Cue winter 2013 pdf

Speech Communication Association NZ (Inc)

Winter windfalls. Image: Owen Jones

Winter 2013

ISSN 1179-5662 (print)

ISSN 1179-5670 (on-line)

Cue - 2 Winter 2013

Patron: Dame Kate Harcourt

Page 3: Editorial/President’s Patch Page 4: Correspondence Pages 5/6: A tell all story

President: Dianne Jones Vice-President: Donna McKinlay-Jones Council members: Anna Coleman Dinnie Bevers

Page 6: An important sales pitch

Glenda Pearce

Page 7: David Hill

Helen Morton-Jones

Page 8: The Island of los (poem) Pages 9/10: Branch News Page 11: Sister Leonie looks back

Email: office@speechcomm.org.nz Website: www.speechcomm.org.nz CUE published by: Speech Communication Association (NZ) Inc PO Box 207, Palmerston North 4440

Page 12: Professional training

Editor: Donna McKinlay-Jones

Page 13: Poetry recitation tips

Phone: 022 658 0772

Page 14: How to speak Nu Zild

Email: owen.donnaj@xtra.co.nz Skype: donnamckinlayjones

Page 15: Puppetry in Taiwan Pages 16/18: Teachers Speak

ADVERTISING RATES FOR CUE Scatter Ads: 7.5 x 5cm, $10.00 per issue or four for $35.00 Quarter Page: $25.00 Half Page: $50.00 Full Page: $100.00

Winter 2013 Cue - 3

EDITORIAL

W

e are nearly through the winter months and you will all be taking a well earned rest.

Only another ‘school term’ until the Professional Development seminar in Auckland.

Judging from the flyer, there is a lot of variety as far as the workshops are concerned something there for everyone.

Over the past few weeks, I have been making contact with a number of old students through Facebook.

Some of them have been using their superb communication skills in a variety of ways.

In fact, I have been blown away.

I know that all of our past students have always utilised their communication skills in whatever vocation they have chosen to follow, but this new generation of experts seem to have so many more opportunities at their fingertips compared to many of their teachers.

Three of them have promised me an article over the next few weeks so that should all make interesting reading.

They will cover teaching performing arts in Dubai, performance poetry and using communication tools delivering programmes in the prison system.

If any other teachers out there can persuade past students to give some feedback, this would be extremely well received by our readership and current students.

I have found it quite difficult to publish material in this issue as I am still unsure what members want to read about.

Feedback would be appreciated here.

I don’t mind doing the ‘research’ and ‘gathering of material’, but it would be helpful to know what you want specifically. I would really REALLY welcome any articles that you have written or have come across that you think would be of value to your professional colleagues.

We did start with such a wonderful hiss and roar with ‘influential teachers’, but that has come to a grinding halt.

Perhaps one of you out there could pay tribute to someone special?

Until the spring issue, enjoy the break and get recharged for term three.

Donna McKinlay-Jones

President’s Patch

M

ost of us probably know the Boy Scouts’ motto, “Be Prepared!”

When the polar blast swept our country recently, we heard that motto repeated often. Advance severe weather warnings enabled farmers to move and shelter stock, Civil Defence to mobilise teams and reminded us all to check our store cupboards.

Farmers acknowledged that those warnings prevented big losses. In some cases teams were not needed, in others friends and neighbours helped services such as the Fire Brigade. It was sad that a number of people in towns went into panic and grab mode, resulting in bread and other basics being sold out.

Hopefully, those in the Wellington area who remained for some time without power and other services were able to get their needed supplies.

Being prepared frees us to deal with the moment and whatever that throws at us.

Sometimes the thing that is thrown is totally unexpected and beyond the scope of normal preparation.

We deal with that event as best we can, knowing that some preparation is better than none and that we/architects/engineers/planners/developers/everyone will be better prepared in the future.

In our work we prepare students for examinations, competitions and auditions.

We prepare them for the many and varied paths their lives will follow. With knowledge and practice in performance arts and communication skills we give them confidence and skills for life.

I’m sure that none of us would deliberately go into a lesson without preparation.

If ever I am tempted to ‘wing’ it, I remember two things. One is the voice of a small business adviser presenting at an SCA Conference many years ago telling us to set aside some time every week for planning and administration.

He drummed the message home with ‘If you are ever audited, and you will be......’

The other thing I remember is a poster on the wall in the training room at Champagne Consultants. It said ‘90 percent of the success of a presentation is in its preparation’.

Whether it’s the threat of Mother Nature venting, Inland Revenue descending or failing in front of others, our best defence is to be prepared. Then we have the freedom to be the best we can be.

Dianne Jones

Cue - 4 Autumn 2013

Correspondence An open letter to SCA Council and members June 2013 As a member of SCA I look forward to receiving the quarterly issue of ‘Cue’.

However, the most recent issue ‘Cue’ (Autumn 2013) caused me some concern when I saw that, unannounced, a new logo had replaced the long standing SCA logo.

Based on the nil or negative response from the general proposal regarding images shown in ‘Cue’ (Winter 2012) and the lack of affirming feedback received during the discussion time and AGM held at last year’s Professional Development, it was my understanding that the development of a new logo was not going to proceed in the immediate future.

Since the October AGM, members have received no information or update from Council regarding the development or reason for introducing a new logo.

Council has mistakenly made the assumption of silent assent. Many of our members are the silent majority who are too polite to object.

the October 2012 Professional Development Seminar Helen Balch spoke of the experience of her husband who is a graphic designer, of never being able to have total agreement in support for a new logo, it just doesn’t happen.

I am sure you remember the same controversy over the old logo, not everyone was rapt about the old triangle with the three letters in it.

We are about finding our voice so we can help others find theirs.

However, they are the ones who are likely to show their dissent by not renewing their next annual subscription.

This logo speaks of having a voice, helping people grow their identity and truth so they can speak out with confidence.

As a logo is the identity of an organisation, its image should define our Association. At least the long standing logo used by the Association has clear re For a logo to have impact, each one of us must understand and believe in its identity.

The council would like to now focus on moving ahead, looking at the big picture, envisioning a strong future, where we are committed to upholding our industry’s high professional standard’s and to keep registering teachers, which is our core business.

Therefore, as a number of SCA members have also expressed their confusion relating to the message the new logo is intended to convey, would Council please clarify the intention of this logo and whether it has been adopted permanently or is Council still investigating other ideas.

Sheridan Hickey I asked council for a reply and this was received from Anna Coleman.

Ed. Dear Sheridan Thank you for your letter. As a Council we appreciate receiving feedback.

I acknowledge your frustration over the process of choosing and implementing a new logo. Being in charge of the project there are things I would have done differently and I have learned some valuable lessons.

We received overwhelming support well over 70% of members favouring the logo and had some very positive comments. During the discussion hour at

We feel that the logo has been put to bed. I am happy to talk to your personally, but as a Council we feel this issue has been dealt with. We have officially adopted this logo and are committed to it. It will appear on the new website and on all our official communications.

Kind regards Anna Coleman Marketing Portfolio on behalf of SCA Council

A tell all story...

DEVELOPING THE BRAND Reflections from Francesca Eathorne, 2013 Deirdre Snedden Scholar, from Educate Plus Conference (Sydney) Thanks to the generous grant from the Deirdre Snedden Trust I was able to travel to Sydney to attend the Educate Plus conference in August 2012.

Educate Plus (formerly Adape) is an organisation that provides professional development for people working in education in Advancement.

Advancement is a collective term for communications, marketing, fundraising, alumni and admissions.

More than 500 delegates from around Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia gathered for three days of learning.

We were fortunate to have nearly 80 sessions to choose from with speakers ranging from our colleagues sharing their take on current issues to internationally renowned speakers such as Deborah Thomas, Director of Media, Public Affairs and Brand Development for ACP Magazine Ltd, and editor of Australian Women’s Weekly magazine.

My role as Head of Communications for St Andrew’s College in Christchurch, a large independent school offering pre-school to year 13 education, is focused on delivering quality marketing and communications strategies and ensuring a strong brand presence in the marketplace.

Winter 2013 Cue - 5

useful to consider how I am managing that aspect of my job. Key learnings from these sessions included: Know who you are (what does the brand stand for/what do people say about the brand in the marketplace/how do you find out this information?).

Listen to your customers’ needs (have they changed over the past few years/how do you keep in touch with what your customers want?).

Measure what counts (don’t get caught up in measuring statistics that don’t actually help you move forward with your strategy).

A little bit of consultation goes a long way to help people embrace change.

You can’t be everything to everyone (know who you are targeting and do it well).

The other key message that came from these sessions is how important it is to engage as many people in your organisation with the brand.

Staff are the best advocate for a strong brand – what they say and do both within and outside the organisation directly contributes to the brand presence in the marketplace.

I am also responsible for managing the day-today running of a busy communications office that produces key publications and maintains online communication platforms such as the website and social media hubs.

For independent schools this is extremely important as positive stories spread by staff, students and parents are probably the most effective (and cost free!) form of advertising in the local marketplace.

The opportunity to network with colleagues in similar roles in different schools and universities across Australasia was very valuable.

The other sessions that I really enjoyed and appreciated on a practical level were ‘Strategically-focussed social media and ROI” and “Websites – what works, what doesn’t”.

I attended a number of sessions in the areas of communications and marketing, but also alumni relations and fundraising as I often work with these departments to help produce their materials.

Key Learnings I attended several sessions on brand management, which were of exceptional value. I don’t often have the opportunity to critically reflect on where we are and where we are going. Attending sessions purely focused on brand management and strategy was

Both sessions were run by Rebecca Bernstein, Web Strategist from University of Buffalo in the United States. Rebecca has won more than 90 awards for her work in website development and online strategy. She was an absolute pleasure to listen to – quietly spoken, yet everyone was hanging off her every word.

She made us laugh with her very American sense of humour and the gentle way she pointed out what we are probably doing wrong!

To next Page.

Cue - 6 Winter 2013

A tell all story

From previous page.

She laced her presentation with plenty of examples of how she influenced and persuaded faculty at the University to upgrade their web presence – no easy task it seems when many staff were set in their ways and it took a lot of convincing to try something new.

I was struck by how much of what we do working as communications professionals involves managing people and managing change within our organisations.

Her results spoke for themselves. One faculty increased their enquiries by 400 per cent, simply through a more focused and targeted web presence.

One of the things that really stuck in my mind was the fact that so many of our prospective parents are going on our website first before they even contact the college for a prospectus, or to book a tour to look around.

I returned to work inspired to reflect critically on our website and started planning some changes to enhance our customers’ experience.

One of the major projects I had to tackle on my return to work was the upgrade of our intranet (internal website).

This consists of three key portals (parents, students and staff) and was in need of a major upgrade, not just in terms of technology, but also content and meeting our customers’ needs.

While my skills are not in the technical areas of web development my job was to manage the change process and complete the full consultation to understand what our internal clients required and what the best result was for the end users.

Attending the Educate Plus Conference definitely gave me inspiration to lead this project effectively and some key tools that provided a good framework for managing change.

The sessions with Rebecca Bernstein provided me with good resources to refer back to throughout the consultation period and her systematic approach to good communication processes inspired me to try and do the same.

Overlaid on this knowledge was the reminder of the importance of good brand management and ensuring that everyone in the organisation understands the role they play in helping develop the brand presence in the marketplace.

On my return from the conference I spoke with teaching staff about brand management and how important it was that we all understood the role we play in managing and growing our brand.

Thank you SCA and Deirdre Snedden for making these scholarships available.

I am grateful for the opportunity to attend this conference and to continue my professional development in this area.

The all important sales pitch

By Justin Parkman Sometimes it can be difficult to pitch your product without becoming too lengthy and detailed.

The following (under six main objectives) are short, simple phrases that you can adopt in your own pitch to potential clients to ensure your pitch comes across clearly and succinctly.

PITCHING YOUR PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE YOUR POTENTIAL MARKET OR CLIENT BASE COULD BE: •

• • • •

Managers from all functions and industries whose ideas and opinions matter, and if communicated in the right way would make an impact on the business.

Sales and marketing managers – for engaging the customers and wider external audience.

Finance managers – communicating results, tough decisions, proposals and processes.

Operations managers/business unit mangers for strategy and better ways to succeed.

All managers to convince internally and externally for business growth and agreement to action.

YOUR SIX MAIN OBJECTIVES ARE TO ENSURE YOUR CLIENT: • • • • • •

Captivates people and generates positive responses from them.

Wins the trust of their audience – opens doors and gets results.

Understands their own communication strengths, and enhances them using tools and techniques for stronger communication.

Unleashes the natural power of their voice and expressions to manage objections and questions reassuringly and confidently.

Structures and designs presentations to gain comfort, confidence and efficiency in all their communications.

Identifies their own improvement areas and practices to overcome these challenges.

Winter 2013 Cue - 7

David Hill: read to your kids and you’ll transform their lives Kids who read stay out of jail (unless they grow up to be financial investment directors).

I’ve been thinking about Dion this week.

I taught - tried to teach - Dion when he was about 15. He was abused, neglected, feral, almost uncontrollable. You never knew when he’d explode at another kid or a teacher. In class, he sat at the back with arms folded, and glowered. I had him for English. He was barely literate, and scorned efforts to teach him such skills.

I used to read aloud to my classes, inviting them to pick up books themselves, indicating that words mattered to me. One day, I was working through Barry Hines’ Kes, where a slum boy’s life is transformed after he tames and trains a small hawk.

The class were hooked by it, and I also began relaxing into the words. Then after a few minutes, I remembered Dion, and shot a quick look to check he wasn’t dismembering any adjacent pupils. He wasn’t: he sat listening, as rapt as the others. And he was sucking his thumb.

I don’t want to sentimentalise it. Dion’s well into adulthood now, and it’s a life of violence, crime, jail.

But I shan’t forget the lost boy, held briefly in the spell of a story.

I’ve been thinking about Dion because the NZ Post Children’s Book Awards winners are announced on June 24.

In the final week finalist authors are touring parts of the country, reading and talking about their books.

I’m lucky enough to be a finalist this year. I won’t win; several of my friends have had the gall to write much better works than mine. But I’m pleased to be there, and I’m pleased to write books for children.

It’s hard to think of a more worthwhile act than reading to kids, or encouraging them to read. Studies have shown that children who are read to develop brain synapses sooner and more enduringly.

Reading grows intellectual and psychological resources, makes kids more at ease with themselves, gives them understandings and realisations that hardly any other activity can.

Kids who read stay out of jail (unless they grow up to be financial investment directors). Reading gives them words.

Words give them the ability to express and clarify themselves to others. How many young guys end up in strife because they don’t have the vocab to explain what they’re doing, and so they move from incoherence to frustration to violence?

Reading helps young people come to terms with themselves and their issues.

I watched a 20-something rugby fan on TV a few

years back, after the All Blacks had lost yet another World Cup knockout match. “Oh, mate,” he went. “I haven’t got words to express how I feel, mate!”

Well (mate), I thought, if you read more, you’d have more words, and that might just help you handle the next semi-final.

Reading isn’t a solitary activity. It’s a time of continual connections: with the characters, with aspects of the reader’s life that the story evokes.

Reading makes sense of things; it helps give shape and meaning to the world. Julian Barnes puts it perfectly: “Life says, this happens. Books say, this happens because ...”

Reading or being read to takes kids deeper. It cuts through superficiality. The slow possession of a story transforms the reader/listener, during and after; makes him or her gentler and more at ease.

So do read to your children, and encourage them to read - as others have been doing during this Children’s Book time.

You’ll improve lives. Remember Dion. Remember also that it’s just over two years till the next Rugby World Cup semi.

With permission from the NZ Herald and submitted

by Anna Coleman IN BRIEF David Hill is a versatile journalist, reviewer, fiction writer, playwright and children’s writer. Born in Napier, he spent fourteen years teaching before writing full-time. His many published books range from studies on poetry, to teenage fiction, for which he has received numerous prizes. His first young adult novel won the 1994 Times Educational Supplement Award for Special Needs. He won the 2002 Children’s Literature Foundation Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book and the 2003 LIANZA Esther Glen Medal. Hill is available to visit schools through the Writers in Schools programme.

Cue - 8 Winter 2013

The Island of Los Pauline Inder-Simpson is a past Council member of SCA. Over the past few years, Pauline has been exploring the art of writing. She shares with us fond memories that hark back to another time when she was young and exploring the world.

At seven thirty on a misty Thursday morning on the deck of Naxos I wrap myself in a blanket as a shield from the battling breeze and the sting of salt air rising from turbulent waves.

The distance seems infinite but when the journey ends at the island of Los

I step ashore and find myself attached to the smooth sandy beach,

whitewashed houses on the hill separated by narrow paved white alleys

and mules swaying with their loads of food and passengers

I wander through the maze of alley ways Arriving at the heart of town

to find a room close to cafes, tavernas, discos where the throbbing sounds bounce off the walls

reminding me of my twenty one years

distracting the locals. Music, wine fresh salads, figs and feta cheese

create a taste of island life.

I share this scene with Peter, a writer whose words flow freely from his lips as he performs what he writes celebrating his beach life.

Los reflects my wanderings like Odysseus as he sails on the crystal clear sea.

and looks at barren hill sides where white chapels are filled with icons.

Pauline Inder Simpson

SCA well represented at Wellington festival

T

he National Finals of the SGCNZ UOSWFS had a full programme of 46 scenes presented during Queen’s Birthday weekend at Wellington East Girls’ College.

SCA was well represented with a number of SCA members including stalwarts Gabrielle Thurston (Rotorua) and Josphine Carpenter (Hawke’s Bay).

The Speech Communication Award for Outstanding Delivery of the Text went to Luke Burke from Waimea College from the Tasman/Golden Bay region for his performance of Macbeth.

Set in New Zealand with Macbeth as a Maori warrior, the Act IV scenes ii-vii demonstrated doubt and paranoia in Macbeth’s mind plagued with hidden meanings of the witches’ prophetic words coming to fruition.

celebrated in Istanbul.

This Waimea College production also received the award for Outstanding Scenography and Best Communication with the Audience.

As ouzo slips smoothly down my throat

Luke was a very modest, courteous and grateful recipient of the SCA and other awards.

swirling heads turn inside out

Sheridan Hickey

BRANCH NEWS

Winter 2013 Cue - 9

Voice for life

T

he Canterbury Branch has wanted to hold a

workshop investigating Estill Voice Training for a long time. Most of us had experienced short courses devoted to the discipline, but we wanted total immersion and that is what we got with Voice for Life.

We held the seminar on the weekend of Saturday 11th and Sunday the 12th May. We asked Jon Hunter, Head of Voice at Toi Whakaari, a certified master teacher of Estill Voice Training and New Zealand’s only certified Estill practitioner, to be our tutor and was delighted when he accepted.

after an intense day’s work.

At the end of the course Jon presented us with certificates, designed and created by Fran Eathorne.

Fran is one of our valuable and valued members, who also created our fliers.

In the flier, advertising the course, Jon spoke of Estill Voice Training as –“an elegant research-based strategy for working across the vocal spectrumwith singing, speaking and voice therapy”.

Of course, there is always a sadness when a stimulating seminar must end, but it left some of us with the thought that we wanted to learn more of the teachings of Jo Estill and we wanted to see her work make a difference as to how we use the voice, how we teach voice and vocal theory for examinations.

Several participants came from other parts of New Zealand and there was an interesting mix of Speech and Drama teachers, business presenters, speech and language therapists, singers, actors and about eight students.

Jon also said in the flier, “This is not just a weekend of vocal exploration – expect many myths to be debunked, a clearer understanding of how the voice actually works and a collection of reliable training tips and tools to take away with you.”

And that is exactly what happened, as we explored the role of the muscles of the larynx, anchored, experimented with laryngeal tilt, and used the techniques of sob, twang, falsetto, opera, speech and belt.

Our explorations were accompanied by healthy debate and exclamations such as, “what are we going to say to our students now?”

We were all familiar with the philosophies of other voice theorists whose work supported and extended the knowledge we already had, but the Jo Estill method, based on scientific research, challenged some of our previously held theories.

Jon supported his teaching with models, exercises and diagrams. He guided us skillfully through the concepts, patiently answering our many questions.

We held the seminar in the Senior Study at St. Andrew’s College in Christchurch.

This was a fabulous space with a data projector and every thing we needed.

We also had the use of a cafeteria, where we enjoyed coffee breaks and lunch, which SCA Canterbury provided.

Some of us gathered for dinner at a local Italian restaurant on Saturday night. It was lovely to relax and enjoy some delicious food and great company,

We were immensely grateful to Jon for teaching us thoroughly and at the same time, graciously.

Lynn Williams for SCA Canterbury Photographs - Dianne Jones

More Canterbury Branch News Recently, we in Canterbury have been spoilt.

After our weekend of learning about Voice for Life, we were offered Word Play – a Professional Development Seminar run by Trinity College.

Examiner Mary Ann Tear from Singapore is becoming a regular visitor to Christchurch.

Once again teachers and students benefitted from her knowledge and expertise in a session on preparing students for diplomas, and a master class, working with Grade 8 – Diploma Performance candidates.

Word Play was a full day of drama. Keran Brady looked at the benefits of Plays in Production exams.

Dr Peter O’Connor shared the importance of drama as creative-centred learning and its value in times of most need. On a bright, sunny Christchurch day, I don’t think many of us wanted to think back to our darkest time, but through Peter O’Connor’s telling of Christchurch schoolchildren and the cloth of dreams, we were reminded that a teaspoon of light can shine through the darkest tunnel.

Dianne Jones

Cue - 10 Winter 2013

BRANCH NEWS

OTAGO BRANCH

I

t has been an action packed start to 2013. Some notable events have been the re-enactment of the arrival of ‘The Message’ in Oamaru.

The part of Kathleen Scott, the young widow of Sir Robert Falcon-Scott, played by a Geraldine resident, was performed on a still morning at 0600 hours, harbour side – just before sunrise.

By all accounts, it was hauntingly beautiful.

The event was directed by Bronwyn Judge, a local dancer. It was well supported, the area by the Red Sheds thronging with people including Scott’s great granddaughter who travelled from London for the week.

The Arts on Tour Theatre visited on 26th April. It featured a piece on Katherine Mansfield, performed at the Opera House.

It was a great success though its usual venue was missed.

A magnificently refurbished Dunedin Town Hall opened on ANZAC day with a huge concert, featuring the RSA Choir, the Indian Students from the University of Otago, the RSA Octet, Guest Soloist, Martin Satchell (organist), Kaikorai Metropolitan Brass, vocal scholar, Ben Madden and an enthusiastic throng who thoroughly enjoyed the occasion.

Two of New Zealand’s top poets, David Eggleton and Michele Leggott (Auckland) former Poet Laureate, were the final presenters for the Pulse series, featuring current NZ poetry by several of our most influential poets who read their own work.

These included Rhian Gallagher, Bernadette Hall and Sue Wootton.

All are previous performers at Pulse events this year.

Other Arts’ events included Dancing in the Wake, Playing Music – Havisham and several performances associated with March Antarctic Week including a production of Dr Paul Baker’s play ‘The Night Visitors’ and associated exhibitions at the Art Gallery.

David Eggleton’s passion for poetry has earned him much acclaim including the Robert Burns Fellowship from the University of Otago and London’s Time Out Street Entertainer of the Year.

Oamaru hosted a successful season of competitions on the 20-21 April featuring a feast of dance, drama, poetry and improvisation etc. The standard of performance was high and the enthusiasm of the young contestants inspiring. Marlene McCarrow and her team of wonderful, welcoming helpers are to be congratulated on running an outstanding event!

The 2013 Season at the Fortune Theatre has got off to a cracking start with Michael James Manaia by James Broughton, judged as excellent by those who saw it.

Oamaru has also been the filming location of a documentary on rural medicine in May, examining the effects of K2. This is a currently concerning issue in New Zealand and of interest to a wide audience.

The Rev. Graeme Munro has moved to Dunedin this year; he plans to retire from his ministry and live in Opoho.

Invercargill has again been the venue for what has become a recurring performance of ‘Shakespeare in the Park’.

This year’s production ran from 12th – 17th February and featured the plays Julius Caesar and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

It attracted a large, appreciative audience despite the inclement weather.

The May production of the Guru of Chai was pronounced excellent by Southland attendees. It received standing ovations!

In Dunedin, with the Town Hall being out of action, the Regent Theatre was the venue for a very popular ‘Night at the Proms’ featuring the NZ Symphony Orchestra and a cast of hundreds of enthusiastic amateur singers.

He has been the Montana NZA Book Awards Book Reviewer of the Year five times.

Love, Loss and What I Wore by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron has just finished.

This play was challenging viewing with its Modernist treatment of its themes.

You Can Always Give Them Back by Peter Skellern deals with relationships and is currently showing.

It is proving popular.

Future productions are Tribes by Nine Raine and Why Are My Parents So Boring? by Dan Bain.

June has seen a Repertory production of Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys, directed by Natalie Ellis.

This has drawn good audiences many of whom are long term supporters of theatre in Dunedin and respond to Natalie’s work.

This a but a sample of the rich fare that has been on offer in the Southern Arts’ scene.

Cheryl La Hood Jill Walker (SCA Otago President) (SCA Otago Secretary)

Winter 2013 Cue - 11

Sister Leonie looks back at teaching I thought today’s teachers would like this little story.

On autumn days I like to walk The misty twisty quiet streets, And through the fallen yellow leaves Go shuffle shuffle with my feet.

What hoards of many-coloured leaves Fall all about me where I stand, Or spinning softly, come to rest Like fairy money in my hand.

(Author unknown from a book, Poems for Children.)

It was April, 1948, I was on section at a large primary school in Christchurch. My first section from Teachers’ College. It was 2.30pm on a Friday. It was a hot windy day.

The class teacher of these 36 primer four students (year 2 or ‘slow’ year 3) had returned to teaching because of a shortage of teachers of junior classes.

Miss S. had a very tidy room. Sitting on the mat, in the middle of the room, with arms folded and legs crossed, outdoor shoes outside and socks on the feet, was my class. Silence reigned.

No one was allowed to move at Story Time. The punishment was severe.

A chair was placed on the top of the desk. The disobedient child was lifted on to a standing position on the chair.

“Move if you dare”, said Miss S. (No, this is not from Dickens. It was real.) My instruction was: “Teach a poem to the class - any poem you wish.”

The above poem was my choice. I foresaw action, lots of leaves and lovely, lively interpretation of sound, sight and smell, and a new word.

They would remember this poem every autumn after - as I do riding on my “Katie” through Hagley Park.

I brought three large sheets of cardboard to cover with autumn leaves - and have a tidy classroom!

A large poster of the poem in lots of colour for them to read.

I began with the children on their feet (horror from Miss S.) and so I proceeded with children, reading vigorously, ‘suiting the action to the words, the words to the action’ while there was unbelievable reaction from Miss S.

My report read something like this: “Apart from a very untidy room, children far too excited and noisy, this was a reasonable attempt at introducing a poem to the class. It could have been done with much less fuss!”

My tutor, Mr Penny, at College was impressed!

“Best report I have ever read from Miss S.” he laughed!

(By the way I had to stay back and eject, by hand, every single autumn leaf from the classroom.)

Leonie

Cue - 12 Winter 2013

The “Spirit of the Word” – Professional Training in Creative Speech and Drama

T

he “Spirit of the Word” School for Creative Speech and Drama, an independent professional training course new in New Zealand, commences January 2014.

Methodology: The approach is holistic, the emphasis practical and artistic. To free the voice for artistic work, this method requires integrating body, mind and spirit. The universal sounds of speech reflect the whole human being; both are subject to the polarity between the spirit and matter. The bodily pole is the formed element of the spatial, physical world. This is reflected in the consonants, shaped by the speaker’s breath and vocal apparatus.

The musical element of speech lives in the vowels, giving mood and soul content. Speech sounds create pictures, exploited in the world’s languages in narrative poetry and story, from epic to lyric mode.

The creative spirit of language, evident in the flow of time, moves historically and intrinsically from sound to sense. Through basic exercises that include early Greek gymnastics, speech students learn to shape that flow. On this path the voice is freed from the organism.

The vowels resonate on the air into the surrounding space, shaped by the consonants. With this artistic skill in speech acquired through an exact study and practice of the elements of language, speech artists unpack the imaginative power inherent in language.

The sister art of eurythmy supplements the training through sessions in meaningful movement. This indepth familiarity with sound gestures, is the prerequisite to an approach to dramatic characterisation, which then derives from the individual application of the qualities of vowels and consonants. The “Spirit of the Word” is invited to shine through the shaping of each dramatic character.

Origin: One hundred years ago a new direction was given to speech and drama by the Austrian polymath, Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). Steiner, a trained philosopher, began his working life in Berlin as a literary critic and editor of the national weekly ‘Magazin für Literatur’ (equivalent to London’s Saturday Review).

Later he founded a “science of the spirit” called anthroposophy, teaching primarily through an extensive lecturing career throughout Europe (visit www. anthroposophy.org.nz).

Today Steiner is also known as an innovator especially in education, agriculture and alternative medicine. He was also a social reformer, active in the visual and performing arts. The art of movement called eurythmy developed from 1911. During these years, too, Steiner’s four Mystery Dramas were premiered in Munich. The wish adequately to house these creations led to the building of the First Goetheanum (a major architectural achievement of the C20th), Steiner’s working centre in Dornach,

Switzerland. or Here in 1924 he gave for speakers and actors the lecture-course published as “Speech and Drama” (Steiner Books, 2007).

Michael Chekov (1891–1955), actor, director, author and theatre practitioner who coached many famous actors and actresses, acknowledged his debt to Steiner (“On the Technique of Acting”, Harper 1991).

Today colleagues throughout the world are working with this new direction in the performing arts, education and therapy.

The “Spirit of the Word” School: the innovative indications given in the lectures comprising “Speech and Drama” form the basis for the programme.

The “Spirit of the Word” School, centred in Kapiti Coast, New Zealand, opens in January 2014.

The tutors: Norbert Mulholland graduated from the Harkness Studio, Sydney. Penelope SnowdonLait graduated from the Speech and Drama School Goetheanum, Switzerland. Astrid Anderson trained in England and Switzerland, graduating at the ‘��� Novalisschule’, Stuttgart, Germany.

Elien Hoffmans, eurythmist, trained in Stuttgart; also trained in speech and drama with Peter Bridgemont in the Chrysalis Theatre Acting School, London.

The training: (a) The full training takes four

years. The Graduation Programme takes place in two four-week blocks per year; individual tuition is a constant.

The programme involves assignments and on-going personal practice. (b) A comprehensive introduction – the Certificate Programme – is a module lasting one year. (c) The first four-week block – the Orientation Block – is also offered as a separate module, particularly for teachers and professional people who work a lot with speech. The option is given to continue the full further training in stages.

Our Impulse: Over the last 30 years or more, work in creative, formative speech has been practised in New Zealand.

The experienced tutors on the course now offer a professional training in acting and creative speech in this country.

Promotion: all support from distributing our leaflet, to help networking would be greatly appreciated.

We warmly invite colleagues, professional actors, teachers and those interested to learn more, or to take part in taster sessions, to contact us.

Contact: Astrid Anderson, tel: 06 857 7113; e-mail: astrid.anderson@slingshot.co.nz or: penelope. snowden.lait@gmail.com

Winter 2013 Cue - 13

HANDOUT FOR STUDENTS ON POETRY RECITATION

T

raditionally poetry has been an oratory art.

It is only recently, since the advent of the printing press, that poetry has been read more than heard.

It is important to be mindful of poetry’s role as a performance as well as entertainment, and should you be called upon to recite a poem aloud, either by reading it from a page or through reciting from memory, some basic poetry reading guidelines will ensure you give the best recital possible.

This How-To guide for you will provide you with tips to enhance your poetry performance skills.

Preparing to Recite Poetry to an Audience The best way to boost your confidence level when reciting poetry is to know your material inside and out.

There’s nothing worse when hearing someone recite a poem than to hear them pause slightly for each line or stanza break in a poem.

When reciting a poem, ignore line breaks and even most punctuation. Just try to recite each sentence or phrase as naturally as possible, as if you were speaking to someone one-on-one.

Speak loudly and clearly.

If you’re going to be reciting to a large audience you’ll likely have a microphone - but regardless of whether you speak into a microphone or just to a few people, your recital will sound better if you project your voice.

Imagine the sound coming from deep in your belly.

Imagine each word and phrase rising up, lifting out of your mouth and flying across the room like a bird.

This visualization sounds silly but it’s important to think of your words as lifting over your audience.

You want to make sure that the hard-of-hearing grandmother in the back of the room can understand every single word you’re saying (regardless of whether or not such a person is actually present when you recite your poem).

Slow down.

judging your performance, ruining your recitation by rushing through it won’t improve their estimation of your abilities.

Speak slowly and enunciate each word clearly.

You’ll know you’ve slowed down enough when you feel as though you’re reciting too slowly.

Try to resist the impulse to speed up.

Be expressive!

The only thing worse than a performer pausing awkwardly at the end of each line is a performer who drones on in monotone.

Use the context of your poem to determine its delivery.

If a poem is sad, recite it like you just heard that a friend’s loved one just died and you are offering your condolences. Is the poem funny?

Recite it as if it were the funniest joke you’ve ever heard. Most of all, plan areas in the poem to emphasize.

Plan pauses in your delivery (although don’t pause too long or people will think you’re finished and start applauding - and starting up again when your audience thinks you’ve finished is awkward and embarrassing).

The key word here is “plan.” Good performances require proper planning.

Record yourself.

After you’ve practiced in private on speaking slowly, clearly, and projecting your voice so people can hear you, You should record yourself and review your performance. Did you speak too quickly? Mumble?

If you video recorded yourself, examine your posture.

Are you slouching? Fiddling with your hands?

Knowing the weaknesses in your performance will help you to focus on those areas and improve on them.

If you’re nervous when standing up and speaking in front of a crowd, you’ll likely tend to speed up so as to get it over more quickly.

About the Author: Jough Dempsey is a poet & critic and the webmaster of Poetry X, an online poetry resource for those looking for poems to memorize and recite for fun, forensics meets, and profit.

Be aware, though, that if you’re afraid of people

In his spare time he enjoys memorizing the digits of Pi to forty thousand decimal places.

Cue - 14 Winter 2013

Submitted by Sheridan Hickey who was sent it by some Aussie ‘friends’.

Puppetry in Taiwan

Winter 2013 Cue - 15

By Carolyn Wilson

The Taiwan Sugar Company, so the locals tell me, is the largest owner of land in Taiwan.

It is owned by the government.

Sugar cane grows all around this area where I have been teaching for the last 18 months, including the nearby township of Huwei.

Huwei was the top sugar producer for Taiwan.

Its refinery is still in production today. Huwei is also home to the Yunlin County Hand Puppet Museum , the Story House and a TV studio for the popular Pili hand puppet series.

The Puppet Theatre travels all over the world with their stories.

It also reaches out to internationals in the community. A fellow ex-pat from Frankfurt has been asked to write a script for the Story House and illustrate it.

Recently, a local Puppet Master asked our school to have some of the English speaking staff do voice overs for his impending trip to the United States.

Four men and two women were chosen for this task . I was select-

Photo shows Carolyn Wilson doing a voice over with a Taiwanese puppeteer.

ed to take the role of a goddess.

The Puppet Master, although clearly the boss. did not take an active part in the process.

A technician monitored the recording while we had to try to mimic the sing-songy voice of the Taiwanese speaking assistant puppeteer.

It was an eerie sound which we all struggled to imitate. We had no background or training in their craft but It was a wonderful opportunity to participate in the local arts.

It also paid a higher hourly rate than the day job.

The Puppet Theatre is a spectacle to watch. I saw the National Puppet Theatre in Taipei work its magic for the audience.

They used hand puppets, marionettes and stick puppets.

The dexterity of the puppeteers was beyond belief. Visual effects were also used including fire, smoke and even a peeing puppet which is not something one sees everyday. Every day I walk down a country lane from my room to the imposing edifice of the private school where I work.

In the mornings small, frail birds with zebra markings flit amongst the cane and the bamboo. In the evening the bullfrogs croak a chorus from the sugar cane.

Yunlin is an agricultural paradise of pineapple, coffee, tea, tropical fruits and of course sugar.

A puppeteer with a fine example of his craft.

It is an area where gumboots have status, as it means you have a job. It is also an area where folk tales originate, to be reinvented and told again.

Cue - 16 Winter 2013

Teachers’ Speak...

I

have been delving into the old classics for voice exercises this month and have been enjoying using “Ideal Voice and Speech Training” by Ken Parkin from 1962.

For soft palate/resonance/vowels

M-oo-ning, m-oh-ning, m-aw-ning, m-ah-ning, m-ay-ning, m-ee-ning

Open vowels with final consonants Oot

oht

awt

Oos

ohs

aws

aht

ayt

ahs

ays

eet ees

Shut vowels with difficult consonants clusters Abths ebths

ibths

obths ubths

Shut vowels plus initial and final consonants Pap pep pip pop pup Bab beb bib bob bub Tat tet tit tot tut Thath theth thith thoth thuth

Th Theo Thistler, the thistle sifter, sifted a sieve of sifted thistles into a sieve of unsifted thistles, then sifted a sieve of unsifted thistles into a sieve of sifted thistles, For Theo Thistler was a thistle sifter.

S Moses supposes his toe’s are roses Moses supposes erroneously Moses supposes his toes’s are roses Yes, Moses supposed his toes’s to be.

Anna Coleman Learning Objectives: To develop listening skills, To develop physical coordination, To develop mental concentration.

Age Group: 5+ Participants: Whole group Recommended time for activity: 10-15 minutes

Siren

By Jonathan Lambert A good exercise for exploring and extending the vocal range. It will help to eradicate unexpected ‘catches’ in the throat from occurring when speaking or singing. It’s also a very good icebreaker.

Before you begin, hum for a while. Don’t clamp your lips together but rather see how lightly you can let them touch. Can you feel them tingle at the point of contact? Smile and see what difference that makes.

OK, now let’s make a start. Take a deep breath and make an ‘ooh’ sound. Keep this soft to avoid straining

Winter 2013 Cue - 17

Teachers’ Speak...

the vocal cords.

• Move this sound upwards until you reach the top of your vocal range, then come down to the bot tom of your range. From here, turn and move back up towards the top again.

• Continue up and down through your range, breathing when you reach the end of each breath and restarting from where you left off. ‘Massage’ with sound any parts where the voice disappears, or is broken, by singing up and down through that area of your range until the voice returns.

Note: be careful not to hyperventilate and sit down and rest if you begin to feel dizzy.

Learning Objectives: To warm up the voice, to develop awareness of the breath.Age Group: 10+ Participants: Whole group Recommended time for activity: 10 minutes

Sound Pictures

The leader or one member of the group acts as conductor, whilst the rest of the group are the ‘orchestra’.

Using their voices (and body percussion if appropriate!), the group paints a sound picture of a particular theme, for example the seaside, a city, a jungle. The leader controls the shape of the piece by raising her hand to increase the volume or bringing it to touch the floor for silence.

• One way to do this is to allow everybody to choose their own sound - discuss what types of sound might be appropriate before you start.

• Or, if it is a very large group, or very lively, you can divide the participants into sections, giving a particular sound for each section, then conduct them accordingly.

• The group should bear in mind contrasting and complementary sounds and try to be aware of natural peaks and troughs in the piece - or the conductor can try to create these.

• Sound pictures can easily be used as part of an improvisation or performance Learning Objectives: To develop awareness of how sound may be used to create atmosphere, to develop group awareness.

Age Group: 5+ Participants: Whole group Recommended time for activity: 10-20 minutes

Blank Characters

– Taken from 101 Drama Games and Activities

In pairs, partner A thinks of a real situation that has occurred in his life, involving a disagreement between himself and another person. Partner B is a “blank” character and is told nothing about the situation. A begins to play the situation, using B as the other character - but communicating only with facial expressions. It is a good idea if both characters are sitting down at this point. B responds back, using only facial expression. On a signal, A uses his body to communicate as well - but without moving from the spot.

Next he uses his body in the space, moving around. Each time B responds, using the same style of communication as A. The next stage is the addition of gibberish - speaking in any made up sounds that come to mind. Finally A uses face, body, space and real words to communicate. Afterwards, discuss how much of the situation B guessed before speech was used.

Random Sound Stories Work in small groups of 4 - 6. The groups are asked to come up with a selection of random sounds - with each member making one vocalised sound. Next, the group decides on a sequence in which these sounds are made and practices it. Each group performs its sound sequence in turn to the whole class. Now the groups are asked to make up a story in which these sounds occur - in the sequence already decided upon.

The story can be narrated or acted.

Learning Objectives: To encourage creativity, to develop storytelling and performance skills, to cooperate in group work Age Group: 7+ Participants: Small groups Recommended time for activity: 15-25 minutes

Cue - 18 Winter 2013

Teachers’ Speak...

Count To 20 This is one of the simplest, yet most challenging drama games. Sit or stand in a circle. The idea is for the group to count to twenty, one person saying one number at a time. Anybody can start the count. Then a different person says the next number - but if two or more people happen to speak at the same time, counting must start again from the beginning. It is possible to get to twenty if everybody really concentrates - but try and be relaxed as well.

• Try doing it with and without eye contact • Other variations you can try include members of the group facing outwards and closing their eyes (difficult!) or counting back from twenty to one.

Learning Objectives: To develop group Recommended time for activity: 10-15 minutes Above exercises taken from DRAMA RESOURCE AWARENESS Age Group: 9+ Participants: Whole group Recommended time for activity: 10-15 minutes.

Link below is brilliant for those studying persuasive speaking or speech analysis http://www.vcestudyguides.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2010/09/Persuasive-Techniques-Insight-Outcomes1.pdf

FELICITY’S WARM UP I believe it was in a CUE some years ago that I read a warm-up activity which I have used often as well as making different versions myself.

The facilitator gives each of the students one of the item names beforehand (examples listed at end of these instructions).

On a box at the end of the classroom there is a table (or box) on which are about 50 small square of (coloured - mine are) cardboard.

The facilitator reads the narrative and as their item name is mentioned the one who has been given it runs up and collects one piece of cardboard.

They have to listen carefully because sometimes their name is mentioned several times in a sentence. At the end of the narrative we count up the number of cards each SHOULD have and compare it to the number they ACTUALLY have.

My students really enjoy this game and it does develop listening skills as well as having that little element of competition.

I have played several variations of this (including the original, but can’t remember which that was- apologies to the originator) since the beginning of the year with a new group of students (8-9 years) and was delighted when last week one of them presented me with a version of her own.

We played it and they all congratulated her afterwards.

Have fun with the concept and encourage your students to create their own.

Jan Davis PIG 4

HORSE 6

GOAT 3

SHEEP 2

LLAMA 5

FARM 4

It is a school trip tomorrow and we are going to a farm. I really hope they have a pig, a horse and a llama. They are my favourite animals . The least thing I want to see is a goat and a sheep. I once had a horse and a llama. That’s why they are my favourites. And our neighbour had three fat pigs and would go over to the pig’s pen and play with them I wish I had enough money to buy another llama, or maybe a horse. But I really want a llama because they are so cute. I don’t really like goats because one morning our neighbour gave

Teachers’ Speak...

Winter 2013 Cue - 19

us one and it slobbered all over me. It was gross In bed the night before the trip to the farm, I could not take my mind off thinking about it. Was it going to be good or bad? Are there going to be pigs, horses or even llamas there? I wonder if they have a horse and we can have a little ride on the horse. There were a lot of questions in my head. Then suddenly I was asleep and dreaming about farm animals. But not about sheep or goats, luckily Submitted by Felicity Dawson Jan, I just had a thought that the original one was all about ‘THE WRIGHT FAMILY’ and it was submitted

by Sherilyn Hellier. When I find it I will publish it again in the next Cue. It’s always a valuable exercise and students love it.

Editor

IN THEIR MINDS

(AS 3.2 improvisation exercise)

Requirements:

You must discipline yourself to stay completely in the role of your POD person until you are asked to relax You cannot ask questions You will be given various things to visualise and/or listen to. You must react to them as that person.

Suggestion: Catch the first thread that comes into your mind and follow it.You will need a pen and your scrapbook open to a clean page. You will not be asked to write until the final stage of the exercise.

STEPS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10

Find a solitary spot in the room with no distraction Take 60 seconds to imagine you are your point of departure person. You are in a dark room, can see nothing and your emotions are neutral. All you can see is blackness.

Suddenly a scene from your childhood is illuminated in front of you for 5 seconds. 1 2 3 4 5.

Blackness again. What did you see?

FLASHCARD: STOP! In 10 minutes the person or thing closest to you will no longer exist. You are powerless to prevent it. Who or what is it? Why are you close? What effect will losing it have on your life?

Come back… x2 You are dreaming. You see a wall which is entirely one colour. It starts to form into a shape and move towards you. As soon as you recognise it, it disappears. What was it? How did it make you feel? Why have you dreamt about it?

You are still the person. Move to a surface you can write on with your pen and scrapbook. You are going to write about yourself for 10 minutes without stopping. You may use material from these exercises or anywhere else. You MUST NOT STOP writing – you must think through your pen and write whatever comes into your head.

RELAX Discussion

Submitted by Anna Coleman with permission from Chris Burton- HOD Drama Palmerston North Boys

Deadline for the next CUE is Sunday September 15

Cue is the official journal of Speech New Zealand Association (NZ) Inc.