Fossils, Johnny, and parents: three plays and their use in theatre in education

Volume 1 charts the origins, theoretical underpinning, development and execution of three original theatre projects: If Johnny Jumped Off the Harbour Bridge, Would You?, Parents: A Kids Eye View, and Fossils. Factors leading to my interest in Theatre In Education are documented along with the origins and development of each script. The rehearsal process for each project is examined, as is the impact of each production in terms of the response from audiences, reviewers, performers, and theatre professionals. All three projects were created using a series of short, self-contained scenes, based on the theme of 'parents'. A resource module was developed based on scenes from the three projects, subsequent teacher and student workshops, and the development of a workbook and Internet website. This module is the core of a suggested approach to the Theatre In Education program - 'modular theatre'. Volume 2 of this thesis comprises the resource module - titled the K4K Resource Module, the unpublished scripts oi If Johnny Jumped Off the Harbour Bridge, Would You? and Parents: A Kids Eye View, the published version of Fossils (Currency Press 1995); and an archival videotape of Theatre South's production of Fossils, recorded at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday 27 June 1998, directed by Des Davis, presented as part of the Bennelong Program's 1998 school holiday season.