THEATRE METHODS 04
Creative Presentations

Rebecca Lister (Australia)

       Rebecca has worked for many years in community theatre; writing plays for community groups, political and social causes and student productions; and working as an actor, director and teacher. She has also worked for small professional ensemble groups as a writer, director and actor. 
       She has worked as a theatre teacher for 15 years and during that time has developed her own distinct teaching style based on devising new work with groups of people using writing and theatre improvisation techniques. Using these techniques she has written a number of plays including "Bloodlines" (1991), "Let's Talk About Sex" (1993), "Coming Clean" (1991), "Calling All Angels" (1999), "Hope" (2001) and "Gloucester Street" (2003). 
       In 2002 she was awarded the Playworks Regional Playwrights Mentorship. During the mentorship she wrote "If I Should Die Before I Wake" which was professionally read at the inaugural Daylesford Writers Festival 2002. "If I Should Die Before I Wake" is Rebecca's first independent play and has been profiled in #4 - 30 New Scripts from the Australian Script Centre, 2003. 
       Her short play "Left" was recently awarded second prize in the 2003 Glen Eira Literary Awards in the National Short Stage Play section. "Left" was also chosen for inclusion in the program at the 2003 North American Last Frontier Playwrights Conference in Alaska. 
       She has been involved in the development of two arts company's - the nationally successful community arts company Feral Arts, Qld. and a small independent theatre company in rural Victoria - Salamander Theatre. 
       Rebecca lives and works in the small town of Daylesford which is situated about 100 kilometres North West of Melbourne. In 2004 she hopes to attend the North American Last Frontier Playwrights Conference in Alaska and to also participate in the International University Global Theatre Experience Theatre Methods 4 festival in Malpils, Latvia.

C.V. EXTRACT

PLAYWRIGHT
2003: "Leaving", Current work in progress. Four monologues based on the story of a mother who has chosen to leave her partner and child. 2003: "Exorcising the Demons", Current work in progress. Loosely based on the illegal raffle conducted by the Daylesford Demons Football club. 2003: "Gloucester Street", for the No Place Like Home Community Youth Theatre Project, Daylesford, funded by the RECONNECT program, an initiative of the Federal Government. 2002: "Left" part of theatre event ROOM, Continental House, Hepburn Springs. Fifteen-minute monologue. "Left" will be used as the first part of the play "Leaving".
2001: "Hope", Daylesford Primary School, Artist in Residence Program. Arts Victoria and DEET Funded.
2001: "In Darkness and in Secrecy", Salamander Theatre. Opened at The Old Castlemaine Gaol for the Castlemaine Fringe Festival, followed by a Victorian Central Highlands Tour. Arts Victoria Funded. Currently adapting this piece of work for radio.
1999: "Calling All Angels", Salamander Theatre. Community show, involving 40 locals, staged on the banks of Lake Daylesford. Community Funded.
1999: "The Gift", Salamander Theatre. Historical story from the Swiss Italian Community. Company Funded. Performed for the 1999 Swiss Italian Festa.
1999: "Coming Clean", Wild Card Players. Community Show commissioned by the Wild Card Players, Women's Community Theatre Collective, Hepburn Shire. Performed the 1999 Swiss Italian Festa.
1998: "Hoopla" and "Less Princess, More Warrior". Children's theatre. Performed at The Powerhouse Art Space, Daylesford.
1992/93: "Let's Talk About Sex", Young women's community video project for Ruby Gaea House - Darwin Centre Against Rape. Australia Council Funded.
1991: Co-Writer, "Bloodlines", Feral Arts, Qld. (With Kev Carmody and Ruby Red) Community show. Australia Council and Arts Qld. funded.

THEATRE AND SCRIPT WRITING TEACHER
2002: Speech and Drama Tutor, Private classes for primary and secondary students.
2002: Drama Teacher - sessional, Daylesford Primary School.
2001: Artist in Residence, Daylesford Primary School.
2001/2000/1999/1998: Drama Tutor, "Drama Classes for children, teenagers and adults", Daylesford Neighbourhood House and Learning Centre.
1992: Theatre and Visual Arts Tutor, Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre, Darwin.
1992: Theatre Tutor, Corrugated Iron Youth Theatre Company, Darwin. 1992: Artsworker, Feral Arts. Two projects with Aboriginal Communities in Far North West Queensland.

TERTIARY TEACHING POSITIONS
2001: Lecturer/Tutor, Victoria University of Technology, Footscray. Masters of Education in Experiential Learning - Community Arts Stream.
1996: Research Assistant, "Young People's Sexual Health Project" La Trobe University.
1996: Tutor, Communications, School of Social Justice, Humanities Department, Griffith University, Queensland.
1996: Tutor, Introduction to Disadvantage, Social Work Department, University of Queensland, St Lucia.

Improvisation and Writing Workshop

       WORKSHOP: How to use improvisation and spontaneity writing exercises and theatre techniques in order to devise and develop new pieces of theatre within a group context.  The workshop will look specifically at the youth theatre play "Gloucester Street" which was devised using these techniques.  Participants will be involved in a series of writing and performance exercises.  It is hoped that at the end of the three hour workshop that the participants will have developed a small piece of theatre for performance.  
        AIM: The aim of this workshop is to present participants with a variety of simple writing and improvisation exercises which can be used to develop new pieces of theatre within a group structure.  The second stage will be to examine how these beginning pieces of theatre can then be further developed by a playwright, director and actors in order to produce a full length piece.
       SUITABLE FOR: The workshop will be suitable for anyone who works with, or is interested in working on projects where the participants determine the content of the piece.  This could include youth theatre projects, community arts projects, small ensemble groups and professional theatre companies who devise their own work.
       WORKSHOP PLAN:
- Introduction
- Warm up exercises
- Series of improvisation writing exercises using - poetry, dialogue and monologue - both with the individual and the group
- Examination of how these pieces could be staged
- Examination of how this process worked with the development of the play "Gloucester Street"
- Move the written work into performance
- End workshop with a small performance