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The Seven Stages of GrievingBy Wesley Enoch and Deborah MailmanIn GeneralPlot is non-linear; many partsSet is symbolic; 7 ropes = 7 stages of grieving, black powder with white border => aboriginal people constricted by whites, ice melting => loss of identity, water => cleansing + forgiveness, red earth => their land.Through the character of the woman, issues are raised and explored through the use of a variety of performance styles and techniques, both traditional and contemporary.It is not the Deborah Mailman story; It’s an indigenous everywoman. Many stories are told through one character. “We’ve created a character of an indigenous everywoman.”Scene 2 – SobbingExpressionistic: relies heavily on emotion to convey meaning.Sensory appeal to the auditory n(sound of crying)Brechtian alienation techniqueScene 3 – PurificationEucalypt leaves purify the spaceSensory => smell… purifies the audience?Respect to the cultureAudience becomes unified with the actor on stageRitual, traditional styleStanislavsky sensory methodLanguage is traditional => defiance of white culture?Scene 4 – Nana’s storyStorytelling, realism, the oral traditionThe funeral and the way we respond help the audience to understand and recognise the commonalities between the two culturesThrough relating to the ritual, we become involved in the aboriginal culture.Scene 5 – Photograph StoryRealism => emotional recallConnects white and black => relate to the photographs and the sadness. It is a human experience, not an aboriginal/white experienceCulture: removal of the photos of the deadScene 6 – Story of a FatherStorytelling => Promotes empathyHugging the ice => holds onto culture, her fatherFather is dying prematurely => the life expectancy of an aboriginal person is lower than the average AustralianShe won’t have to survive discrimination etc. (government policy, stolen generation) => its better nowShe hates all the people she mentions => they are racist? Annoy her?Scene 7 – Family GalleryEvokes the past => memory recallStrength of ancestors, respect for eldersScene 8 – Black Skin GirlsInvasion? Letters represent the white people forcing themselves onto Aboriginal people. Fun at first then becomes cruel. We have imposed ourselves onto AboriginalsTaking off dress => nothing left of her own, it’s all Anglo-SaxonThe imposition is only skin deep => Anglo-Saxon’s can’t change Aboriginal memories, storiesDeconstruction of culture through forces learningScene 9 – Invasion Poem1st death is grandmother. 2nd death is cultureStage direction forces emotional recall between Grandmother and nowNo dress = no culture. VulnerableThe land is talking and the people => they are inseparable“no sense” => ownership, money, economyCulture was open=> theirs is notFeet symbolic of trees, landPoetryScene 10 – 1788Exaggerated, sarcasticModern colloquial language is juxtaposed against the arrival of CookHumourScene 11 – Murri Gets a DressStand-up comedyStarts with a rhetorical question => ask audience to stop into Aboriginal shoesRepetition of skin, hair, teeth comic effectSarcasm “special attention” => negative attention, satiricalPrejudgement, prejudice, scrutiny and suspicionCamera => no privacyThe purpose of this scene is to capture the notion that what should be a normal everyday event which we are all familiar with becomes fraught with difficulties owing to the fact that the character is blackSniffer dog => symbolic of white people sticking their noses into black peoples business, double standardHumour is exaggeratedPeople are always suspicious. She is blackUses humour to entertain while subtly conveying the racist attitudes of many white AustraliansTakes automatic blame (locked car)Finds herself in situations that shouldn’t be problematic but areRacial stereotypeCan’t change who you are“crowded elevator…someone budgie.” She is always blamed, reinforces the fact that Aboriginal people are usually blamedLocks keys in car => racial stereotype once again. Because she’s black, it is automatically assumed that she is stealing. Exaggeration of cops, fire, UN. She couldn’t own a nice car like that.“This scene successfully investigates the relevant socio/cultural issues of racism in contemporary Australian society“Even though the premise of multiculturalism is tolerance and respect, the reality is far away from this at times”We are able to find the humour in anythingUse of repetition police, army, fire, UN, sniffer dog, black skin, makes it funnyThe funnier the scene, the more poignant the statement about prejudice.” Very satiricalHumour is the best way to engage the audience => audience remain open and sympathetic with the use of humour“Australian theatre can be said to be a mirror which playwrights hold up to their audience, a sort of social commentary, which reflects the society and the context in which it is written. “In doing so, Australian playwrights present Australian identity and culture. (positive or negative)Scene 12 – Aunty Grace“Aunty Grace is accused of abandoning her culture”Storytelling and narrativeSuitcase and contents => Aboriginal culture. Spreading contents on the grave is culture back to the landScene 13 – MugshotCourt report => no emotion, detached, third personTone => formal, serious, Aboriginal deaths in custodyScene 14 – MarchMourning death, Yocki? Aboriginal boy => brings to life spirit of community protestTransformational power of protest. “We’re not fighting, we’re grieving.”Sounds of protest, sounds of clapping => evokes fierce tribalismScene 15 – BargainingSymbolism => death of Aboriginal culture. At what price has the land been taken? => “What’s it worth?”Scene 16 – Home StoryUse of silence “Are you with me?” => draws in audience makes them understandReally strong, angry, violent gesturesRepetition of “Are you with me?” draws audience into the world of the women. We see the strong boundaries of the world and what happens when some of these are broken. We are in the world as visitors and we understand more as it comes to an endSymbolism in a circle, it never breaks, it is continuous => by taking something out of it (i.e. The children) the circle breaksStorytelling, narrativeSoil symbolises family treeRepetition => establishes a direct connection to the audienceExplains the marriage tradition and tribal protocol. Tells audience the importance of traditional ways in maintaining a healthy race of people who marry according to their skin types. Due to removal of these traditional ways through assimilation, this leads to a breakdown in culture and identity. “Now imagine these children are taken away.”Although white western culture is identified as the offending culture, the audience is not alienated because she presents the story in a soothing way, which provokes a compassionate response within usShe tells the same story three times => oral tradition, nothing written. It is through her culture that she tells us thisThe stolen generationScene 17 – Story of a BrotherShameStorytelling, reflective prose, short sentences, intimateMessage => minority groups are often targeted unfairly => cycle of shame and alienationScene 18 – Gallery of Sorrow7 stages of Aboriginal historyScene 19 – Suitcase OpeningLand and people are inseparableScene 20 – Wreck/con/silly/nation PoemPlay on words => consequent connotationsShe is clean from the pastSatire on reconciliationScene 21 – Everything Has its TimeMotif: “Everything has its time”You can rush it, any of itScene 22 – PleaA plead to the audience to listen?Scene 23 – ReliefBegin where we end => cyclical natureGeneral Essay NotesComment on the way Aboriginal symbols and styles have been used in combination with European theatrical techniquesConventions and Techniques of Aboriginal PerformanceAppropriate western theatrical formsUse of song/dance/movementBlending of contemporary and traditionalHumourPoetryUse of aboriginal languageMakeup and markingsStorytelling and narrativeWays in which Aboriginal characters are portrayed in contemporary dramaElements of DramaSymbolsMusicMood/AtmosphereLightingFocusPolitical issues => stolen generation, government policy, institutionalised, discrimination, deaths in custody, racial discriminationThematic concerns => belonging, identity, cultural and personal heritage, familyCultural and social issues => respect: personal and cultural, discrimination, stereotypingPerformance StylesStand-up comedyStorytelling, narrativeRealismPoetryExpressionismSymbolismBrechtian (didacticism) => educate, teach audienceDramatic Forms/ConventionsDirect addressFourth wall (realism)RepetitionStructure (cyclical, non-linear)Elements of ProductionSetProps (photos, cross, suitcase, sand)LightingCostume(Talk about their effects and importance in each scene)Traditional styles (Aboriginal)Contemporary Styles (Western)StorytellingDanceSingingMusicSymbolsMake up (markings)RitualLightingProjectionSound scapes ................
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