2017 School Magazine

SENIOR DRAMA PRODUCTION — SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION

Award-winning playwright and Brisbane theatre-maker, Daniel Evans, was commissioned by Brisbane Girls Grammar School to write and direct the Senior Drama Production, Spontaneous Human Combustion . This innovative and highly physical piece of theatre, which entwines the unresolved grief of a present-day protagonist, Astrid Pollard, with the late Middle Ages heroine, Joan of Arc, employs the style of magical realism, effectively exploring the idea of loss through divine inspiration. We were honoured to present a commissioned piece and rose to the occasion of staging this imaginative and contemporary production. Dan’s unique style of direction allowed the cast to truly embody the world of his creation through a rigorous rehearsal process allowing the whole cast to burrow into the psyche of the roles we were entrusted with. We thoroughly discussed and analysed the script with the object of gaining an intimate understanding of the play, its characters and their motivations.

A particularly challenging aspect of the production was the incorporation of the French language into the script. For one fearless member of the ensemble, Rosie Dann, this meant not only learning lines in French but also understanding their meaning in order to deliver the lines with the correct tone and sentiment. The cast’s collaborative and supportive attitude, in addition to Dan’s youthful energy and passion, ignited our creative energy and, we hope, this was successfully communicated to our audiences. After the many hours of rehearsal, we were immensely proud to share our work. The production was incredibly successful and was an enormously rewarding experience that left us with an unrivalled sense of accomplishment. Thank you to everyone who contributed to a triumphant and incandescent production, in particular to Daniel Evans, and to the slow burning dedication of Mrs Riveros and Mr Jennings for all their behind the scenes work. HARPER MCILROY (11W)

066 | CURRICULUM | BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2017