Hey, I don't think there is Drama essay marking on here, as yet at least, but I'm wondering if someone could look at my Australian theatre essay on Neighbourhood Watch and Stolen, as it is my weakest topic of the two I reckon.
This particular essay was written in 45 mins and then typed up and I feel like it gets a bit messy and goes off on a tangent, how would I go about fixing that?
Question: Audiences are not only entertained; they are made to engage with the social concerns explored in plays.’
Discuss this view with reference to your study and experience of TWO of the texts set for study
Response:
Spoiler
Contemporary Australian theatre practice presents a variety of social concerns to audiences in an engaging manner. This is due to the variety of styles and conventions that are combined to have an emotional yet thought provoking effect on the audience. Stolen, by Jane Harrison explores the various aspects of the stolen generations, whilst Lally Katz's Neighbourhood watch reveals the issues faced within suburban Australian society. Therefore the issues presented are able to be communicated to audiences whilst they are also entertained.
In Stolen, the indigenous experience is explored through the episodic structure and non-naturalistic style. This allows for transformations in time, place and character to represent the experiences of the five children equally. By doing so, the different aspects of the stolen generations are conveyed. This is highly engaging and thought provoking as seen in class where a group of classmates acted out the stories of each character silently . Only a single word was spoken for each character, emphasising their hardships in a seemingly simple way. Due to the non-naturalistic style they were able to seamlessly transform in character to produce a highly engaging theatrical piece that highlighted the concerns of the indigenous community.
One aspect of the stolen generation experience conveyed is the abuse of indigenous children. This is conveyed in an entertaining way through the use of the "patty cake game". The cheery and innocent tone juxtaposes the sinister nature behind the lyrics and dialogue such as "I promised not to tell". When it is Jimmy who has been abused, the use of silence in this reoccurring scene has a powerful impact on the audience as the use of cultural reference and song is able to instil a sense of unease. In class, this became evident through the rehearsed reading of "cleaning routine 2" in which the children circled an authorities figure standing on a block. The uplifting tune of the "Happy little vegemites" parody also reveals the sinister nature of the aboriginal struggle by masking their inequalities with white consumerist culture. As an audience member, I found this convention of song to create an engaging yet tense atmosphere. Thus, the ideas of abuse and inequality as a part of the indigenous struggle is portrayed to audiences in an entertaining way whilst also evoking thought as to the social concerns of the country.
In Neighbourhood Watch, the experiences of the characters are seen to influence their present relationships with each other, allowing for the convey all of social concerns which face society. The staging and production elements establish how the present is a combination of individual experiences, as seen in the 2017 Monkey Baa theatre company performance. In this performance, when the characters were taken into Ana's world war 2 life, the lighting is green with variations of blue and purple also. This contrasts the hot pink lighting used for Catherine's fantasies with Martain. Since green and pink lighting combines to make white, the white light of the street setting where Ana and Catherine's worlds meet conveys the unification of two people, that are products of their past, and bring unique experiences to a community. This, therefore, allows for a portrayal of the social issues that haunt each character.
The issue of abortion is one such issue that has influenced Ana's present. this, like in Stolen, is presented through the use of song. The uplifting tune contrast with the meaning behind the lyrics "All it cost von hundred egg to cut you free from me", which reveals the idea of abortion in an entertaining yet unsettling manner. Humour is also used throughout the play to convey issues such as this in a similar way. As a class we all performed to produce a sitcom like game show featuring the neighbourhood characters to emphasise the use of humour and its effects in conveying social concerns. Throughout this activity, Catherine's grieving was portrayed in a segment called "Is the phone ringing?" Which communicated to audiences her sense of loss in an entertaining way whilst also evoking thought. Like Ana, Catherine has also lost people she loves, and this concern is expressed by Katz effectively. Hence, Australian theatre is able to both educate and entertain.
Contemporary Australian theatre, as explored in neighbourhood watch and Stolen, is able to communicate societal concerns in an engaging way. Stolen utilises its episodic structure , non-naturalistic style and conventions of song to reveal aspects of the stolen generations, such as abuse, in a thought provoking manner. Neighbourhood watch, utilises staging and lighting to communicate abortion and loss, and the fact that our relationships are a product of our past, through song and comedy. Therefore, we can see that the aim of contemporary Australian theatre is to educate, not solely to entertain.
Thank you!
As the exam is tomorrow, I haven't gone crazy in depth with the feedback, as I don't want to risk potentially confusing you, but overall this is a great essay! Only a few minor points, which I have mentioned
Spoiler
Question: Audiences are not only entertained; they are made to engage with the social concerns explored in plays.’
Discuss this view with reference to your study and experience of TWO of the texts set for study
Contemporary Australian theatre practice presents a variety of social concerns to audiences in an engaging manner. Good, but I'd try to present a bit more of an argument here, rather than just restating the statement. Maybe mention why? Why do plays attempt to do this? What is their purpose? This is due to the variety of styles and conventions that are combined to have an emotional yet thought provoking effect on the audience. Stolen, by Jane Harrison explores the various aspects of the stolen generations, whilst Lally Katz's Neighbourhood watch reveals the issues faced within suburban Australian society. Therefore the issues presented are able to be communicated to audiences whilst they are also entertained. Again, good, but there isn't much mention of your own workshopping experience with the plays. How did YOU present social concerns in an engaging matter within your plays? What are key features of your own performances that contribute to this? Remember that drama essays aren't like normal essays, they want you to visualise your own experience with the texts as well, and I think that should be referenced in your introduction.
In Stolen, the indigenous experience is explored through the episodic structure and non-naturalistic style. This allows for transformations in time, place and character to represent the experiences of the five children equally. By doing so, the different aspects of the stolen generations are conveyed. This is highly engaging and thought provoking as seen in class where a group of classmates acted out the stories of each character silently very small point, but rather than "silently" maybe say with "limited dialogue"? Thats just a more "drama-ry" term if that makes sense,
and just makes the response look more sophisticated.. Only a single word was spoken for each character, emphasising their hardships in a seemingly simple way. Due to the non-naturalistic style they were able to seamlessly transform in character to produce a highly engaging theatrical piece that highlighted the concerns of the indigenous community. I think a bit more context as to what the hardships the characters faced actually were would be good. Each experience is unique, and that is something that Jane Harrison attempts to convey, that there isn't just one "universal experience", however that they were "universally affected". You don't have to go really in depth into how each character was affected, but a bit more insight would be good, especially as it then sets up your other paragraph nicely.
One aspect of the stolen generation experience conveyed is the abuse of indigenous children. This is conveyed in an entertaining the word entertaining seems a bit out of place here, considering the seriousness of your first sentence. I'd consider revising - the point you are making is fine, it just looks a bit odd to say that they were conveying abuse in an "entertaining" way, so i'd rephrase it somehow. way through the use of the "patty cake game". The cheery and innocent tone juxtaposes the sinister nature behind the lyrics and dialogue such as "I promised not to tell" This is better. When it is Jimmy who has been abused, the use of silence in this reoccurring scene has a powerful impact on the audience as the use of cultural reference and song is able to instil a sense of unease Great! Love how you brought in the audience experience here.. In class, this became evident through the rehearsed reading of "cleaning routine 2" in which the children circled an authorities figure standing on a block. The uplifting tune of the "Happy little vegemites" parody also reveals the sinister nature of the aboriginal struggle by masking their inequalities with white consumerist culture fantastic point!. As an audience member, I found this convention of song to create an engaging yet tense atmosphere I want you to go a bit further here, why did it make you feel this way personally?. Thus, the ideas of abuse and inequality as a part of the indigenous struggle is portrayed to audiences in an entertaining way whilst also evoking thought as to the social concerns of the country.
In Neighbourhood Watch just letting you know I didn't study this text, so I'll only be focusing on structure from here, not content!, the experiences of the characters are seen to influence their present relationships with each other, allowing for the convey all of social concerns which face society. The staging and production elements establish how the present is a combination of individual experiences, as seen in the 2017 Monkey Baa theatre company performance. In this performance, when the characters were taken into Ana's world war 2 life, the lighting is green with variations of blue and purple also. This contrasts the hot pink lighting used for Catherine's fantasies with Martain. Since green and pink lighting combines to make white, the white light of the street setting where Ana and Catherine's worlds meet conveys the unification of two people, that are products of their past, and bring unique experiences to a community. This, therefore, allows for a portrayal of the social issues that haunt each character. I'd like your response to be a bit more "theatrical". That may sound weird, and I'm not asking you to use colloquial language, but I think you could use imagery more effectively. Describe the setting of the scene using more vivid imagery - put the marker in the space.
The issue of abortion is one such issue that has influenced Ana's present bring your first sentence back to the question more - ie. use language from the statement.. This, like in Stolen, is presented through the use of song. The uplifting tune contrast with the meaning behind the lyrics "All it cost von hundred egg to cut you free from me", which reveals the idea of abortion in an entertaining yet unsettling manner why is it unsettling? Juxtaposition - could maybe allude to Brecht here if it relates? I don't know, cos I don't know the text, but he'd often use break up tension with happy songs to create a disconcerting atmosphere.. Humour is also used throughout the play to convey issues such as this in a similar way. As a class we all performed to produce a sitcom like game show featuring the neighbourhood characters to emphasise the use of humour and its effects in conveying social concerns. Throughout this activity, Catherine's grieving was portrayed in a segment called "Is the phone ringing?" Which communicated to audiences her sense of loss in an entertaining way whilst also evoking thought. Again, I want you to describe the scene a bit more using imagery - I want to visualise your performance. Like Ana, Catherine has also lost people she loves, and this concern is expressed by Katz effectively. Hence, Australian theatre is able to both educate and entertain.
Contemporary Australian theatre, as explored in neighbourhood watch and Stolen, is able to communicate societal concerns in an engaging way. Stolen utilises its episodic structure , non-naturalistic style and conventions of song to reveal aspects of the stolen generations, such as abuse, in a thought provoking manner. Neighbourhood watch, utilises staging and lighting to communicate abortion and loss, and the fact that our relationships are a product of our past, through song and comedy. Therefore, we can see that the aim of contemporary Australian theatre is to educate, not solely to entertain.
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Topic: Drama: Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice essay (Read 5328 times)