Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2015

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FACING CHALLENGES, FINDING CONNECTIONS

A REFLECTION ON AND INSIGHT INTO THE PROCESS AND PREPARATION OF THIS YEAR’S SENIOR DRAMA PRODUCTION WITH THE DIRECTOR AND MEMBERS OF THE ENSEMBLE.

The complexity of A Beautiful Life was almost a reason not to stage it — but with our media screens saturated with reports of the threat of ISIS, and last year’s Sydney siege, it was timely to produce a work that challenges prevailing attitudes of prejudice and ignorance in relation to issues of asylum seekers, terrorism and religious ideology. At first, the world of the play seemed far removed from the lives and experiences of our young cast. However, in our first rehearsal we discovered that two of the twenty-four actors are Iranian and have very personal connections to the issues of religious persecution and seeking asylum. One of these students, Tara Rahmanian (11H), addressed the School Assembly: My parents were only teenagers when they were smuggled over the border to Pakistan during the middle of the night on camels, and forced to leave their families and lives behind in Iran at the age of some of you girls here — just to be able to have a university education. Still today, my cousins have no choice but to be smuggled to different countries to have the fundamental right of an education. You all should know that what this production is conveying is not just a dramatised, made- up story; it is the actual lives of a number of people today. However, for many of the young cast, gaining knowledge and understanding of their character’s situation was critical in forming a foundational connection with their role. This is why our first phase in the creative process was research, in order to understand the historical, political, religious and social context of the play. Kate Western (12R) who played a prisoner, reflects: In the early stages of the rehearsal process, we undertook research to understand the religious system in Iran, the political structure and history of the Iranian

AUTHOR Mrs Katrina Riveros Head of Co-curriculum Drama and Production Director

This year’s Senior Drama Production, A Beautiful Life , was a challenging, yet rewarding experience that had a lasting impact on both actors and audience alike. The play is highly theatrical and presents many directorial ‘problems’ to be solved — namely the rapid shifts in time and place. Flashbacks to the family’s time in Iran reveal the false imprisonment of the main character, Hamid Parsi, and the human rights abuses he suffered, forcing his family to flee their homeland. THE STORY … Written by Brisbane playwrights, Michael Futcher and Helen Howard, A Beautiful Life tells the story of the Parsi family — a family of Iranian refugees, who escape persecution and incarceration by the Iranian government, and are granted asylum in Australia. A decade later, they once again face persecution and possible imprisonment for their involvement in an Embassy protest that turns violent.

GRAMMAR GAZETTE