PLAYLAB'S NSW SYLLABUS SUGGESTIONS 2021

TOPIC 4: APPROACHES TO ACTING

The following list has been assembled by Playlab in order to provide an extended list of plays suitable for study in Topic 4: Approaches to Acting to assist educators and students to explore approaches to actor training in the 20th century and its realisation in theatre production or other forms of drama performance. The following list of titles provides a guide for selecting work written specifically to be performed by senior years aged actors. Each of the titles below provide an opportunity to apply knowledge learned in this topic in practical, age and skill appropriate performance environments.

New additions to the current curriculum suggestions: DEFINE ‘ADULT’ by David Burton, Claire Christian, and La Boite’s Young Actors Company | THE FINAL DAYS OF BEDLAM by David Burton | THE FLEDGLINGS by Maxine Mellor | GOOD GRIEF by Merlynn Tong | BATHORY BEGINS by Emme Hoy and Gretel Vella

Define ‘Adult’

by David Burton, Claire Christian and La Boite’s Young Actors Company

THEMES: Coming of Age, Youth, Inter-generational Change
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
CAST SIZE: Large Cast Without Doubling
TARGET AUDIENCE: Middle Years

When do you reach that point? When you turn 18? When you move out of home? When you get married? When you have a baby? When you lose ... Read more

The Final Days of Bedlam

by David Burton

THEMES: Role of Education, Freedom of Choice, Bullying
LENGTH: 1 Hour
CAST SIZE: Large Cast Without Doubling
TARGET AUDIENCE: Middle & Senior Years

David Burton's The Final Days of Bedlam is written specifically for Grade 7–10 and designed for classrooms to reflect on the purpose of education and learning in classroom environments. <... Read more

The Fledglings

by Maxine Mellor

THEMES: Dreams and Desires, Disappointment, Generational Battles
LENGTH: 1 Hour
CAST SIZE: Large cast without doubling
CHARACTER AGES: ≤50
TARGET AUDIENCE: Middle & Senior Years

The Fledglings by Maxine Mellor is published alongside Good Grief by Merlynn Tong in a collection. SYNOPSIS: The Fledglings ... Read more

Good Grief

by Merlynn Tong

THEMES: Grief, Loss, Longing
LENGTH: 1 Hour
CAST SIZE: Large cast without doubling
CHARACTER AGES: ≤50
TARGET AUDIENCE: Middle & Senior Years

Good Grief by Merlynn Tong is published alongside The Fledglings by Maxine Mellor in a collection. SYNOPSIS: Good Grief  by Merlynn ... Read more

Bathory Begins

by Emme Hoy and Gretel Vella

THEMES: Survival, Good vs. Evil, Horror
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
TARGET AUDIENCE: Middle Years
CAST SIZE: Large Cast Without Doubling

Year 10 Art teacher Mrs Bathory is most definitely a reincarnation of the sadistic, serial-killer Countess, Erzebet Báthory. It's pretty obvious to her class of seven —yes, seven — girls. The ... Read more

Male Monologue Collection

CAST: 1M
CHARACTER AGES: Young Adult – Adult

Monologues are a rite of passage. A test of an actor's metal. A tool to sharpen one's teeth with. A challenge. The Male Monologue Collection features 20 monologues gleaned from Playlab's ... Read more

Male Monologue Collection Volume 2

CAST: 1M
CHARACTER AGES: Young Adult – Adult

Monologues are a rite of passage. A test of an actor's metal. A tool to sharpen one's teeth with. A challenge. The Male Monologue Collection Volume 2 features 20 monologues gleaned from ... Read more

Female Monologue Collection

CAST: 1F
CHARACTER AGES: Young Adult – Adult

Monologues are a rite of passage. A test of an actor's metal. A tool to sharpen one's teeth with. A challenge. The Female Monologue Collection features 20 monologues gleaned from Playlab's ... Read more

Female Monologue Collection Volume 2

CAST: 1F
CHARACTER AGES: Young Adult – Adult

Monologues are a rite of passage. A test of an actor's metal. A tool to sharpen one's teeth with. A challenge. The Female Monologue Collection Volume 2 features 20 monologues gleaned from ... Read more

Impending Everyone

by Michael Andrew Collins

THEMES: Technology, Adolescents
CHARACTER AGES: Year 10 – 12 students
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
CAST SIZE: 9 + Cast Members
TARGET AUDIENCE: Senior Years

"This cannot be stopped; your history is impending. Everyone will know tomorrow, by the end of lunch, who you really are..." Someone at Elia’s high school has gained access ... Read more

Orbit

by David Burton

THEMES: Ambition, Love, Success, Growing Up
CHARACTER AGES: 15 – 18
Length: 1.5 Hours
TARGET AUDIENCE: Senior Years
TARGET AUDIENCE: Middle Years
CAST SIZE: 9+ Cast Members

Orbit is a science fiction adventure about 20 young people, of which two will be chosen to carry on humanity’s bright future on planet Mars. The teenagers must ... Read more

Spontaneous Human Combustion

by Daniel Evans

THEMES: Trauma, Defiance, Grief
CHARACTER AGES: 16 – 18
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
CAST SIZE: Large Cast Without Doubling
TARGET AUDIENCE: Senior Years

School Captain Astrid Pollard is on fire. Ever since she was assigned that oral presentation on Joan of Arc life has sort of, well, spontaneously combusted. People are looking at ... Read more

Sugarland

by Rachael Coopes and Wayne Blair

THEMES: Indigenous Themes, Regional Australia, Displacement, Growing up
CHARACTER AGES: 16 – 18, Adult
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
TARGET AUDIENCE: Senior Years

Sugarland provides a glimpse into a teenage Australia that feels like a foreign country. This haunting new play will make you pause, make you smile, make you wonder how much ... Read more

Talking To Brick Walls

by Claire Christian & The Empire Arts Impact Ensemble

THEMES: Young People, Coming of Age, Parenting
CHARACTER AGES: Middle – Senior Years
LENGTH: 1 Hour
TARGET AUDIENCE: Senior Years
CAST SIZE: Large Cast Without Doubling

Hey! We need to talk! And we've needed to talk for over 8000 years. Talking to Brick Walls is a hybrid verbatim piece exploring adolescent and parent relationships. It was co-created ... Read more

The Chosen

by Lachlan Philpott

THEMES: Desires to be unique, Adolescents
CHARACTER AGES: Teenage to Adult
LENGTH: 1.5 Hours
CAST SIZE: Large Cast Without Doubling
TARGET AUDIENCE: Senior Years

For most girls, finding a place within the cliques, the hierarchies, and the gossip of a new school is tough enough. For Freya Star, it’s astronomically more difficult. She’... Read more
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