Teacher Notes – “ the 7 Stages of Grieving ” by Robyn Brookes © 2010

TEACHER

NOTES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Length of Performance 3 Cast 3 Playwright 4 Writer’s Comments 6 Director’s Comments 8 Actor’s Profile 11 Plot 13 Forms and Conventions 14 Themes 17 Set Design 21 Interesting Reading 23 Essay Questions 34 Past exam questions 37 Immediate Reactions 38 References 40

LENGTH OF PERFORMANCE

Approx 1 hour Followed by a 20 – 30 min Q & A session

CAST

Woman Lisa Flanagan

Director Rosalba Clemente Assistant Director Nazaree Dickerson Designer Morag Cook Lighting Designer David Gadsden Composer Stuart Day

Stage Manager Adam Hornhardt Crew Damon Jones

State Theatre Company of South Australia would like to take this opportunity to warn members of the audience that this production contains names and visual representations of people recently dead, which may be distressing to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. All care has been taken to acquire the appropriate permission and show all proper respect.

PLAYWRIGHT

WESLEY ENOCH

(Born 1969) Wesley is a Murri playwright and artistic director. He was born in Stradbroke Island and grew up in Brisbane. (Murri are the indigenous Australians of Queensland)

Wesley’s writing credits include; The Sunshine Club , The Seven Stages of Grieving (co-written with Deborah Mailman) and Black Medea, all of which he also directed; and The Story of the Miracles at Cookie’s Table which won the 2005 Patrick White Playwrights' Award.

He has been Artistic Director of Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts and Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Co-Operative and worked with the Queensland Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company and Company B.

He has also directed the premiere production of Stolen and a revival of The Cherry Pickers , both of which toured internationally. His other directing credits include, Capricornia, The Dreamers, Conversations with the Dead , Romeo and Juliet , Fountains Beyond , Black-ed Up , The Sapphires , Rainbow’s End, Eora Crossing, Bitin’ Back and RiverlanD.

Wesley was also the director of the Indigenous section of the opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games and he directed the opening ceremony of the 2002 Adelaide Festival.

Plays Black Medea The Story of the Miracles at Cookie's Table The Sunshine Club Life of Grace and Piety The 7 Stages of Grieving, (co-written with Deborah Mailman )

Awards 1997 Young Australian of The Year (Queensland Arts Section). 1998 Queens Trust Award 2000 Matilda Award ( The Sunshine Club ) 2000 Variety Club of Australia (Theatre Heart Award) 2002 Cite Internationale des Artes residency in Paris 2004 Helpmann Award for Best Children’s Work (Riverland) 2005 Patrick White Playwright’s Award (The Story of the Miracles at Cookie’s Table ) 2005 Helpmann Awards for Best Production and Best New Australian Work ( The Sapphires)

DEBORAH MAILMAN

Deborah was born in 1972 in Mount Isa, Queensland. She is the youngest of five children and has both Indigenous Australian and Māori heritage. She graduated from Queensland University of Technology's Academy of the Arts in 1992.

Deborah’s first major production was the Queensland Theatre Company's One Woman's Song . Since then, she has worked extensively in Australian theatre and overseas, taking her one-woman show, The 7 Stages of Grieving , to the London International Festival of Theatre and Zurich Arts Festival.

Her other theatre credits include The Small Poppies, As You Like It, Capricornia, Murri Love, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Summer of the Aliens, The Cherry Pickers, The Taming of the Shrew, The Sapphires and Gigi .

Deborah was the first Aboriginal actor to win an AFI award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for playing the character "Nona" in the Australian independent film Radiance (1998). She become well-known for her role on The Secret Life Of Us for which she won two Logies for Most Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series (2002 and 2004).

In 2003 Deborah was named NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) Person of the Year. And in 2007 she received both The Deadly Award for Female Actor of the Year and Helpmann Award for Best Supporting Role ( The Lost Echo, Sydney Theatre Company ).

Deborah has worked in television on productions such as Inside Out, A Village Called Chardonnay, Coloured Inn, Bondi Banquet and Playschool . She also took part in a four-part television documentary series, Going Bush and featured in the Leah Purcell documentary Black Chicks Talking (2001).

She appeared in the films Rabbit-Proof Fence and Bran Nue Dae and was part of The Actors Company for the Sydney Theatre Company (2006-2007). Her first directing debut the movie Ralph won her an Inside Film Award Filmography.

• Radiance (1998) The Third Note (2000) • The Monkey's Mask (2000) The Secret Life of Us (2001–2006) • Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) The Book of Revelation (2006) • Bran Nue Dae (2009)

WRITER’S COMMENTS

Notes from an interview with Deborah Mailman by Michael Anderson and Lee Gough (2001)

Deborah has performed The 7 Stages of Grieving for audiences in Australia and internationally.

How did The 7 Stages of Grieving develop? It started back in 1993 when Wesley's grandmother passed away. The whole sense of grief, the family, the gathering of community and the passing on of an elder was the starting point for the story. Wesley came to me and said, “I'm interested in creating a performance that looks at the grieving process in Aboriginal communities”.

We wanted to create theatre that explored different forms, that had something to say, was important to us and that created an opportunity for us to showcase our craft. We started off by presenting a twenty minute performance piece. Then we applied and were given funding for a full-time rehearsal process, where we developed it into a one hour show and eventually into a published script.

Why did you use the seven stages metaphor in the play? Basically this was used as the spine of the piece and a starting reference. We didn't want to make it a conscious journey, so it was basically something to build from, exploring the idea of grief and what happens when a person dies.

How did the form of the play develop? We set up a rehearsal process where we just brainstormed. We then 'physicalised' and improvised the ideas before we went away and wrote. It was very much a stab in the dark at ideas and trying to form some kind of coherent story.

Eventually we got a dramaturg, Hillary Beaton, in for the next stage of the rehearsal process, which was developing it into a one-hour show. She helped us to clarify the story, but it evolved naturally through the rehearsal process.

How did London audiences respond to the play? Fantastic! It was really interesting to take it to a place like London, because at the time ‘One Nation’ was very much finding its strength as a political party, so people over there were very knowledgeable about all that and how it was creating a lot of anger and frustration here. So they were really interested in a different story that was coming from Australia.

Is this a very personal story? One of the stories called The March was taken directly from an experience Wesley had in Brisbane at the time we were writing it. A young man by the name of Daniel Yock died, and the community just came out with so much anger, frustration and grief about this young artist who had never done anything wrong with the law, who had direction, who had dreams and was an artist. He was well respected in the community and he died in police custody. That's a very grey area and so this march happened, a silent march with thousands and thousands of people in the streets of Brisbane and it's described in the scene, The MarchMarch.

It was silent and the only sound was the sound of feet pounding on the pavement and above there were helicopters. There was a sense from the wider community of wanting to make this into something that was violent and blacks protesting again, but it was very much a silent march about respecting the passing on of a young artist and so that story was written from a very, very personal account.

How are stories told in Aboriginal culture? In Aboriginal culture, Murri culture, painting, dance, song and language are an integration of all these forms. It is what explains the world, it is how the younger people learn about the world from the elders and that's how stories are passed on and so it's commonplace to be told through dance and painting and language all at the same time.

Are we close to being a reconciled nation? There is so much healing that needs to happen in the community, and that takes time. Like we say in The 7 Stages of Grieving , everything has a time and everything has a place and reconciliation, whatever that means, the true sense of it, is a very long, long process and we have to develop a two-way conversation and an acceptance which is very hard for a lot of people to do.

DIRECTOR’S COMMENTS

ROSALBA CLEMENTE

The play The 7 Stages of Grieving has the courage to be pure and simple and unadorned. It is intensely theatrical, yet epic at the same time. It makes you want to laugh, cry, understand, be provoked and illuminated.

It’s a piece of storytelling, that includes; - stand up comedy about being black - court transcripts about a young man - white men visiting her father’s home – respectfully at first, but later washes their face in her blood - an emotional account of the Sydney reconciliation bridge walk - what it is to be an indigenous person who owns the land and has been disallowed - grand funeral - stolen generation - dances with letters depicting a language that is taken from the people and another language given to them

In many ways the way we treated the Indigenous people of Australia is Australia’s own holocaust or genocide. There is a blind spot to the way we treated them and the subsequent mess we made. But the play is about a hope for the human spirit. It talks about what we can do if we can forgive or reconcile. To forgive we must accept. The last scene is particularly important in this sense. Who can go back now? How can we translate that into action?

It is also a reminder to grieve on different levels. Not just about losing the ones that we love. It is to see the truth, not just bent in our favour. It is to see no difference in colour.

“Come to this with your minds, hearts and your souls.”

What particularly attracted you to this play? The main attraction is that this play is a rich tapestry of storytelling by one woman. There is a wonderful simplicity and bare bones honesty in this work. It is very theatrical and open to some exciting leaps of imagination. I have always been attracted to works that carry a strong message politically but that also hold within them more complex layers of the universal spiritual and philosophical questions that confront us as a human race.

What has it been like working with a young designer like Morag Cook? I don't know that I consider Morag Cook a young designer in all honesty. She's an artist who has been around for some time and doing a lot of diverse work. What is great is to find a designer that you have an immediate rapport with and that is definitely true of our working relationship.

The 7 Stages of Grieving is the first work we have collaborated on and what we discovered was that we both like to talk a lot! We spent many hours taking the play apart and putting it back together. Quite often I would read sections aloud and then we would discuss them. It's like a child trying different lenses on a kaleidoscope. See how it looks now if we do this? In the end it is always a question of larding up as much as you can and then boiling it all back down to the essential ingredients. Once you understand the play really well you find that rubbish falls away very quickly.

The play tells you everything if you begin to listen to it. Having silly, bad and crazy ideas is all part of it. Luckily both Morag and I are unafraid to play and explore and we seem to be minimalists who know how to respect the demands of the play itself. It was great fun and I think Morag has made a really beautiful platform for Lisa (actor), Stuart (sound) and Dave (lights) to now begin to weave their magic on too.

What are the challenges of working with only one actor onstage as opposed to an ensemble? I have directed a one woman show before and performed in two myself so all I can say is that it gets pretty intense - much more so for the actor than the director! My job is to inspire Lisa and offer her as many good suggestions as I can to help extricate the best performance from her. Sometimes my job will be to shut up and let her play and stumble about. Sometimes we will sit down together and try to unravel a moment that just won't work.

Both actor and director bring a lot of preparation to the rehearsal room, a lot of thinking, but the trick is always to let it go and be in the moment - absolutely in the moment, available to every new impulse as it occurs. This is a true conversation, a true collaboration and for me the state of creativity where the best work can be made. Directing is always challenging be it one or one hundred in your cast. I’ve done both so am really just looking forward to meeting the work with Lisa.

What themes are explored in The 7 Stages of Grieving? What do you think audiences will take away from the performance? Talking about the themes of 7 stages is perhaps not as interesting as coming to see it for yourself and deciding what you think. This play was written before Kevin Rudd offered his formal apology to the indigenous people of this country. Perhaps it shifts the perspective of the play today. Perhaps the central question becomes how do we forgive the unforgivable? Lisa will lead us through this question brilliantly. She will make us laugh, think and even shed tears, because we all share the grief of what happened. Whether we know it or not it

does touch us in some way because there was a holocaust in this country that goes deep into the bones of the land and this is the land we now live on together. How do we move forward?

As the writer of Helly’s Magic Cup which explored the allall----ttttoooooooo----familiarfamiliar situation of dealing with drought, are there any common themes between the two plays which you think clearly defines them as “Australian?” What do you particularly enjoy about presenting Australian works onstage? I do love working on new Australian work. It is the most important thing we can do in this country as Australian artists- to develop our own work, our own stories, and our own way of telling them. This is how a true theatrical culture is built in any country. We must write and create theatre from our own contemporary sense of self as Australians. It is like growing up.

We are so lucky here because we have so many diverse cultures to draw on and I think Australia is uniquely placed to contribute something fresh. Yes, of course we also want to look outward and enjoy the great works from elsewhere but we must not rely on the best being out there somewhere, always out of our reach. Many of our contemporary playwrights are beginning to make inroads into international markets. Most recently two excellent Adelaide based playwrights Stephen House and Andrew Bovell had productions of their work performed in America and England respectively. I think Australia must be ready to take its place on the international platform and the international market wants original Australian work not our copies of their work. So yes, I love working on Australian work best. I make no bones about that.

As an accomplished director, writer and actor (among other things), what do you particularly enjoy about the role ooff directing? I do enjoy directing because I love assisting a team of artists discover the gold within the play through discovering the gold within themselves. It is both a satisfying and quite humbling service to take on the role of a director. You have to be strong and most importantly very honest and patient. There are many signals you learn to read as your own private signs of success: the willingness of your actors each morning, the smile on the faces of your crew even when the going gets tough, the feeling in your own heart when the lights fade on the last scene on opening night, the faces of the audience, the genuine love and thanks offered on the last night amongst the team and of course the desire to keep making what you believe in - hard as it is. Because what is beautiful, good and true endures beyond the vagaries of life itself and what endures is all that really matters.

ACTOR’S PROFILE

LISA FLANAGAN

How difficult is it to do a OneOne----WomanWoman show? It’s challenging, but so rewarding. To be able to pull off performing by yourself with no-one to back you up is scary, but amazing. Learning the lines and not stuffing up is also difficult because there is no-one else to bounce off.

What are the challenges in this piece? Various scenes, such as the story of the stolen generation remind me of my Nan. I can see her face, hear her voice and the stories she tells. It makes you become really connected. Most of the monologues are like that – they rip your heart out. So it is a very emotional journey.

You have done this play before, how does this affect the way you treat this new process? This time it will be bigger and better. When I did this part before it was in Sydney and my first one-woman show. I just bit my tongue and went along for the ride, but I always felt very safe with the director, Leah Purcell. In Adelaide it will be bigger, better, with more movement and more everything! It’s more ingrained in me now, it feels like my story.

How do you think the audience will react to this piece? They’ll be emotionally drained, but in a good way. It opens their eyes to their past, our history. After the Sydney production students were telling me that I changed how they felt about Australia and it’s history. It’s a very inspiring play.

Just reading the piece is a totally different experience to seeing it performed on stage. It really connects with audiences on many levels.

Is there anything that you want the audience to take away from this piece? Understanding. Openess. And a willingness to learn our Australian culture.

How much of this play comes from your own life? IncludingIncluding images, themes etc. Quite a lot of photos/images that are projected in the show, have come from my family. There are also parts that come from either my family or friends, such as the stolen generation, which happened to my Nana and her siblings. Even experiences that haven’t happened directly, like deaths in custody are also issues that I’ve been aware of growing up. I also find some amusing scenes, such as when she gets a dress and people comment about whether she is stealing?

What is your background/training? No training. I did Drama at school, but didn’t like it. Later on I was asked to have my photo taken for the movie, Rabbit Proof Fence and as a result was asked to be a maid. Then along came the movie Australian Rules . I’ve also done several short films and the musical The Sapphires. I’ve been lucky I’ve just kept working and have now been acting for 11 years.

What is your favourite role that you’ve played? Kay in the musical, The Sapphires . It was my first time on stage, my first time singing and my first time dancing so I had so much fun. It was a pure overload of the brain with learning all of that in just 3 weeks of rehearsals! But I loved every minute.

What type of characters appeal to you as an actor? All sorts. I love to play a range of characters, anything from the queen to the rat.

You’re also a mother, how do you balance this with your acting career? I have a daughter who is 13 and absolutely amazing. She knows the drill, what happens and what’s involved and is incredibly supportive.

PLOT

“These are my stories, these are my people’s stories, they need to be told”

The play presents itself largely in story-telling, monologue form. The story is one of alienation, loss, dislocation and indeed grieving – but stirred around with a good spoonful of humour.

Each scene tells a new story; 1. Prologue – acknowledgement of warning and respect 2. Sobbing – words and sounds of grief 3. Purification – burning of leaves and song for the permission of the spirits to tell her story 4. Nan’s story – her passing and the celebration of her life 5. Photograph story – a suitcase of photograph’s holds a family’s stories 6. Story of a Father – fear of her father’s death 7. Front and Centre – a woman without family attends many funerals 8. Family Gallery – family images from the suitcase 9. Black Skin Girl – woman sings ‘Bului yuli mie’ 10. Invasion poem – stolen generation 11. 1788 – funny response to the arrival of the First Fleet! 12. Murri Gets a Dress – stand up routine 13. Aunty Grace – sisters separated by time and countries 14. Mug shot – a court report does not tell the whole story 15. March – a gathering of the people 16. Bargaining – one person’s real estate is another person’s home 17. Home Story – what is family? 18. Story of a Brother – tells a story of misunderstandings 19. Gallery of Sorrow – images of Aboriginal history 20. Suitcase Opening – woman grieves through the photographs 21. Wreck/con/silly/nation – a Poem 22. Everything Has Its Time – addresses the audience 23. A Plea – she presents the suitcase to the audience 24. Walking across Bridges – people connected and moving forward – together.

”Some have said the work finds inspiration in Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s ‘five stages of dying’, paralleling that journey of decline with what the authors see as ‘seven phases of Aboriginal history’ and a comparable process of process of collective and personal grieving.” – James Waite (Review – Australian Stage)

Forms and Conventions

The play consists of twenty-four short scenes, combined to form a collage and the solo actor, ‘the woman’ performs a series of monologues disclosing the history of the Australian Indigenous people from ‘genocide’ to ‘reconciliation’.

Performance Styles There are a variety of performance styles throughout including; - ritual - dance - music & song - traditional storytelling - report - poetry - stand up comedy - symbolism - projection - imagery - voice over - soundscape - direct audience address - physical theatre - docudrama - historical drama

Realism - Relationships - we see everyone through her eyes - Dialogue - a mix of aboriginal and English. Aboriginal creates emphasis on points she is trying to get across “ Bului yuli mie, Naia gigi warunguldul ” – “ Black skin girl, I will be strong always ” - Character – multiplicity of character. Numerous sides and personality shifts. The woman can be seen as an “Aboriginal every woman” as the things she goes through reflect many women’s experiences.

Monodrama One actor performs a number of monologues and transforms into a variety of other roles/characters as she recalls them from her memory. The play provides a wide range of material rich with opportunities for improvisation and devised theatre.

Episodic The structure of the 24 short scenes is episodic and affects the shape and rhythm of the play. This allows the audience to make connections though experiencing a number of different scenes, which focus on the theme of grief. The structure is also epic as it spans a long period of time and place.

It makes use of some Brecht’s Epic Theatre such as music, projections, time span, alienation, court report and direct address. However, it isn’t truly Brechtian as the production never attempts to emotionally disengage its audience. The use of time, place, rhythm and character enables; Time to jump between past, present and future Place to shift and change without changing the set Rhythm can rise and fall without losing underlying tension A large variety of characters to be used without needing to introduce them thoroughly.

Physical Theatre Movement is used as expression and dramatic meaning is created in the space using light, symbol and motif. By physicalising ideas the performer shifts the way the audience sees the story, moving it out of the intellect into the experience.

Humour Is created through repetition, parody and irony. Laughter helps to break down walls, disarm the audience and creates unity between the audience and the actor. Responding by laughing prevents the audience from feeling guilty and responsible.

Our past can’t be changed, but understanding and empathy can. - The 1788 landing of the European settlers in Syndey Harbour “You can’t park here! You’re taking up the whole bloody harbour!” - Murri Gets a Dress is delivered in stand-up comedy style. It starts with, “Have you ever been black? Nice hair, beautiful black skin, white shiny teeth… I’m BLACK!”

Symbolism - Photos/ memoriesmemories- good and bad are locked up in a suitcase. They represent family heritage, their stories and their grief. - Suitcase – holds these photos and memories that are closed away. - Circles of Soil – represents family and life. - Wooden Cross – on the open gravesite with the words ‘For Sale’. Captures the loss and death, land ownership and Aboriginal rights. - Eucalyptus Leaves – purification and a connection to nature, earth and ritual.

MultiMulti----mediamedia Words and images are projected onto the performance space. This is a Brechtian technique used to enable a whole society and history to be on stage before the audience. It engages the audience’s imagination encouraging them to move swiftly with the play across time and place. ‘1788’ – draws on the historical and social context taking us to the First Fleet. ‘Wreck, Con, Silly Nation’ is used to emphasise the play on words. The letters on the girl’s dress is a powerful expression of the forceful imposition of English language on Indigenous culture. Projections in the scene ‘Sobbing’ give expression to the woman’s emotional state enabling the audience to access her feelings without having to say how or why. Displaying photographs is a theatrical way of introducing us to the woman’s family and history while allowing us to stay connected.

THEMES

FAMILY There are various scenes that depict family life. Nana’s story details her funeral, but also tells of her life. There are images displayed of family portraits.

There is also an observation of a woman who spends her day going from church to church, going to funerals, just in case she might be related. “I never knew my family – maybe I could meet my real family and if not I get to have a good cry, anyway.”

STOLEN GENERATION Scene seventeen sees the woman taking handfuls of the earth from the grave making large piles of sand. Out of the eight piles of sand formed, they are either your mother, brother, cousins or grandparents etc. “Now imagine when the children are taken away from this. Are you with me?”

GRIEF Several scenes centre around the theme of grief. The suitcase appears in several scenes symbolising the grief and ceremony surrounding death and the spiritual bond between Aboriginal people.

Scene two - ‘Sobbing’. The words associated with grief and loss are shown on the scrim and reinforced by the cries of the woman. The crying reaches its peak when the word ‘desolate’ is projected on, followed by the words, "nothing... I feel Nothing."

Scene four – ‘Nana’s story’ tells not only of the funeral, but of her life and the people that respected her.

Scene five - ‘Photograph Story’ the woman struggles to cope with the death of a family member and decides to heal this by pushing their memory into the suitcase.

Scene 6 – ‘Story of a Father’ where the woman fears her father’s death and the struggles he’s had in life.

Scene eight - ‘Family gallery’ has the images from earlier scenes projected onto the screen .

Scene 13 - ‘Aunt Grace’ reuses the suitcase. Though Aunt Grace married a white European, she returns home carrying the suitcase and throws the content all over Nana's grave. 17

LANGUAGE Language is an important component of any culture. In Aboriginal culture they tell stories that educate about life and their history. In the song Bului yuli mie the woman dances around whilst letters of the alphabet appear on her dress. This is symbolic of the English language that was forced upon Aboriginal people. The new language was a way of making them forget their own language and along with this forgetting their culture. By the end there is a feeling that you can give change their language, but you can’t change who they are. “Black skin girl, Black skin girl I will be strong always”

In the scene " Wreck-Con-Silly-Nation", the word Reconciliation is presented to the audience as a question, why use this word if we don’t think or talk about it? The scene ends with the woman pleading the audience to seriously consider this word and the actions it should provoke.

The production makes use of Indigenous and Western language to create dramatic and theatrical impact. A variety of types of language is used ranging from; poetry, official reports, police jargon, white and aboriginal slang and swearing.

Some of the language doesn’t rely on well constructed sentences. There is also a mix of English and Aborignal language and some English works are changed to reflect Aborignal slang eg. Gubberment.

HISTORY “““The 7 StStagesages of Grieving is an exploration of the personal and political history of Indigenous Australia as an expression of our grieving.” ––– Welsey Enoch

The play follows the experiences of an Aboriginal ‘everywoman’. Her stories acknowledge real events, family histories and personal experiences that make it a mixture of fact and fiction. The histories and lives explored cover over 200 years of political relationships with migrant Australia – a history of “grief, misunderstanding and injustice” (Enoch).

RACISM Scene 12 - ‘Murri gets a dress’ is delivered in the style of stand up comedy. This monologue satirises the discrimination of Blacks receiving "special treatment" in the form of stares and whispers, "keep an eye on the black one."

Being delivered in stand-up style makes it an amusing account of a racism that exists. She finds that she can’t try on a dress without the security guard, doesn’t get directions when she asks, and has the policeman coming when she can’t find the keys to her car - “It’s my Car!!” and not being able to flag down someone for help. By enabling the

audience to laugh it relieves the feeling of guilt and responsibility and helps them to respond with openness.

RECONCILIATION

There’s so many people. I’m walking across the bridge and if you look from a distance it’s like a colourful snake, like a rainbow serpent.”

The last scene ‘Walking across Bridge’ is a powerful account of a real event. On Sunday 28 May 2000 more than 250,000 people participated in the Corroboree 2000 Bridge Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Indigenous Australians. The event highlighted the issue of a lack of an apology by the (then) Australian Government to the Stolen Generations.

LAND RIGHTS The scene ‘Bargaining’ criticises the White's abuse of their sacred land. "What is it worth?" the women asks after hammering a ‘for sale’ post into the grave. For the Aboriginal Australians, land was priceless but the white settlers abuse it for money and materialism.

POLITICAL “The 7 Stages of Grieving is about politicisng the content and the exploration in form from a traditional/contemporary Murri Viewpoint. This exploration is part of the continuity of Indigenous cultures and is important to the development of a modern, uniquely Australian voice.” ––– Wesley Enoch

The play brings to the stage many social, political and historical issues concerning Indigenous Australians. Issues such as discrimination, injustice, family unity, oppression, loss, the stolen generation, the past and present, loss of culture and land/home, to reconciliation, fighting for survival and deaths in custody.

ABORIGINAL CULTURE The first scene is one of cultural understanding of the Aboriginal people and warns that the piece may contain names and visual representations of people recently dead. There is also the Purification or smoking ceremony where the woman asks permission to tell the story of her grief.

Smoking ceremonies Smoking ceremonies are undertaken in Aboriginal communities in order to cleanse a space. The smoking ceremony is a purification ritual and is always undertaken by an Aboriginal person with specialised cultural knowledge. http://www.whealth.com.au/ourwork/mtww/mtww_protocols.html

Aboriginal Mourning Ceremonies The belief held by many Aborigines, that they come from the land, plays a great importance when discussing ceremonies about death. It is believed that when a person dies, their spirit goes back to the Dreaming Ancestors in the land if the correct ceremonies rituals are conducted. Special dances and wailing songs are seen and heard in times of death or mourning periods.

The beliefs associated with death and the associate ceremonies are different from language group to language group. In some places it was believed that a person's spirit merged with their Ancestral Beings in other areas it is believed that a person has two spirits.

Some Aborigines bury their dead, some cremate them, some place the bodies on platforms or in trees or caves to conceal them. A person's possessions and weapon's are often disposed of or buried with them during the ceremony. Ceremonies can last days, weeks and even months and close family members may not talk for the whole period of mourning. Often after a person has passed away the use of their name is forbidden. http://www.indigenousaustralia.info/culture/mourning-ceremonies.html

SET DESIGN

This is the third time that this play has been staged. In this new production for the State Theatre Company of SA the touring requirements, including a 4 hour bump-in, is an important element when designing the space.

Taking into consideration that The 7 Stages of Grieving has 24 individual scenes, it needed a clear succinct design, with a neutral space to indicate these different environments. It all begins with the central character and the stage directions throughout the script.

There are elements of; Playing with, touching dirt Standing by a grave In a room On a stage Dark, stained floorboards soaked with history Ripping back the floorboard to connect to the earth

The various photographs, images and words are essentially the woman’s viewpoint that needs to be connected or projected to the audience somehow. Hanging a scrim at the back of the stage allows these images to be projected . By the audience visualising these images and words they become part of the collective memory – part of the audience as well as the woman.

There are also some words of grieving that are reminders of her past. These sit behind the scrim and can be lit when required.

An open grave is required and reminds us that what seems buried is never really buried. A grave is where a person becomes part of the land and where their land spirit walks on. To symbolise this, a shallow hole is cut into the floorboards from which the suitcase, sand and the cross come.

There is a smaller hole on the opposite side of the stage, which is filled with eucalyptus leaves for the cleansing ceremony at the beginning of the show. One of the difficult elements to designing this is the need to contain the fire/smoke for safety reasons, which is why it is contained in a small space.

The suitcase, although a prop, becomes almost the second character in the play. It holds the photos of the family, it becomes a headstone and images are projected onto its surface.

The costume needs to be basic, but with a sense of being free and able to move freely. Over this basic white dress images can be projected, eg. when she talks about her new dress.

SOUND DESIGN

Sound design is a powerful theatrical technique to instantly engage the audience on an emotional level and take them on a journey. Music can also assist the action to move swiftly through time and place and establish mood and atmosphere.

INTERESTING READING

THE STOLEN GENERATION

The Invasion Poem scene talks about the white people coming into her house smiling before;

“One took a handful of my hair and led my head to their knee. Another washed his face in my blood. Together they chained my feet. My feet.

My children, stolen away to a safe place, Were wrenched from familiar arms and Forced to feed upon another tongue.”

The Stolen Generation is a term used to describe those children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. The removals occurred in the period between approximately 1869 and 1969, although in some places children were still being taken in the 1970s.

Children could be removed without having to establish that they were neglected or mistreated. Reasons for the removal of children includes child protection, belief that black people would "die out", a fear of miscegenation by full blooded aboriginal people and a desire to attain white racial purity.

The exact number of children removed is unknown, as there are differing periods of time, different policies, different states, and incomplete records.

Global media attention highlighted the Stolen Generation issue during the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Aboriginal athlete, Cathy Freeman lit the Olympic Flame and went on to win the gold medal for the 400 metre sprint and disclosed that her own grandmother was a victim of forced removal. The rock group Midnight Oil obtained worldwide media interest when they performed at the Olympic closing ceremony wearing black sweatsuits with the word "SORRY" emblazoned across them.

FILMS AND BOOKS ON THE STOLEN GENERATION

Rabbit-Rabbit -Proof--Proof Fence The 2002 Australian film Rabbit-Proof Fence centres on three mixed-race Aboriginal girls who ran away from Moore River Native Settlement, north of Perth, to return to their Aboriginal families.

Australia The fictional film Australia by Baz Luhrmann (2008/2009), deals with the Stolen Generation showing the boy, Nullah taken away from his mother to the 'mission island'.

Sally Morgan Aboriginal artist and author Sally Morgan has written several novels documenting the lives of herself and her family members, featuring intimate portrayals of the impact of forced removal on individuals, their families and communities. Her books include;

• My Place • Sally's story • Arthur Corunna's story • Mother and daughter: The story of Daisy and Glady's Corunna • Wanamurraganya, the story of Jack McPhee

Stolen by Jane Harrison Stolen is a play by Australian playwright Jane Harrison. It is based upon the lives of five indigenous people who dealt with the issues for forceful removal by the Australian government.

SORRY DAY

Minister Kevin Rudd announced that an apology would be made to Indigenous Australians, on February 13 2008.

The form of the apology was as follows:

Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia. http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/stolen-generations-sorry-apology.html

KÜBLERKÜBLER----ROSSROSS MODEL ––– FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF

The ‘Five Stages of Grief’ model was first introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying . It describes, in five stages, a process by which people deal with grief and tragedy, especially when diagnosed with a terminal illness or loss..

Kübler-Ross originally applied these stages to people suffering from terminal illness, but it can also include significant life events such as the death of a loved one, divorce, drug addiction, infertility diagnosis, as well many tragedies and disasters.

The progression of states is:

1. Denial – is usually only a temporary defence for the individual. 2. Anger – the person is very difficult to care for due to misplaced feelings of rage and envy. 3. Bargaining – that the individual can somehow postpone or delay death. 4. DepreDepressionssion – During the fourth stage, the dying person begins to understand the certainty of death. 5. Acceptance – This final stage comes with peace and understanding of the death that is approaching.

KEY ABORIGINAL DATES SINCE 1788

1788 Arrival of the First Fleet and the beginning of British invasion. Aboriginal population estimated at between 750 000 to 1 million.

1804 Settlers are authorised to shoot unarmed Aboriginal people.

18191819––––18201820 There are a number of large scale killings as conflict over dispossession of land and erosion of hunting rights continue.

1868 The first overseas cricket tour leaves Australia for England; the team is all aboriginal.

1869 Act for “Protection and Management of Aboriginal Natives” is passed in Victoria.

1901 Commonwealth of Australia formed. Aboriginal people are excluded from the vote, pensions, employment in post offices, enlistment in Armed Forces, maternity allowance.

1909 Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW) gives APB the power to remove Aboriginal children from their families.

1940 The Aborigines Protection Board is abolished, replaced by the Aborigines Welfare Board. Most Federal social security benefits are extended to Aborigines.

1962 All Aboriginal people are given the vote in Commonwealth elections.

1919196819 686868 Lionel Rose becomes the first Aboriginal to win a world championship in any sport, when he wins the title of world boxing champion. SA passes a law to end the forcible removal of Aboriginal children to institutions.

1976 Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 (NT) is passed by the Fraser government. It provides recognition of Aboriginal land ownership by about 11 000 Aboriginal people.

1983 Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) recognises dispossession and dislocation of NSW Aboriginal people.

1985 Uluru is handed back to the traditional owners

1987 Prime Minister Bob Hawke sets up a Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

1988 Bicentennial celebrations; tens of thousands of people march through the streets on Australia Day signaling an increase in awareness of Aboriginal history and issues.

1991 The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody presents its Report and Recommendations to the Commonwealth Government.

1992 The High Court of Australia rules in the Mabo case that native title exists over particular kinds of land.

1993 Native Title Act 1993 is passed in the Commonwealth Parliament. It sets up the National Native Title Tribunal to determine native title rights.

1995 The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families is announced.

1997 National Sorry Day - is marked by hundreds of activities around the country. The Australian Federal Government does not take part, saying people who removed Aboriginal children thought they were doing the right thing.

South Australian Premier John Olsen apologises to Aboriginal people for past wrongs, particularly the Stolen Generation.

1998 Pauline Hanson and One Nation Party campaign against Aboriginal ‘special treatment’. Howard officially refuses a national apology for members of the Stolen Generations.

2000 Corroboree 2000 is held at Sydney Opera House to mark 10 years of work on Reconciliation. Over 300,000 people join People’s Walk for Reconciliation across Sydney Harbour Bridge. Howard refuses to take part. The Sydney 2000 Olympics showcased Indigenous culture to the world. The opening and closing ceremonies celebrated Indigenous cultural identity and history. Indigenous athlete, Cathy Freeman, lit the Olympic torch and won the gold medal in the women’s 400m.

2004 At least 40 police officers are reported injured following a night of violence directed at the police in Redfern, Sydney. The riot follows the death of a 17 year old Aboriginal boy, TJ Hickey. Howard formally dumps the word ‘reconciliation’ from the government agenda.

ABORIGINAL DEATHS IN CUSTODY

A disproportionate number of Australians who die in jail, from suicide or other causes, are Aboriginal. In the last decade, 145 indigenous people died in custody throughout Australia. In the decade before that, there were 110 indigenous deaths in custody.

Despite a 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, there appears to be a lack of political will to tackle the issue. The commission investigated 99 deaths in custody and delivered 339 recommendations. The statistics, however, indicate that these have been largely ignored by Australian prison and police authorities.

Analysis of Aboriginal deaths in custody showed that hanging was the most frequent cause of death.

The following three articles are about the death of Daniel Yock in custody, who is the subject of Scene 14 ‘Mugshot’ and scene 15 ‘‘March.’March.’

Black deaths in custody must stop! - By John Nebauer

Wednesday, November 17, 1993

BRISBANE — The death in custody of an 18-year-old youth has sent waves of anger through the Aboriginal community and has raised serious questions about police harassment of Aborigines.

Daniel Yock died in custody on the night of Sunday, November 7, after being detained by police officers in Bereton Street near Musgrave Park in South Brisbane along with another 17-year-old Aborigine.

The community has grave concerns about the circumstances of his death. There are major discrepancies between police accounts and those of a number of witnesses.

According to police reports, Daniel died on the way to hospital, but according to the youth who was arrested with him, Daniel was dead before the police vehicle arrived at the car park of the Brisbane city watch-house.

Daniel Yock's death produced an immediate response, with about 250 Aborigines and supporters marching to Roma Street police station, occupying the street and holding a rally on Monday. The police response was to empty Roma Street police station, which was cordoned off by a large number of police officers. Police were sent into the Transit Centre to remove demonstrators, and used at least one police dog. A number of police and demonstrators were hurt in the incident.

The demonstration then moved onto Emma Miller Place, where the crowd was addressed by Aboriginal representatives. Sam Watson of the Aboriginal and Islander Legal Service told the rally that the authorities had until Friday to charge the three officers connected with the arrest.

The rally was also addressed by members of Daniel's family, including writer, poet and activist Lionel Fogarty, Daniel's brother. Fogarty told the crowd of Daniel's talents as a dancer and singer who lived for Aboriginal culture.

The demonstration called for a series of national rallies to demand the end of Aboriginal deaths in custody.

A police autopsy, which was released to the media against the family's wishes, concluded that Daniel did not die as a result of violence after his arrest.

The Aboriginal community has disputed the autopsy report, with Aboriginal spokesperson Robbie Williams saying, "All we will say is that he didn't die on the way to hospital". 30

A memorial service for Daniel Yock on Friday at Musgrave Park in South Brisbane was attended by about 300 members of the Aboriginal community and supporters.

Lionel Fogarty told the gathering that, contrary to press reports, Daniel was not an epileptic, but had a heart condition. He said that Daniel had been beaten and murdered.

Fogarty said that the Aboriginal community "need to form a united front with the non-indigenous community". He charged that the police and the media were trying to cover up what really happened, with the media concentrating on the police account of Daniel's death.

"He has been taken from us, but his spirit remains in our hearts and in our minds", said Fogarty. He urged the community to bring traditional spears, nulla-nullas and didgeridoos to next Wednesday's rally. "We must show our anger, but we must do so calmly and peacefully." http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/5162

Thousands demand: Justice now!- by John Nebauer and Karen Fredericks

Wednesday, November 24, 1993

Daniel Yock died in police custody in Brisbane on November 7. Yock is the 59th Aboriginal person to have died in custody since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody concluded in 1991.

In the largest political demonstration Brisbane in for some years, 6000 people gathered in Musgrave Park, traditional land of the Jagera people, to mourn with Daniel Yock's family and friends and to protest against the institutionalised violence against Aboriginal people.

Sam Watson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Centre reminded protesters that over 75% of the Aboriginal population of mainland Australia were slaughtered in the first 70 years of European "settlement", and that in Tasmania the genocide was even more thorough.

Ninety-nine Aboriginal people died in custody between 1980 and 1989, he said. Following a political campaign by Aboriginal people, these deaths were "investigated" by a royal commission. The commission exonerated police and prison authorities in each and every case.

"Despite $65 million and three years of investigation there has not been one finding upon which one police officer has been charged", said Watson. "This lad [Daniel Yock] died in police custody. When will enough be enough?"

The Brisbane march began at 10.50 a.m., with family and friends of Daniel Yock laying a wreath in Bereton Street in West End, where he was arrested. At the Herschel Street watch-house, where 31

Daniel was taken after his arrest, his family burned leaves and timber from Wakka Wakka country near Cherbourg. The Wakka Wakka dancers, the dance group of which Yock was a member, performed their farewell dance to release their fellow dancer's spirit.

Lionel Fogarty, Daniel Yock's brother, placed a small black coffin on the watch-house gate. The coffin was inscribed with the words: "In memory of Daniel Boonie Yock and to all those who passed before him. May he be the last."

Lyall Munro of the NSW Aboriginal and Islander Legal Service told the rally that not one of the 339 recommendations from the royal commission has yet been properly implemented in NSW, and that the number of Aboriginal deaths in custody in the state has actually increased.

In Melbourne, Tiddas and Kev Carmody sang to 200 people gathered outside the GPO in solidarity with the Brisbane protest. Margaret Gardiner of the Wurundjeri people spoke of the sadness and anger provoked by Daniel Yock's death. Albert Holt and George Jackson, Murris visiting Melbourne, told of their own experiences of unfair imprisonment and police brutality.

"I can't think of one Aboriginal person from Cherbourg [the community from which Daniel Yock came] who has not been in jail at least once", said Albert Holt. "In a way we grew up in jail — in the way we were taken off our traditional land and rounded up into camps."

In Perth, more than 350 people rallied in Forrest Place. Ben Taylor from the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry told the crowd that he believes the issue of deaths in custody is "a national issue which must be dealt with on a national scale". He said Aboriginal people don't need more committees, they need action.

In Cairns more than 150 people marched, in silence, through the city centre. After the march speakers from northern Aboriginal communities, from the Deaths in Custody Overview Committee and from the World Council of Churches called for solidarity and support for human rights for Aboriginal people.

According to Daniel Yock's death certificate, completed following an official post-mortem examination, the 18-year-old dancer died from a lethal combination of cannabis, alcohol and heart disease. Yock's family has acknowledged that Daniel had used cannabis and consumed alcohol prior to his arrest, but they maintain that the action, or inaction, of police was a major contributing factor.

Witnesses to Yock's period in custody have thrown serious doubt upon police accounts of the events leading up to the youth's death. Police had claimed that they arrived at Bereton Street at 6.05 p.m. and that they arrived at the Brisbane City watch-house some 25 minutes later. But Carolyn Davies, a project worker and student, has come forward to say that she saw police with a man lying on the footpath in Bereton Street at about 5.30 p.m. She says that she continued to watch the scene after parking her car at 5.30 p.m. and estimated that the paddy wagon did not leave the site for about 20 minutes.

"The question I want answered is why was he on the pavement? I didn't see how he got there, and I want to know why. If he wasn't well, why was he left in the back of that van for at least 10 to 15 minutes by himself?" http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/5141

Inquiry into death of Daniel Yock – by Kerry Vernon Wednesday, January 19, 1994

Individual police accounts surrounding the arrest and death of Daniel Yock after he was placed in a police van and taken to the city watch-house have differed on whether Yock waved a stake at police, how he was knocked to the ground, how he was restrained while he was on the ground until he was handcuffed, what Yock said or what noises he made, how he was placed in the police van and whether he ever sat up while he was in the van.

One police officer was not aware that another person was arrested and placed in the police van with Daniel Yock, who was lying face down on the floor of the van. On arrival at the watch-house, Yock was found to have no pulse and was not breathing. http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/7428

ESSAY QUESTIONS

ENGLISH QUESTIONS

1.1.1. Compare The 7 Stages of Grieving to other Australian works that you’ve read. How is the writing similar/different?

2.2.2. What gives this play a uniquely Australian voice? Think about the character, the voice, themes, issues, setting, language and landscape.

3.3.3. How many roles or characters does the woman represent?

4.4.4. Grief, Sorrow, Loss, Death, Pain, Distress, Lament, Mourn, Emptiness, Despair, Lonely, Regret, Misfortune, Guilt, Passion, Love, Absence, Desolate, Nothing. What did you feel when you first saw these words projected?

5.5.5. Research the role of the cleansing ceremony. The Woman lights up a wad of eucalypt leaves and watches them burn. She blows out the flame and as the embers smoke she sings as songs for the spirits of those that have gone before her and ask permission to tell the story of her grief. Why do you think this is integral to the show’s performance?

6.6.6. How is humour used in this play? Describe the various scenes and how the humour worked.

7.7.7. Storytelling plays a huge role in Aboriginal culture and throughout this play. Write your own story about your own family, or an event that has a special significance.

8.8.8. “In this suitcase lies the photos of those who are dead, the nameless ones and here they lie, passing the time till they can be talked of again” In Aboriginal culture they hide away the photos of those who have passed and they celebrate their lives as a new beginning. How different is this to your culture?

9.9.9. In groups research the following terms; Dreaming Invasion Genocide Protection Assimilation Self Determination Reconciliation

DRAMA QUESTIONS

1. There are various theatrical tools used to tell this woman’s story. Name some of these techniques.

2. Why do you think these are important in conveying the story?

3. There are various themes of social, political and cultural issues. How has the director portrayed these? Think about whether this is in a positive or negative way, and the emotions that it brings out in the audience. eg. Anger, sorrow, sadness etc

4. Discuss the various elements of the set in relation to what they represent.

5. How many roles or characters does the woman represent? What performance skills does she use to create these characters?

6. What is the effect on the audience on hearing the stories from each role?

7. Discuss with students how the non-linear structure of the play works. Why do you think the playwrights chose the scenes in that order? Experiment with changing the order of the scenes in the play. Does this work?

8. Storytelling plays a huge role in Aboriginal culture and throughout this play. Write or find a story to tell to the class using various performance styles. eg. Soliloquy, using different languages, mime, poetry, rap, music etc.

9. How can theatre invite an audience into the emotion and personal experiences in an empathetic way? What techniques does The 7 Stages of Grieving employ to enable this experience and emotions to gain a genuine understanding of grief?

10. Think about the set design for the production. How was the set used effectively to: • Support the text? • Emphasise themes? • Draw focus to an emotion or idea? • Provide a space for the actor?

11.What sounds did you hear in this production? Categorise them into sound effects verses soundscape. What meaning did each sound have in the performance? How does the music support the action, create mood or change time, scenes?

DESIGN Give every student one scene from The 7 Stages of Grieving . Students must illustrate each scene with a short description of the action and a drawing that represents the scene. Display/show to the class.

PERFORMANCE One scene shows words of grief projected as the woman weeps; Grief, grieving, sorrow, loss, death, pain, distress, lament, mourn, emptiness, despair, lonely, regret, misfortune, guilt, passion, love, absence, desolate, nothing.

Form a group and think of ways that these words can be used in performance. Work on the piece and perform to the class.

Create a tableau of each word. Perform the tableaus in quick succession creating a piece of silent theatre.

SOLO PERFORMANCE Take one of the scenes from The 7 Stages of Grieving and perform it to the class. Students should think about combining physical theatre, dance, mime or other theatrical techniques to present the scene.

The 7 Stages of Grieving has been a part of the HSC Curriculum in the past. Some of the questions from these exams are below.

2004 ‘Australian plays have been concerned with questions of belonging – to another person, to a family, to a social group, to society.’ Discuss this statement with reference to the performance styles and dramatic forms and conventions of the Australian plays you have studied.

2003 ‘The weakness of Australian drama is that it relies on stereotyped characters to explore serious social and personal issues’. Discuss this statement, considering the challenges and opportunities for people staging productions of the plays you have studied.

2002 ‘Australian plays make ordinary situations and issues more interesting by the way they are staged.’ Discuss to what extent theatrical techniques and styles are used to entertain and challenge an audience in the Australian drama that you have studied.

2001 How does the Australian drama you have studied use particular forms and conventions to explore significant experiences of living in this country?

*Hint: In drama essays think about and discuss the play as a piece of theatre, rather than a novel or story.

IMMEDIATE REACTIONS

After viewing the play set aside time for class discussion. Consider the following aspects of the play, and record them into your journal.

Production Elements Performance Elements

Strengths

Impact on Audience

Weaknesses

Impact on Audience

DDDESIGNDESIGN ROLES INININ THE 7 STAGES OF GRIEVING

For each of the following design roles, explain using three specific examples, how each role added meaning to the action or your understanding of context, theme or other aesthetic understandings of the drama event.

Design Role Technique What did this contribute to the performance?

One

Two

Lighting

Three

One

Set Design Two

Three

REFERENCES

Wesley Enoch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Enoch http://www.currency.com.au/search.aspx?type=author&author=Wesley+Enoch

Deborah Mailman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Mailman http://www.eniar.org/news/mailman1.html

Deaths in Custody http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8104&page=0 http://workersbushtelegraph.com.au/2006/10/03/mulrunji-murdered-under-the-rule-of-law/ http://www.sa.org.au/mag-archive-from-old-website/159-edition-118/1376-the-history-of-black-deaths- in-custody http://www.unolympics.com/humanrights/blackdeaths.shtml

Green Left reports on Daniel Yock http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/5162 http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/5141 http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/7428

Past productions of The 7 Stages of Grieving http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/25/1030053009500.html http://www.australianstage.com.au/reviews/sydney/ http://www.stagenoise.com/reviewsdisplay.php?id=193

Stolen Generation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Children http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/stolen-generations-sorry-apology.html http://www.racismnoway.com.au/classroom/factsheets/52.html

Aboriginal Information http://reconciliaction.org.au/nsw http://reconciliaction.org.au/nsw/education-kit/stolen-generations/ http://www.whealth.com.au/ourwork/mtww/mtww_protocols.html

KüblerKübler----RossRoss model http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model http://www.businessballs.com/elisabeth_kubler_ross_five_stages_of_grief.htm http://changingminds.org/disciplines/change_management/kubler_ross/kubler_ross.htm http://www.change-management-coach.com/kubler-ross.html

NSW HSC Online:Drama http://hsc.csu.edu.au/drama/hsc/aust_drama/contemp_theatre

ElectraNet prides itself in supporting and encouraging all age groups through education and is proud to be a major partner for the State Theatre Company of South Australia Education Program’s Regional Tour of The 7 Stages of Grieving .

ElectraNet have assets of about $1.7bn, throughout South Australia, and will spend around $200M over the next year and around $1200m over the next 5 years expanding the transmission network to meet increased demands and to ensure the high level of service to customers is maintained.

ElectraNet gives back to the community through our Sponsorships and Community Benefit programs which generally have a theme of supporting sustainability, education and inspiring high achievement.

The theme of education and inspiring high achievement comes together with this sponsorship and it is with genuine pleasure that ElectraNet can share this program as it is - an important resource for future South Australian audiences, inspiring young people through the live theatre experience. www.electranet.com.au