Download Alice`s Adventures in Operaland: Relaxed

Alice’s Adventures in Operaland: Relaxed Performance
Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne
Sunday 24 May 2015, 3pm
VISUAL STORY
The Relaxed Performance of Alice’s Adventures in Operaland is designed to welcome young people with
additional sensory, communication and learning needs, including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder and
intellectual disabilities. The performance will be presented in a relaxed environment, with elements of the
production adapted to reduce anxiety or stress. It is also suitable for children who would benefit from a
relaxed theatre environment.
This document is designed to assist you in planning your visit to Alice’s Adventures in Operaland.
It contains information about the characters and story of the performance. It also provides images of what
to expect when you visit the Playhouse at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Where is the performance?
Arts Centre Melbourne Theatres Buildings and Forecourt
When you arrive at Arts Centre Melbourne, you might notice the Spire on the top of the building.
The Spire is very tall and a distinctive feature of the Melbourne skyline that can be seen from far
away. When you arrive at Arts Centre Melbourne, you will enter the Theatres building from the
forecourt. You will see a Café on the forecourt too.
Doors at Main Entrance on the Forecourt
These are the main doors at the entrance to the Theatres Building. The surfaces of the doors are
very shiny with lots of gold and mirrors. You might be able to see your reflection in the doors.
Concierge Desk at Arts Centre Melbourne
Once inside the front doors, you will see the Concierge Desk. As there are several theatre venues
at Arts Centre Melbourne, the Concierge staff can assist you with directions to finding your way to
the Playhouse Theatre.
Stairs to the Theatres
All the theatres at Arts Centre Melbourne are underground. These are the stairs to the downstairs
theatre foyers. The Playhouse where Alice’s Adventure in Operaland will be performed is three
levels below ground, so there are lots of stairs! If you’re not good with stairs, don’t worry, we have
lifts you can use to get to the theatre instead. You might notice that the carpets are very red, and
there are lots of shiny, gold surfaces.
Lifts on St Kilda Road Level
There are lifts at Arts Centre Melbourne for people who are not able to use stairs, or might find it
easier to use the lifts.
You will travel in the lift to Level Three. There will be ushers waiting to direct you into the
Playhouse Foyer.
Arts Centre Melbourne Car Park
If you drive to the performance you can park in Arts Centre Melbourne’s Car Park, this is where
you will enter the car park (from Sturt Street). Once you enter the carpark you don’t need to go
outside again to get from your car in to the Playhouse Theatre.
Smorgon Family Plaza
If you are walking to the Playhouse by the stairs, or entering from the car park, you will walk
through the Smorgon Family Plaza. You might notice the bright red carpet and lots of lights and
mirrored surfaces where you can see your reflection. This is where you’ll find the Box Office –
where you can collect your tickets, and the Cloak Room – where you can leave bags, coats or
umbrellas free of charge while you enjoy the performance. Form here you will enter the Playhouse
Theatre Foyer. There are also toilets on this level if you want to go to the toilet before the
performance.
Playhouse Entrance
Once you enter the Playhouse Foyer, you will notice more stairs. If your seats are in the Stalls
(Door 1 & 2) you will need to go down the stairs. If your seats are in the Dress Circle (Doors 3 & 4)
or Wheelchair Room (Door 6), you will need to head around to the left of the stairs.
Playhouse Foyer
This is the foyer in the Stalls of the Playhouse (downstairs) – there is another foyer upstairs in the
Dress Circle too. The foyers are where you may be asked to wait before entering the theatre.
There will be other people waiting here too. There are also more toilets in both of these foyers if
you need them. There will also be ushers if you have any questions.
Entry Door to the Playhouse Theatre
This is one of the entry doors into the Playhouse where Alice’s Adventures in Operaland will be
performed. There are four doors similar to this one – two upstairs and two downstairs. Your ticket
will have your door number printed on it.
Inside the Playhouse Theatre
The inside of the theatre where the seats are is called the auditorium. The auditorium in the
Playhouse consists of two sections – the Stalls (downstairs) and the Dress Circle (upstairs). There
are rows of seats facing the stage, from where the singers will perform Alice’s Adventures in
Operaland. This picture was taken from the stage – it is the view the performers will have looking
out at you. There are some stairs at the side of the auditorium that you will walk down to get to
your seats. There will be ushers to help you find your seats. The seats are very comfortable. This
is where you can sit down and relax. There will be lots of other people sitting near you and it will
be quite noisy. During the performance the lights in the auditorium will be dimmed but they will
never be turned off.
Quiet Areas
If at any stage during the performance you would like to leave the auditorium and go somewhere
quiet, you can come back out into the foyers. Out there will be a quiet place away from the
performance where you can relax. You can go back to watch the rest of the show when you feel
ready.
Show Notes
Alice’s Adventures in Operaland is a special kind of show called an Opera. That means
the performers will sing rather than speak. The performers will be singing languages
other than English, such as German and Italian. The characters of Alice and the White
Rabbit will also speak parts of the story in English – they will introduce each new scene,
tell you where it takes place and give an idea of what is happening there. You will also see
some musicians down in front of the stage who will play their instruments live. They are
called the Orchestra and they sit in the Orchestra Pit. They are an important part of the
Opera.
When the performance is ready to begin the lights will go just a little dimmer. It will not go
dark at all – the lights will always stay on. This means that if you want to get out of
your seat you can. You can move and walk around the auditorium if you want to. Or you
can stay in your seat.
Make sure you don’t go on the stage. The stage is only for the performers and
musicians.
You will have a lot of fun during the performance. There is lots of singing and dancing.
Sometimes it might be loud but don’t worry, nothing will hurt you. If the sounds are too loud
you can put your hands over your ears, or wear your headphones (if you’ve brought them).
After each song, some people will clap. Clapping is a nice way to tell the performers you
liked their song. If you want to clap, you can. You don’t have to clap if you don’t want to.
If you want some quiet time away from the performance you can visit the Quiet Area out in
the Foyer. You can go to the Quiet Area to relax at any time. When you feel ready you can
come back to your seat in the auditorium to watch the rest of the show!
The Story: Alice’s Adventures in Operaland
Chapter 1: The Land of The Magic Flute
The White Rabbit is transformed into the Prince Tamino and Alice is recruited by the
bossy ladies to be the Third one. They punish Papageno for telling lies and give the
Prince a Magic Flute to assist him on his quest.
‘Quintet’ from The Magic Flute
Chapter 2: The Land of The Barber of Seville
The White Rabbit is transformed into the Count, who engages an entrepreneurial Barber
from Seville who assists him in meeting a beautiful girl.
‘Duet’ from The Barber of Seville
Chapter 3: The Land of Hansel and Gretel
Alice, tired after the Barber’s chatter, wishes to have a rest. White Rabbit takes her to
meet Hansel where they sing the evening prayer together and fall asleep.
‘The Evening Prayer’ from Hansel & Gretel
Chapter 4: The Land of La bohème
Alice wakes after dreaming of traveling to Paris for Christmas. White rabbit tells her it’s
not a dream, and together they watch Mimi and Rodolfo fall in love.
‘Act 1 Duet’ from La Bohème
Chapter 5: The Land of The Italian Girl in Algiers
The White Rabbit is one of five chaotic characters caught up in an outrageous argument.
‘Quintet’ from The Italian Girl in Algiers
Chapter 6: The Land of Lakmé
Alice becomes Mallika, Lakmé’s best friend. They sit in a beautiful temple garden and
sing about jasmine and lotus flowers.
‘Flower Duet’ from Lakmé
Chapter 7: The Land of Cinderella
Alice meets Cinderella and returns her shoe. Cinderella invites all her friends to join her.
They sing of the good fortune she now finds herself in.
‘Aria & Finale Act 2’ from La Cenerentola
(N.B. At the end of this document you will find more detail about what happens in each of the
‘Lands’ in the Scene Descriptors)
The Actors and the Characters they play
In Alice’s Adventures in Operaland there are a number of singers/performers. They will each
be dressed up in different costumes during different scenes of the show. This is because
throughout the performance they will be pretending to be different characters in the story.
At the start of the performance, you will meet Alice and the White Rabbit. They will introduce
you to the orchestra and the other performers.
Here are photographs of the performers and some information about the characters they play.
This is Emma. She plays the
character of Alice who takes
us on the adventure through
Operaland.
This is Michael. He plays
these characters: White
Rabbit, Tamino, Count,
Lindoro. In this photo he is
dressed as White Rabbit.
This is Cristina. She plays
Lakme, Gretel, Elvira,
Hansel and 1st Lady. In this
photo she is dressed as
Lakme from the opera
Lakme.
This is Nathan. He plays
the characters Figaro and
Mustafa. In this photo he
is dressed as Figaro from
the Barber of Seville.
This is Matthew. He plays
Papageno and Taddeo. In
this photo he is dressed as
Papageno from The Magic
Flute.
This is Elizabeth. She plays
Isabella and Cinderella. In
this photo she is dressed as
Isabella from The Italian Girl
in Algiers.
Scene Descriptors – Alice’s Adventures in OperaLand
THE LAND OF THE MAGIC FLUTE
The White Rabbit is transformed into Tamino, a Prince

Papageno has had his mouth zipped by the bossy three Ladies for telling lies

The three Ladies release Papageno

The three Ladies give Tamino a Magic Flute which will protect him on his quest

The Ladies tell Papageno he must travel with Tamino. They give him magic bells to protect him

Papageno is afraid of the journey and what dangers they may meet

Tamino and Papageno begin the journey to the sacred temple
THE LAND OF THE BARBER OF SEVILLE
The White Rabbit is transformed into the Count

The Count wants the barber to help him meet a beautiful girl he has seen

Figaro is happy to help the Count “for a price”

Figaro suggests the Count disguises himself as a soldier so he can gain entry to her home

The Count tells Figaro he is a genius

The Counts ask Figaro where he will find him later

Figaro tells him to look for shop #15 which has a lantern in the window

The Count pays Figaro handsomely for his assistance
THE LAND OF HANSEL AND GRETEL
The White Rabbit asks Alice to play the part of Gretel

Hansel appears and is very sleepy

Hansel and Gretel say their bedtime evening prayer
THE LAND OF LA BOHÈME
Alice and the White Rabbit listen as the young lovers sing their beautiful duet

Rodolfo tells Mimì how lovely she looks in the moonlight

They decide to meet their friends at the Café Momus
THE LAND OF THE ITALIAN GIRL IN ALGIERS
The White Rabbit is transformed into Lindoro

Isabela, Lindoro, Mustafà, Taddeo and Elvira are having an outrageous argument

Don’t try and keep up…..just watch the stage!
THE LAND OF LAKMÉ
Alice is transformed into Mallika, Lakmé’s best friend

Lakmé beckons Mallika to accompany her to the cool and calm water

Mallika thinks her friend looks very happy by the water

They sing of jasmine flowers

Suddenly Lakmé is fearful and Mallika calms her by again singing of the jasmine and the beautiful river
bank
THE LAND OF CINDERELLA
Cinderella explains how her life has changed since she was a poor cinder maid

Cinderella’s friends agree that she deserved to be richly rewarded

Cinderella will no longer cry by the chimney, and sings of her joyous new life

what wonderful places we’ve been

what marvellous things we’ve seen

Magical music, fabulous shows

In fantastic worlds where anything goes
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