Abstract
Background
No Worries, written by David Holman, is centered on a ten-year-old girl, Matilda, whose life is completely turned upside down when her parents are forced to move to the city from the country due to an extensive period of drought. It also follows a young Vietnamese “boat person” who is thrust into a life of “Australiana,” a life which she knows nothing about. My role as a director of this WAAPA production was to investigate the ways in which the actors could highlight and explore the play’s central themes of isolation, dissimulation and racism, whilst still keeping in line with the primary intentions of Holman’s play which was originally developed as an Australian Theatre In Education piece aimed at school children.
Contribution
No Worries is a thought provoking representation of Australian identity and dissimulation of cultures. The play aims to promote open dialogue and shed light on the plays core themes but not foreclose on any one view of the issues. I developed the piece innovatively in two ways. Firstly, by exploring the issues in a more realistic, direct and honest way. Secondly, our performance was innovative in its reframing as a show for adults. This was enhanced by, as the director, reflecting on my own experiences growing up as a migrant Australian, and both myself and the actors researching extensively on how others, in similar positions to the characters in the play, might have dealt with comparable obstacles of racism and dissimulation in a foreign country.
Significance
No Worries was preformed in the Enright Theatre at WAAPA to six sold out performances. As the play was performed by the WAAPA 2nd year acting students, it was not open for critical review, however the shows sold every night and the verbal feedback was favourable and humbling.
No Worries, written by David Holman, is centered on a ten-year-old girl, Matilda, whose life is completely turned upside down when her parents are forced to move to the city from the country due to an extensive period of drought. It also follows a young Vietnamese “boat person” who is thrust into a life of “Australiana,” a life which she knows nothing about. My role as a director of this WAAPA production was to investigate the ways in which the actors could highlight and explore the play’s central themes of isolation, dissimulation and racism, whilst still keeping in line with the primary intentions of Holman’s play which was originally developed as an Australian Theatre In Education piece aimed at school children.
Contribution
No Worries is a thought provoking representation of Australian identity and dissimulation of cultures. The play aims to promote open dialogue and shed light on the plays core themes but not foreclose on any one view of the issues. I developed the piece innovatively in two ways. Firstly, by exploring the issues in a more realistic, direct and honest way. Secondly, our performance was innovative in its reframing as a show for adults. This was enhanced by, as the director, reflecting on my own experiences growing up as a migrant Australian, and both myself and the actors researching extensively on how others, in similar positions to the characters in the play, might have dealt with comparable obstacles of racism and dissimulation in a foreign country.
Significance
No Worries was preformed in the Enright Theatre at WAAPA to six sold out performances. As the play was performed by the WAAPA 2nd year acting students, it was not open for critical review, however the shows sold every night and the verbal feedback was favourable and humbling.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
| Event | No Worries - The Enright Theatre, Perth, Australia Duration: 04 May 2013 → 09 May 2013 |