![Sample our Arts journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110799/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Arts.jpg"})
Abstract
This paper is a reflective account of community theatre practice from the perspective of a community theatre artist. The paper examines the process and outcomes of an experiment in community theatre and curriculum which became known as Yeppoon the Musical.
When a secondary school drama teacher, a university lecturer, a community artist and a musician combine to create an original piece of community theatre, they find they must serve many agendas: the Year 12 curriculum, the school's expectation of a school musical, the community of story tellers who provide the raw material for the play, the funding bodies which make it all possible.
The participating students discover more than they anticipate when they are invited to make a ‘school musical’ which celebrates some little known stories of the history of their town.
For all involved, Yeppoon the Musical becomes a memorable collaboration, an exercise in co-artistry and curriculum innovation, and an opportunity to rediscover community in a small Queensland town.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Christine Sinclair
Chris Sinclair is a lecturer and PhD student in the Department of Language, Literacy and Arts Education at The University of Melbourne. She has worked for many years in tertiary education and community theatre and has facilitated many community theatre projects with University drama students. She has worked as a writer and director in community theatre. Her Master's thesis, Noble Stories, based on her play No Bull: Stories of the Meatworks, examined the ways in which stories from a community could be reflected back to the community through the creation and performance of a theatre event.