Home Turf
- 2 Oct 2015
What
Home Turf explores the hidden stories, concerns and secrets of teenagers in regional Queensland. In 2014, La Boite toured Home Turf to Chinchilla, Dalby and Tara.In each of the three communities, artists worked with students and teachers for two weeks to research and explore themes. Five artists then spent a further six weeks in each community to develop a range of theatre skills with both students and teachers.
Through drama, contemporary dance and video, the comedy, emotions, fears and even the absurdities of being a teenager in a country town in Queensland in 2014 were explored.
The program culminated in a performance co-developed with the students at the Chinchilla Entertainment Centre which was live-streamed to Tara and Dalby. In addition, La Boite staged a community performance at Dalby High School.
Masterclasses in comedy, digital media masterclass and physical acting were also hosted for the broader community.
When and where
December 2013 to October 2014, Chinchilla, Dalby and Tara
Key stats
- 2 performance and 29 engagement activities
- 400 attendees at performances
- 3 communities
Arts Queensland contribution
$50 000 – Playing Queensland Fund
Outcomes
-
Students involved developed new skills in playwriting, dance, performance techniques and audio visual skills. Teachers noted an increase in student’s skills.
“I learned how to animate a movie and also how to draw a bird and a train using shapes seen in the picture. I liked this because it was very fun and interesting.” – Student from Tara
“I’ve enjoyed learning to open up about my emotions and having someone read them out because before that I never really opened up to many people” – Student from Chinchill
- The program created better connections between students in the three towns.
- Evening community workshops hosted in each of the communities helped developed creative skills within the community.
- La Boite successfully trialed a number of innovative approaches in engaging the community including community master classes.
Learnings and reflections
La Boite had the following reflections, learnings and advice for others conducting a similar project:
- School timetabling was crucial in the delivery of the project. This takes careful planning and detailed consultation to ensure the project can successfully integrate with other school projects.
- Allow for the students to take ownership over the project.
- Allow additional time for reflection within the schools for richer opportunities for communities to personally connect throughout the process, not only in the final outcome.
- The documentation of the project was very important for the communities and the other partners in the project.
Contact for further information
Glyn Roberts
Email: glyn@laboite.com.au
Phone: 07 3007 8600
Website: http://www.laboite.com.au
Links: Home Turf Documentary
Images courtesy La Boite. Images: Angus McLeod
A printable version of the case study is also available.