Curriculum Connection
This information is intended as a guide for teachers when selecting Griffin productions for school bookings. It has been compiled by Griffin's Education Consultant, Elizabeth Surbey. Please download the Education Notes for the current production from this page.
Griffin's 2008 production of The Modern International Dead by Damien Millar is an example of Verbatim theatre and is a timely opportunity for teachers to become more familiar with this new HSC topic.
On a broader note, one exciting aspect of the HSC English Syllabus is the requirement in some Modules for students to explore issues and ideas in set texts through “texts of their own choosing” from a “variety of sources, in a range of genres and media”.
One source of text often overlooked is theatre. By its very nature, theatre explores the kinds of personal, social and political issues that are highlighted in the various modules of the English syllabus. For instance, most plays tend to deal with the “journey” of the protagonist, and the protagonist/antagonist interactions generally involve some aspects of “powerplay”.
In theatre students may well find stimulating texts that allow them to make connections between what they are learning in the classroom and the “real world” of texts beyond the classroom.
Free Tickets for Teachers - Teachers are invited, subject to availability, to attend a preview performance of The Modern International Dead for free. Preview dates are 5, 6, 8 & 9 September. To book tickets email info@griffintheatre.com.au. We hope you can make it.
For more information on this production, please download The Modern International Dead Education Notes from this page. An excerpt from these notes, a discussion of verbatim theatre by Griffin's Artistic Director Nick Marchand, is included below. We hope you find the complete notes both interesting and useful.
Griffin Season 5 September - 11 October Riverside Season 14 - 18 October Based on research and interviews, it is a time consuming and complex procedure. There is also no room for fixed ideas. As Max Stafford-Clark, former Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre and a well-known director of previous verbatim texts (The Permanent Way, Talking to Terrorists) puts it – “You have to surrender yourself to the material in terms of the story.” Millar came to this approach having completed an award-winning adaptation of Emergency Sex (And Other Desperate Measures), based on the bestselling memoirs of Heidi Postlewait, Andrew Thomson and Kenneth Cain – a Harvard law graduate, Brooklyn social worker and Kiwi doctor who packed up their lives and joined the UN aid effort. Having been drawn into the world of international peacekeeping and humanitarian aid, Millar became fascinated by Australian stories in the field. “What happens when these people return? What are the consequences of this kind of work for the individual? How do they live? In some cases, the question is even sharper: how do some of these people actually survive?” It was a suggestion from Stafford-Clark to further explore the themes of international aid from this Australian perspective that led to the play-building and the interview process beginning in earnest. The results of these countless hours of interviews were whittled down for an initial actors' workshop in April, and a draft of the play for rehearsals in August. Nick Marchand, Artistic DirectorThe Modern International Dead by Damien Millar
Director Chris Mead
About Verbatim Theatre
Verbatim theatre has become more widely known in recent years. A method of creating theatre using the exact words spoken by people involved in specific events or subject areas, it has reached great prominence with productions such as The Laramie Project, My Name is Rachel Corrie, The Permanent Way and, in Australia, through Paul Brown's play about the 1989 Newcastle earthquakes, Aftershocks and Run Rabbit Run.
This is an excerpt from 'The Modern International Dead Education Notes' which can be downloaded from this page.