Cirrus@Austlit

'This article explores the evolution of a verbatim play, 'Seeking Joe Civilian', from its origins as an idea to its execution as a rehearsed performed reading in its first draft form. The play began as a conventional telling of the Anzac story in order to attract funding; it failed to do so. Still in proposal form, the decision was taken to continue with the idea but to adapt it to what was perceived as a shift in public consciousness over the period referred to as the Anzac century. This was a period of massive political investment in the Arts and communities designed to generate stories and events that would celebrate the national identity located within the Anzac story as told from a World War I perspective.' 

'The intention was to diffuse the Anzac story, to relegate it to the past and foreground modern soldiers. But in the performed reading this did not happen. The Anzac story proved resilient; in our imaginations our modern soldiers, as our actors, became universal. The Anzac story embraced our modern soldiers as well. But what the play did expose was an even more significant intervention: the personal opportunism embedded in politically-driven campaigns of commemoration.' (Abstract)

'Using a mixed methods approach this thesis explores the construction and dissemination of a cross-cultural play within the Australian context. The experience of developing and performing this play confirms, I believe, the valuable contribution performance could make to the contentious domain of competing epistemologies within decolonizing research methodology.'

'Performance is able to interrogate the encrypted language buried within the emotionally complex terrain of decolonizing intent. By celebrating through story a shared humanity, performance can demonstrate both the on-going pain and shame of shared history and the possibility of moving beyond the negative towards a more positive collective future. Although this study did not find a reconciliation narrative, it did locate the beginning of one. Through an exploration of the Myall Creek massacre of 1838 and the Memorial erected to commemorate it 162 years after the event, this study found a narrative about the power of acknowledgement. This study also suggests that the cultural impediments to reconciliation lie within five persistent narratives intrinsic to the Australian colonization process.'

'Predominantly reliant on performance ethnography as the principle research methodology, the play at the heart of this research endeavour, Today We’re Alive, is verbatim theatre, where only the words that were spoken in the field and extracts of documents in the public domain contribute to the performance text. The voices that tell this story include Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal members of the Myall Creek Memorial Committee, descendants of massacre survivors, descendants of the massacre perpetrators and informed others recommended to me in the field. The first draft of the play was taken back to the primary research field to a community hall near the massacre site over 600 kilometres from Sydney for a performed reading. The six actor/co-researchers, three Aboriginal and three non-Aboriginal performers, delivered a performance that exceeded all expectations.'

'Several factors, I believe, influenced this outcome. Therefore this draft of the play is embedded in the body of this thesis, as the script and the performance of it are critical to the analysis of the research findings.' (Source: Abstract. http://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/doctoral_studies/completed_theses/2014/Wilkinson.shtml. Viewed 08/06/2016)

'The Myall Creek Massacre of 1838 was a significant event in Australia's history. For the first time, the white perpetrators of the systematic murder of Aboriginal people were tried and convicted of their crimes. Today We're Alive is a verbatim play about the efforts, over 100 years later, to create a fitting memorial to this event, which led to a powerful experience of reconciliation and healing for the descendants of the victims and murderers alike.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Life is never simple for single mum Tori Konrad and her 14-year-old son Jake. Their quiet little horse-riding school just outside the city has suddenly been invaded by teenagers.

'There's Julia, a highly independent 16-year-old from Germany who has come to Outriders to stay with her Aunt Tori and hopefully recover from the trauma of her mother's recent death. Regina (she prefers Reggie) was asked to leave three different schools before her parents jumped at the opportunity of her taking up a working residence at Outriders. Vince is 17, going on 30. He's been in and out of foster homes for as long as he can remember. Before he arrived he'd hardly seen a horse, let alone ridden one. And then there's Shane, a country boy who is now resident stable hand, riding instructor and jack of all trades. He's hard working and uncomplicated, with a big heart and an even bigger sense of humour.

'It's an unlikely crew, but strangely the chemistry seems to work. Each offers something the others admire and slowly a bond between them forms. Reggie's enthusiasm balances Julia's caution. Shane's honesty counters Vince's street smarts. Of course, there's always a few hiccups and a fair bit of horseplay. But when danger threatens or troubles arise, you wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of Outriders.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 28/11/2013)

Ocean Girl follows the adventures of Jason and Brett Bates, who move with their mother (a reasearch scientist studying whale song) to an underwater research station near Port Douglas. There, they accidentally meet Neri, a young girl with super-human strength, the ability to breathe underwater, and an affinity for communicating with whales. As the series progresses through four seasons, the Bateses (and the audience) learn more about Neri's arrival on Earth, her home planet, and the ecosystem of their own home planet.

Ocean Girl, one of the earliest productions to come out of Jonathan M. Shiff Productions, is creator Jonathan Shiff's first science-fiction program; his name has subsequently become synonymous with children's science-fiction and fantasy television programs, through such shows as Cybergirl and H2O.

Ocean Girl is ecological science fiction, in that it uses the genre of science fiction to explore the consequences of exploiting Earth's resources. For example, as the program progresses, Dr Dianne Bates (mother of protagonists Jason and Brett) shifts from her early role as cetologist to a more active role as environmental protectionist, in response to the increasing threat of building large underwater constructions in the delicate ecosystem around ORCA. Similarly, season four shows the devastating effects of a 'Red Virus' on the oceans of Neri's home world.

Australia-France-New Zealand co-production, set in New Zealand.

'Cooks Haven is a small community on the shores of the beautiful Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. Life working on the waterfront is filled with excitement and danger – runaways, illegal immigrants, smuggling, even modern day piracy.'

Source: South Pacific Picture. (Sighted: 25/6/2013)

A one-hour soap opera focusing on life in a gritty inner-city suburb.

Set in a small, fictional, New South Wales country town called Wandin Valley, A Country Practice focused on the staffs of the town's medical practice and local hospital and on the families of the doctors, nurses, and patients. Many of the episodes also featured guest characters (frequently patients served by the practice) through whom various social and medical problems were explored. Although often considered a soap opera, the series was not built around an open-ended narrative; instead, the two one-hour episodes screened per week formed a self-contained narrative block, though many of the storylines were developed as sub-plots for several episodes before becoming the focus of a particular week's storyline. While the focus was on topical issues such as youth unemployment, suicide, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, and terminal illness, the program did sometimes explore culturally sensitive issues, including, for example, the Aboriginal community and their place in modern Australian society.

Among the show's principal characters were Dr Terence Elliott, local policeman Sergeant Frank Gilroy, Esme Watson, Shirley Dean Gilroy, Bob Hatfield, Vernon 'Cookie' Locke, and Matron Margaret 'Maggie' Sloan. In addition to its regularly rotating cast of characters, A Country Practice also had a cast of semi-regulars who would make appearances as the storylines permitted. Interestingly, while the series initially targeted the adult and older youth demographic, it became increasingly popular with children over the years.