The cast and crew of Bloodlandrecently undertook a research trip to the Northern Territory, and here Stage Manager Bec Allen shares some of her photos and thoughts from that journey...
With company members flying in from every capital city in
Australia we finally came together in Nhulunbuy, North East Arnhem
Land, Northern Territory.
Nhulunbuy is a working town supporting the Rio Tinto Alcan Gove
Alumina Refinery and mining operation and is set on the Gove
Peninsula, right on the Arafura Sea. This is the land of the
Yolngu people.
We spent a week in Nhulunbuy engaging in script and cultural
workshops. It was exciting to hear the script read aloud for the
very first time on the land which had inspired this story. The
company explored the complex moiety and kinship system of the
Yolngu people.
At the centre of Bloodlandis a tale of
forbidden love. Our cast of 12 is split into 2 family goups
(moieties): Dhuwa and Yirritja. Everyone and every useful thing -
lands, songs, animals, plants, totems, waters, ceremonies - is
either Dhuwa or Yirritja. Dhuwa must marry Yirritja, and Yirritja
must marry Dhuwa. Everyone is the same moiety and the same group as
their father and as their land, language and totems. So everyone
has a mother who is from another group, and another moiety. This
relation between the mother and child is called yothu-yindi, and
can be found everywhere in the world, not only between people, but
between groups of people, and pieces of land and totems.
There are many outlying Aboriginal homeland communities in North
East Arnhem. One of these is Dhalingbuy community, located about a
3 hour drive from Nhulunbuy, down a long, dusty, bumpy red dirt
road (see the first photo). This small community is home to cast
member and cultural consultant Djakapurra Munyarryun. We were
warmly welcomed to the community before heading out to surrounding
bushland. During this trip the men hunted kangaroo and the women
collected a honey tree. These activities will occur onstage during
the show so it was a chance for the cast members to experience it
first hand and for the production team to document it all so we can
re-create the experience in the Wharf 1 Theatre.
We spent the afternoon at a local waterhole (first checking it was
croc free!) listening to the land and each other. Lots of kids from
the community accompanies us on this excursion, their laughter and
bubbling language was infectious and lots of new friendships were
made.
During the week we spent time in Yirrkala, a larger Yolngu
community 15km from Nhulunbuy. Yirrkala is home to the world
renowned Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre and Museum in Yirrkala,
which also houses a museum and a multi media centre. The company
viewed many traditional depictions of the two moieties and watch
archival footage of contemporary and traditional indigenous dance
and song. We also visited the Yirrkala Community School (see the
third photo). The company visited the literary resource centre and
heard about bilingual teaching and learning.
We visited Beach Camp where local residents helped the men to
collect Gapan from the cliffs. Gapan is the white body paint used
in traditional dance. It is collected in solid form, crushed, mixed
with water and then applied by hand to the body.
It was a busy and productive week but we still made time for a
sunset fishing trip, although we didn't catch anything big enough
to keep!
Now we are back at The Wharf...
Each production at the STC begins with a theatre tradition: the
meet and greet session. This is often the first time all members of
the creative team and company come together. For Bloodlandthis was an historic
occasion. Over 60 people came together to celebrate this unique
collaboration between two companies based at The Wharf: STC and
Bangarra. Andrew Upton and Stephen Page addressed the crowd, both
speaking passionately about the project, its genesis and reasoning.
Our creative team Damien Cooper (Lighting), Jennifer Irwin
(Costume) and Peter England (Set) presented their designs, model
box and sketches. Over damper and tea we settled into our creative
home for the next 3 months.
Bloodland,Wharf 1
Theatre, 3 October - 13 November, 2011.