Supporting students to connect deeply with the thematic and contextual worlds of the shows they are studying, and assisting teachers to deliver engaging and rigorous units of work is the aim of any good educational resource. Undertaking research into a production is one of the greatest intellectual pleasures I have had the privilege of experiencing. Being granted the access, the time and the resources to deep-dive into the thematic and contextual influences of a script and a play-making process feels like utter decadence to me. My attraction to theatrical research stems from my life-long love of learning, the Arts and communication, but more than this, education pack creation enables me to collaboratively excavate the meaning behind work, providing insight and emphasis to key aspects of a performance, whilst linking it with current Australian curriculum.
My recent work with Back to Back Theatre involved the creation of two epic education packs for their season of small metal objects, which was playlisted by VCAA for students studying VCE Drama. *UPDATE-I am honoured to announce that my work with Back to Back Theatre was awarded the Drama Victoria ‘Best new Australian Publication for Drama and Theatre Studies’ . What a pleasure!
Collaborating with an incredible team of First Nations visual artists and curators towards the creation of primary and secondary packs for the First Nations Art Trams and the iconic Shadow Spirit exhibition as part of Melbourne’s RISING Festival has enabled invaluable personal and professional development in 2023.
I have also collabed with the lovely Tim Ryan, Education Manager at Victorian Opera on a series of resources; here is a link to our education pack for ‘Melbourne, Cheremushki’ and another for ‘Galileo’. And what a year to be granted the opportunity to write the ‘TINA: The Tina Turner Musical’ education pack; the profound mark left by this music legend is explored in depth for NSW Drama students here.
