Video transcript
Drama Company 2021 – Tales from the Wild Bush – 01. Introduction

[arts unit jingle]

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JANE SIMMONS: Hi, I'm Jane Simmons, Drama Performance Officer here at the Arts Unit. So what we're doing today is the first of our devised performances with the New South Wales Public Schools Drama Company for 2021.

Now, what we set out to do, this year, is a little bit different from anything that we've ever done before. So, normally, we would do a pre-scripted work, but we really wanted to do something that could sit freely in the digital space as well as in the live space, and also cater for what we felt was a gap that we have done in our programmes before, which was specifically for children. So what we have done is we've worked with directors and writers Rob Jago and Emma Palmer. And working, then, with 18 students from all across public schools in New South Wales in year groups from Year 7 to 12 is that we have completely devised an original children's theatre production.

Now, this show, 'Tales from the Wild Bush,' is going to have its very first audience today, and so they are very excited about how children will react to this material and these characters that they've created. But more than that, they're so excited that this piece can now live in the digital space copyright-free in everything in the show that we're able to use, music, the script itself, and the performances, so that every student in every school can access this performance and the resources that go with it.

So we hope that you enjoy the show as much as we have enjoyed creating it, and I think that the themes that come out of this show and the characters that emerge will be ones that really resonate with young people. And it's a wonderful resource that we're so happy to share with you. Thanks for watching.

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