Posts Tagged ‘Faculty of Arts’

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Teen brings gravitas to ambitious staging

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Review: Son of Jesse

Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Seventeen-year-old Justin Watson showed confidence and maturity in his acting and singing, bringing gravitas to the leading role in Son of Jesse. Credit: Ann Stafford.

Avondale College senior music lecturer Dr Robb Dennis and alumni Andrew Taylor, making his directorial debut, and Kristin Thiele deserve credit for their successful staging of Son of Jesse. With both writers of the musical—Adrian Bell and Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud, dean of the Faculty of Arts at Avondale—in the large audience for the Australian premiere, the producer and his drama directors must have felt added pressure.

Son of Jesse is Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud and former colleague Adrian Bell’s re-telling of the story of David. Daniel, dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Adrian wrote the musical in 1981 before revising it in 1983. The anachronisms in this version—a TV newsreader as narrator (Adventist Media Network’s David Gibbons), two psychiatrists discussing King Saul’s health (Eldon Rosenberg and Daniel Laredo), a hip-hop-styled Absalom talking on his mobile phone (Raul Moran) and a boxing gloved-clad Goliath (Robb Dennis)—brought humour to the story. Avondale staff members and students played most of the roles. Their acting skills: solid.

Technical problems—particularly with microphones—and the ambitious bringing-to-life of the whole story of David meant the musical lacked a dramatic arc. The strongest scene—The Ark—featured the two best actors. The argument between David (17-year-old Justin Watson) and his wife Michal (Vivienne Calwell) spilled out into the congregation, further exposing the human frailties of the characters. Justin showed confidence and maturity in his acting and singing, bringing gravitas to the leading role.

Andrew and Kristin made clever use of Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church, particularly the brick bays in the balcony as the setting for many of David’s speeches.

Avondale Chamber Orchestra provided seamless backing for Avondale Singers. The chorus’s final, triumphant “Jesus!” still rings in my ears.

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Character actor brings Bible story to life

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Son of Jesse to make Australian premiere at Homecoming

Andrea Shotter
Public relations editorial intern
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Broken hair clippers, a family holiday and playing multiple roles in a choir-based musical have contributed to an Avondale Collage staff member’s flowing beard.

Eldon Rosenberg grew his beard and hair to play four roles in the Australian premiere of a musical that brings to life the story of Bible hero David. Credit: Ann Stafford.

Eldon Rosenberg, systems administrator in Information Technology Services, started growing his beard and hair after he put off fixing his clippers. He continued growing both because he and his family were visiting Sovereign Hill, a Ballarat, Victoria-based outdoor museum presenting Australia’s gold rush history. “I thought it would be cool to have the bearded goldminer look for the family photo,” says Eldon. On his return, the drama directors of Son of Jesse, which brings to life the story of Bible hero David, cast him in four roles: a psychiatrist; the prophet Nathan; priest Zadok’s son Ahimaaz; and God. Eldon thought the look would fit and kept growing his beard and hair.

Son of Jesse is making its Australian premiere at the Avondale College Alumni Association’s Homecoming this Saturday almost three decades after an Avondale lecturer helped write it. The strength of the story and the colourful life of the lead character appealed to Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud, dean of the Faculty of Arts, who wrote the musical with former colleague and friend Adrian Bell in 1981 before revising it in 1983. “The bible version of David is honest and I tried to reflect that,” says Daniel.

Producer Dr Robb Dennis, senior lecturer in music, says the musical has synergy. “David is a multitalented individual who let leadership and talent go to his head, but through some major blunders he found his ultimate purpose, which was to be a multitalented tool in God’s hands.”

This “deliberately anachronistic” new version of Son of Jesse includes a newsreader as narrator, two psychiatrists discussing King Saul’s health, Absalom talking on his mobile phone and a boxing gloved-clad Goliath.

According to Eldon, his new look does not conflict with the modernisation of the musical and may even stay once the performance is over. “I’m thinking of going with the easy option and leaving it, but I also like the variety of clean shaven alternating with short beard.”

Son of Jesse begins at 7.30 PM in Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church this Saturday (August 28). Entry is free.

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Avondale student sings for Chamberlains

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Writes song to commemorate disappearance of Azaria

Kirsten Bolinger
Public relations assistant
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

An Avondale College student and award-winning songwriter is using music to commemorate the event leading to one of Australia’s most publicised legal cases.

Jackie Ward wrote “Paw-prints in the Sand” to promote truth and justice. Credit: Ann Stafford.

“Paw-prints in the Sand” is Jackie Ward’s expression of the events surrounding the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain at the then Ayers Rock on August 17, 1980. The Bachelor of Arts music major has a personal connection to the story—her father, Phil, worked as a freelance journalist during the subsequent trial of Azaria’s parents, Michael and Lindy.

“I’ve grown up with the story close to my heart,” says Jackie, “so it pains me that nearly two decades after Lindy Chamberlain’s exoneration, there still remains the unfounded opinion that she was guilty of killing her baby.”

Jackie wrote “Paw-prints in the Sand” to promote truth and justice. The lyrics make a strong statement: “The only hidden love is tucked in behind what you have seen/ Can the blind look past the lying headlines in the magazines?”

Jackie has written more than 400 songs and placed in the top 10 of the Australian Songwriting Contest for three consecutive years beginning in 2006. She won the contest in 2008, with nine of her songs, including “Paw-prints in the Sand,” shortlisted for the top 10 in different categories. The win led to a nomination in the open-age Australian Songwriter of the Year. Two more of Jackie’s songs are shortlisted for the award this year. “It’s the first time I’ve entered since 2008 and it’s encouraging because I’m now too old for the ‘Youth’ category.”

Jackie sings soprano with Avondale vocal ensemble The Promise. She is also negotiating a recording contract with Psalter Music. She plans to release a solo album through the label that will include “Paw-prints in the Sand.”

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Avondale authors enter new markets

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Christian retailer, Adventist schools and Spanish educators value lecturers’ books

Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Books by two Avondale College lecturers are entering new markets through an Australian Christian retail company, a Seventh-day Adventist Bible curriculum and translation.

You can now find Barbara Fisher’s textbook and Brad Watson’s novel on the bookshelf in Koorong. Credit: Ann Stafford.

The retailer Koorong now stocks Barbara Fisher’s textbook Developing a Faith-based Education: A Teacher’s Manual (David Barlow Publishing) and Brad Watson’s teenage novel Finding David (Signs Publishing Company).

Developing a Faith-based Education: A Teacher’s Manual helps pre-service early childhood and primary teachers planning to work in Australia’s Christian, Protestant schools learn how to share faith development with students.

The book is being translated into Spanish by Drs Raquel and Victor Korniejczuk from the University of Montemorelos (Nuevo León, Mexico). Adventus Books will publish the translation next year.

Finding David follows a character called David as he moves into a new school and meets a new group of friends. It deals with bullying, romance and a mysterious family tragedy. The issues addressed include relationships, resilience and faith.

The book is now one of the resources for Encounter, a new Bible curriculum for Adventist secondary schools in Australia and New Zealand. Discussion guides and activity sheets for each of the 26 chapters are freely available on the Finding David website for those using the book as a learning or teaching tool.

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Actors find feet in search for script

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Review: Actors in Search of a Script

Kristin Thiele
Connections arts writer
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Students studying drama at Avondale College have produced an original look at the theatrical experience in Actors in Search of a Script.

In Actors in Search of a Script, a drama troupe creates famous scenes from Shakespeare’s finest plays while a producer explains the art of theatre to the actors and audience. Credit: Ann Stafford.

Written by Dr Jane Fernandez-Goldborough, a senior lecturer in English in the Faculty of Arts, the play is about a drama troupe that is “trying on” scenes as the producer explains the art of theatre to the actors and to the audience.

As the actors create several famous scenes from Shakespeare’s finest plays, members of the audience are confronted with the reality that they are watching a play. In most productions, this would be a criticism; in this production, it is an achievement.

Each scene is crafted beautifully, drawing members of the audience in and then transitioning them to the next scene without creating a feeling of loss. The structure builds anticipation. With actors breaking the fourth wall and speaking to the audience, the audience becomes part of the play.

Actors in Search of a Script included moments of silliness—one of the scenes used theme music from the movie, Pink Panther—and gravitas—Kiel Winch’s depiction of Shylock, for example. Hamlet’s Three Witches—Stephanie Bennett, Cheree Drisch and Nikarri Parker—added continuity and perspective to scenes that may have otherwise felt disjointed. The play didn’t lack humour or seriousness as each actor brought a distinct personality to each of their roles. Renee Mau’s contribution is noteworthy, not only for her energy, but also for her effortless ability to connect the audience to her scenes.

While creativity often enhanced the mood of scenes, it sometimes came at the expense of the needs of the audience. Some scenes were too dark to see actors properly, and some actors didn’t move into lighted positions to speak their lines.

Actors in Search of a Script deserves another staging. Viewing it is bliss.

Links
Slideshow (Credit: Ann Stafford)

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