'Tread with Soft Padded Feet... I Have Spread My Dreams Under Your Feet' - Conference Workshop - Drama Victoria Nov 2022

 

“Tread with Soft Padded Feet... I Have Spread My Dreams Under Your Feet”

By Dr.  Mark Eckersley

(Presented at the Drama Victoria State Conference in November 2022 at the University of Melbourne)

 Acknowledgement of Country

I and Drama Victoria would like to acknowledge the sovereignty of the Kulin nation and pays its respect to all Elders past, present and emerging.

 We acknowledge that we are on the lands of the Wurundjeri people who have been custodians of this land for thousands of years, and acknowledge and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. We acknowledge that the sovereignty of these lands were never ceded.

We also acknowledge the lands of any of the First Nations people on which participants in this workshop are working and living and we pay respects to Elders on those lands past, present and emerging.

 

Warning:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this presentation may contain references, images and the names of people who have passed away.

 

Introduction for differently-abled participants

My name is Dr. Mark Eckersley. For those of you who deaf or hard of hearing, most of the presentation is on the slides today in full form not note form.

For those of you who are blind or have low vision. I am a 50-60-year-old male of Anglo-Celtic cultural background who is of medium height. I do not have Australian First Nations heritage but I am and have been for many years, a staunch ally of all First Nations peoples. I have fairish skin, a round moon face, light brown hair and a receding hairline. I am wearing a blue shirt and today, some of the props I will use are black fabric and sand. I have over 26 years of experience working with Australian First Nations creatives at the First Australian Black Playwright’s Conference in 1986. 

Tread with Soft Padded Feet... I Have Spread My Dreams Under Your Feet”

The title of today’s workshop comes from two places. The first comes from a story that Aunty Maureen Watson used to often tell reminding us that all the creatures on this continent had soft padded feet before the arrival of the Europeans. The second part comes from W.B. Yeats’ 1899 poem ‘Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven’. The first reminds non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians to tread on these lands gently, with soft padded feet noting the impact of each step. The second part reminds us of the land and what lies beneath our feet. It infers what is passed on from one generation to the next. The generosity and fragility of what Australian First nations peoples have left as a path: an inheritance.

A Sense of Place

We should not ever just copy First Nations designs and styles. It would be great to employ a local First Nations artist and knowledge holder to create spaces and sets for our work. Most of the time we can’t. Throughout today’s workshop, I would like you to create an ongoing sense of place

 

You can do this through creating a backdrop or a floor set. If you are doing a backdrop or backdrop design, I want you to grab a piece of paper and some drawing or painting tools. If you are doing a floor drop or floor set, I want you to grab some sand, stones and/or some organic objects.

Where is you place?

Is your place where you are, where you have come from and/or the map of your journey? Create a picture or sand picture of where you are.

Acknowledgement of where you come from

Where do you come from? Who are the traditional owners of the lands you were born on? What is there totem or the animal totem they must protect? Add to the picture or sand picture.

Find a way to draw or symbolize what you want from today’s workshop

Find a way to draw or symbolize what you know about Australian First Nations perspectives and peoples or your journey related to Australian First Nations perspectives, cultures, histories and/or peoples

 

Critical Questions

How do we use and teach using the work and knowledges of Australian First Nations’ playwrights and creators?

How can we better embrace Australian First Nations’ perspectives and models of knowing?

How can we truly embody and embrace what the Yolngu languages call Makarrata, the process of peacemaking and justice or the coming together after a struggle?

How can we use and reflect on the title of this workshop “Tread with Soft Padded Feet...I Have Spread My Dreams Under Your Feet”? What are the dreams that Australian First Nations 'peoples have spread at our feet and how do we tread with soft padded feet?

 

What is Makarrata?

Peace after a dispute.

Spear penetrating the thigh – punishment to someone so they don’t cause harm anymore – calm them down.

Align the spirit to move forward.

It has been used for over 10,000 years as a way to resolve disputes

Captain Arthur Philip was the first Colonizer to be speared in a makarrata style process in 1790.

1979 - National Aboriginal Conference (NAC) adopted as a treaty of commitment

What is the spear that pierces you that you can learn from?

Add a ‘Makarrata’ to your picture or sand picture. Punishment & Resolution.

 

My Research Results

Some observations from my doctoral research and teachings:

-       Tendency for some non-Indigenous educators to aestheticize or objectify Australian First Nations cultures, relationships & representations through distancing or historicalisation

-       Non-Indigenous educators have a problem with cultural fusion and hybridization which creates heterotopias (Foucault 1986) dissipating First Nations content, interpersonal relationships, place and meaning. Foucault explains heterotopias as discursive or disturbing space, a place of othering. He sometimes represented this as looking into a sequence of mirrors trying to find the real image.

-       Teachers often did not engage in a process of consultation or engagement with First Nations knowledge holders. Foley (2003) advocates using Indigenous Standpoints

-       The reductionist nature of non-Indigenous pedagogy means that the holistic nature of ‘storymass’ (Casey 2012) is lost. This links story to land, communities and history

 

Yunkaporta’s (2009) 8 Stage Cultural Interface

 

Useful to help embrace more Australian First Nations ways of knowing is using Yunkaporta’s 8 Stage Cultural Interface. This pedagogy involves:

The Story

The Map

The Silence

The Signs

The Land

The Shape

Backtracking

The Homeworld

https://www.virtuallibrary.info/the-aboriginal-8-ways-of-learning-pedagogy.html

 

Axiology

Axiology are the principles and values behind something. First Nations Axiology is Relational. “It is not ‘I think therefore I am’ but rather ‘I am, therefore I belong, participate and share’ or ‘We are, therefore I am’”

Using Australian First Nations Plays to explore Australian First Nations Perspectives

Kevin Gilbert’s The Cherry Pickers (1968, 1971, 1988)

Kevin Gilbert started writing ‘The Cherry Pickers’ in 1968 while in jail. It premiered in 1971. In 1987, the play was workshopped at the First Australian Black Playwright’s Conference. Initially this speech was written for one actor/one character. At the conference, it was discussed how it should be done by multiple characters and show a group perspective. Get into groups and decide on a way to present this speech from a group or more relational perspective.

Kevin Gilbert ‘The Cherry Pickers’ 1988
(performed 1971)

BUNGAREE: (clown-like make-up, mimics the governor, speaks in a high theatrical voice)

In the words and manners of a time long gone

and have the pioneers each one confess

for each his part in the white founders’ lie

that bodies such as I did not exist…

the thought, the founding thought

sought out a ruse…

claiming this land was terra nullius

denying me my rightful sovereignty…

Words cloaked war and genocide. (Gilbert, 1988, p4)

 

Action: Act out the speech in groups, dividing up lines and words to give a sense of a relational or shared presentation.

Reflection: Which of the following was the strongest cultural interface element? The Story, The Map, The Silence, The Signs, The Land, The Shape, Backtracking and/or The Homeworld. Draw with sand or pen, the images and concepts that struck you most in this speech.

 

Non-First Nations Australians probably shouldn’t play First Nations Australians but they should represent them and the concepts represented

Robert J. Merritt ‘The Cake Man’ (First performed 1975) (Published 1978)

Look at the speech and decide how you can represent rather than simply play the character.

Epilogue

SWEET WILLIAM: (speaks directly to the audience)

… Forget all this shit about giving me back my culture… What I want, what I’m here for is… it’s something else again… You ever heard of the eurie-woman? Well listen, then, I’ll tell you what’s an eurie-woman, and what it is I want here. I was working at the Killara Station … (Wide-eyed) an’ all of a sudden I heerd this emu drumming somewhere close… It weren’t no emu, it was a woman… (Smiling sadly). Exac’ly what the eurie-woman was sayin’ to me… (Pause) Two realities. (Pause) An’ I lost one. (Pause) But I want it back … I need it back (Pause.) Not yours… mine.

Note: Originally this was done with Sweet William drunk with a bottle in hand. How does changing this help to undo stereotypes which surround Australian First Nations people? How could this speech be done to reinforce a positive modern representation of indigenous culture?

     Wesley Enoch & Deborah Mailman’s The Seven Stages of Grieving (1994)

Direct Address, Comic Theatre, Stand up Comedy

How to create The Silence & The Signs (Symbolism)?

Scene 12 Murri Gets a Dress

 (Delivered in the style of stand up comedy) Have you ever been black? You know when you wake up one morning and you’re black? Happened to me this morning. I was in the bathroom, looking in the mirror, “Hey, nice hair, beautiful black skin, white shiny teeth ... I’m BLACK!”

 You get a lot of attention, special treatment when you’re black. I’m in this expensive shop and there’s this guy next to me, nice hair, nice tie, nice suit, waving a nice big pump-you-full-of-holes semi-automatic gun in the air and the shop assistants are all looking at me. “Keep an eye on the black one ... eye on the black one.”

 OK, so I went to try on a dress and the shop assistant escorts me to the ‘special’ dressing room, the one equipped with video cameras, warning to shop lifters, a security guard, fucken sniffer dog ... ‘Get out of it’. Just so I don’t put anything I shouldn’t on my nice dress, nice hair, beautiful black skin and white shiny teeth...”

 

Leah Purcell ‘The Drover’s Wife’(2016)
The Land & The Shape

Find a way to represent The Land and The Shapes shown in this scene.

SCENE 8

The DROVER’S WIFE sees YADAKA’S body offstage, hanging from a snow gum. Silence.

DROVER’S WIFE: (to the dead YADAKA) I love the snow gum. It’s a stout trunk, strong… beautiful coloured patterns appear when wet, a gift from God. The sturdy tree’s limbs waiting to take the weight of winter… the weight of you.

Oh, to see these snow gums after the autumn shower… its this rare beauty that reminds me why I stay… a vision of beauty no more.

All I’ll see now is you, pale face, neck broke… just an inch more and your toe to the ground.

Finding space and place – The Children Came Back (2015) & Our Home, Our Heartbeat

Story - Start with story sharing – who are your heroes, which heroes look different, which heroes look like you?

Map – Briggs is a Yorta Yorta man. Find where the Yorta Yorta nation is. Find where the nations of different people in the story are. Map the different places where your heritage comes from.

Silence – Think in silence about some of the people mentioned. Take up a pose or statue that represents one of the people in the story. This can be extended to a ‘Night at the Museum’ game where the statues come to life and tell their story that has been frozen or silenced.

The Signs – either in a picture on sand or painted, draw a sign or symbol that represents different ‘small’ or ‘big pictures’ from the story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-wMbFntrTo.

     Jane Harrison ‘The Visitors’ 2020

What is The Shape (the form) and The Backtracking (Reflecting) that we need to do to give privilege and power to Australian First Nations voices?

Look at the short video which combines different scenes and aspects of the play. Then read or act out the short extract from the play.

https://www.moogahlin.org/thevisitors

GARY: Okay, Okay. Let’s observe them for a few minutes.

JACOB: Why don’t we measure their heads while we’re at it. (They just stare out… After a time…)

ALBERT: What have we learnt?

JACOB: Lot of bark in those nowees.

GARY: They appear to be watching us.

JOSEPH: Maybe they’re waiting us to welcome them? Do they have any elders on board?

GORDON: They have no elders…

WALTER: There are at least two clan groups.

     The Homeworld – Andrea James ‘Sunshine Super Girl’(2021)

The Homeworld is the local community. How do we embrace local legends and local knowledge?

SCENE 23 WALKABOUT WITH STRING

(EVONNE looks intently at the strings of her racquet, framing her face as she talks)

EVONNE: String. (She checks the tautness of the strings of her racquet)

It’s a powerful force that binds us together. String. It holds and binds us together. (The PLAYERS enter the court and perform ‘the women’s string making dance’. EVONNE joins in.)

Stringy bark, animal fur, human hair, grass.

It holds and binds us together.

Twine these strands together…

Your Homeworld

We are going to create a final group piece exploring and using lines from Australian First Nation’s playwrights.

Look at the backdrop and the floordrop or floor set you have created.

Choose a line or two you remember from those we have explored in the workshop.

Enter the space with the soft padded feet of the animals and peoples who have roamed on this land for over 60,000 years. Look at the landscape. Know this is the landscape of the dreams of generations of Australian First Nation’s peoples.

Speak you line or lines when you feel it is needed.

For more material and ideas visit my updates blogsite at: https://australianindigenousdrama.blogspot.com/2014/09/useful-resources-for-teaching.html

Or purchase a copy of my new book: Australian First Nations’ Drama.

Remember “Tread with Soft Padded Feet... I Have Spread My Dreams Under Your Feet”

More research at:

<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark-Eckersley-2">Mark Eckersley on ResearchGate</a>

 

 

Teaching Australian First Nations’ Perspectives – Pain and Pride

Teaching Australian First Nations’ Perspectives – Pain and Pride

 

The following materials were used as part of a workshop for Drama Victoria as part of the 2021 Jumpstart Conference on February 20^th, 2021. It covers activities for teachers to approach addressing January 26^th and Invasion/ Survival Day.

 

Acknowledgement of Country

•       I would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people who are the Traditional Custodians of this Land. I would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present of the Kulin Nation and extend that respect to other Indigenous Australians present.

•       I would like to show my respect and Acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Land, of Elders past and present, other participants are gathering.

Introduction

First Nation Australians have a saying ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’. This suggests that time does not matter and that Indigenous Australians have a sense of place and deserve a recognition that goes beyond time.

•       65,000 - 50,000 years ago - The minimum widely accepted timeframe for the arrival of humans in Australia is placed at least 50,000 years ago. Many sites dating from this time period have been excavated. In Arnhem Land the Malakunanja II rock shelter has been dated to around 65,000 years old. First Nations people in Australia certainly have the longest continuous living culture in the world. 

•       40,000 years ago - First Nations peoples were living throughout Australian in 300-500 distinct groups with different cultures and languages.

•       10,000 years ago - Agricultural and aqua-cultural activities start in many different First Nations in Australia.

•       January 26^th can be a date of division and pain for many – Drama can be used for truth & reconciliation

 

Australian First Nations Peoples Timeline

https://ccca.com.au/Frontend/Content/Ccca/CCCA_Factsheet_Timeline.pdf

 

The story of Australia doesn’t start on January 26, 1788 

•       First Nations peoples have called Australia home since ancient times, making them custodians of the world’s oldest living culture.

Myths about Australia Day

•       It's the day Australia was made a nation. WRONG - On 1 January 1901, after legislation was passed in British Parliament,

•       The day Captain Cook first saw Botany Bay. WRONG - On April 19th  1770, Cook encountered the east coast  

•       It's the day Australia became Independent from the United Kingdom. WRONG  - Australia didn’t become independent from the UK until 3 March 1986. 

•       It's the day when the First Fleet arrived in Australia. WRONG  - Technically this is also wrong. The First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay on January 18th and decided it was unsuitable for settlement. They then travelled further north and arrived in Port Jackson, a.k.a. Sydney Harbour on January 25^th.

•       We have always celebrated Australia Day. WRONG - Australia Day, in its current form, has only existed since 1994. The day was originally referred to as Foundation Day or First landing day by ex-convicts and colonists. In 1915, Australia Day was held on July 30th. After WWII many states started to adopt the name Australia Day but it wasn’t until 1994 that it was adopted as a national holiday.

What are the alternatives?

• January 1 - it’s the day the Commonwealth of Australia came into being in 1901.
• January 28th - Some councils in Australia have done this and call it One Day. January 26th or 27th becomes a day of memory 
• March 3rd - the day Australia officially cut legal ties with the British. While we're still a part of the Commonwealth, it's as close as we can get to an Independence Day without becoming a republic.
• March 12th - On this date in 1913, Canberra was officially named and Australia's capital city was born.
• May 8 - M8 - It can use the unifying colloquial language phrase “Mate”
• May 9 - In 1901, Australia became a self-governing body on this date and in 1927, the federal parliament officially shifted to Canberra and on this date, the current Parliament House in Canberra was opened.
• May 27 - - On this date in 1967, Australia held a referendum to include Indigenous Australians in the census count and to give Federal Parliament the power to specifically legislate for them. It is a day of reconciliation and it also kicks off National Reconciliation Week every year.
• July 30 - On this date in 1915 the first Australia Day was celebrated to rally support for troops in World War I

 

Activity 1 - Night at the Museum Game – Survival Day

- One student is the 'guard' and the other students are the exhibits. These exhibits initially show poses that celebrate colonisation. The students spread out throughout the room and must hold a pose that shows the events of colonisation. When the guard is not looking, the exhibits move into poses that show the real story or events or poses that show the pride and achievements of First Nations Australians. The guard wanders through the exhibits trying to catch people moving. The statues/ exhibits must move (I usually tell them they have to change sides of the room or something) but they have to do it when the guard is looking at others or has his or her back turned. The game can always start with a teacher as the guard. Some good images of pride can be taken from images in Briggs’ picture book or his song ‘Our Home, Our Heartbeat’. 

 

Activity 2 - Theatre of the Oppressed and Image Theatre - Invasion Day Lesson

Image Theatre usually involved presenting images of a situation or process of oppression. The still images normally can involve:

-         An Image of the situation of oppression

-         An Image of what causes the oppression

-         An Image of the Solution or other possible solutions

Image Theatre is an ensemble's collective visual perspective on an issue that is being dramatically created. The idea underlying Image Theatre is that a picture paints a thousand words and that our over-reliance on words can confuse or muddle issues rather than clarify them. Boal believes our bodies can short-circuit the censorship of the brain which he often refers to as the ‘Cop in the Head’. Image Theatre physicalizes or makes dynamic physical transitions from one moment of enacted theatrical oppression to another. Boal believed these transitions provide a way for the spec-actors to question, discuss and analyse and try to solve the problem.

 

The workshop begins with theatre games and activities which focus on building basic performance tools such as learning to use the voice, body, and imagination as well as skills such as collaboration, listening, observation, improvisation, and story-telling. These activities also work to break down boundaries in order to create a safe and trusted group dynamic. Once these have been established, the next step is to look at the issue of January 26th and the myths surrounding this day. The focus for the first thirty minutes of this workshop was the challenge of breaking down the student barriers but giving them a chance to express their opinions.

 

As soon as the group was relaxed, the concepts of Power and Oppression are introduced. One exercise which works well to show this is called Handshake Interpretation. This explores power, relationships and the way we view power while also introducing the idea of Image Theatre and Freeze Framing action. The exercise begins with two people shaking hands and freezing the pose. The audience speculates about what sort of relationship the couple may have, who has the power in the relationship, and the possible situation. The students acting in the freeze frame can also be given a relationship involving First nations people and non-Indigenous Australians. These can be secret and a scenario and the audience has to guess what the relationship is and who has the power. If this seems to be working well then an audience member can come into the frozen scene as a spect-actor and replace the person who has less power and find a way to show that the ‘oppressed’ can show more power in the relationship presented.

 

In pairs, the students rehearse a scene that shows Power and Oppression. One student is the Oppressor and one is the Oppressed. Homework, Peer group issues and playground issues work well for school students. For college students, issues of home life or life in a shared house or dorm work well. The participants decide who will play each role first and mutually agree on a conflict scenario before beginning the improvisational scene. The oppressor can reply in the scene with an expression of an attempt to express their opinion with a statements such as “Yes, but…”

 

Once the students grasped the idea of oppression, larger social scenarios can be attempted. Then the students can try to show the scenario in three still images – The Situation, the Cause and the Solution. Initially the Solution presented in the scene of the act of Oppression should be shown. The audience then act as spect-actors to suggest, or sculpt the actors or come up and replace an actor to show a different solution that would end the Oppression.

 

 

First Nations - History, Belonging and Metaphor

Learning Goals

 

To teach students about First Nations history and performance elements and how to introduce metaphor into the telling of a story. To encourage students to use their own life and relationships to create metaphoric stories. To introduce rhythmic forms which are part of some indigenous drama forms.

Learning Sequence

Pairwork

Teacher demonstration (or organise a student to demonstrate)

Graphic Representation

Practice with feedback

Larger group work

Materials

Marker Pens (1 per pair)

A3 paper (1 per student)

 

Evaluation

Evaluation for this task should be primarily through encouraging individual and group feedback. Set up the guidelines for positive feedback and owning feedback through 'I' statements e.g. I liked it when...I enjoyed it when... I connected to... DO NOT give written evaluation and feedback to this activity since the stories, people and images used are personal and it is not an activity to assess but rather one to build skills.

1. Imagine a relative, friend or event that although long past, has shaped the way you are and what you have become. Facing a partner, attempt to tell a short story or anecdote about this relative, friend or event and then swap over e.g. My father was a railway linesman and he travelled large distances organising laying train tracks in the outback. When they made the trains electric in Brisbane, he put up the electrical power cables to power the electric trains. 

2. Now re-tell your partner the same story using metaphoric rather than literal language. Start the story by giving a metaphoric label to the person involved. Students may need help with this. e.g. My Father, the Serpent Tamer. He would lay huge cages across the desert to make the Great Rainbow Serpent travel this way and that and go wherever he wanted it to go. In the big place of lights, he built a special device to drive lightning through the Rainbow Serpent to make it travel faster and through caves and over hills. My Father, the Serpent Tamer.

Extension: Tell the story in almost song-like tones: dwelling on the sounds and words you speak. Allow most words to find the rhythm and tone that makes them song-like. Also remember to let your voice and thoughts do the work (so try to cut hand and facial gestures to a bare minimum).

3. The group starts a tapping rhythm or chant. In turn each member of the group sings a short story about where they come from. You can centre it on a person, a description or an event. Try to inject some energy and drama to the activities. Remember that you can be metaphoric, reality is not as important as giving the 'sense' or 'feel' of the place. The group keeps the rhythm or chant going until each person has shared their story of their 'place'.

4. Get some members of the group to sing a children's song, popular song or ballad in their native language or dialect or in a different language or a language you don't know. The rest of the members try to learn the song or part of the song.

 

Useful Resources for Teaching Australian First Nations’ Perspectives

ABC Splash Education Website

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

http://splash.abc.net.au/topic/-/t/494038/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-histories-and-cultures

Bangarra Dance Company

Indigenous Dance Company.
http://bangarra.com.au/

Creativespirits

Aboriginal Culture

http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/?/aboriginalculture

Drama Victoria

Bell-Wykes, K., Forgasz, R. & Hradsky, R. (2020). Teaching First Nations Content and Concepts in the Drama Classroom - Advice for Teachers in Victorian Schools. Drama Victoria, Ilbijerri Theatre Company & Monash University. 

http://www.dramavictoria.vic.edu.au/public/51/files/Teaching%20First%20Nations%20Content%20and%20Concepts_VAEAI%20endorsed.pdf

Eckersley, Mark. (2012). Australian Indigenous Drama. Tasman Press. Altona.

Australian Indigenous Drama Blog
http://australianindigenousdrama.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/australian-indigenous-drama-introduction.html

 Monash University

Bell-Wykes, K., Forgasz, R. & Hradsky, R. (2020). Teaching for Reconciliation in your Classroom. Monash University. 

https://www.monash.edu/education/teachspace/articles/teaching-for-reconciliation-in-your-classroom

SBS. NITV. Ten Things You Should Know About January 26

https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/10-things-you-should-know-about-january-26/41db81cb-5a5f-4db6-a9d4-cc88ccb989e1?cid=inbody%3Ado-you-know-what-aboriginal-land-youre-on-today

Songlines Website

https://teachik.com/songlines/

Yarra Healing. 2012. ‘Unit 7 Changing Lives Changing Ways’ on Teaching and Learning page (Website). CEO Melbourne (Catholic Education Organisation, Melbourne). Melbourne. 

http://www.yarrahealing.catholic.edu.au/teaching-learning/index.cfm?loadref=108

Killing Dead White Men - Privileging Indigenous Drama

Killing Dead White Men

Dr. Mark Eckersley

(Part of a Workshop and Paper delivered at 2019 Drama Victoria State Conference

‘Unity: Exploring diversity and inclusion in drama education’

Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, December 2019)

Tanderrum - Acknowledgement of Country

I would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people and the peoples of the Kulin Nation who are the Traditional Custodians of this Land. I would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present of the Kulin Nation and extend that respect to other Indigenous Australians peoples present.

In the spirit of diversity and unity under which this conference is titled, I would like to acknowledge the individual groups who are and were caretakers to this land on which we stand. When Europeans first colonised this land we stand on, it was occupied and cared for by five language groups often known as the Kulin (Koolin) nation of peoples these are:

·       Woiwurrung (Woy-wur-rung) - The Wurundjeri People

·       Boonerwrung (Bun-er-rong) - The Boonerwrung People

·       Wathaurong (Wath-er-rong) - The Wathaurong People

·       Taungerong (Tung-ger-rong) - The Taungerong People

·       Dja Dja Wrung (Jar-Jar wrung) - The Jaara People

In the spirit of the 'Uluru Statement of the Heart', I hope I can in this workshop give ‘Voice’ to those who have been silenced, reveal ‘Truth’ where it has been concealed and endorse ‘Treaty’ as we move forward to understanding and justice.

What is wrong with the picture?

Women make up approximately 49.6% of the world’s population (Ritchie & Roser 2019). 5% of the world’s population is Indigenous (World Bank 2019)

What's the picture and the truth in Theatre and Drama

Worldwide – Female Directors 17%, Female Playwrights 21%, Actresses 40%, Female Managers/Producers/Artistic Director 5%, Female Audience 56% estimated Indigenous Combined 1% (European Theatre Convention 2015 & Lock 2018)

England – Female Artistic Directors 13% (2018), Playwrights 35%, Actresses 38%, Female Audiences 68%, Indigenous figures not available (Pascal 2018 & Freestone 2012)

Australia

2012 – Female Directors 16%, Female Playwrights 14% (Lally 2012)
A program was undertaken by state governments and federal government bodies in Australia to address this inequality in Australia. By 2019, the picture had changed significantly.

2019 – Female Directors 58%, Female Playwrights 47%, Female Actors 52%, Female Managers/Producers 12%, Female Audiences - 52% Victoria – Overall Cultural market & Indigenous Australian Combined 5% (Howard 2019 & Arts Victoria 2014)
Within education, we think of ourselves as progressive but often we reinforce gender inequality and stereotypes. Here are some Australian statistics from Victoria on examination level programs.

VCE Theatre Studies & Drama Lists and productions -2001-2019 (VCAA 2019)

184 plays and productions – Female Directors, 29%, Female Playwrights 30% av., Indigenous 4%

Conclusion - Women and Indigenous people are disproportionately underrepresented and culturally underrepresented in theatre and educational theatre endeavours both in Australia and overseas. One way to address this is for us as educators to monitor and use self-imposed quotas to consciously address these gender and cultural inequities.

Voice & Treaty

u  Dramaturgy seemed motherless for quite some time: born into a family, the theatre, in which women initially had no role except as narrowly drawn characters performed by men, for men, in plays written by men, expressing male values before an audience that was not exclusively male. Yet drama has always has a mother, it just has chosen to forget its family and its mother.

u  Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara peoples use Awelye – body painting of symbols in preparation for storytelling, ritual and performance. Below is the symbol for ‘Women’:

u  Create a circle. Sand and stones are used to create the space for exploration & performance

Know my Name, Say my Name

As an exercise 10 pictures or photographs of male and female playwrights and performance makers were shown to the participants made up of drama teachers and lecturers in drama. Of the five males shown a recognition rate of 85% was evident. Of the females shown, the recognition rate was 5%. The issue of how to value and recognize females in theatre was discussed.

Creating a New Dreamtime – recognizing the people in our lives

Activity - The New Dreamtime – Giving Voice

u  Look at all the people in the circle slowly. Think that they have stories and backgrounds which are rich and you don't know about. Now turn your attention inward.

u  Think of a woman who was important to making who your are.

u  Give a special label to mythologize them. Mythologize this woman.

u  Now think of a way you could tell the story of this woman to the group.

u  Example: "Mother, the Spirit Weaver. She was a magician. She gathered a group of young people and gathered their energy and spirits and had them dance and move and tell their stories and then she threw their dreams into a space and the images, stories and dreams would come to life. My Mother, the Spirit Weaver."

Jane Harrison (Australian Indigenous) b. 1960 – Realism & Documentary Drama

Stolen (2003)

ACTIVITY- Abuse in Foster Homes Read the following text on Page 8.  Have the group read the Children as a group character. Have one student play Ruby.

CHILDREN: What did he give to ya?

RUBY: Gave me a doll.

CHILDREN: (They clap) He gave her a doll. What else did ya do? (They stop clapping).

RUBY: I promised not to tell. JIMMY: Oh, Ruby!

1. Write a passage on the internal conflict going on within Ruby in this scene.
2. Write and share how you would stage this section of the play to highlight Ruby’s tumultuous inner life.
3. Write a page discussing the importance of this play to a contemporary audience in light of increasing awareness of prejudice against First nations and black people throughout the world.

Conclusion

u  The first step to privileging Feminist and Indigenous drama is to know and use female and Indigenous writers, directors, theorists, theatre companies and the Indigenous writers, directors, theorists, theatre companies

u  One way for teachers to address the gender and cultural imbalance is to educate themselves on the diversity out there

u  Another way is for teachers to self-impose quotas – i.e. 50% of the plays I read, do and see with students should be by females, 10% of the plays I read, do and see with students should be by Indigenous writers and groups

u  Teachers should educate themselves on the theories, practitioners and styles developed by female and indigenous individuals and groups (I have included some texts and websites in the bibliography to start with.

Post-script:

In a very interesting interview on the Australia's ABC Radio program The Stage Show (ABC, June 30, 2020), Ilbijerri Theatre Company's Artistic Director Rachael Maza talked to Michael Cathcart about the ground that Blak Theatre stands on and her personal history of Indigenous Australian drama as an Indigenous woman. This interview draws on experience and talks about the way Indigenous Australian theatre and drama voices and expresses itself as celebration, expression and a witnessing of Indigenous Australian histories, stories and cultures. 

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-stage-show/rachael-maza-ilbijerri-august-wilson-penumbra-theatre-minnesota/12402398

Bibliography

ABC. June 30, 2020. 'The Ground on Which Black Companies Stand'. The Stage Show. ABC Radio: Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-stage-show/rachael-maza-ilbijerri-august-wilson-penumbra-theatre-minnesota/12402398

Arts Victoria. April 2014. Audience Atlas Victoria. Arts Victoria, State Government of Victoria: Melbourne. Retrieved from

https://creative.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/56308/Arts_Vic_v96-8.pdf

European Theatre Convention. 2015. Audiences for European Theatre. Imprint Publications: London. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/europeantheatreconvention/docs/etc_study_european_theatre_audience

Eckersley, M. 2019. Killing Dead White Men – The History of female Theatre and Theatre Makers. [Blog] Retrieved from https://markeckersleywomenstheatre.blogspot.com/2019/09/killing-dead-white-men-female.html

Eckersley, M. 2014. Australian Indigenous Drama. [Book & Blog] Retrieved from https://australianindigenousdrama.blogspot.com/2014/03/australian-indigenous-drama-introduction.html

Freestone, E. Dec. 10 2012. ‘Women in Theatre’. The Guardian. The Guardian: London. Retrieved from

https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/dec/10/women-in-theatre-research-full-results

Howard, J. April 13, 2019. How Australian Theatre Fixed its Gender Imbalance in a Decade. Retrieved from

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-13/australian-theatre-fixed-its-gender-imbalance-in-a-decade/10942452

Keyssar, H. 1990. Feminist Theatre. Palgrave Macmillan: London.

Lally, E. 2012. Women in Theatre – A Research Report and Action Plan for the Australia Council for the Arts. Australia Council: Surry Hills, NSW. April 2012. Retrieved from https://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/workspace/uploads/files/research/women-in-theatre-april-2012-54325827577ea.pdf

Lionheart Theatre. January 28, 2016. Five Female Playwrights to Remember. Retrieved from https://lionhearttheatre.org/5-female-playwrights-to-remember__trashed/
Lock, S. August 27, 2015. Theater and Broadway in the U.S. – Statistics and Facts. Statista: New York. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/topics/1299/theatre-and-broadway/

Nolan, Y. 2015. Medicine Shows – Indigenous Performance Culture. Playwrights Canada Press: Toronto.

Pascal, J. April 24, 2018. ‘Woman are being excluded from the Stage: Its Time for Quotas’. The Guardian. The Guardian: London. Retrieved from

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/24/women-theatre-quotas-stage-gender

Ritchie, H. & Roser, M. 2019. Gender Ratio. Our World in Data: Oxford, UK. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/gender-ratio

VCAA. 2019. VCE Drama Examination Past Papers. VCAA: Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/vce-assessment/past-examinations/Pages/Drama.aspx

VCAA. 2019. VCE Theatre Studies Past Papers. VCAA: Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/vce-assessment/past-examinations/Pages/Theatre-Studies.aspx

World Bank. 2019. Indigenous Peoples. World Bank. Retrieved from

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/indigenouspeoples

Women’s Museum of California. (2017). Get Thee to a Stage – A Brief History of Women in the Theater. Women’s Museum of California: San Diego, CA. Retrieved from

https://womensmuseum.wordpress.com/2017/09/06/get-thee-to-a-stage-a-brief-history-of-women-in-the-theater/