Abstract
The TheatreSpace project confirmed that previous experience and an educated understanding of the nature of theatre and its forms, together with an ability to articulate that knowledge explicitly, play an important part in processing and deepening the experience for the young audiences. This complex factor is discussed in detail in this chapter, where it has been dubbed ‘theatre literacy’. The chapter explains that literate understanding of theatre is complex, and there are a number of related but distinct areas of understanding, each of which impacts on young people’s engagement with and appreciation of both the performance and the event.
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INTERLUDE
INTERLUDE
10.1.1 Case Studies 19 and 20
CASE 19: Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl
COMPANY: Melbourne Theatre Company
VENUE: The Sumner Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company
CASE STUDY PERFORMANCE: 8 pm, Thursday 6 August 2010
SEASON: 1 July 1–7 August 2010
KEY INFORMANTS:
Peter Evans, Director
Lisa McCune, Actor
Suzie Thomas, Education Manager, MTC
Vanessa Rowsthorn, Marketing Manager, MTC
MTC Ushers (5)
AUDIENCES DETAILS: This was a general public performance event, with respondents aged between 15 and 30. As such, the focus was directly on young people who attend theatre outside the mandated school excursion.
Pre-show audience surveys | 60 |
Post-show interviewees | 25 |
6 month interviews | 5 |
RESEARCH TEAM:
Chief Investigator: Christine Sinclair
Lead Research Assistant: Ricci-Jane Adams
State Project Officer: Tim Stitz
Research Assistants: Jane Bird, Sarah Lockwood, Paige Marshall, Richard Sallis, Nyunkia Tauss, Meg Upton
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Young people currently attending the MTC in non-school based contexts (e.g. as general public, Ambassadors) are well informed, highly theatre literate audience members committed to continued theatre-going, which includes the MTC.
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Case study participants responded positively to the new MTC venue and to the Sumner Theatre. It was described as ‘very Melbourne’ and appropriate for ‘this art-loving city’. The positive response to the venue aligned with the positive association these young people had with the MTC brand and with the opportunities for cultural belonging afforded by the company.
CASE 20: THIS KIND OF RUCKUS devised by Danielle Antaki, Sean Bacon, Arky Michael, Jane Phegan, Deborah Pollard, Christopher Ryan, Yana Taylor, Kym Vercoe and David Williams with Stephen Klinder
COMPANY: version 1.0 presented by FULL TILT
VENUE: The Fairfax Studio, the Arts Centre Melbourne
CASE STUDY PERFORMANCE: 8 pm, Thursday 26 August
SEASON: 18–28 August 2010
KEY INFORMANTS:
David Williams, Director, THIS KIND OF RUCKUS, CEO of version 1.0
Linda Catalano, Producer, the Arts Centre
Vanessa Pigrum, Artistic Director of FULL TILT
Kym Vercoe, Deviser and Performer
Two teachers from the attending schools
AUDIENCES DETAILS: There were three distinct groups within the research cohort – a group of Years 10 and 11 Drama students from a semi-regional private school on the outskirts of Melbourne; tertiary performing arts students from three Melbourne universities; and a small and more eclectic representation of general public young people, whose reasons for attending ranged from professional interest to accompanying their theatre student friends. For the school group and university students attending there was a curriculum link to the production.
Pre-show audience surveys | 25 |
Post-show interviewees | 21 |
6 month interviewees | 7 |
RESEARCH TEAM:
Partner Chief Investigator: Christine Sinclair
Chief Investigator: Kate Donelan
Lead Research Assistant: Ricci-Jane Adams
State Project Officer: Tim Stitz
Research Assistants: Jane Bird, Paige Marshall, Richard Sallis, Nyunkia Tauss, Meg Upton
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FULL TILT’s programming of THIS KIND OF RUCKUS brought a younger audience into the Arts Centre, including those who were not necessarily regular theatre-goers. They were attracted by the content and themes and were prompted to attend through a professional interest in the topics the play canvassed. For some of these people the interest in the material gave them access to an unfamiliar form of theatre performance and introduced them to a new venue.
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The programming of this independent, experimental theatre production at the Arts Centre altered some young people’s perception of the venue. Whereas they previously had identified the Arts Centre with mainstream cultural events and older audiences, they embraced the opportunity to access the cultural conversation in that venue.
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Burton, B., Bundy, P., Ewing, R. (2014). Theatre Literacy. In: O'Toole, J., Adams, RJ., Anderson, M., Burton, B., Ewing, R. (eds) Young Audiences, Theatre and the Cultural Conversation. Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics, and Education, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7609-8_10
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