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State Theatre Company of South Australia State Theatre Company of South Australia is the state's flagship professional theatre company performing an annual season of classic and contemporary Australian and international theatre works at its main performance home – the Dunstan Playhouse. The Company is a major community and cultural resource for all South Australians and is vital to artistic life in the state. State Theatre Company also plays an important role in the bigger picture of the Australian theatre scene, contributing touring productions and providing employment and career opportunities for artists and technical and administrative staff. We are committed to the development of new works for the stage and to the development of South Australian artists through our creative fellowship programs. Throughout our 35 year history, the Company has played a pivotal role in the careers of many of Australia's leading actors, writers and directors, attracting artists of the calibre of Neil Armfield, Ruth Cracknell, Judy Davis, Gale Edwards, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sharman, Hugo Weaving and John Wood. EDUCATION PROGRAM 2008 marks the launch of an exciting new series of educational opportunities available to young people. We’re committed to encouraging the next generation of audiences and artists, so whether you’re a teacher or a student, we want to enrich your understanding of theatre and inspire your imaginations. It’s a fundamental and valued part of our work. Our Education Program is all about explaining how theatre works, how plays come to life in the hands of actors, directors and designers of all kinds. We want to keep the magic alive but unlock some of the mysteries - or just to help make the words on the page less cryptic. We’re here to encourage, illuminate and inspire you. You don’t have to want to make a career out of it to enjoy the journey with us. Just come on over to our space and play. It’s habit-forming! Adam Cook Artistic Director PRODUCTION CREDITS Ruby Moon By Matt Cameron Director Designer Stage Manager Lighting Design Sound Designer Cast Lizzie Falkland Craig Behenna Geordie Brookman Morag Cook Kerry Ireland Kerry Ireland Catherine Oates - Sylvie (the mother) - Dulcie (the spinster) - Veronica (the singer) - Dawn (the babysitter) - Ray (the father) - Sid Craven (the clown) - Sonny Jim (the soldier) - Carl Ogle (the inventor) THEMES & ISSUES - Guilt Grief & Loss/Emotions Fear of the Unknown Suburban Life Play within a play Naturalism vs Fairytale Circular Patterns – emotions, repetition Relationships - Parent – Child & Husband – Wife Personality traits Tension and Release PLAYWRIGHT – Matt Cameron An award-winning playwright and screenwriter, Matt’s plays include Tear From A Glass Eye, (winner of the Wal Cherry Play of the Year Award) with productions by Playbox, Black Swan and the Gate Theatre in London, where he was nominated for the Evening Standard Awards; Footprints On Water, winner of the British Council International New Playwriting Award with productions by Neonheart, Griffin and La Mama; Mr Melancholy, winner of the ANPC/New Dramatists Award with productions by Griffin, La Boite, Chameleon, New York Stage & Film in New York, Theatre de l’Erre in Paris and Teatr Ad Spectatores in Poland; and The Eskimo Calling, produced by Neonheart and Belvoir B Sharp. Matt has also written Hinterland, nominated for the NSW Premier’s Literary Award; Man The Balloon, nominated for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award; and a short play Whispering Death which were all produced by Melbourne Theatre Company. Ruby Moon was nominated for the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award and has been produced by Sydney Theatre Company, Playbox, Neonheart, Northern Stage in England and Théâtre Claque in Switzerland. Screen credits include Seachange, Crashburn, Newstopia, script editor for Kath & Kim and co-creator/co-writer/director of AWGIE award-winning Introducing Gary Petty. What was your initial inspiration in writing the play Ruby Moon? By some degree, the various headlines in the newspapers. Sadly those sorts of headlines are a constant, but for some reason there may have been a number of them at the time which sparked me. A missing child is such a universal tragedy with a primal impact. It arouses such potent emotions in the people that it immediately affects, and then beyond that, to communities. I can read a story from the other side of the world concerning a missing child and it still has a powerful emotional effect so empathy is not just about proximity. The challenge with Ruby Moon has been finding a way of writing a play that told a fictional story about a missing child that was distinctive because in some ways it is familiar territory. Workshops were part of the writing process, how useful is the workshop process? The original actors definitely impacted on the writing process in so far as we had discussions and workshop readings of the play at its various stages of development where their contributions were definitely noted by me. Whether it was just listening to a rhythm in their speech or, more directly, with them offering an idea or an improvised line that I would pounce on. How do you feel having a different director, company and actors performing your play? When you write a play you can’t be precious to the point of wanting to hold onto every production that might ever be staged. I think it’s really important that a play gets to go out on that journey and be produced in other contexts without the playwright grasping onto it too tightly. New productions can also be great in terms of learning about the play by seeing other actors, other directors and designers. I think that ultimately plays have to be re-interpreted. It’s always interesting for me when I see another production of a play beyond the first one because I learn more from seeing how people approached it without my direct involvement. Were there any particular themes or concepts you wished to highlight in the play Ruby Moon? On some level, although it’s probably obscure, I felt like the play was about the prevailing fear of our times. I was trying to get beyond the fear of losing a child and actually look at the nature of that unease, that dis-ease that lurks and hovers in the world that we live in at the moment. How would you describe the style of your play? Gothic, absurd, nightmarish, surreal. I make a conscious effort in writing a play to make it theatrical and abstract. I think there are playwrights who do naturalism brilliantly, so I leave that territory to them. However, I think that playwrights who don’t do naturalism well are responsible for boring theatre. So if I can’t write great naturalism then I would rather not write it at all. Ruby Moon is written, therefore, in the style that I favour which is a type of heightened naturalism. It is still very much predicated on universal human emotions but isn’t directly about topical events or specific places, but hopefully evokes them. The way I write plays all comes back to when I was first taught at school about the metaphor and the simile. I remember the teacher saying that a simile is where one thing is said to be ‘like’ another whereas a metaphor is where one thing is said to ‘be’ another. My imagination was instantly drawn to the metaphor. The idea is that hopefully there is room in the play for an audience to associate what they see on stage – however strange – with their own lives. To give them room to imagine and make connections and find a truth from it that is specific to them. Did you envisage a particular space or set for Ruby Moon? When I was writing Ruby Moon, I imagined the literal landscape, knowing that we would be representing that on stage, and that we’d be trying to trigger that image. So I was trying to imagine a street in my head which had these old, dark trees and street lamps, with pockets of light and vast shadows. I was imagining a street at night even though the story of Ruby’s disappearance begins on a screamingly hot summer’s day. Overwhelmingly the street felt to me like a street that probably looks pictureperfect during the day but at night suddenly becomes frightening and portentous. I grew up in the sad, bare, outer suburbs. This particular image, though, was probably more inner suburban with old deciduous trees, a really established suburb. So I imagined that real, natural world and then imagined the context for it on stage. I started to imagine a room, a room that was arrested in time because, for these parents, the loss of their child has caused everything to stop and has allowed the dust to accumulate. I imagined that everything was locked in a time warp. Using similar themes to Little Red Riding Hood, Ruby goes into the woods but, in this case, she doesn’t return. Is this what you were thinking? It’s strange with the ‘woods’ because the play takes place in a street called Flaming Tree Grove, one that is lined with flame trees and, I have a confession to make, I’m sure I have seen flame trees but I really can’t picture specifically what they are. Typical of my lack of research and wilful ignorance, I preferred not to know. I just like the name of them. In a way I’m not even literally imagining a street with flame trees, it’s more the idea of them – that when the sun sets on this street the trees look as if they’ve caught on fire. I was trying to imagine a pastiche rather than a specific landscape, one that was poetically evocative. What do you see as being the role of playwrights in our society? I think it’s about demanding our own relevance. I have no belief that playwrights are intrinsically important and that they should be listened to. That privilege needs to be earned and demanded by the quality of the work. To me, playwriting is about telling stories in a way that is distinctive from other story telling forms. It’s about making the theatre a place people feel compelled to go to in order to hear a story told in a way that they could not find in a book or on television or in film. So I see the role of the playwright as being one of trying to tell stories distinctively and using all the virtues of the theatre to do it. Beyond that I think the role of the playwright is to challenge the homogenisation of thought. I write for television as well and in writing for television there are so many more people putting their fingers into the pie. Often the result is diluted and diminished. So, the theatre to me is still this pure world where you can actually tell the story as you would like to tell it. Is a playwright’s role potentially a powerful opportunity? Absolutely! Sometimes the most dangerous aspects of ourselves are revealed in the theatre. Beyond that, in a more general sense, I strongly feel the role of the playwright is to move audiences, to deeply move them. Because in the theatre the audience is sharing the same space as the storytellers there is such potential for connection. It’s a waste if you’re not trying to work at the most extreme and powerful ends of the spectrum. There’s no point being timid in the theatre because it’s just a wasted opportunity. What do you think audiences will enjoy the most about Ruby Moon? Being transported into another world, the feeling of mystery and intrigue... and relishing the chameleonic abilities of the actors. DIRECTOR – Geordie Brookman What attracted you to Ruby Moon? I think on my first read of the script what attracted me was the way Matt had managed to make a discussion of such a universal theme, grief, work on such an intimate level. One of the first things I look for in a play is whether it creates its own little world, a space and time slightly separate from everything around it, Ruby Moon certainly has this quality. On a performance level it was an attractive piece to work on because of the amount of transformation it involves. The play contains a wonderful challenge, how can you create an entire street full of people just using a few props? It’s invigorating when you come across material like that. What do you want the characters to reveal throughout the show? I suppose the central thing I want to ‘reveal’ is that every instance of grief is an incredibly individual experience. Through the characters in Ruby Moon we want to illuminate some of the effects of grief. Every character in the play has lost something or someone and that loss has changed them as people. The other central concept that we want to shed some light on is the patterns or repetitions people can get stuck in after experiencing trauma. How does this affect the blocking process? Well, given we are dealing with a number of highly eccentric characters a large part of the blocking process is quite free, quite open. The nature of the play means that the performers have to take a lot of risks, committing 100% to some very strange characters. An important part of the process has been discovering the different physicalities for each character, how they move, how they hold their energy. In terms of the wider stage picture the main affect on the blocking is the fact that we are utilising circular shapes and finding gestures and pictures that we can repeat and degrade over the course of the play. How different is it to approach rehearsals with 2 actors playing various roles? Did you brief the actors in any way? It doesn’t affect things too much. Most actors are use to playing multiple characters. The most important thing is ensuring that all the characters are different enough. As we have a slightly shortened rehearsal process on the project I did ask the actors to have a few ideas in terms of voice and physicality ready to go on day one. How does a director help create pace and rhythm with the text? It often depends on the play you are working on. With a piece like Ruby Moon there is already a very strong sense of pace and rhythm within Matt’s writing so part of the job is done for you. One the whole the director needs to ensure that the emotional pace of the scene matches up correctly with the pace of the delivery. Often changes may be as small as encouraging actors to take a breath or give themselves a slight pause in the midst of a certain line. Pacing is usually something that is negotiated differently by every director and cast but getting the rhythm of dialogue right is a little like conducting music. How did you work with the designer to come up with the feel and style for the set and costumes? Morag (the designer) and I went through a process over a number of months. To start with we just talked generally about the play and things like colour scheme. As we got more of a feel for the characters and themes in the play clues started to emerge in terms of what sort of world we wanted to create on stage. Our key sources were a number of old, silhouette drawings from fairytale books and a Francis Bacon picture, Seated Figure. So we mixed together these more abstract ideas and sources with the practical requirements that the play and tour demands and the set emerged from there. Our central logic was based around the idea that everything you see on stage could be found somewhere in a single, suburban home Have you tried to create a uniquely Australian element to the play? If so, how? Not particularly. As I mentioned before one of the strengths of the play is its universal theme, I guess it picks up Australian elements purely by the fact that we are Australian artists working on it presenting it to Australian audiences. We did want the costumes to echo what some people would call ‘Howard’s Australia’, a sense of nostalgia for the 1950s. Do you have your own thoughts or opinion of what happened to Ruby? I do but it probably wouldn’t help anyone to reveal them. Despite the fact that the question of what happened to Ruby carries the play’s suspense it’s not really what the script is about. I imagine Sylvie comes closest when she says: She was probably taken and . . . hurt. It’s kind of impossible to get more specific than that. How did you get a career in directing? I acted all the way through high school and started making short films when I was in year 12. I realised pretty quickly that I liked being behind the camera more than in front of it. So I applied for and got into the directing course at Flinders University Drama Centre, which is where my focus shifted to directing theatre. After finishing at Flinders I started directing plays in the Adelaide Fringe and working as an Assistant Director for more established directors. It sort of rolled on from there! DESIGNER – Morag Cook What elements of design have you used to create mood and atmosphere for Ruby Moon? A theatre designer must be able to communicate visually a wide range of themes. Most of these themes have to work on an almost subconscious level in order to not detract from the action on the stage. Designers have a large range of ‘tools’ at their disposal. We use all of the mediums related to visual arts such as colour, texture, scale, symbolism and concept to create an environment, which is appropriate to the play. How did you work with the director to come up with the feel and style for the set and costumes? Any design process ultimately begins with a reaction to the material to be produced (in this case a script). The director and I had an initial discussion, which was very open and loose about what the play might be about. Themes began to become apparent on the first read and we came to discussions with a varied set of images in response to the script. We talked in terms of colour, visual imagery (paintings that we loved), films and symbols. Second and subsequent meetings were dedicated to developing a concept. This was the creation of the confines that define the play and it was an opportunity to come to a shared vision of what the work will leave with the audience. I began to dream within these confines and try to produce visual components that underpinned the conceptual intentions in three dimensions. It was at this time that I begin to integrate the very important technical requirements of the production into my thought processes. Thinking about budget, venue specifications, time line and labour ultimately helped to make the realisation of the design much more achievable and these factors did influence the final product. Working with all of these considerations, I immersed myself in the creation process and focussed on representing all of the conceptual ideas in the set and the costumes. Geordie would offer input, I would reassess and work back into the design until he felt that I had given him every thing that he needed for the play, performers, and audience alike. What is the greatest challenge with costumes in this production? The writer is clear that the costumes should be minimal. The performer has a series of very quick costume changes on stage and the flow of the production should not be stoped at these times. I had to conceptually make sense as to why they change on stage. The greatest challenge was to produce costumes that have the strongest character impact both for the audience and the performer alike with out being too complicated. What is the greatest challenge with the set in this production? I think the greatest challenge is that the set will be touring to eight different venues. It has to be able to make a large impact but also take no longer than one hour to be bumped into the venue. The venues are all different with varying seating configurations, loading dock doors, rigging capabilities. All of these factors have to be considered during the design process. What influences did you use in the design process? Geordie and I were very drawn to a number of visual images in the designing of the play. Our visual influences were old black and white block printed children’s illustrations (tradition European fairy tale), a painting by Francis Bacon (seated figure1961), writings by Angela Carter, 1950’s clothing, traditional theatrical imagery (red velvet curtains for example) and the voyeuristic world of the peep show. What are some essentials to think about before designing any play? The director has a number of factors to consider. What will the space that the designer created, offer the director and performers as a playing field? What is the audiences relationship to the playfield? (eg. is the space intimate) Will the performers be able to function in the space? Will the design support the action rather than be purely visual? Lastly, who is the audience? The designer must consider not only all of the above, but budget, venue, time line, labour costs and how to physically produce the elements. How did you get involved in design? I was trained as a pattern cutter and dressmaker. I worked for a year at State Opera Company of South Australia as a seamstress and then at South Australia Film Co as head pattern cutter. I worked with the designers closely and began to be very interested in Design. I had been involved in theatre in some way or another for a great many years and it seemed like a natural progression to enter the designing field (I found this so much more exciting.) I gained a position in the Advanced Diploma of Design for Live Production, Theatre and Events at Centre For Performing Arts in Adelaide. This gave me the opportunity to meet amazing designers who were working in the industry who challenged my perception of what the designer does. I feel that this time at college was about learning skills and when I graduated I began to develop a philosophy and a deeper sense of the purpose of theatre and my place in it. SET DESIGN FOR RUBY MOON Look at and discuss the set design for Ruby Moon . - How does it help create the mood for the performance? (Think about design elements including; line, shape, colour and atmosphere.) The designer has talked about some of the elements she has gained inspiration from to design the set and costumes; - How have the black and white fairy tale illustrations been used? - Research the painting “Seated Figure” by Francis Bacon and note any similarities in style between the painting style and the set. - Discuss how the red curtain was used and how effective it was in creating the various images throughout the show. SOUND DESIGNER – Catherine Oates Catherine has worked as a musician, composer and sound designer for over 15 years. She is an award winning recording artist and producer, encompassing many styles of music, numerous instruments and roles throughout her diverse career. Highlights so far include composer/performer in Special Delivery and Sharon, Keep Ya Hair On (Patch Theatre Company), composer/performer in Precious 2000, Continual Unfolding of Now in 2006 (Restless Dance Company), composer / performer for Soaring (Cirkidz and Kurruru Youth Indigenous Performing Arts), composer for Checklist for an Armed Robber in 2006 and Love in 2007 for Vitalstatistix, Boston Marriage in 2004, Frozen in 2005 and Triple Threat in 2007 for the State Theatre Company of SA. She has performed with The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in State Theatre Company’s production of Cabaret, and many bands. She continues to be sought after as a performer, musical collaborator, adviser, producer and composer. ACTORS Lizzie Falkland When did you first become interested in acting? At School. I had a really dedicated and inspiring teacher in high school, but I think I always had an interest in storytelling even when I was very young. What training have you done? I have a BA in Performance from The University of Western Sydney. I also try and keep learning and training by doing workshops with artists I admire and am keen to grow and stretch as a performer. Every show is an opportunity to keep growing and expanding as an actor and observer of life. It’s a work in progress! What attracted you to Ruby Moon? I was immediately drawn to the writing, I laughed and cried when I read the play. It’s complex and layered with some fabulous characters to sink your teeth into. It’s a lovely challenge to bring the audience on the journey of Sylvie and Ray. How do you prepare to play the different characters in Ruby Moon? Lots of experimentation and playing! Thinking about real life people who may resemble aspects of the characters. I also work on vocal and physical characteristics of each individual. What do you think happened to Ruby? I think it’s better if it remains a mystery. As in real life, there aren’t always neat and tidy answers to everything. What advice would you give to someone who is interested in a career on the stage? Keep an open mind. Foster your imagination and creativity by reading, writing, seeing shows and films and generally observing life in all its complexity. Find out what kind of training is available, here and interstate. Talk to people who’ve been to different drama schools. Training helps refine your techniques and teaches you different methods of approach to performance. There are some great courses available for young people interested in direction and designing too. Even if you don’t want to be a professional actor, having an understanding of performance can help you in all walks of life. Acting is really a branch of psychology. You learn about what makes different people tick, including yourself. Craig Behenna When did you first become interested in acting? I was six and my parents let me listen to the Goon Show on the ABC. I loved Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. I started watching lots of old movies – I always liked old-school actors like Dirk Bogarde and Alex Guinness. What training have you done? I went to the Flinders Drama Centre and spent some time at Guildford School of Acting in the UK. What attracted you to Ruby Moon? I think the range of characters and its language. It has a rhythm that helps us get ‘into’ the flow of the play. How do you prepare to play the different characters in Ruby Moon? It’s important for me to start with the voice. The voice suggests the character’s mood, body and personality. Also reading the whole play many times and not just the individual character scenes was important to fit the character into the overall show. What do you think happened to Ruby? I don’t know! The characters I’m playing don’t know, it’s a mystery to them. They’re all trying to find out what happened and it would make a mess of it for me if I tried to solve the mystery. What advice would you give to someone who is interested in a career on the stage? Read as much as you can. Do lots of work on you voice and your physical skills. Be very clear about the kind of acting you want to do and learn the different styles, philosophies and so on, that underpin them. If you have a thorough understanding of the history of what you’re doing you’ll have a much better range of choices you can make when you’re acting. Study people as much as you can – people do some weird and amazing things and it will broaden your perspective about what’s ‘real’. Bring your own energy to what you do. Study actors you like and work out what you like about them, then find your own version of what they do. Make it your own. Don’t be afraid to try other things – you may find you have a talent as a director, a writer, a producer as well as acting. This also helps get an understanding of what everyone else does. TO GET A PLAY STARTED AUDITION PROCESS For the auditions for Ruby Moon actors were asked to prepare 3 scenes from the show because of the need to be different characters/personalities. Each audition was approximately a half hour with a male and a female actor working with each other on these scenes. The male actors read the scene with Sylvie and Sid and needed to show through different voices and body language how they could become this disturbed character. The female actors read the scene with Veronica and Ray. With this character they needed to show the sexier more predatory side of femininity. Then together they read part of the final scene between Sylvie and Ray, which is highly emotionally charged. Throughout the scene the director may ask them to try something different. This can help with seeing how an actor relates to direction and can also help the actor understand the portion of the script. The majority of actors at these type of auditions prepare ahead by reading the full script and learning the lines for the scenes they have been asked to prepare. Some actors also like to bring in their own props. REHEARSAL PROCESS Rehearsals run for 3 weeks and then there is a technical run of the show in the theatre. In rehearsals actors are given time to develop their characters, block the scenes and work on lines. Roles at rehearsals: The director; - Directs actors on; voice and physicality of characters, the emotions of each character and can help with the depth and background creation of a character. - Works on line delivery - Ensure the flow of scenes - Makes sure all the elements of set design, costumes, lighting and sound come together - Ultimately they create the whole vision of the show. Stage manager - Organises rehearsal schedule - Keeps cast time sheets - Coordinates with the Director and Designers - Liaise closely with the Wardrobe department for cast fittings - Takes notes during rehearsal - Marks out floor space in rehearsal room - Organises technical specifications - Organises Bump-in & Bump-out of theatres and call times for cast and crew The tech run works with lighting and sound, the full set and props and costumes are used. This helps ensure the timing of sound and lighting cues for the stage crew and the actors. MEDIA/RESEARCH There have been many famous cases of child disappearances; The Beaumont children, Azaria Chamberlain, Rhianna Barreau and recently Maddie McCann. Research newspaper articles, text or plays that deal with missing children in Australia. 1. Discuss the fears, emotions and media hype that surrounds these stories. 2. Why do you think parents become suspects in these crimes? 3. Why do you think these stories are so closely followed in the media? 4. What do you think happens to these parents who never find the answer to their child’s disappearance? 5. What affect do you think losing a child has on the parent’s relationship with each other – or with their other children? FAIRYTALES There are many fairytales that explore the concept of a missing or lost child. • Wizard of Oz • Little Red Riding Hood • Alice in Wonderland • Goldilocks and the 3 Bears • The Pied Piper • Hansel and Gretel 1. 2. 3. 4. What do these stories have in common? Why do you think this theme is so popular and recurring? Why is it so often a little girl? How does the story of Ruby Moon link some of these fairytale images into the play? Create a short play focusing on the families of one of the missing children, using the above fairytales as you story guide. In your play discuss; - How they find their child missing - What they do to find their child - Make sure you show what type of emotions they go through AUSTRALIAN DRAMA What images in the performance of Ruby Moon make it uniquely Australian? Think about characters, themes, metaphors, language, setting, cultural context, atmosphere and identity. The sense of neighbourhood in Australia is quite strong. Describe your neighbourhood in terms of characters and relationships. Which of these images would you change if you performed it overseas? STRUCTURE/FORM Ruby Moon follows the story of the parents Ray and Sylvie as they search for the answers to the mystery of their missing child, Ruby. The parents retrace Ruby’s footsteps as they play the various neighbours. This has become an expression of their emotions, eg; sexual, sad, depressed. The play echoes Brecht style in that it has many circular patterns. - How the characters repeat the same process of the neighbours; - The circular style of the set; - How they create more and more damage as they continue the circle. Each scene is in a different place, although the setting for the play remains similar, with only minimal changes. What changes of the set did you think worked well for each character? There are many lingering images of Ruby, although she is never seen in the show. These are in lines such as; Scene 1 – DULCIE: [As the parrot] Aark, where’s the pretty girl…?; Or in tableau Scene 3 – The Ruby mannequin stands under street light. What other images of Ruby are discussed or seen throughout the play? GRIEF Long-term grief can break people down; make them feel empty and completely exhausted. This play shows that both parents want answers. Are there none to find? Discuss the following; Did Ruby really disappear? Was there really a Ruby to begin with? How long do you think it is since Ruby disappeared? Why do they portray all their neighbours are potential suspects? Sylvie accuses Ray timidly, do you think that the emotions and the repetition of this story break down their trust of one another? How does Sylvie try to convince us as an audience and herself that Ray is guilty? How does Ray turn this around? What type of acting/directing or staging techniques are used in the final scene to create this exhaustion from the characters? What do you believe happened to Ruby? ACTIVITIES 1. Write a short scene for one of the parents with a different character Eg. Ice Cream seller, Police, Grandma What elements of the character’s personality have you included in this new character? 2. Write an ending to the story. This could be a monologue of the father’s discovery; or from the point of view of a kidnapper; or an outsider explaining how the family have or have not moved on. 3. Discuss the circular nature of the script and setting. Explain why you think Ruby’s parents replay their investigations over and again? 4. How is the story like a traditional fairy tale narrative? What visual elements bring this to life? 6. How is the tension created throughout the play? 7. How has the set design included the outside & inside space? Eg. Lamp for inside & street lamp outside. Coat stand is an echo of the trees outside. 8. Discuss the costume design. How well did each change to the costumes help convey the character they assumed? We certainly hope you enjoy the production of Ruby Moon and we welcome any feedback to [email protected] Regards Robyn Smith Education Coordinator Acknowledgement; Sydney Theatre Company – teacher’s notes for Interview with Matt Cameron, supplied by Matt Cameron. Website; www.google.com www.wikipedia.com - missing children - fairytales - Francis Bacon - Brecht (circular patterns)