Against Progress Programme

A NOTE FROM THE

DIRECTOR

Thank you for supporting our play tonight. It has been a challenging piece for the ensemble to work on as we kept unravelling layer upon layer of each scene, discovering new nuances and angles right up to the end. In dissecting the script and characters, the students came to discover the responsibility of the theatre artist in our society. Through the process of working together, the ensemble intrinsically developed an understanding of the power of stories and the value of human connections and collaboration. Finding an artistic vision together is a very personal and time-binding process. We hope that you find this play as thought-provoking as we have and enjoy the discussions that are likely to stem from watching it.

JUDY MARKTHALER

Scene Breakdown

Too Bad (song by Ian Fischer) | Nicholas Belluk & Sophie Sinclair

Scene 1

Cast

Music

Birds (Song by Emilliana Torrini) Isabella Edmonds - Voice Alex Brun - Piano

Aiden Carere Meridy Meikle Jaya Melville

Man Woman Child

2

Martha Shaw Henry Crerar Katherine O’Brien

Girl Injured Man Neighbour

Save Me (Song by Aimee Mann) Sophie Sinclair

3

Aiden Carere Henry Crerar Madeleine Campeau

Friend 1 Friend 2 Secretary

I Put a Spell on You (Song by Jay Hawkins) Madeleine Campeau

4

Jarick Vance Sarah Mejia

Father Mother

I Don’t Like Mondays (Song by Bob Geldof) Ji Soo You - Voice Alex Brun - Piano

5

Katherine O’Brien Kyle Deslippe Eva Grdina Lara Markthaler Jaya Melville Atria Zehtab

Teacher Henry Chid 1 Child 2 Child 3 Chid 4

Good Friday (Song by Cocorosie) Linghsan Li - Voice Ji Soo You - Guitar

David Caroline

Alabama Song (Song by Kurt Weil) Andrew Lo - Voice Zhen Wei Lou - Guitar Alex Brun - Piano

6 7

Aiden Carere Martha Shaw

Aiden Carere (voice recording), Henry Crerar, Meridy Meikle, Sarah Mejia, Martha Shaw, Jarick Vance, Katherine O’Brien.

Cast AIDEN CARERE Man, Friend 1, David, Seal & Seal Voice

MERIDY MEIKLE Woman, Seal

HENRY CRERAR Injured man, Friend 2, Seal

MARTHA SHAW Girl, Caroline, Seal

MADELEINE CAMPEAU Secretary, Singer

SARAH MEJIA Mother, Seal

JARICK VANCE Father, Seal

KATHERINE O’BRIEN Conductor, Neighbour, Teacher, Assistant Director

LARA JAYA MELVILLE KYLE DESLIPPE MARKTHALER Refugee girl, Henry School child School child

ATRIA ZEHTAB School child

Musicians

NICHOLAS BELLUK

ISABELLA EDMONDS

JI SOO YOU

LINGHSAN LI

SOPHIE SINCLAIR

ANDREW LO

EVANGELINE GRDINA School child

ZHEN WEI LOU

ALEX BRUN

Natassja By, Music Coach

Crew

Amin Gulamani, Lighting Assistant

Linda Gill-Crone & Team, Make-up

Ava Thompson, Backstage Manager

Dylan Walmsley, Production Manager

Matt Kennedy, Digital Film Technician

Aidan Deslippe, Lighting & Technical Design

Play Description

Although the title sounds like a programmatic appeal, the play itself refuses to find correlations and draw conclusions. The seven strange scenes are like miniature portraits, each containing a hugely disruptive factor which is embedded in seemingly everyday situations. This disturbance is often connected to death or the great unknown, forcing the characters to confront the question of who or what they would like to be and how presumptuous they would like to be when facing decisions about fate, life, and death. At their core, they all desire and are greedy for power, and in this process, they do away with their identity. This play, full of bizarre snapshots, pushes the boundaries of reality further with each scene, taking a subtle ironic approach to the concept of progress.

Thank you!

NATASSJA BY We are truly grateful to Natassja for bringing in the G12 music students to do the music for the play.

KAREM PLANAS & MICHELLE NOBLE Karem and Michelle, thank you for your work on the publicity and programme. It was a pleasure to work with you!

LINDA GILL-CRONE Thank you, Linda, for your time and genuine interest in our play including a spontaneous brainstorming session!

CHRISTIAN AND LARA MARKTHALER A huge thank you to my husband, Christian and daughter, Lara, for helping with the apple(s).

DYLAN WALMSLEY Thank you, Dylan, for helping with so much more than just the lights.

SARAH BERNSTEIN Thank you, Sarah, for all your help in coaching the actors.

MATT KENNEDY Thanks, Matt, for doing the voice recordings and putting together the video material.

TISH JOLLY Tish, for painting the basket and television at the last minute and saving the set, we thank you.

MARK STEFFENS A huge thank you to Mark for taking the headshots of the cast. We’re grateful for your patience and kindness in answering all questions, and pointing us the right direction.

MIKE LOPEZ, FARHAD NAJAFICHALESTRARI & TEAM We would like to thank Mike, Farhad, and the facilities team for their constant support and kindness - every day!

KEITHA CAMPEAU Thanks, Keitha, for choreographing the dance piece and coaching Madeleine’s singing.

CRAIG DAVIS We are very grateful to Craig for your support and understanding of the artistic process. He always took a moment to listen and support us.

JOHN WRAY Thank you, John, for your continued support of the arts.

Lastly, to all the parents, for your support and having your children at rehearsals, prepared and on time. And thank you for your delicious contributions to our communal food table!