Checking Out

The Clayfield College Drama AIR Program has been running annually for many years, giving Year 12 students the opportunity to work with performing arts professionals and perform in a professional venue and in doing so extend themselves as young artists.

Checking Out, Visy Theatre, Powerhouse

OK, so you’re old. There’s whispering going on in the hallway. Your family is plotting something. But it’s not just your family you need to worry about. The Federal Minister for Health, Ageing, Death and The Beyond, the Honourable Ms Gloria Flowers, is about to announce her audacious plan to address the ageing population problem. Let’s just say it involves a rocket ship. Meanwhile, the owner of the Eternal Sunset Retirement Village and Day Spa is cutting costs – at all costs…

Set in the Eternal Sunset Retirement Village and Day Spa, Checking Out explores is a satirical look at growing old – how society views the elderly, and the impact of an ageing population.

DEVELOPMENT

A full semester of regular class workshops, after school and weekend rehearsals.

Ideas developed alongside, often in response to what was going on in the media (reports of nursing home conditions and cuts to the pension.) The students were also excited by the idea of playing old people, but there were real questions at the heart of the project: What do we do about an aging population? How do we treat the elderly? How do young people regard growing old – is it real for them or something too far off to fully grasp? Once we settled on the theme, the students’ personal stories about their grandparents helped inform the story and setting. Classic Commedia dell’Arte characters and plot lines provided a loose structure for the emerging story, with Pantalone and Il Dottore types coming to the fore.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE – SHORT

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ARTIST IN RESIDENCE – LONG

Price for longer AIRs (spaced over several weeks, a term, semester or year) vary according to contact hours, outcome (i.e polished performance or informal showing) and other factors. AIRs can be tailored to your budget, timeframe and unit needs! Contact us to get the conversation started.