FINDING YOUR VOICE

Ned Manning

Teachers’ Resources

2015

The 2015 Education and Families Program is

Proudly Supported by:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS RESOURCE .......................................................................................................................... 3

ABOUT REGIONAL ARTS VICTORIA .......................................................................................................... 4

EDUCATION & FAMILIES TEAM ............................................................................................................... 5

CURRICULUM LINKS ................................................................................................................................ 6

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM ........................................................................................................ 8

BIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................. 9

SUGGESTED PRE-VISIT ACTIVITIES ........................................................................................................ 10

SUGGESTED POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES ...................................................................................................... 14

FURTHER READING ............................................................................................................................... 14

ABOUT THIS RESOURCE

This resource has been created to provide teachers with some preliminary ideas as to how to

extend their experience of Finding Your Voice beyond the presentation and workshop. The

activities are designed to be open-ended and multi-ability. They may need differentiation for your

specific cohort.

The performances and workshops included in the Education & Families program are designed to

offer students engaging performing arts experiences with strong links to AusVELS. Each Educa-

tion & Families performance varies in its content and as a result the scope for integration across

the curriculum varies. Please feel free to contact the Education and Families team on (03) 9644

1808 or at education@rav.net.au if you have any questions about this resource, its content or its

implementation within your classroom.

ABOUT REGIONAL ARTS VICTORIA

Regional Arts Victoria inspires art across the state. Through creative facilitation, touring,

education, specialised resources, artistic projects and advocacy, we develop and sustain creative

communities and artistic practice all over Victoria.

Regional Arts Victoria is an independent, not-for-profit, membership-based organisation working

in long-term partnerships with every level of government, fostering contemporary and innovative

regional cultural practice across five decades. We advise and impact on decision-making across

multiple portfolios and levels of government.

Regional Arts Victoria is the peak body for regional artists and arts organisations, and the leading

organisation for regional creative practice in Victoria.

Our artistic program

Regional Arts Victoria inspires creative communities, creative places and creative catalysts.

CREATIVE

COMMUNITIES

CREATIVE

PLACES

CREATIVE

CATALYSTS

Regional Arts Victoria stimulates

and connects our state’s

communities of practice.

Regional Arts Victoria champions

the places where art is made,

experienced and discussed.

Regional Arts Victoria fosters

current and next generation

creative capacity and practice.

Members and membership

services: fostering active and

engaged artists and arts

organisations across the state;

supporting arts professionalism

through specialised resources and

professional insurance

Resources, workshops and events

program of forums and activities

through our Regional Cultural

Partnerships Program

Networks: hosting specialised

state-wide and national networks

(including Regional Cultural

Network, Festivals Network, Arts

Teachers); participating actively in

regional development networks;

accessing and developing New

Networks at membership and

organisational level

Strategic partnerships with

governments, universities,

tourism, planning and

development bodies as well as

arts and cultural organisations

Performing Arts Touring:

opportunities, tools and support

for regional and remote touring

across Victoria and Australia

Education & Families:

performances, workshops and

projects in schools, accompanied

by AusVELS aligned teacher

resources

State-wide place-making projects

including –

Home is where the hall is:

November’s month-long

celebration of arts events in

regional community halls

Eco-Cubby: promoting the

principles of sustainable design

and architecture in schools,

hands-on

Small Town Transformations:

innovative projects of significant

local and regional impact,

combined with state-wide

thought leadership on “How can

art transform your town?”

Advocacy and leadership:

leading state-wide arts

conversations; creating

exposure for regional artists;

providing strategic advice

Creative Leadership Program:

annual program for emerging

arts and thought leaders

Creative Arts Facilitators: our

regional staff team work directly

with artists and communities, in

close partnership with local and

federal government

Access and diversity including

Indigenous engagement and

cultural exchange

Grants programs: facilitating

and supporting high quality

applications to quick response,

presentation and project grants,

administered on behalf of state

and federal government

EDUCATION & FAMILIES TEAM

Regional Arts Victoria’s Education & Families team pride ourselves on providing relevant and exciting

activities for children and young people that are complementary to both Victorian and Australian curriculums. All

of our tours come with a free set of education resources to further enrich your arts experience.

Our team is available to provide local contacts and links to research, and offer advice on how to make the most

of the arts at your school or centre. Our office is a resource for Victorian teachers, so we encourage you to make

use of us!

We also provide significant subsidy assistance (up to 50% of program costs) to eligible remote and

disadvantaged schools. Your school may be eligible so please contact us to find out more!

Suzi Cordell

Education & Families

Manager

Ph: (03) 9644 1805

Mob: 0402 460 080

Email:scordell@rav.net.au

Meredith Dellar

Education & Families Coordinator

Ph: (03) 9644 1808

Email: mdellar@rav.net.au

Aimee Fairman

Education & Families Administrator

Ph: (03) 9644 1819

Email: afairman@rav.net.au

CURRICULUM LINKS

Domain Dimension

Personal

Learning

The Individual Learner

Students identify the ethical frameworks that underpin their own and

others’ beliefs and values and describe how the conflicts and

dilemmas they identify may affect learning. They determine, monitor

and modify learning improvement goals, taking into account current

and future learning needs.

The Arts Creating and making

Students apply decision making skills to find the most effective way

to implement ideas, design, create and make arts works devised from

a range of stimuli, demonstrating development of a personal style.

They evaluate, reflect on, refine and justify their work’s content,

design, development and their aesthetic choices.

Exploring and Responding

Students comment on the impact of arts works, forms and practices

on other arts works and society in general.

English

Reading and Viewing

Language

Evaluate the impact on audiences of different choices in the

representation of still and moving images (ACELA1572)

Literature

Compare and evaluate how ‘voice’ as a literary device can be used in

a range of different types of texts such as poetry to evoke particular

emotional responses (ACELT1643)

Evaluate the social, moral and ethical positions represented in texts

(ACELT1812)

Writing

Language

Refine vocabulary choices to discriminate between shades of

meaning, with deliberate attention to the effect on audiences

(ACELA1571)

Literature

Create literary texts that reflect an emerging sense of personal style

and evaluate the effectiveness of these texts (ACELT1814)

Create literary texts with a sustained ‘voice’, selecting and adapting

appropriate text structures, literary devices, language, auditory and

visual structures and features for a specific purpose and intended

audience (ACELT1815)

Literacy

Create sustained texts, including texts that combine specific digital

or media content, for imaginative, informative, or persuasive

purposes that reflect upon challenging and complex issues

(ACELY1756)

Speaking and Listening

Language

Understand how language use can have inclusive and exclusive

social effects, and can empower or disempower people (ACELA1564)

Literacy

Identify and explore the purposes and effects of different text

structures and language features of spoken texts, and use this

knowledge to create purposeful texts that inform, persuade and

engage (ACELY1750)

Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations, selecting and sequencing

appropriate content and multimodal elements to influence a course

of action (ACELY1751)

Communication Listening, Viewing and Responding

Students identify the ways in which complex messages are effectively

conveyed and apply this knowledge to their communication. They use

complex verbal and non-verbal cues, subject-specific language, and a

wide range of communication forms.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM

Finding Your Voice is a playwriting program that promotes language, literacy and learning through

writing and performing short 7-10 minute plays.

Students from Years 5 to 10 are given 5x 2 hour workshops over one week (one per

day) exploring playwriting as a means of creative self expression. The workshops focus on the

language of theatre, exploration of character and the nature of storytelling and culminate in a

performance of the plays the students have written.

The first three workshops will involve writing exercises and exploration of playwriting techniques.

The final two workshops will focus on rehearsal and performance of the plays.

Each workshop will involve physical and written work. Exercises aimed at exploring the potential

of story telling in a theatrical space will be followed by writing exercises focussing on various

aspects of playwriting. This will include writing dialogue.

Students will be encouraged to tell stories that matter to them. Their stories in their own

language, which may be verbal or non verbal.

AVAILABLE

June 21 – 25, 2015

IDEAL FOR

Years 5 -10

Maximum 25 students.

DURATION

5x 2 hour workshops (one workshop per day over one week residency). Note: regional residencies

incur travel, accommodation & per diem fees.

BIOGRAPHY

Ned Manning is a writer, actor and educator. He

has written many plays for both adults and school

children. Among his published plays are Us or

Them, Milo, Close to the Bone, Luck of the Draw,

Alice Dreaming as well as short plays in the

anthologies Short Circuit and No Nudity, Weapons

or Naked Flames. Other plays for adults include

Kenny’s Coming Home and Last One Standing.

He has written many plays for young people

including Alice Dreaming, Gods of War and ten

scripts for Bell Shakespeare’s Actors at Work

program. These scripts explore Shakespeare’s

world and language. He was nominated for an

AWGIE for one of them, Romeo and Juliet

Intensive.

Ned’s first work of non fiction, Playground Duty, is

a celebration of the highs and lows of combining a

teaching, writing and acting career.

His radio adaptation of Women of Troy has been selected for competition in the Prix Marulic

Festival of Radio Drama in Croatia in 2013.

As an actor, Ned has appeared in some of Australia’s most loved film, television and theatre

productions including: Looking for Alibrandi, Offspring, The Shiralee, Bodyline and Aftershocks.

He starred in the 1980’s cult classic Dead End Drive-In. His latest appearance was in the 2014

feature film, The Menkoff Method.

Ned has worked as a teacher and dramaturg, designing playwriting courses for both students

and adults.

He is committed to working with playwrights of all ages and providing them with support and

professional guidance.

www.nedmanning.com

SUGGESTED PRE-VISIT ACTIVITIES

ACTVITY 1: Overheard Voices

An introduction to writing dialogue,

The emotional music of everyday speech is cloth from which playwrights fashion plays. How

words are spoken reveals emotions through pitch, volume, tone, accent, pausing, repetition,

grunts, sounds and, especially, rhythm.

“Uh”…”Whatevs”…”Dunno”…”Eh”….grunts…Pause…

Listen to how words are spoken. Often it isn’t what they are saying but how they are saying it.

Every voice is musical. It has its own rhythms. This is what often indicates character and

intention.

Exercise:

Visualise a conversation you have overheard. Think about what they looked like and how

they sounded.

Write down as much as you can remember, EXACTLY as you remember it, including

pauses, non-verbal elements (shrugs, hand gestures etc…) and sounds that aren’t actual

words (grunts, ‘hmm’ sounds etc… )

As an exercise, listen to and remember two or three short exchanges. Don’t record them.

Try and recall how they sounded. You can’t be involved and it can’t be on a phone. These

are “live” and may be in a public place. It’s not eavesdropping, it’s research! Content is

irrelevant as is grammar – the exercise is to capture the way spoken word is different

from a written story or article.

To prepare for the exercise, you may like to practice a film or television – celebrity

interviews are a great place to start, as they are ‘off the cuff’ and far more likely to have

the elements you need to be looking for! Once you are confident with writing things down

in this way, go forth and eavesdrop!

Once you have a few conversations written down, compare them with the conversation

you remembered and wrote down initially – what have you learned about spoken word

since then?

ACTIVITY 2: Memories

Memories can be a great generator of ideas… many playwrights use their memory to begin telling

stories.

Exercise:

Write down 20 memories as quickly as you can. Then, sort them based on the following:

What are your earliest memories?

What are your happiest memories?

What are your funniest memories?

What are the most important things that have happened to you?

What are some of the places you remember?

ACTIVITY 3: Writing for Theatre

When writing for theatre, you need to think about a number of different elements:

a) The theatrical space

How do your characters relate to one another on stage?

What does the space look/feel like when it is empty?

What style of space are you using? (amphitheatre, proscenium, theatre in the round

etc…)

b) The language of theatre

What sort of costumes are your characters wearing? (eg: clothing, shoes, millinery, hair,

make-up)

What sort of lighting does your scene need? (eg: warm summer sun, cold wintery blue,

disco lights)

What sort of incidental sound does your scene need? (eg: birds chirping, machines

whirring, cars driving, TV blaring)

What sort of music might your scene need? (eg: emotive strings, ‘danceable’ pop music,

eerie electronic music)

What sort of props and set might your characters need? (eg: stairs to walk up, a teacup to

sip from, furniture to sit on)

c) The audience

They are there to be surprised. To be taken wherever you want to take them. They are active. Part

of the show. They aren’t onlookers. Engage them emotionally and ask them to use their

imagination.

Try to remember scenes in film and theatre where you reacted strongly – laughing, crying,

feeling fear – What was it about the scene that made you feel that way? How could you

replicate those feelings in your own audience?

How can you show your audience different emotions?

How can you make them sympathise with a character?

How can you make them actively dislike a character?

Are there any other ways you would like your audience to act or react?

Exercise:

As individuals OR groups, write a scene with the following:

2 characters. Male/Female

Teenagers

Industrial setting

Information – he surfs, she wants to

He thinks surfing is for boys (sexist)

He’s superstitious (into whales, dolphins)

They’re cousins

Someone turns up who changes the scene

Once you have written your scene, share it with the class. How different are your scenes? Why do

you think they have gone in different directions? Why do you think certain elements are the

same?

Read opening scene Blackrock by Nick Enright. How does Enright deal with this content in a way

you don’t expect?

ACTIVITY 4: Finding Your Voice

The best playwrights examine elements of the world they are particularly interested in. This may

be content they are personally familiar with (eg: the place they grew up, stories from within their

family, their own personal struggles or psychology) or it may be something they want to explore as

an outsider (eg: space exploration, politics, mental illness). If a playwright is passionate enough

about the story they are telling, this will translate to the audience.

In order to get some ideas flowing, write down as many thoughts as you can under the following

headings:

I really care about…

I get really angry when…

I am worried about…

Things that make me smile every time…

If I ruled the world for a day I would…

I have cried when…

I have laughed uncontrollably when…

The people I could not live without are…

If I had to choose between beauty, power, money and intelligence I would choose…

ACTIVITY 5: The Who

The “Who” are the characters. They are an invention. They may be based on real people but they

are not real. This gives you more freedom and makes them more complex, even more interesting.

Who’s there in the space?

What is their gender? Does it matter?

What is her (or his) first name? Do they have one?

How old are they?

How do they move? (eg: confidently, cautiously, like they are in pain/tired/fed up)

How do they speak? (eg: loudly, quickly, with an accent)

Note ONLY what the audience can see.

Note specifics that might be interesting for director (eg:“look”, costume, race, make-up)

Think about what your character wants (eg: to get served at the bank, for another

character to love them, to win)

Exercise:

Based on the questions above write notes for 5 characters.:

They are entirely unrelated.

Must be different ages.

No-one younger than twelve

Eg.

a) Amy, 17, jeans, sandals, man’s white shirt, attractive, no makeup, moves quickly and

nervously, speaks quietly but with determination, wants to be taken seriously.

b) Howie, 65, straight backed, green flanno shirt, dirty overalls, reversed baseball cap, moves

with a swagger, loudly talkative, wants money.

c) Rose, 45ish, overweight, too many charm bracelets, bright red lipstick, green glasses, loose

lime & pink flowered dress, ‘bustles’ about the stage, talks fast, laughs a lot, has something

innocent and open about her, wants her partner’s attention.

ACTIVITY 6: The Where

Before you write a scene you need to see the playing space:

Limit the description to a few words - only essential details. Leave something for the

designer to work with!

The specifics set the emotional atmosphere – you could argue that the set is often an

extra character within a play!

What can the audience see in front of them? (eg: a door with a pot plant next to it, a

mountain in the distance)

What time of the day or night is the play set? Do we know?

What is the season/weather? (eg: snowy Winter, windy Spring) Do we know?

What colours or textures are used?

Is the space open or cramped?

Is the ceiling high or low?

Where are the actors entering and exiting?

What is the light like? (eg: warm and sunny yellow, dim and shadowy)

Exercise:

Make a list of 5 stage spaces – they should be unrelated to characters above or each other

Eg.

a) Interstate highway “rest area” with mountains in the distance, dusk, Winter, mostly grey

concrete and sky with hints of green vegetation, open, high ceiling, actors enter from the sides,

light is grey and muted.

b) Barn interior. Old wooden walls. Posters of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Hay loft above. A

rusty, doorless truck serves as furniture, night-time, hot summer, wooden textures, cramped

space, both low and high ceilings, actors are entering via the barn door on the side. The light is

from a single electric bulb.

c) Leafy glade in a wood. Low branches. Mossy stones. Sound of running brook. 6am in the

morning, a still spring day, cramped, high ceilings, actors enter from within the woods, the light is

dappled and warm.

ACTIVITY 7: The What

This is the emotional image that is at the play’s heart.

The image that inspires you. The picture in your mind as you write.

This is not a theme. It is a picture. Almost a dream.

Emotional territory, often ephemeral…

Exercise:

Go back to the list of ideas you generated in Activity 3, Finding Your Voice. Choose the 5 ideas

you wrote down that mean the most to you. Imagine each idea as a picture – ‘snap’ the picture in

your mind like a photograph.

Name each picture using a maximum of 4 words – the 4 words do not have to be related to your

original idea. They should reflect the key feeling within the idea rather than the idea itself. If you

are finding it difficult, consider what you might call your snapshot if it were an artwork in a gallery.

Whatever name you give each snapshot, it should be an ‘active’ name

Eg. a.) Cutting Loose

b.) Red Bird, Purple Sky

c.) Touching Base

d.) Facing It Out

e.) Nut cracking

f.) Silent Scream

ACTIVITY 8: Nuts and Bolts. – FOR THE TEACHER

You may wish to take this opportunity to consider what questions you, as an educator, might wish

to ask Ned Manning during his visit -

Do you have questions about teaching playwriting? Class organisation during play writing?

Practical issues with the layout or convention surrounding plays?

Where does playwriting sit in your curriculum? Are you teaching it as part of English, Drama or

another subject?

What does your unit on playwriting allow you to explore? What are the expected benefits? What

“Issues” might you face?

The art of the dramatist is very like the art of the architect. A plot has to be built up just as a

house is built – story after story; and no edifice has any chance of standing unless it has a

broad foundation and a solid frame.

BRANDER MATTHEWS, The Principles of Playmaking

SUGGESTED POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITY 1: Skill Building

Revisit a scene that you have written throughout the playwriting workshops. Consider what your

characters ultimate goal is during the scene (what they WANT).

How is this ‘want’ demonstrated?

Imagine your character can’t SAY what they want. How could you alter the dialogue

and add stage directions to demonstrate this ‘want’ to the audience without them

saying it?

What does your character do to move closer to this ‘want’?

What opposition do they come up against?

Do they succeed or fail in getting their ‘want’? How can we tell?

Once all of this is clear in your mind, continue writing, editing and rewriting until you have a

short play – perhaps 10 minutes in length.

ACTIVITY 2: Play Day

You’ve worked hard on your plays – don’t let all that thinking, writing, editing and general

creativity go to waste!

In groups, rehearse each other’s short plays for presentation to the rest of your class. Some

things to consider:

Will you do it ‘script in hand’ or will you learn all of your lines?

Will you use full costume, partial costume or no costume at all?

Will you use lighting, sound, sets?

Will you perform to your class, your whole school or the entire school community?

Will everyone’s plays be performed or will there be a selection process?

Whichever direction you head in, Regional Arts Victoria would love to see the result! Feel free to

send in any video or photos you have!

ACTIVITY 3: Curtain Call

We all know of Shakespeare, but who are Australia’s most respected playwrights? Have you

heard of them? Do you know their work?

Choose one of the names from the list below and find out the following:

During what time period were they active as a playwright?

What is their most well-known work?

Do their plays tend to cover any particular subjects or themes?

Do they seem to have a ‘specialty’ (eg: comedy, musical theatre)

Can you identify any of the techniques you have learned recently within their work?

Hannie Rayson Nick Enright Louis Nowra

Lally Katz Dorothy Hewitt Bob Maza

David Williamson Richard Frankland Ray Lawler

Joanna Murray-Smith Michael Gow Angela Betzien

FURTHER READING

SUGGESTED LINKS:

Australian Plays – a variety of plays available for download

www.australianplays.org

Currency Press – a variety of plays and textbooks available for purchase

www.currency.com.au

Playwriting 101 – a simple guide to writing a play

www.playwriting101.com

Drama Victoria – the peak body for Drama education in Victoria

www.dramavictoria.vic.edu.au

Theatre Links – a great source of historical, cultural and stylistic context and ideas

www.theatrelinks.com

WEBSITES:

Regional Arts Victoria: www.rav.net.au

Production Company: www.nedmanning.com

Contact the Education and Families team at education@rav.net.au with further questions or,

even better, examples of your work!

This edition written by Emily Atkins in consultation with Regional Arts Victoria and Ned Manning

© 2015