A STUDY GUIDE by MArguerite o’hArA http://www.metromagazine.com.au http://www.theeducationshop.com.au KIDS LOOKING OUT AT ERNABELLA Ngapartji ple with the decision to risk breaking Introduction traditional law by saying his father’s ngapartji: Nothing Rhymes with Ngapartji follows name, acting the part of him, and the journey of acclaimed Pitjantjatjara showing footage of him as part of the I give you actor Trevor Jamieson, as he returns to show. Is Trevor going to get a knock his traditional country to perform his hit on the head? something, stage show Ngapartji Ngapartji to an all-Indigenous audience in the remote Trevor’s family story is one of struggle you give me Australian Aboriginal community of and survival. From the 1950s, Trevor’s Ernabella, South Australia. grandfather witnessed British atomic something testing spread sickness throughout his Trevor has struggled to hold on to his land; the performance follows three language and culture while living away generations of an Aboriginal family as from his traditional country. Ngapartji they grapple with becoming refugees Ngapartji is a live theatre performance in their own country. in two languages; its audiences are usually fluent in English rather than Elders in Ernabella have their own Pitjantjatjara. 2,500 kilometres from memories of the Maralinga bombs, the recent five-week, sell-out Sydney and Trevor knows that the Ngapartji Festival season, against the magnifi- Ngapartji show will be a potent re- cent backdrop of the Central Australian minder of an issue that people have desert, Trevor is preparing to face his not talked about in a long time. toughest audience yet. As excitement builds in the community The film follows theNgapartji Ngapartji and among the company, which is team’s journey to Ernabella and the thrilled to be performing for an Indig- in situ performance of their acclaimed enous audience in Ernabella, trepida- show. It is terrible timing for Trevor, tion builds in Trevor as he becomes whose father, a central character in the more fearful of the consequences of SCREEN EDUCATION stage show, passed away only weeks telling a story so close to his heart. before. Not only does Trevor have to confront his grief in order to deliver the Will Trevor’s resolve be his own undo- performance, he also has to grap- ing? We find out. 2 CHOIR WOmEN AT REHEARSAL Curriculum relevance TREvOR Student activities ence able to follow the details of a Nothing Rhymes with Ngapartji is a film story? about performing a multi-faceted drama to audiences who speak different lan- Pre-viewing questions about How do you respond to subtitles if guages, who are of different cultures and theatrical performances • who have varying expectations. It would you are watching a film or perform- be of value to senior and tertiary students ance in a language other than your studying history, Indigenous perspectives, • Why do people attend live theatri- own? drama and multimedia productions. cal performances in the twenty-first In line with the proposed national cur- century? • In what form and through what riculum, this film offers an insight into kinds of media are young people Indigenous perspectives on the conse- • What kind of theatrical shows at- today most likely to get their enter- quences of white settlement for Aboriginal cultures. In presenting the material in tract large audiences today? tainment? both Pitjantjatjara and English, it raises the important issue of stories needing to • What does a ticket to a live show • What are some of the dramatic be told in languages that are central to cost as compared to a movie elements of stage shows put on in different Australians’ understanding of the ticket? schools? Do they often incorporate world. As Makinti, one of the performers in Ngapartji Ngapartji says, ‘our language more than one aspect of perform- is who we are’. Parts of the drama are Why is there such a difference in ticket ance, such as dance, music and spoken and sung in the Pitjantjatjara lan- prices? What are some of the costs spoken word? What connections guage with English subtitles on screen. involved in creating and performing a do the audience often have with The film is part of Big hART’s Ngapartji stage show? the performers or the cast and Ngapartji project, which is a collaborative crew? work in progress between Indigenous and • How many live shows, whether white Australians that pools their skills, experiences and resources to tell an plays or musicals, have you or your • What differences are there be- important story about Indigenous history, family and friends attended in the tween a film and a live theatrical culture, language and the experience of past twelve months? performance? What advantages several generations. (if any) does a film have over a live The documentary makes demands on • What do you think the audience performance? viewers as it deals with several important attending a theatre performance issues. As director Suzy Bates notes, at a capital city arts festival would the most difficult aspect of making a documentary like this is deciding what be like? Would they be young, to include and what to leave out. The old, well-off, representative of the focus is on Trevor Jamieson’s journey, the Australian community? remarkable women from Ernabella and the story of the impact of the Maralinga • In what language are theatrical bombs. However, at its centre this is a performances in Australia usually film about performing a stage show with SCREEN EDUCATION the community that is at the heart of this presented? When they are not story. presented in the language of the dominant culture, how is the audi- 3 AmANYI Snapshots of some of the in Australia. She has made hundreds featured performers of films on culture, ceremony, bush tucker and country. She is a senior Trevor Jamieson is the co-creator inma (song) and culture woman and a of and lead performer in Ngapartji widely renowned ngangkari (traditional Ngapartji. Born in Subiaco, Western healer) and artist. Pantjiti started work- Australia in 1975, Trevor is an experi- ing with Ngapartji Ngapartji in 2005 TREvOR enced theatre and film performer and and was instrumental in forming the a talented didgeridoo player, guitarist, project’s vision and providing guidance About Nothing Rhymes singer, dancer and storyteller. He ap- for the Pitjantjatjara language, culture With Ngapartji peared in Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phillip and community components. Pantjiti is Noyce, 2002) and recently in Bran Nue a key presence on stage and has been Executive Producer Dae (Rachel Perkins, 2009). During present for every season of the touring the past five years, Trevor developed production (2005 to 2008). Pantjiti now BIG hART Inc his own story in collaboration with Big lives in Alice Springs and cares for her Director hART. His performances have won husband, who receives dialysis treat- awards including the 2008 Deadly ment. Suzy Bates Award for Most Outstanding Achieve- Producers ment in Film, Television or Theatre and Cultural protocols the 2008 Sydney Theatre Award for Alex Kelly, Shannon Owen, Michael Watt Best Lead Actor for the Sydney Festi- Australian film, documentary, news and Created with val season of Ngapartji Ngapartji. current affairs television programs are often preceded by advice stating that Scott Rankin Amanyi Dora Haggie was born in 1938 the program about to be shown may Director of Photography and speaks Arrernte as well as her first contain images of deceased people. language, Pitjantjatjara. After moving This issue is central to the laws and Sarah Davies around various stations and communi- customs of many Indigenous com- ties, she settled in Ernabella where she munities and is something that gravely Editor still lives, painting and creating tjanpi concerns Trevor Jamieson. Included in Vanessa Milton baskets. She has been working with this guide (page 11) is information from Ngapartji Ngapartji since 2006 as a choir the ABC’s Indigenous web pages. It Music and Sound Design member and performer, sharing her provides an explanation of the com- Damian Mason experience of the Maralinga bombs with plexities and importance of this issue audiences in Melbourne, Sydney and for many people. Featuring Perth. Despite suffering a severe stroke Trevor Jamieson, Pantjiti McKenzie, in 2008 she still enjoys performing. Amanyi Dora Haggie, Kawaki (Punch) Thompson, Scott Rankin, Gail York- Pantjiti McKenzie is a senior Pitjant- shire-Selby, Tjariya Stanley, Makinti jatjara woman from Ernabella. She Minutjukur, Mel Robertson was instrumental in the establishment SCREEN EDUCATION of EVTV (Ernabella Video Television) in the early 1980s, which was one of the first community television stations 4 LADIES LAUGHING CHOIR WOmEN PERFORmING Watching the film • What does Trevor’s mother Gail think about what her son is doing? TREvOR PERFORmING It may be useful for students, either individually or in groups, to concen- • In what ways is the story of what 2. The Ernabella community trate on one of the strands in this film happened to the people living in as they watch the story unfold. As all the atomic testing area of South Ernabella is at the eastern end of the these strands are visually interwoven Australia in the 1950s so personal Musgrave Ranges in the far north- to construct the story, students could to Trevor Jamieson? west of South Australia. The people share their impressions after watching speak Yankunytjatjara, Pitjantjatjara the film. Strands to focus on include: • How is Trevor’s grandfather, Tjamu and Ngaanyatjarra, all of which are Jack, an important part of this languages from the Western Desert • Trevor Jamieson’s story story? Explain what he did and why language groups of Central Australia. • the Ernabella people his actions are important to the • the impact of the Maralinga atomic story being told in the production.