Theatre for youth explored

Press, 15 January 1986, Page 19

Theatre for youth explored

The 1986 Tasman Theatre Exchange visitor, Richard Tulloch, will spend five weeks with New Zealand theatre in education companies. Mr Tulloch, a leading force in Australian theatre for young people, is a former artistic director of Toe Truck Theatre and a writer of more than 20 plays. He freelances as a director, actor and writer based in Sydney.

He has been in Auckland since January 3 and is rehearsing with Theatre Corporate’s community theatre company one of his own plays for performances in schools this term.

He said “I’m delighted to have this chance to spend time in the three centres with theatre companies working for young audiences. I hope to bring with

me some of the ideas and enthusiasms we have in Australia for this very special type of theatre and I know I’ll be able to take back a whole lot more.” In Christchurch he will be part of the Court Theatre’s theatre in education programme.

Mr Tulloch will work with the writer Ken Hudson, another director, a teacher and three Court actors to workshop several scripts in preparation for their use by either school pupils or the Court Theatre T.I.E. company later in the year. Several, days in Wellington spent with Te Ohu Whakaari will give Mr Tulloch the opportunity for a closer look at the work being done by this bi-cul-tural young people’s theatre as well as giving the company a chance to get some

helpful background for planning a tour of Australia. A three-day workshop on writing for young audiences will also be held in Wellington. Richard Tulloch began his theatrical career in Melbourne, first in student theatre at Melbourne University, and later as an actor with the community theatre group, The Mushroom Troupe.

In 1976 he left Australia and for two years travelled in Europe, touring Holland and France with a mime and modern dance troupe and performing his own one man show in Dutch. He returned to Australia in 1978 and spent two and a half years in Perth as an actor, writer and later Associate Director of the National Theatre Company. He moved to Sydney in 1980 and after a short

writer in residence stint at the Marionette Theatre of Australia became artistic director of Toe Truck Theatre, a position which he held for three years. In 1983, Toe Truck represented Australia at the Theatres of the World festival in France, performing two of his plays. The Tasman Theatre Exchange is an organisation established on both sides of the Tasman to promote the sharing and exchange of theatre resources between Australia and New Zealand. Australia will be host to the international children and young people’s conference in 1987. Established through the two national theatre networks in Australia and New Zealand, the Tasman Theatre Exchange is administered by the Queen Elizabeth H Arts Council.