A STUDY GUIDE BY MARGUERITE O’HARA
http://www.metromagazine.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-74295-462-2 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au A STUDY GUIDE
This is a journey of passion, self-discovery and redemption. Loyalties will be tested and tempers frayed. Do they have the right stuff?
Overview
Taking on the Chocolate Frog is a documentary series of three one-hour episodes that follows a group of ex-criminals and individuals with troubled pasts as they reinvent themselves as actors on the stage. Performing a play by one of Australia’s award-winning playwrights, Jim McNeil, can the cast take on The Chocolate Frog and succeed? The group will be chal- SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 lenged to stage the play in front of theatre critics, an A-list audience, family and friends inside the very place where the play was written.
Guided by actor, agent and drama coach Grant Thompson, the series follows the remarkable journey of a group of people with troubled pasts to stay the course and perform on stage. Following the emotional journey of Grant and his cast, the series also illustrates the story of award-winning playwright McNeil, who was also one of Australia’s most violent criminals from the 1960s. 2 Curriculum Relevance
The introduction to the Drama section of the National Curriculum for The Arts includes the following rationale for the importance of Drama as part of the Arts curriculum:
Drama is a collaborative art, combining physical, ver- bal, visual and aural dimensions. In drama students will experience theatre and develop an understanding of the performer/audience relationship.
The play The Chocolate Frog Learning in drama can be both process and perfor- mance. Students will combine the elements of drama to Jim McNeil’s play The Chocolate Frog explores what hap- make, present and respond to representations of human pens when two older prison inmates accuse a younger situations, characters, behaviour and relationships. newcomer of colluding with police. In prison vernacular, ‘Chocolate Frog’ is rhyming slang for ‘dog’, which is one In presenting drama they will learn, as actors, to use who violates the informal ‘laws’ of prison society. body and gesture, voice and language through interpre- tation and rehearsal processes as well as production and The two older prison inmates assume the mantle of power performance. In responding, students will learn about in a mock trial and ‘try’ the younger for his suspected how drama contributes to personal, social and cultural crime. A towel suffices for the judge’s wig, an iron bedstead identity. They will study the diversity of purposes, forms for his bar of justice and a wooden chair for the dock. and styles in drama and theatre, both contemporary and SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 from other times, places and cultural contexts. McNeil wrote the play to illustrate to those who knew nothing of prison life that prison values are just faithful From The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: reflections of some of society’s own attitudes. The Arts – Drama
3 Taking on the Chocolate Frog clearly demonstrates why Drama is so valuable in learning.
We hear a lot about ‘journeys’ on reality-TV programs, whether they are journeys in cooking competitions such as My Kitchen Rules or MasterChef, or singing and per- formance shows such as The Voice, The X Factor or Australia’s Got Talent. How ‘real’ many of these often care- fully constructed programs are is open to question. They all tend to share some common factors which include emo- tional backstories for the contestants, twists and turns and a drawn-out finale, revealing the sometimes predictable winner of the contest.
Ben Elton’s 2006 satirical novel Chart Throb makes clear just how highly engineered and far from reality most of these shows have become. Their principal aim, as with most television drama, is to entertain. Audiences today seem to like competitive shows about winners and losers, whether the topic is cooking, singing, dancing, trekking the wilderness or losing weight.
While this documentary series Taking on the Chocolate cooperating within a group of individuals and being able Frog shares some of the characteristics of ‘reality televi- to imaginatively enter into a character are qualities that are sion’ – such as backstories of the participants, several sur- tested. In observing drama coach Grant Thompson training prising twists and turns, personalities and a real cliffhanger his students, we learn about the challenges and rewards finale – it is very different in the way it presents the journeys for those who can stay the course from audition to perfor- of the participants. It is more in the style of an observational mance. There are also interesting insights offered into the documentary where the audience are privy to the best and different skills required to act in film and television, and on worst of the experience of the participants. stage to a live audience.
While not all members of the group can have starring roles For students of Legal Studies and Criminology, Taking on in a play with just three characters, everyone involved in the the Chocolate Frog offers insights into the lives of peo- group has an opportunity to perform for an audience and ple who have spent time in jail but are now outside and show their strengths. This is not simply about winners and attempting to turn their lives around. Staying out of jail losers as everyone has a chance to develop and demon- requires development skills – such as acting, where people strate the skills they have learnt along the way. can express their insights, reflect on their lives and engage directly with the lives of others. As more than half of those who have spent time in jail in Australia will reoffend, programs such as the one Grant Students of Psychology will find the series offers many Thompson embarks on with his group of ex-crims and insights into how individuals who have often been dam- others at risk have been shown to make a real difference to aged through violent and dysfunctional childhoods, abuse recidivism rates. of alcohol and drugs, and resorting to violence as a way of managing conflict can be assisted to literally ‘turn their With a cast of extraordinary and colourful characters, this lives around’, generally with ongoing family and community is a hugely entertaining account of determination, commit- support. ment and overcoming adversity and setbacks along the way, told with humour and pathos. For Media Arts students, the series offers insights into how to construct a series about a process leading to a per- The program contains strong language and is rich in the formance where each episode opens up more about the colourful idiom of people who have spent time in a jail characters and their lives, the author of the play, the coach environment. and the learning process in which they are involved. SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 Taking on the Chocolate Frog is suitable for middle, senior For students of English, the series shows how a narrative and tertiary students across a number of curriculum areas. can be constructed to tell a story that is suspenseful, funny, sad and uplifting by turns. Students can explore the many Drama students could gain insights and understandings of elements, scenes and personalities to observe how the the complex processes involved in staging a play. Patience, story is layered and developed.
4 STUDENT ACTIVITY • What aspects of prison life might reflect society’s own attitudes, as Jim McNeil wanted to show through his plays? How might the stresses of daily living be com- Pre-viewing questions for discussion pounded when people are locked up with others?
• What are the main purposes of imprisonment for those • What part do you think abuse of alcohol and other who break the law in our society? drugs plays in criminal behaviour?
• How important do you consider these factors – retribu- • How might prisons unwittingly encourage bullying and tion, incapacitation and deterrence – in determining violence as ways to solve problems? the length of a jail term for a person found guilty of a criminal offence? • Can you envisage alternative ways of punishing those convicted of crimes that don’t involve shutting people • What are the essential differences between crimes away from society for long stretches? against people, crimes against property and so-called ‘white-collar crimes’? Are these distinctions useful? • What do you think imprisonment generally achieves for perpetrators, victims, family members and society? • How can locking people up with others of the same sex, who have also been imprisoned for law-breaking, change behaviours?
• What percentage of prisoners are likely to learn enough skills and alternative ways to resolve conflicts while in prison to enable them to live differently after serving their sentences?
• What kind of programs, both within and after time spent
in jail, might offer individuals the best chance of not SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 reoffending?
• How important do you think education and skill devel- opment are in giving people opportunities to change the course of their lives and become valued members of society?
5 About Jim McNeil Society – a small group of inmates who joined together to debate, write and paint. Here he wrote The Chocolate Frog, Considered one of Australia’s most violent criminals of the and the group first performed the play for a small audience 1960s, Jim McNeil spent most of his adult life in prison. He of visitors. wrote the Australian Writers’ Guild award-winning play The Chocolate Frog, having never set foot in a theatre. Among the audience of visitors was veteran theatre actor and director Malcolm Robertson, who was so moved by Born in Melbourne in 1935, the youngest child of a the performance that he spent the subsequent months working-class family, stories abound of McNeil’s childhood conducting weekly workshops with the group. In 1971, mischief. At the age of eleven he went to holiday at the he directed the first professional production performed by home of his English teacher, where he was repeatedly John Clayton, Martin Harris and Gerard Bonk. sexually assaulted for four days before escaping back home. It was not long after this that Jim really began to act Soon McNeil had many champions in the art world, includ- out, losing interest in school and turning to a life of crime. ing journalist David Marr and celebrated theatre critic and publisher Katharine Brisbane. Declared to be one of At the age of fourteen, McNeil met Poppelia, a prostitute Australia’s most important writers and assuming celebrity and the wife of a local crime boss. ‘Poppy’ introduced him status, Australia’s art figures rallied for his early release and to sex, drugs and hard alcohol, as well as gangsters and in 1974 he walked out a free man – ten years early. crims who took Jim under their wing and taught their new protégé the ways of their world. Through his newfound In 1982, at the age of forty-seven, McNeil died of alcohol- friends he got work on the docks and short-haul cargo related illness. ships, spending much of his late teens out at sea. At the age of twenty-two he married Valerie, who was pregnant with his first child and who would go on to bear him five more.
Specialising in armed robberies, the Melbourne media christened McNeil ‘The Laughing Bandit’ because of his amusement at how easy it was to hold up a TAB or pub at gunpoint. In 1967, a 32-year-old McNeil was sentenced to seventeen years jail at Parramatta Correctional Centre after SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 he shot and wounded a police officer during a robbery at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains.
It was during this sentence when McNeil completed his high school education and joined The Resurgents Debating
6 STUDENT ACTIVITY
Viewing Chart
Use the following chart (Table 1) to make notes about the actors we meet in this documentary series (several have served jail time) as we watch them over the course of the three episodes. In what ways do they change as they rehearse for the production of The Chocolate Frog? Select three of the individuals listed on this chart and take notes about what they re- veal about themselves during the series, both through what they say and how they behave. Share your observations later with other students. For instance, focus your attention on Pete, Amy and Macca, or Mick, Charlie and Guy, or any other combination.
Table 1 THE ACTORS NAME BACKGROUND TIME SPENT IN JAIL FAMILY IMPRESSIONS AND/OR TROUBLES RELATIONSHIPS AND CLOSE CALLS TODAY
MICHAEL (MICK)
WILL
GUY
PETE
JIMMY
AMY
MACCA
SHAMUS
DAN SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014
CHARLIE
7 • Are there any common factors in the early lives of these individuals and how they describe committing the crimes that led to their imprisonment?
• In what ways are they changing?
• What are some of the factors and experiences that have led to these changes?
• How many of them have day or night jobs that occupy their time and provide them with a way to earn a living?
• Which of them have families and children?
STUDENT ACTIVITY
After watching each episode, respond to the following questions either individually, in small groups or through class discussion.
Episode 1
The Setup
A group of unlikely thespians prepare to audition for a play that will give them the chance to become professional actors.
Grant Thompson, the drama coach, has been running a drama course for ex-criminals for the past three years. He has worked as an actor, a drama coach and actors’ agent. Amongst other things, he has found extras to appear in the Underbelly television dramas, some of them ex-prisoners who were able to provide authenticity to the series of pro- grams about different periods of Australian crime history. Some members of his classes have achieved success with small roles on television, but so far no-one has appeared on stage.
Grant feels his pupils have to rise to this challenge if they want to take themselves seriously as actors and pursue professional careers.
Grant chooses The Chocolate Frog, an AWGIE (Australian Writers Guild) award-winning play by Jim McNeil, written while he was serving a sentence at Parramatta Jail in the
late 1960s for shooting a police officer. The play was first SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 performed by an all-prisoner cast in the jail before achiev- ing success in theatres all over Australia.
Grant believes a new production of The Chocolate Frog, performed at the now-abandoned jail by his cast, will
8 attract wide interest, and more importantly an audience of • Where is the series set and where do the rehearsals critics and celebrities who could help his pupils launch their take place? professional careers. • What do we learn about Pete’s childhood in this epi- Not everyone is enthusiastic. Peter is worried that he won’t sode? be able to learn the lines. Another member of the class, Amy, finds it difficult to turn up on time. And like actors • What does Guy reveal about his childhood? everywhere, some of the group can become very passion- ate and temperamental when it comes to the interpretation • What are some of the sounds at Parramatta Jail that of lines. bring back powerful memories for some of the men who spent time inside this jail? But Grant perseveres, and so does the group. Gradually, they learn to recite Shakespeare beautifully, bringing to it an • What do we learn about Jim McNeil, author of The extra dimension from their often troubled lives Chocolate Frog, in this episode? What were some of his personal qualities that his friends recall? Grant has chosen eight actors from his Tuesday night classes to audition for the main roles in a production of • How were the inmates who spent time in Parramatta The Chocolate Frog to be staged at the now declassified Jail in the past able to maintain some contact with the Parramatta Jail, where some of the men were once impris- outside world? oned. There are only three roles in the play – Shirko, Tosser and young Kevin – however those who do not get any of • Amy has many reasons for being late to the group the roles will also perform on the night as a curtain-raiser to drama sessions. How does Grant respond to her ongo- the play. ing stories of personal dramas?
• What particular difficulties does Mick of the many tat- Acting is about being real … toos have in learning his Shakespeare lines? being in the moment • Why are pauses and silences so important in any public-speaking performance? • What do we learn about Grant Thompson in this first episode? • At this stage of the story, do you have any views about
which of the eight are most likely to be selected to play SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 • How does he gauge the success of the drama classes the roles in The Chocolate Frog? As most viewers will he runs for ex-prisoners? not be familiar with the play and the three characters, this question involves speculation based on who you • Why do you think he chooses speeches from might choose if you we were the drama coach. What Shakespeare’s plays for the eight to perform? qualities do you think Grant will be looking for?
9 Episode 2 play will be given a chance to showcase their talents in curtain-raising monologues before the performance. ‘The Chocolate Frog is about prison morality … the infor- mal laws of jail. They’re all living a lie in jail with their moral With only six weeks until the final performance, the real codes and rules.’ – Jim McNeil hard work is only just beginning.
Audition day arrives and Grant must decide which of his class will appear in the play. Tensions are high among the The Chocolate Frog? That’s group, with only three roles on offer. With fierce competi- tion, Grant prepares his group using preliminary acting the worst name I ever heard. exercises, and for some this already proves to be difficult. — PETE
As the day of the audition draws near, Grant battles some demons of his own. Despite outward confidence, he has never directed a major play before, so he asks George Whaley – a legendary actor and theatre director whose for- mer students and colleagues include Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis – for help.
After weeks of hard work, audition day at the Ensemble Theatre arrives and the group are full of nerves. Not only are they competing for roles, they will also be perform- ing before their family and closest friends – the people who have stood by them through some terrible times. Emotionally, the stakes are huge.
Performances are good, though some better than others – Jimmy forgets his lines, but Peter, Guy and Charlie deliver sensationally good Shakespearian monologues.
Then some of the group share their story on stage. For a few of the guys, this is the first time their family have ever SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 seen or heard them like this. Guy, normally the toughest of tough nuts, begins to choke.
The time has come for Grant to decide who will perform The Chocolate Frog. Those who do not get a part in the
10 • Despite Amy’s inability to turn up on time, in what ways is she seen to be a real asset within the group?
• Why is Grant reluctant to engage a professional actor to play the part of the young inmate Kevin?
• What work does Guy do in society after having served time in prison?
• Describe the qualities shared by both Sam and Charlie that make them possible candidates for the role of Kevin?
• As this is the first stageplay Grant has directed, who are some of the professional theatre people he calls on to help him with training the group? What theatre experi- ences do Denise Roberts and George Whaley bring to the project? • What are some of the specific theatrical skills the cast need to learn to perform in a convincing way?
• Apart from knowing their lines and being able to deliver them, what other skills are needed for actors, particu- larly those performing in stageplays, to convince and engage an audience?
• What does Jimmy’s childhood experience have in com- mon with some of the others?
• How does Amy’s inability to arrive on time for the ten
o’clock rehearsal deadline suggest she is really strug- SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 gling to sort out her priorities?
• How does what happens in this episode during the audition process demonstrate how hard it can be for people to express their feelings to others?
11 Episode 3
‘Jim outside jail was lost really. When he drank he couldn’t think. When he drank he couldn’t write.’ – David Marr, writer and friend of McNeil
‘There can never, ever be – in the acting world – violence between actors, no matter how much disrespect goes on.’ – Grant Thompson
‘When you’re incarcerated the main people who are hurt are your family … they do it hard too.’ – Shamus acknowledging the pain he has caused to his daughters
After six weeks of tumultuous rehearsals, the eagerly awaited performance of The Chocolate Frog is in danger of failing when one of the cast ends up in hospital. The six- week rehearsal of The Chocolate Frog begins badly. At the At a fraught meeting before a rehearsal, Grant tells Charlie first read through, Peter can’t sit still for more than twenty he will not give up on him despite his uncooperative minutes, becoming progressively frustrated before he finally behaviour. explodes. Charlie falls asleep, constantly. Apart from Guy, everyone bickers and fights. Rehearsals resume and, at long last, Charlie seems to get it. He concentrates during his performance and later apolo- Three weeks in, the cast know their lines, but because they gises to Peter privately. But Paul (Macca) still hasn’t got his aren’t working together as a team the first run-through is a lines down pat. Without Guy, the production is falling flat. disaster. Grant bawls them out, with immediate results. The second rehearsal that day is considerably better. Everyone Three days before showtime, Guy leaves hospital with is heartened – perhaps they will make it after all. eighty stitches in his leg. Because of previous addiction problems, he won’t take painkillers. No-one knows if he will Now Grant has a chance to concentrate on the curtain- be well enough to perform. raising performances, with monologues from other mem- bers of the class, including Jimmy, Paul and Amy. Just as It’s the final day of the final performance and the audience everything seems to be going well, Guy turns up to a re- of critics, celebrities and family arrive at a prison cell block hearsal limping. Later that day, he has to go to hospital for that’s been transformed into a theatre. Amy, Paul, Jimmy, a blocked artery in his leg. At first everyone thinks Guy will Will, Mick and Shamus perform their curtain-raising pieces pull through, but the news becomes increasingly alarming. to huge applause. But will Guy make it to the stage for the
final performance? SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 Paul (Macca), the understudy, is under pressure to replace Guy, but despite intense rehearsals hasn’t managed to learn his lines. The class is destabilised. After one bad re- There was some sort of hearsal, Peter abuses Charlie. As the news about Guy gets — GUY even worse, the production hits its lowest ebb. destruct button in me
12 • Outline some of the time pressures on individuals such as Pete, who is juggling running his cleaning business, going to the gym and attending rehearsals for the play.
• How does the pressure to get it all together during the rehearsal stage affect several members of the cast, as well as Grant?
• What is the imbalance of ‘energies’ within the cast that is threatening to derail the rehearsals?
• In what ways are setbacks and bad days often useful learning experiences? Give some examples from what we see in this episode.
• Outline some of the important possible outcomes for those working on this project. Consider such things as:
- being part of a team; - individual commitment to a shared experience; - learning different ways to resolve conflict.
• Why is it important for the group to honour Danny, a member of the drama group who died, by reciting one of his poems – ‘These bars are cold’?
• How are these participants’ learning experiences similar to those of anyone engaged in learning the skills needed to perform in public? What additional personal obstacles do some of the participants in this program need to overcome?
• The audience for this performance of the play at Parramatta include family and friends, professional actors and theatre agents and critics. While it is al- ways good to have an audience representative of dif- ferent ages and people from different backgrounds, how is the mix of this audience really important for both Grant and his students?
(Check Table 2 to see what kinds of acting experi- ences some of the participants have had already.) SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014
13 Table 2
Guy Spence Peter Sammak
Nine years clean, Guy is a welfare Running his own carpet-cleaning support worker at a drug and business while studying acting, alcohol centre. He’s appeared in he has appeared in Rake and Underbelly: Razor as Sid Kelly. as co-lead in recent feature film Convict (David Field & George Basha, 2014).
Jimmy Filipovski Paul (Macca) McKenzie
Lead actor in Heads and Tails Underbelly: Razor, Bikie Wars: with Gary Sweet. Brothers in Arms, Devil’s Playground and Old School. Paul’s son Luke is one half of the driving force behind the McNeil Project which last year sought to revive McNeil’s plays for a new audience, with Malcolm Robertson directing.
Shamus Vincent Will Kostopoulos
Underbelly: Badness Never convicted of any crime, Will is CEO of a major transport company. He and his son came to class to try something differ- ent with their lives. He appears later this year in a new miniseries Devil’s Playground.
Amy Squire Michael (Mick) Lahoud Spent a short time in remand and Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms and runs a tattoo parlour. With only Packed to the Rafters basic reading and writing skills, he is keen to improve his acting abilities.
Sam Ali Charlie
Intending to study for a Bachelor Charlie has spent time in rehab
of Arts and Commerce at uni- and is keen to develop his acting SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 versity this year, Sam has been career. attending Grant’s classes for two years.
14 Student Activity difficult do you think it would be to make a reasonable living as a professional actor without a strong film or television profile? Reflecting on the documentary series The Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble runs a prison ‘I can’t believe how much I enjoyed being on stage … what program in which prisoners work on a Shakespeare play a rush … and it was drug-free.’ for performance inside a prison. You can read about this – Pete at the end of the performance project at
Blanchett, Ralph Fiennes, the late Phillip Seymour of some of Shakespeare’s best-known speeches from SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 Hoffman, Geoffrey Rush, Matthew Broderick, Hugh Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet. Jackman, Jacki Weaver, Kevin Bacon, Denzel Washington and Kevin Spacey, have also acted on • What are some of the stigmas that frequently stay with stage regularly. What do you think are the major differ- people who have served prison terms that continue to ences between being a stage and screen actor? How stain their reputation? How might these assumptions
15 about people’s past mistakes often dog their capacity Thompson’s drama group. How are we encouraged to to move on in employment and personal relationships? empathise with these individuals?
• Prison dramas – novels, memoirs, films and television • Rehabilitation, reformation and redemption are three series – are enormously popular all over the world. How words that are often used to talk about the processes would you account for the enduring popularity of crime involved in working with ex-prisoners to help them and prison dramas such as the Underbelly series, The avoid and/or resist some of the triggers that led to them Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994) and committing crimes in the first place. Define what you various versions of Prisoner? understand these words to mean. You may need to use a dictionary. • Outline how the narrative is structured in this three-part series to retain an audience’s interest in how the project • While it is true that individuals have to want to change will pan out, as well as engaging us with the lives of their lives, what do you think are some of the most both playwright Jim McNeil and the members of Grant important supports for prisoners once they are out on parole or have completed their sentences?
• How important is it for people to be able to articulate their sense of how they ended up in trouble with the law in the first place?
• While tattoos (body art) have become more mainstream recently, with footballers, models and celebrities all em- ploying various styles of body art, do you think there are any disadvantages for people in displaying highly visible face and neck tattoos in public in Australia? Do any of the men appearing in this program have any problem with other people’s responses to their tattoos? SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014
16 KEY CREW AND CAST OF TAKING ON THE CHOCOLATE FROG
The Crew NARRATOR Claudia Karvan
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Bob Campbell, Simon Steel and Debbie Cuell
PRODUCERS Tom Armstrong and Grant Thompson
DIRECTOR Debbie Cuell
PLAYWRIGHT Jim McNeil
COMPOSER Guy Gross
The Cast
DRAMA COACH Grant Thompson
THE PLAYERS Guy Spence Peter Sammak Jimmy Filipovski Paul McKenzie Shamus Vincent Will Kostopoulos Amy Squire Michael Lahoud
Sam Ali SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 Charlie
Special Guest Mentors
ACTORS & DIRECTORS George Whaley, Denise Roberts, Rachel Ward
17 References and Resources Deborah Jones, drama critic, writing about Jim McNeil and this production of The Chocolate Frog
An article about the main differences between stage and Articles online screen acting:
A program running in Queensland that teaches prisoners Jail Birds — a 2010 four-part documentary series about to perform in Shakespeare’s plays:
Transcript of an interview with theatre critic Katharine
Brisbane about Jim McNeil. Brisbane was one of several SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2014 people in the art world who worked for McNeil’s early release in the 1970s:
18 This study guide was produced by ATOM. (© ATOM 2014) ISBN: 978-1-74295-462-2 [email protected] For information on SCREEN EDUCATION magazine, or to download other study guides for assessment, visit