Workshop 1 – Arriving

For each of the workshop activities, remember to uphold the expectations of your class and the accompanying resources in the links and activities on the Respectful learning page. These expectations should be regularly reflected on and discussed as part of the activities for this resource.

Review p 34 of Teaching First Nations Content and Concepts in the Drama Classroom on Ilbijerri Theatre Company's education webpage, and discuss what is appropriate and not appropriate when learning about and performing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander characters in the school classroom. Note: your teacher may wish to review this with the whole class.

You may want to make these expectations clear and accessible for members of the class to access, if you have not already done so.

Learning intention

To stage the opening moment of Stolen and better understand how the audience is introduced to the play, its characters and its issues, including the experience of dislocation, through dramatic techniques, conventions and elements. 

Dislocation refers to the profound sense of displacement, detachment, and disruption of one's established sense of home, identity, and belonging. It occurs when individuals, groups of people or entire communities are uprooted from their familiar environments due to various factors, such as conflict, government policies, forced migration, economic circumstances, or environmental disasters.

Materials

The script for the opening scene 'Arriving' at the beginning of the play Stolen.

Assumed knowledge

You should understand the events that led to children like the characters from Stolen being forced to come to the children's home as a result of The Stolen Generations policies.

Instructions

• Working in groups of 4-5, shape the opening moment, 'Arriving', in which the children arrive at the children's home.

• Consider and imagine how you might use the contemporary theatre conventions listed below, to help stage this moment in an appropriate way. Discuss examples of this as a class with your teacher.

  • • Recordings

    • Sound effects, music and voiceover

    • Projection and photography

    • Lighting

    • Minimalist props, set and costume

Reflection

• After your class performances, write a short reflection (250-300 words) where you compare your group's staging with another group's interpretation. Your goal is not to say which group was better, but to explain how different productions of the same play script can produce different, yet equally engaging, performances. Use the question below to help you with your reflection.

  • • Compare your performance with the dramatic choices of another group's performance in staging 'Arriving' from Stolen. Explain how each performance was different, yet engaging. In your response, support your answer by referring to specific examples of contemporary theatre conventions and the elements of drama and production.

• Consider using this reflection to contribute to your study notes (see Study notes page for more information).