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May 21, 2007
Anglesea hosts World Premiere Theatre Performance
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Regional Arts Victoria and Alcoa of Australia have joined together to bring The Best Little Town in the World, a new Australian play by internationally-renowned Zeal Theatre, to schools in the Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula region.
This new play for young people addresses issues of social responsibility and helping others had its world premiere on 21 May at Anglesea Community Hall, with a second special performance on 4 June at the Potato Shed.
The Best Little Town in the World is the result of a community-capacity building project for primary schools in the Geelong/Anglesea area, coordinated by Regional Arts Victoria’s education program, arts2GO, and supported by Alcoa of Australia.
The project involved a series of drama workshops for 240 upper primary students with the skilled performers of Zeal Theatre focusing on the topic of helping others, especially those less fortunate in their communities.
Acting Anglesea Power Station Manager, Stephanie Pearce said “We are very proud that the partnership with Regional Arts Victoria has allowed us to bring world-class theatre involvement to children in Anglesea and the Geelong region.”
The material generated from these workshops helped Stefo Nantsou, ZEAL’s Artistic Director, to write the play. “The students were key collaborators in developing this play - there are lines and scenes in it that were written for us because the kids had done such creative work in their improvisations!”, said Mr Nantsou.
With further financial support from The Australian Children’s Theatre Foundation, The Best Little Town in the World was born.
Primary students of the Geelong and Surf Coast Region should be proud of their role as co-creators of this new, innovative and exciting work, which is touring across Victoria, including many remote and regional communities, this month. The arts2GO Schools Touring Program reaches 50,000 regional students in Victorian schools each year. arts2GO tours the best of Australian theatre, dance, music, literature and multicultural arts for young people to over 400 schools annually and the outreach is extensive.
arts2GO Program Manager, Robin Penty, is proud of this collaboration and looks forward to hearing her most important critics’ feedback on 21 May when 140 students from Anglesea Primary School will attend the world-first performance of a three-week Victorian tour. “The students made an important and genuine contribution to the production. I hope that when they recognise their own story or ideas in the play, they will feel a real sense of achievement,” says Penty.
For further media inquiries:
Alcoa of Australia
Helen Campbell
(m) 0437 800 429
Regional Arts Victoria
Robin Penty, Program Manager, arts2go
(m) 0404870 300
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