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T r a n s f o r mm a k e a m a r k e d c h a n g e i n t h e

f o r m , n a t u r e , o r a p p e a r a n c e o f

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• In Unit 4, students explore inherited theatrical traditions and key dramatic works of the past as a springboard for developing their own artistic statement. They explore influential inherited theatrical traditions that have shaped and informed current dramatic practices in conjunction with emerging dramatic practices that reframe and transform the inherited theatrical styles of Greek Theatre, Elizabethan Theatre or Neo-classicism and their associated texts.

• The unit involves students manipulating and shaping the dramatic languages to reframe text, purpose, context and meaning, drawing on conventions and philosophies of Contemporary performance. Students re-imagine, adapt and transform texts from inherited traditions into an expression of their emerging artistic voices, addressing the needs of a 21st century audience.

Pg 47 Drama 2019 v1.1 - General Senior Syllabus

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EHow can you transform dramatic practice?

How can drama be used to reframe purpose, context and meaning through contemporising texts?

How can you manipulate and shape dramatic languages to communicate to 21st century audiences?

How can drama reshape and transform meaning of inherited texts through skills of drama, including devising, directing and acting?

Pg 48 Drama 2019 v1.1 - General Senior Syllabus

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• individually develop a directorial vision to be delivered through a multimodal pitch that:• applies digital literacy skills by combining spoken word with digital

visual presentation to communicate ideas• demonstrates how the elements of drama and conventions of

Contemporary performance will be manipulated to transform a selected inherited Medea text

• applies and structures dramatic languages to make clear the relationship between text, purpose, context and dramatic meaning in the vision

• evaluates and justifies the use of the dramatic languages

• complete a performance as an ensemble or a one-person show that will be:• informed by ideas presented in the directorial visions, teacher feedback and

further contributions by the ensemble (as appropriate)presented as an excerpt of the selected Medea text manipulating the dramatic languages of Contemporary performance to interpret purpose, context and meaning.

Adapted from example task IA3

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• Greek Theatre• Directing• Medea

Know the rules

• Physical Theatre and Contemporary Theatre

• Contemporary Analysis

Transform

• Directing Multimodal• PerformanceAssessment

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EUnit Outline

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• Teach about the Greek Style• Tragic hero – Aristotles Poetics • Build ensemble skills – chorus work, vocal work, ritual, symbolism • Medea – deconstruct the play• Physical Theatre Skills– space, spatial relationship, group shape,

gesture, Viewpoints • Medea- how does it relate to the modern word • Transformation – shifting the lens • Directing skills • Part A of IA3• Build on Physical Theatre skills• Part B IA3

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E• Introduction activities – initial perspectives before they know too much or are thinking about assessment. Get them

thinking right from the start. Spectrum of difference Medea Trailers – See/ Think / Wonder Stock images – using shape to show emotion Physical theatre warm ups Tragic hero – Aristotle’s Poetics Build ensemble skills – chorus work, vocal work, ritual, symbolism

• Teaching phase – Physical Theatre Techniques (Viewpoints) and play analysis. Teach Greek Style – relationship to the gods, symbolic poetic movement, large gestures, selective rhythmic movement, role of

the chorus, presentational acting, heightened emotion and acting Play reading and analysis - Spectrum of difference, Tug of War, Meaning of the text, Filicide – modern stories (use articles and discuss examples) Ingredient list Viewpoint theory and Viewpoint training Movement and transition work Working with text and Viewpoints – Composition Directing skills Dramatic meaning, context and purpose Shift the lens

• Assessment phase – ways into assessment, getting students to draw on what they already know. Composition with text Theme – writing activity Music mapping Creating and experimentation

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EWhy do we bother with heritage texts?

How does a script written so long ago speak to a contemporary audience?

How can two scripts set in vastly different times and places, fuse, relate and create new meanings?

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ESpectrum of Difference

Agree DisagreeUndecided

Have students stand along the line and justify their choices.

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MedeaTrailers

See / Think / Wonder

Who do you think Medea is?What do you think each different production is trying to communicate to its audience?Why do you think there are different interpretations of the character?Predict what the play will be about.Which one would you go see and why?

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EGolden Fleece Legend

Medea was of a people at the far edge of the Black Sea; at the time the edge of the known world. She was a powerful sorceress, princess of Colchis, a granddaughter of the sun god Helias and daughter of lord of Colchis, protector of the Golden Fleece.

Jason, a great Greek hero and captain of the Argonauts, led his crew to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece.

Medea falls in love with Jason and helps him overcome the obstacles set by her own father.

Medea kills her brother to slow her father down.

Medea and Jason returned to Iolcus where Jason’s uncle Pelias sits on the throne. To get rid of him Medea convinces his three daughters that he will have eternal life if they boil him alive.

Rather than win Jason his throne, this move forced Jason, Medea, and their children into exile. Finally, they settled in Corinth, where Jason eventually took a new bride.

The action of the play begins here, soon after Medea learns of Jason's treachery.

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EMedea

Medea is locked in her room wailing about Jason’s betrayal and the ‘wretchedness’ of being a woman.

Creon banishes Medea due to his fear of her. Medea begs for one more day and this is granted.

Jason comes to explain himself saying he married the princess, Glauce, to help provide for Medea and their sons. Medea questions this and reminds Jason of all she has done for him. Jason blames Medea for her banishment,

Medea talks of her want for revenge but she know she has no escape.

Aegeus, King of Athens, visits Medea and complains of his infertility. Medea offers to help him with this in exchange for sanctuary.

Medea returns to plotting her revenge, using her children to deliver a poison to the palace.

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EMedea

Medea calls Jason and apologises to him and asks for protection for her children. Jason says no, he will see them again when they are older. Medea convince him to let the children see Glauce.

Medea goes back and forth about whether to kill her children. She finally decides to kill her children when the messenger comes in and tells of the gruesome death of Glauce and Creon.

Medea rushes offstage and kills the children.

While the chorus lament about what has happened Jason arrives.

Jason comes confront Medea about what she has done. Medea and Jason argue about who is at fault, both blaming each other.

Medea escapes with the boys’ bodies on a golden chariot (sometimes pulled by a dragon.)

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Get into groups. Taking the bare bones, re-tell the story of Medea in a series of freeze frames. Give each freeze frame a title. Eg. The Abandonment of Medea, The Banishment… Appoint a curator to talk the audience through each image.

- Link to the concept document task. This should be a style they are familiar with.

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ETragedy

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To be tragic it must haveAn essentially good person who makes a bad decision for the right reasons. Sometime it is because of an overwhelming sense of pride or being right. An event that occurs that creates great misfortune, death, evokes strong emotions. A realisation of the good person of what they did wrong.

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ETug of War

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1.Present a fairness dilemma.

2.Identify the factors that "pull" at each side of the dilemma. These are the two sides of the tug of war.

3.Ask students to think of "tugs", or reasons why they support a certain side of the dilemma. Ask them to try to think of reasons on the other side of the dilemma as well.

4.Generate "what if?" questions to explore the topic further.

http://www.visiblethinkingpz.org/VisibleThinking_html_files/03_ThinkingRoutines/03e_FairnessRoutines/TugOfWar/TugOfWar_Routine.html

Medea is guilty

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EHow do we transform?

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How then do you, as an emerging artist, engage creatively with such an old body of work? You have probably heard the expression, 'You

must know the rules before you can break the rules'. This saying applies particularly to one in which you are shifting the dramatic

frame. As student artists, you must ensure that you apply the very best knowledge and understanding of the original text and bring this

to your new creation or recreation of the work.

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The Director As Translator

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mWhile the drama as literature may be “for the ages”, the theatre as a living experience is “in there here and now”. The director is the artists responsible for the translation of the timeless values of the drama into the immediate moment of the theatrical performance.

Not all plays should be “modernised” or set in different periods. The aim is not to merely make the play easier or more entertaining for the modern audiences, but rather to manifest as much of the play’s power as possible.

From Benedtti, R (1985) The Director At Work, (p17-18) .

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contemporary understandings of the multiplicity of meaning

contemporary understandings that audience are co-creators of meaning

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EPurpose and Context

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dramatic context: in roleplay, improvisation and play text, the dramatic context is created by the choices of the elements of drama, specifically roles, relationships and situations, to frame dramatic action

real context: the live situation for which the drama is produced and/or performed. This includes participants’ skills, attitudes and backgrounds, the performance space, the purpose/s and the intended audience, e.g. community theatre, theatre for young people

general context: may include real or imagined factors, beliefs and values that influence dramatic meaning and action.

•philosophical, sociological, historical, political, personal, geographical, cultural, environmental, technological

Pg 17-18 Drama 2019 v1.1 - General Senior Syllabus

Purpose refers to the intent of the creator/s or interpreter/s of the dramatic action and meaning. In Drama, teaching and learning may include a combination of a range of dramatic purposes. This range of purposes may include to: • empathise• challenge or provoke• educate or inform• chronicle or document• empower• celebrate• entertain.

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EChanging the way we see the story

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There is butchers paper set up around the room. In groups of 6 -7 go to one of the stations. You will have one a half minutes to brainstorm ideas for what would shift if you were telling the story with that ‘frame’ in mind.

After the time is up you will move to the next station and repeat the process.

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Using the previous activity have students create a freeze frame storyboard with titles.

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EChanging the way we see the story

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How old are your characters?What does each character want from the other?What have they got to lose?Who starts with the highest status?When does the status shift?What is around you - set pieces, noise, other people?Your vocal qualities - whispering, yelling, no voice – typing?Your physical qualities – sitting, standing, facing each other, fast, slow?Any other considerations?

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EGender Swap

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Greek Tragedy includes strong characters where gender plays a large part in how these characters are interpreted. Consider Women of Troy, Antigone, Medea, and Clytemnestra (from Agamemnon).

• However, what would happen if these roles were swapped do they were male? • How does this change the perception of the scene?• What effect does this have on the interpretation of the scene?• Does it challenge traditional gender roles?

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EThemes, Symbols & Motifs

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THEMES – Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

SYMBOLS - Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

MOTIFS - Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.

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E Over, Under, Under

Pace exercise

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Do I not suffer? Am I not wronged? Should I not weep? Children, your mother is hated, and you are cursed:

... the Thing that you must do is fearful, yet inevitable. Why wait, then? My accursed hand, come, take the sword;

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EViewpoints

• Viewpoints is teaching actors how to work as an ensemble. Use viewpoints for: • training and ensemble building• Creating character• Create material• Strengthen existing material• Laterally explore themes/moments etc.• Creating a shared vocabulary about the work • It is an awareness that a performer or creator make use of while working• The Viewpoints teach an alertness, through soft focus, and ability to listen to

your whole body.

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EOther entries in

Through composition ideas:• Unexpected use of architecture• Simultaneous unison movement• Use of a counterpoint • A sustained moment where everyone is looking up• A surprise entrance• Twenty consecutive moments of stillness• Something very loud• Six lines of text• Sound use in three contrasting ways for example recorded

music, live percussion and naturalistic sound effects• Fifteen consecutive seconds of unison action

• A shape that conveys suspense• Interact with architecture• Revelation of space, object or character• A surprise entrance• Broken expectations• One gesture repeated 15 times • Transformation of recognisable object• Creative use of recognisable image• Juxtaposition / contrast

• Extreme chaos and extreme calm• Frantic action into abrupt stop• Literal and symbol• Sound and silence

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EThemes

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Circle five things you have written that stand out to you – use this to generate some themes or ideas •Women•Exile•The Other•Revenge•Sacrifice•Pride•Love•Obsession •Passion•Rage

In groups pick the theme you want to work with. Create a freeze frame that demonstrates that theme.

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Which Medea?

Which Medea?

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In an era where women in politics or positions of power

are constantly attacked by the Australian media as

monsters or crazy women, I wanted to prise open the

character of the ultimate female politician, explore her

strength, her power, her capacity for terror and her

need for justice. Rather than being limited to merely a

monster or a crazy jilted lover, I wanted to look beneath

her skin, allow her to tell her story, and find the

complex woman and mother within it.

- Suzie Miller La Boite Program 2015

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EHow and why do we keep the classics relevant? What

do they offer us now? Certainly there are undeniable

universal truths about the human condition that are

ageless – and the classics can offer us an opportunity to

remember our struggles and triumphs. In Medea the

trials of these people are so intense and confounding

that we are drawn to them as to a horrific accident – I

suppose to reaffirm our own lives, to reassure

ourselves of just how hard life could and can be. It’s

never a justifiable act but we must consider its truth

and accept its reality and ask “how has it come to

this?”

Todd MacDonald La Boite Program 2015

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Q: What attracted you to the Greek myth as Black Medea’s

conception?

A: The Classics are the Classics because they have Universal

stories to tell. These Universal stories are not contained in

one culture but inhabit all cultures. They pose questions and

provide advice so that we understand the human condition

better. Humanity needs stories we can go back to over and

over, retelling them so we can measure how much we've

grown.

Wesley Enoch Black Medea Teacher’s Notes

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ESentence, Phrase, Word

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1. Review the text that you have read and select: a. a sentence that was meaningful to you and helped you gain a deeper understanding of the text. b. a phrase that moved, engaged, provoked or was in some way meaningful to you. c. a word that captured your attention or struck you as powerful.

The Sentence-Phrase-Word thinking routine helps learners to engage with and make meaning from text with a particular focus on capturing the essence of the text or “what speaks to you”. The power of the routine lies in the discussion of why a particular word, a single phrase, and a sentence stood out for each individual in the group as the catalyst for rich discussion. Learners must justify their responses and it sets the stage for considering themes, implications, predictions, and lessons to be drawn.

Notes:The length of a text is important in this routine. If it is too long, students will just skim it. To use this routine effectively, choose a piece of text that engages.

https://www.coe.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/text_rendering_protocol.pdf

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EMedea Set –contrast of wildness of

Medea to the ‘sane’ society that is Corinth

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Eve to her Daughters

It was not I who began it.Turned out into draughty caves,hungry so often, having to work for our bread,hearing the children whining,I was nevertheless not unhappy.Where Adam went I was fairly contented to go.I adapted myself to the punishment: it was my life.

But Adam, you know ….. !He kept on brooding over the insult,over the trick They had played on us, over the scolding.He had discovered a flaw in himselfand he had to make up for it.

Outside Eden the earth was imperfect,the seasons changed, the game was fleet-footed,he had to work for our living, and he didn’t like it.He even complained of my cooking(it was hard to compete with Heaven).

So he set to work.The earth must be made a new Edenwith central heating, domesticated animals,mechanical harvesters, combustion engines,escalators, refrigerators,and modern means of communicationand multiplied opportunities for safe investmentand higher education for Abel and Cainand the rest of the family.You can see how his pride had been hurt.

In the process he had to unravel everything,because he believed that mechanismwas the whole secret – he was always mechanical-minded.He got to the very inside of the whole machineexclaiming as he went, So that is how it works!And now that I know how it works, why, I must have invented it.As for God and the Other, they cannot be demonstrated,And what cannot be demonstrateddoesn’t exist.You see, he had always been jealous.

Yes, he got to the centrewhere nothing at all can be demonstrated.And clearly he doesn’t exist; but he refusesto accept the conclusion.You see, he was always an egotist.

It was warmer than this in the cave;There was none of this fall-out.I would suggest, for the sake of the children,that it’s time you took over.

But you are my daughters, you inherit my own faults of character;you are submissive, following Adameven beyond existence.Faults of character have their own logicand it always works out.I observed this with Abel and Cain.

Perhaps the whole elaborate fableright from the beginningis meant to demonstrate this; perhaps it’s the whole secret.Perhaps nothing exists but our faults?At least they can be demonstrated.

But it’s useless to makesuch a suggestion to Adam.He has turned himself into God,who is faultless, and doesn’t exist.

About “Eve to her Daughters”The speaker, Eve, talks to her daughters of her and Adam’s fall from Eden. She continues to talk about Adam’s quest to become god-like, outlining his arrogance, and Eve stays submissive and loyal despite his flaws.

First published in The Other Half : Poems Judith Wright , Sydney : Angus and Robertson, 1966

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Clips

• Medea - Use of Chorus• Modern Medea - National Theatre• Edith Hall - Medea• Todd McDonald(La Boite) – Medea• Helen McCroy - In Conversation• Helen McCroy on playing Medea-

National Theatre • Medea Clip• Christen O’Leary on Medea (La Boite)• Filicide in Australia