Commissioning An Artist Lachlan Philpott’s The Chosen Joanne Martin Brisbane Girls Grammar School

Commissioning An Artist

Lachlan Philpott’s The ChosenJoanne Martin

Brisbane Girls Grammar School

The Spark - Bustown

Approval Stage

PlaywrightPrincipal BoardPlaywright’s AgentContractPublisher

Lachlan’s Needs

– Residencies– Publication– Character

The School’s Needs

High student involvementin the project

The IdeaA collection of ideas

Discussed with students – narrowed the focusResearch/viewing/discussion/

roleplaying/workshopsLachlan – notes of ideas, language, concerns

Six months …

Sixteen Pages of ScriptThe Chosen

A girls’ choir enter one by one and stand in rows. With all the girls in place, there are two noticably vacant spaces, one in the first row and one in the third.

Monica, the conductor enters. She beams at the girls with excitement and leads them straight into Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft.

Principal Petherbridge enters speaks to us as they sing.

Principal Popsy Nichol began Year Mum in 1985. When she came to this school that first day nobody had idea that she would be the first Australian woman to walk on another planet. Popsy is an old girl we are very proud of and this is the reason we have selected Beyond The Stars as this year’s Gala theme.

Beyond The Stars.

None of us will forget the thrill of seeing Popsy step off that ship and onto the crust of Mars.

When our prime minister was born she didn’t know she would one day lead the country. When Mother Teresa or Beyonce were born they didn’t know the impact they would have on people all over the earth. The same for Popsy. And for you.

The aqua light grows stronger.

People are a sum of the choices they make, choices that were made for them and things they particularly were chosen for that are beyond their control.

A girl in the choir puts up her hand. The choir stop singing.

An unearthy white noise begins softly.

In our lifetime we are all chosen. Some of us will be chosen to lead.

Monica and the girls look at the vacant spaces. Monica sends a few girls away to look for missing girls.

Some of us will be chosen to parent. Some of us will be chosen because we have a special talent. A gift.

The girls return and shake their heads to indicate they have not found the missing singers.

Sometimes our friends will be chosen and we will not. But at some point in our lifetimes each one of us will be chosen.

Sound cresendos and fades. Black out.

Auditions and Rehearsals:Senior Drama students

• Staffing• Choir element – new arrangements• Pre-show installation• Freya Star• Ambiguity in published script• Three rewrites (editing characters/scenes

through rehearsal process)• Lachlan – readings and casting

Set Design – Emerging ArtistRapid movements in time and place; multiple entrance points for large cast; abstract with

upward movement; the rocket … Google Sketch Up

Set ConstructionRecycled plywood

Set Design

Projection Mapping

Documenting The Process

Behind The Scenes – capturing footage as you go!

ProductionChoir

ProductionSchoolgirls

ProductionMonologues

ProductionOverlapping scenes

ProductionPopsy Nicholl

ProductionThe Choir

ProductionChoreography

Editing

Lachlan’s Final Edit for PublicationTwo hours long - reduce

Characterisation eg CeciliaOverall intention – ambiguity of Freya’s claim

School’s AgreementInclude images of production, cast lists,

introductionFinal Read with Lachlan

Publication

ATYP

Staging Challenges

Multiple locations with rapid shifts in time and placeScript 17 – 23

Film 8:12 – 12:00• Playground• PE – netball• English classroom• Science classroom• Library

The Choir

Katy Perry remixFilm 1:23.45 –

Beatles – BlackbirdFilm 1:48.30

Scenes for Discussion

Film 32:00 – 37:10The Choir/Monologue/Popsy

Nicholl/Monica/Cecilia/Anna and KrystalFilm 1:13.30 – 1:18.40

The Abduction – Calling OccupantsFilm 1:28 –

The investigation