutes the primary narrative line of the thesis, a meta-narrative about events in the wider community, shifting political imperatives, and cultural change, also runs through the thesis as a strategy for annotating the circus shows and drawing out possible readings of them. This study investigates the dialogic relationship that developed between one particular circus and the contemporary society; it interrogates the extent to which that society, directly and indirectly, impacted on the cultural productions of the principal circus of the era and considers the meaning that were reflected back to the circus's public.
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Cork, Kevin J. "Twenty-four miles around Nelungaloo : the history and importance of cinema exhibition in pre-television times to a country area of central-western New South Wales." Thesis, 1994. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/684.
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Little research into historical, architectural and social significance of the picture theatre in pre-television rural Australian society has been undertaken. Taking a New South Wales country area (to represent a microcosm), this thesis records the picture venues and qualitative research material from past patrons and theatre staff. The study 1/. establishes the environment created by a picture theatre 2/. shows that New South Wales was typical of Australia in film attendance before the 1960s 3/. introduces the Central-West subject area, and describes how data was gathered from available records 4/. shows the development of the picture venues within the subject areas 5/. gives 'life' to the occasion formerly associated with going to the pictures 6/. suggests the success ot the rural picture shows was a happy co-incidence: the exhibitors' desire to make money and the patrons' desire for a social experience (and entertainment). A recommendation is made that one of the venues discovered during the course of research should be investigated for heritage listing. It is important that we should acknowledge the vital part that going to the pictures once played in pre-television days, especially in rural areas
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Conway, Judith (Jude). "The Newcastle women’s movement in the 1970s and 1980s through the lens of Josephine Conway’s activism and archives." Thesis, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1430745.
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Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)From the late 1960s, women in the Australian industrial city of Newcastle, New South Wales (NSW), joined women around the world in agitating for a broader role in all areas of society and Josephine Conway was one of those women. Josephine raised awareness of, and campaigned on, many of the feminist causes of the 1970s and 1980s. She was passionate about women’s healthcare, protested against women’s objectification in the media, and lobbied for legislation that offered legal parity for women. She fought never-ending battles for the right to legal and affordable pregnancy terminations; and campaigned for equal employment opportunities and the provision of childcare services. Josephine supported women’s activism in the peace movement and for women’s ordination; and was involved in the blossoming of feminist spirituality and creativity in Newcastle. Using Josephine’s extensive archives as a lens, supplemented with oral histories from campaign allies, the thesis explores their pathways to feminism and shared activism. It dissects the women’s groups which Josephine joined, and the modes of operation and relationships within them, as well as the actions that were carried out in pursuing their feminist causes. The themes that emerge are, first that Josephine’s role in the women’s movement was that of the ‘committed individual’ posited by Gerda Lerner as necessary for social change. Second, the thesis demonstrates the wide range and value of the macro and micro-actions undertaken by Josephine and her cohorts in mounting and maintaining effective campaigns. Third, this study reveals the web of relationships and the flow of ideas, tactics and artefacts along transnational and national feminist pathways, and between the capital cities and the regions, which were essential for bringing about nationwide change. In doing so it reveals an important regional story which has not previously been included in histories of the Australian women’s movement.