Stories in the Wall is a major collaboration between Arts Centre Melbourne, selected Victorian primary schools, professional playwrights and emerging composers.
Six playwrights delivered online and face to face workshops to five participating schools across Victoria in 2020 and 2021: Ardeer South PS, Mallacoota P-12 College, St Kieran's PS Moe, St Thomas Aquinas PS Norlane and Wooranna Park PS. We just love working with remote and regional schools, and with those who have a high number of students with a language background other than English.
During these workshops, playwrights guided students to develop some wildly imaginative ideas which became a diverse collection of adventures around the theme Mystery Solved. This theme was inspired by Slingsby Theatre Company's production of Emil and the Detectives which schools had the opportunity to view online.
In small groups, the young writers fleshed out their stories, and across the workshops turned them from crazy idea to finished script. We challenged the kids to include not only speaking parts, but ideas for sound effects and music too!
Kids then moved from the Writers' Room to the Recording Studio with mobile recording equipment set up in classrooms, gyms, portables and meeting room at each of the schools. When COVID-19 restrictions meant we couldn't visit Mallacoota in 2020, the stories were given to Arts Centre Melbourne staff and their families to record under lockdown conditions. Who knew we were so talented?*
*We did!
Supporting partners:
Arts Centre Melbourne acknowledges the support of the Department of Education and Training, Victoria, through the Strategic Partnerships Program.
Artistic collaboration from the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. The proud home of the Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Special thanks to Associate Professor Mark Pollard, Head of Interactive Composition.
How does my school get involved?
Email schools@artscentremelbourne.com.au
Visit www.artscentremelbourne.com.au to explore our extensive schools, families and youth programming.
Student playwrights and actors:
Writers and Performers:
Ardeer South Primary School:
Linh Do, Tyler Evans, Aydin Gokkurt, Jacob Hobson, Johnny Huang, Masiame Kamara, Peter Koutroubas, Daniel Ly, Riyal Mohamoud, Phong Nguyen, Tahlia Nguyen, Thomas Nguyen, Tina Nguyen, Saige Quinney, Solomon Ratulevu, Brandy Sibomana, Samantha Simmons, Beyonce Tran, Andy Truong & Bibi Zahra. School staff project lead: Michael Osborne.
Mallacoota P-12 College: Taj Apps, Mikayla Armstrong, Loki Beedle, Unya Boadle, Finn Burns, Kade Burns, Jamie Cooper-Dunne, Kalani Cowen, Halle Greetham, Winter Greetham, Jasmine Holt, Gypsy Londrigan, Taya Matthews, Cohen Morris, Lirra Nation, Remo Rijs, Muhammad Shah, Bridie Sheean, Jessica Tregellas & Kyra Witnish. School staff project lead: Katzia Wood.
St. Kieran's Primary School, Moe:
Anjelo, Autumn, Belinda, Brooklyn, Ellie, Emma, Jake, Levi, Lillie, Maddison, Matilda, Matilda, Max, Meika, Oricle, Olivia, Renee, Riley, Ruby, Shylah, Xavier, Zac & Zoe. School staff project lead: Kimberley Gee.
St. Thomas Aquinas Primary School, Norlane:
Marie Bigovic, Anastasia Crawford, Charli Dabkowski, Isabella Dabkowski, Ella Davidge, Muhammet Jawish, Hala Jmel, Emma Lachlan, Levi Lawson, Ella-Rose MacDonald-Parsons, Malk Najeeb, Renata Pulega, Nate Scown, Sonny Strahan, Unuer Puoc, Devlynn Rudolph, Florame Ung, Victoria Vong & Spencer Wylie. School staff project lead: Tracey Lunnon-Talbot.
Wooranna Park Primary School:
Yusra Abdulahi, Hassan Ali, Maaz Ali, Maya Babickovic, Aleksandar Beljic, Cheryl Chow, Ailesh Dunston, Mesandu Edirisinghe, Chanithu Gallage, Mikayla Gauci, Sofia Jabbar, Katarina Jakovljevic, Saren Kiritharan, Mia Kozlina, Moksh Mehta, Xavier Moriarty, Sanvi Patel, James Pegios, David Popescu, Nur Fathima Raihan, Rizwan Shah, Luka Stakic, Helena Supljeglav, Praevon Taia, Hunter Volceski & Damian Zuza. School staff project lead: Mary Boutros.
Composers:
Eugene Beissel, Rupert Bueest, Jack Burmeister, Angus Conley, Brianna Dahlstrom, Dean Elliott, Thomas Fernando, Jarrod Foster, Indyana Kippin, Diamond Yen Shen Lee, Kristjan Lee, Olivia Marsh, Ryan McDougall, Luke Perry, Pendar Shekarian, Phillip Thomas, Rory Vagg, Edward Wilks & Nathan Zammit.
Playwright Teaching Artists:
Zoey Dawson is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter based in Melbourne. She has been nominated for several Greenroom awards, including Best New Writing (Conviction). She teaches Contemporary Scriptwriting and Radical Performance Writing at the University of Melbourne.
Dan Giovannoni is a playwright and arts educator. He has written plays for adults and children. Recent credits include HOUSE and Bambert's Book of Lost Stories (both Barking Gecko Theatre Company), Air Race (Arena Theatre Company), Merciless Gods (Little Ones Theatre), Jurassica (Red Stitch Actors' Theatre), and with Amelia Chandos Evans, Cut Snake and Mad as a Cute Snake.
Taku Mbudzi is a Zimbabwe-born writer, comedian and podcaster based in Melbourne, Australia. She is passionate about authentic voices telling their own stories and enjoys using humour to help young people speak up and out for themselves.
Rachel Perks is a freelance, Melbourne based writer and teaching artist whose work investigates feminist futures through the lens of speculative fiction.
Morgan Rose was born in New Orleans, grew up in New Mexico and currently lives in Melbourne. She is an internationally produced playwright, performance maker and dramaturg. She is currently the resident writer at youth theatre company Riot Stage and a co-founder of the independent theatre company The People.
Chi Vu is an award-winning writer and director whose works span genres such as postcolonial gothic, horror, magic-realism and comedy. Chi's novella Anguli Ma: a Gothic Tale was shortlisted in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. She teaches creative writing from Geelong on the lands of Wadawurrung People. She wishes to pay her respects to their Elders and leaders, past, present and emerging.
Acknowledgements:
For Arts Centre Melbourne:
Creative Producer: Joshua Cowie
Creative Learning Team: Pippa Bainbridge, Eva Popov & Zoe Rinkel
Senior Producer, Creative Learning: Cynthia Nolan Myers
Recording Engineers: Joshua Cowie, Sydney Miller, Benji Miu, Benjamin Talbot-Dunn & Eva Popov
Website: Ann Tran
Book design: Salmon and Ko
Special Thanks:
Katy Warner, Cam Venn & Sandy Ogilvie
Inspired by:
Emil and the Detectives - by Erich Kästner, adapted for the stage by Nicki Bloom. Produced by Slingsby.