New VP’s classroom challenge
Sarah-Jo Huber
Public relations editorial intern
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
Avondale College of Higher Education’s new vice-president (learning and teaching) began her teaching career in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as a principal at a school for underprivileged children.
“A greater vision:” Dr Jane Fernandez-Goldborough encourages students to learn from the world and bring that knowledge back to the classroom. Credit: Aaron Bellette.
Dr Jane Fernandez-Goldborough’s latest research project is a return to these roots—she is collaborating with colleagues at the University of Malaya on a project critiquing and cataloguing the social artefacts of the Malayalee diaspora. Her focus: possibilities. “It’s about hope, enthusiasm and positivity; it’s about believing in making the best of what we have right now, a kind of celebrating the present.”
Impressed with Avondale’s Christian ethos, Jane came to Avondale in 1985 to study secondary education with a major in English, graduating in 1988. She subsequently completed a Bachelor of Arts with honours and a Doctor of Philosophy through Macquarie University. She joined the staff in 2001. Since then, among other research, she has written a book, The Second Skin: A Critique of Violence, about the sacral violence in the fiction of Indian Malaysian novelist and playwright K S Maniam.
Jane describes literature as the great influence of her life. Left fatherless at eight, she says: “I grew up quickly, and I found a lot of comfort in reading. . . . Engaging with the minds of the great philosophers, scholars and writers has given me some insight into their wisdom, and you try to engage with that and hopefully own it for a little while.”
The challenge of Jane’s new role is to bring that sense of engagement to learning and teaching. She reflects on Avondale’s motto, “A greater vision of world needs.” “It defines who we are, so our learning and teaching has to be not only dynamic and instructive but also meaningful.” Asks Jane: How can learning and teaching at Avondale change lives?
The inaugural Undergraduate Conference, which returns on November 11 this year, is part of the answer. Jane organised the conference to challenge students “to become active participants of learning.” “I want to show students their ideas can change the world if they have the courage to share them.”
Jane speaks of broadening the concept of the classroom. Take yourself out to learn from the world and bring that knowledge back, she says. “It’s about discovering what people need and addressing those needs instead of just saying, ‘I’m writing an essay.’”
Actors find feet in search for script
Wednesday, June 2, 2010Review: 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)
Tags: Commentary, Drama, Jane Fernandez-Goldborough, School of Humanities and Creative Arts
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