Welcome to Sun Runners

Sun Runners is an immersive digital theatre experience that uses mobile technology to plunge listeners into an immersive a sci-fi epic. This study guide has been crafted with the intention that students complete episodes at home, with class-time dedicated to analysis, dissection and play.

However, if you would like to complete an episode of Sun Runners during class-time, we have outlined the different materials and locations within the home that listeners will need to access. This will require headphones and a device for each student.

You may be able to recreate these at your school using substitutions (ie: Sun Runners calls for listeners to open a fridge – you could direct students to a cupboard or doorway that functions similarly in the choreography of the story). You may also need a large room where multiple groups may be able to play at once.

Episode Breakdown

Episode Synopsis:
Olli is an amazing Sun Runner. Deep in space she trains hard with her mentor Syzygy. It’s a test of speed and endurance where she’ll learn everything there is to know about the Sun Run and the shadowy enemies that she must evade to win the race.

Additional Info:
This is a one player episode where listeners play as Olli. The episode duration is 18 minutes.

What you'll need

Equipment Required:

• Paper
• 1 Pen
• 2 Chairs
• 1 Big blanket

Locations: 

• Living Room

The first episode serves as an introduction to the story and, also, the mode of storytelling that is to be experienced throughout the series. If completing episode one at school, any multipurpose space with the above listed equipment (and enough room for listeners to move around) would suffice.

Episode Breakdown

Episode Synopsis: 

Gamma is on a mission to find out if the brain sucking Hydronians are on board the space station. Hydronians are extremely dangerous. Be sure to avoid them at all costs.

Additional Info: 

This is a one player episode where listeners play as Gamma, Olli’s best friend (and expert navigator). The episode runs for approximately 17 minutes.

What you'll need

Equipment Required:

• 2 chairs
• 1 Marker Paper
• 1 Big blanket
• 4 spoons per player

Locations: 

• Living Room
• Kitchen

Episode Breakdown

Episode Synopsis: 

Olli and Gamma go to the Sovereign Mother’s nest to get the radioactive fuel they need to power their Sun Charger. This episode gets very intense very quickly, with listeners asked to use their best stealthy skills to avoid one very angry dragon.

Additional Info:

This is a two player episode where listeners can choose to be Olli or Gamma. This episode runs for 18 minutes.

What you'll need

Equipment Required:

• 1 Tongs
• 1 Pencil case
• 1 Big blanket
• 2 Chairs
• Socks

Locations:

• Living Room
• Bedroom
• Wardrobe or toilet (or any small room connected to a larger one)

Episode Breakdown

Episode Synopsis: 

Olli ventures out on her own and risks her life by answering a distress call from Jupiter, home of the Hydronian controlled Diamond Dogs. It’s a big challenge not to get bitten and will take a fair bit of howling (really!).

Additional Info:

This is a one player episode where listeners rejoin Olli’s on her journey. The episode runs for approximately 18 minutes.

What you'll need

Equipment Required:

• 1 Big blanket
• 2 Chairs

Locations: 

• Living Room

Episode Breakdown

Episode Synopsis: 

Gamma treks across Neptune to the Wizard’s Eye to find the Celestial Ice he needs to heal his laser burns. Beware… things get pretty trippy (and very intense) when a wizard is involved.

Additional Info:

This is a one player episode where listeners rejoin Gamma on his mission. The episode runs for approximately 15 minutes.

What you'll need

Equipment Required:

• 1 Pair of socks
• 1 Plastic cup
• 1 Ice block

Locations:

• Wardrobe or Toilet
• Kitchen
• Bathroom

Episode Breakdown

Episode Summary:

It’s the day of the Sun Run, but the brain sucking Hydronians are trying to sabotage the race. Be ready for some serious speed and subterfuge in the sparkling finale to the Sun Runners. 

Additional Info:

This episode requires two players and runs for approximately 18 minutes.

What you'll need

Equipment Required

• 1 Soft toy
• 1 Empty box
• Markers
• Please note: You will be required to rebuild your Sun Charger in order to complete the great race. If it’s not still built from pre-existing episodes, you’ll need to gather up chairs and cushions and rebuild your ship.

Locations

• Living room

Introduction

Sun Runners is a digital theatre experience that uses mobile technology to plunge listeners into an immersive sci-fi epic adventure. This study guide has been crafted with the intention that students complete episodes at home, with class-time dedicated to analysis, dissection and play.

Headphones and a device will be required for each student and students will need to access other regular household items such as a chair or a spoon. We have outlined the different materials and locations within the home that listeners will need to access.

If you would like to complete an episode of Sun Runners during class-time, you will be able to substitute some items you do not have access to, for example a cupboard could be used instead of a fridge. You may also need a large room where multiple groups may be able to play at once.

The activities and possible assessment tasks are linked to The Arts: Drama, Australian Curriculum 9.0 across Year 3 and 4, with potential crossovers into Science, English, Geography, Visual Art, and Dance. There is room here for project-based learning, providing lots of opportunity for whole class discussion as well as independent and small group work.

Achievement Standard

By the end of year 4, students describe use of selected elements of drama in drama they experience, create and/or perform. They describe where, why and/or how drama is created and/or performed across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts.

Students use selected elements of drama when creating drama and/or performing. They collaborate to improvise and/or devise drama that communicates ideas, perspectives and/or meaning. They perform their work in informal settings.

Content Descriptions Addressed

Exploring & Responding

• Explore where, why and how drama is created and/or performed across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts (AC9ADR4E01)

Developing Practices & Skills

• Use the elements of drama to explore and develop ideas for dramatic action in improvisations and/or devised drama (AC9ADR4D01)

Creating & Making

• Improvise and/or devise and shape drama using the elements of drama to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning (AC9ADR4C01)

Warm up Game: Space Freeze!

Students form pairs and find a space in the room with their partner. Teacher calls out different space themed objects and gives students a countdown from five to one. The pairs must create the object only using their bodies, variations in space (height, lying on the floor etc) and facial expressions. Students, without speaking, use movement to offer ideas to their partner. When teacher calls, ‘freeze’, students freeze in that position. Encourage students to:

• Create a strong freeze
• Keeping their eyes still but focused on a point
• Energised stillness is maintained from their fingertips to toes.

Space themed objects could include alien, rocket, moon buggy, satellite, Saturn, space station, solar system, navigation instruments, airlock, the eye of Jupiter.

Extension:

• Once students are frozen, the teacher can ask students to extend their ideas by moving their object together using slow motion, anti-gravity movement.
• Try playing in groups of four, eight and finally as a whole class.

• Literacy
• Intercultural understanding

Task #1: Exploring & Responding

Storytelling

What you’ll need: Cardboard, markers, sticky notes, pens, sensory items dependent on group needs/ideas.

Activity: Teacher leads a discussion and activity about story telling.

Possible key questions could be:

Q – How are we exposed to stories?

• Examples – books, TV, games, graphic novels, aural storytelling, family histories, song lyrics, audio books, theatre, film, radio plays. Encourage them to think laterally. For example, looking through old family photos and discussing them could be interpreted as storytelling. Create headings out of these to stick on the wall.
• Ask students to think of their favourite stories and specific examples. Ask them to write these onto sticky notes and as a class place them under the headings created previously. Are there some that belong in two groups (eg. A book which is also a film).

Q – How do we tell a story?

• Through using our voice, writing, images, sound effects, music? What else?

Q – Why do we tell stories?

• How long have people been telling stories for?
• What purpose do they have in our lives? (eg. Entertainment, history, teaching and learning, connection, community).

Q – What are the important elements in a story?

• Consider plot, theme/s, character, relationships, conflict, resolution, dialogue, narration, setting, atmosphere and so on.

Ask the students if they know what the word immersive means. Discuss any immersive experiences any of you have had – eg. VR headsets, game play, other digital storytelling applications.

Q – What makes these experiences different to reading a book or watching television?

Explain to the students that you are going to focus on setting and atmosphere and attempt immersion!

Arrange the class into groups of 6 or so and given them all an environment to work with (eg. Forest, Antarctica, Mars, Rundle Mall, Beach). They need to come up with ways to make the rest of the class feel as though they are in that location. They can explore different senses such as sound, touch, smell. Sight is not an option because you will arrange the rest of the class into a group and ask them to close their eyes. The ‘performing group will need to surround the ‘audience’ to perform their immersive environment.

Encourage the use of the following –

• Voices (speech and sound effects)
• Digital sound effects
• Music
• Materials for them to feel (eg. Sand, leaves)
• Smells

Modification:

• This activity can follow the space theme by choosing space-based environments.

Content Description: AC9ADR4E01

• Literacy
• Intercultural understanding

Task #2: Developing Practices & Skills

Sun Run!

What you’ll need: Craft materials, computers, general classroom objects and furniture.

Activity: Explain to the students that you are going to participate in your own Sun Run! An introduction to some of the elements of drama can happen here (e.g. movement, space, place, tension, symbol). Divide the class into 8 or 9 teams and assign them a home planet (this will depend on numbers and whether you want to include the dwarf planet, Pluto). They will do some basic research about that planet.

Students design and create a logo which they will be able to wear during the race. Their logo must reflect elements of their home planet such as colour, appearance, any defining feature, any mythological connection.

The teams will then need to work out a style of travel that cannot include walking or running! This style of movement should be influenced by knowledge of their planet and needs to be copied by others so it must be clear (eg. Moving like a flame, travelling as though made of gas, walking like a Martian with wiggly arms….)

In a circle, allow the students time to learn the movement style of each group. They will need to know these well to complete the race.

Guide the students to turn your classroom or performance space (or outside!) into our solar system. Create a sun and place it into the centre of the room (this could be as simple as sticking a picture of the sun onto a chair! Whatever works for you!). They will need to come up with a physical representation of their planet by using furniture or simple craft.

As a class, check the order of the planets and where they sit in relation to the sun and try to arrange your planets into this pattern. Make sure you have space between each planet. You will need to explain to the students that it will NOT be to scale!

In order to complete the Sun Run students will need to do the following –

• Starting with their own planet, they must plan a course of travel as a navigator would, visiting each planet and ending where they started.
• They must start at their planet and start with their style of movement.
• They must touch each planet and when they do, they must switch to the style of movement that the team from that planet has come up with.
• They need to touch each planet and return to their own.
• Each team will be timed. The fastest team are the winners.

Modifications:

• This could be a relay, depending on the numbers in your class and how much time you have.
• Teams could nominate just one ‘runner’.
• All teams can sun run together if they all have a team member who can sit out and time the group. Times can then be compared.
• Logo design can become an extended process. Digital design programs can be used here too.

Content Description: AC9ADR4D01

• Literacy
• Critical and creative thinking

Task #3: Creating & Making

Storytelling with everyday objects

What you’ll need: A variety of everyday objects – eg. Power cord, coat hanger, ball, chair, frisbee, blanket, wooden spoon, tube and so on.

Activity: Remind students of how they used everyday objects to create the world of Sun Runners. Perhaps make a list of all the things they used and what they became. Discuss why this was effective. Talk about imagination, play and how it made the experience tactile.

Ask the students to sit in a circle (you too!) and place an object into the centre of the circle. Let’s say it is a power cord. Students must enter one by one and interact with the object as though it is anything but a power cord, using their bodies and voice to let us know what it is without directly naming it. It could be a snake, a tie, a puddle of water, a dog lead and so on. Once the idea is clear to the others, someone else has a go.

Repeat this with another object. See if the students can come up with the ideas more quickly and encourage them to interact with the object even more.

Arrange students into groups of 3-5 and give them all an object. Using butcher’s paper or a computer, they must brainstorm and come up with as many different things their object could become. Students can then choose 5 of their ideas to create a short scene, with the object continually changing throughout the scene. The scene must make sense!

Modification/extension:

• You can ask students to create scenes with a space theme or incorporate the characters Ollie and Gamma.
• You can challenge students by giving them a particular setting or a character to work with (eg. A supermarket and a doctor OR Pluto and a space demon).

Content Description: AC9ADR4C01

• Critical and creative thinking
• Personal and social capability

Introduction

Sun Runners is a digital theatre experience that uses mobile technology to plunge listeners into an immersive sci-fi epic adventure. This study guide has been crafted with the intention that students complete episodes at home, with class-time dedicated to analysis, dissection and play.

We have outlined the different materials and locations within the home that listeners will need to access. Headphones and a device will be required for each student and students will need to access other regular household items such as a chair or a spoon.

However, if you would like to complete an episode of Sun Runners during class-time, you will be able to substitute some items you do not have access to, for example a cupboard could be used instead of a fridge. You may also need a large room where multiple groups may be able to play at once.

The activities and possible assessment tasks are linked to The Arts: Drama, Australian Curriculum 9.0 across Year 5 and 6, with possible crossovers into Science, English, Geography, Visual Art and Dance. There is room here for project-based learning, providing lots of opportunity for whole class discussion as well as independent and small group work.

Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 6, students explain how the elements of drama are used in drama they create, perform and/or experience. They describe how drama created and/or performed across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning. They describe how drama is used to continue and revitalise cultures.

Students work collaboratively as they combine elements of drama to shape and sustain dramatic action. They improvise and/or devise drama and/or interpret scripts. They perform their drama in informal and/or formal settings.

Content Descriptions Addressed

Exploring & Responding

• Explore ways that the elements of drama are combined to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning in drama across, cultures, times, places and/or other contexts (AC9ADR6E01)

Developing Skills & Practices

• Explore ways to combine the elements of drama to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning in improvisations, devised drama and/or scripted drama (AC9ADR6D01)

Creating & Making

• Develop characters and situations, and shape and sustaindramatic action to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning in improvised, devised and/or scripted forms (AC9ADR6C01)

Warm up game: Space Monster Chasey!

Ask students to spread out through the room. Randomly choose a student to be ‘it’. The person who is ‘it’ needs to use their whole body and voice to become a space monster. They need to consider how they use their limbs, their face, their voice, their posture and how fast their monster moves.

Once they have established this, the other classmates imitate the person who is ‘it’ and they are chased until someone is caught. The monsters being chased must move at the same pace as the monster who is ‘it’! Once someone is caught, they create a new monster and the game starts again.

Encourage students to make very different choices to each other, to make it more fun but to also warm-up their bodies and voices in a variety of ways.

Task #1: Exploring & Responding

Character Exploration

What you’ll need: Butchers paper, scissors, collage materials, markers, computers.

Activity: Choose two students to lay down on large pieces of paper and carefully trace around them.  Label one figure Olli and name the other figure Gamma and hang them up in the classroom where students can reach. These are the main characters in Sun Runners.

Explain that these characters are from the digital theatre production, Sun Runners that the students will be experiencing.

In pairs or small groups, students read the synopsis, the character descriptions and the themes from the study guide (or read them as a class) and make notes of any information they can find about the two characters.

Groups can read out their findings and one list can be made. Using sticky notes or writing directly onto the butcher’s paper depictions, two or more scribes to add this information to the figures.

Students can build on this information throughout the entire Sun Runners experience.

Extension/modifications:

• The figures can be decorated using paints and/or craft materials. Images of the characters from the resources can be used to guide the design, or something new can be dreamt up. Collage could be used here and connected to a Visual Art Unit.
• More figures can be made if class is divided into groups of 4 -6 with each group creating their own versions of Olli and Gamma.
• You could ask the class if they think they are more of an Olli or Gamma or neither! Why or why not?

Content Description: AC9ADR6E01

• Literacy
• Intercultural understanding

Task #2: Creating & Making

Creating an immersive experience

What you’ll need: Computers, paper, markers.

Activity: Students will investigate a planet in groups of 4-6. They need to find out the factual physical details e.g., Size, temperature, colour, atmosphere, dangers, landmarks and so on.

They can then use their imaginations to add fictional information such as what sounds they might hear, what creatures may live there, what dangers or surprises they might find.

Write a short narrative where the audience are the main characters Ollie and Gamma. This can be done through an instructional narration style and actors speaking the dialogue on behalf of the listener, just like in Sun Runners.  Encourage the students to add lots of action and to keep the story moving forward. Improvisation concepts such as ‘extending’ and ‘advancing’ can be used upon here.

Once the story is complete and the teacher has checked to make sure the perspective is clear and that there is a lot of action, ask the students to annotate their story by marking out the following:

• Action words/phrases
• Settings and objects
• Ways in which the students can create the necessary objects out of things around the classroom (eg. A ruler becomes a super-sonic blaster). They will need to add some instruction at the start of their story so that students are prepared for this.
• Characters (including non-human)
• Voices – narration, character dialogue.
• Moments where sound effects and music can be used to build the world of the story.

Students now need to build this experience by taking on characters and working out how they will make the sound effects and what music they will use. This will be much like creating an old-fashioned radio play, except that it is asking the listener to be actively involved.

Students can test their story on classmates by simply ‘performing’ the story and asking the students to respond as they did when they listened to Sun Runners. They can then fix up any moments that didn’t work or weren’t clear. Perform these on members from another class.

Modifications:

• Before writing the story, students can improvise a scene which may lead to more interesting and original ideas than if they just approach it as a straight writing task.
• Students can record their stories, and these can be delivered to students through headphones, just like the real Sun Runners.
• This can be paired with a Science Unit on the Solar System.

Content Description: AC9ADR6C01

• Critical and creative thinking
• Personal and social capability

Task #3: Developing Skills & Practices

Dramatic Tension

What you’ll need: A variety of objects from the classroom, computer/devices to access sound effects and music.

Activity: The teacher will lead the class in a game of ‘Beat the Bomb’. The class sits in a circle (teacher too!). In the centre of the circle there are six or seven random objects from the classroom and one of them is a bomb!

A volunteer must leave the room and the class will decide which object is the bomb.  The volunteer will then be invited to return to the room.

As they enter, the students in the circle will start slowly and quietly at first, beating a rhythm on the floor. As the game progresses the beating becomes faster and louder to heighten the tension.

The volunteer picks up one object at the time, hoping to not pick up the bomb as this will end the game. If the student does pick up the bomb, the class all shout, ‘boom!’ and a new student is chosen to play.

Use this game to introduce the concept of tension. Come up with a class definition of general tension. Explain that there are 4 types of tension in Drama. These are:

• Tension of task
• Tension of relationship
• Tension of mystery
• Tension of surprise

Which of these types of tension were evident in the ‘Beat the Bomb’?

Why is tension important in theatre and stories? What would it be like if it was absent? Think of some examples here from well-known stories.

Using the 4 types of tension, do a brainstorm of the moments of tension evident in Sun Runners and place these moments under the heading. Allow conversation and debate.

Follow up with a practical task by asking students to work out a brief scenario in pairs. Their scene must contain at least three of the dramatic tensions. Give them some stimulus to start with such as a character type, atmosphere, incident or setting or any combination of these. Allow the use of SFX and/or music.

Watch the scenes as a class and unpack the moments of tension and how they were created.

Modifications:

• Scenes could be set in the world of Sun Runners, Characters and/or locations could be used for example.

Content Description: AC9ADR6D01

• Literacy
• Critical and creative thinking

Introduction

Sun Runners is a digital theatre experience that uses mobile technology to plunge listeners into an immersive sci-fi epic adventure. This study guide has been crafted with the intention that students complete episodes at home, with class-time dedicated to analysis, dissection and play.

We have outlined the different materials and locations within the home that listeners will need to access. Headphones and a device will be required for each student and students will need to access other regular household items such as a chair or a spoon.

However, if you would like to complete an episode of Sun Runners during class-time, you will be able to substitute some items you do not have access to, for example a cupboard could be used instead of a fridge. You may also need a large room where multiple groups may be able to play at once.

The activities and possible assessment tasks are linked to The Arts: Drama, Australian Curriculum 9.0 across Year 7 and 8, with possible crossovers into Science, English, Geography, Visual Art and Dance. There is room here for project-based learning, providing lots of opportunity for whole class discussion as well as independent and small group work.

Achievement standard

By the end of Year 8, students analyse how elements of drama and/or conventions are manipulated in drama they create and/or experience. They evaluate the ways drama created and/or performed across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts communicates ideas, perspectives and/or meaning. They describe respectful approaches to creating, performing and/or responding to drama.

Students work collaboratively to manipulate elements of drama and conventions to shape and sustain dramatic action in improvised, devised and/or scripted drama. They employ performance skills to convey dramatic action and communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning when performing drama to audiences

Content Descriptions Addressed

Exploring & Responding

• Investigate ways the elements of drama and/or conventions are used to communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning in drama created and/or performed across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts (AC9ADR8E01)

Creating & Making

• Improvise and devise drama and/or interpret scripted drama, manipulating elements of drama and applying conventions relevant to the style/form (AC9ADR8C01)

Warm up game: Postcards!

The class will sit in a circle and the teacher (or a student) can choose a location, e.g. A spooky forest, a hot desert, the moon, Antarctica, a smelly swamp, an abandoned factory.

One by one, students enter the centre of the circle and create a strong freeze using physical and facial expression, depicting an object or character in the space. For example, if the place is the moon, a student may take up a freeze of a crater, or the earth far, far away.

When students take up their freeze they say, ‘I am a …’ and name what they are. This gives the opportunity for other students to build from the object created. For example, ‘I am a spider’s web’, and another student could say, ‘I am the spider on the spider’s web’.

As the postcard develops, actors can adjust their facial expression or pose to accommodate a potential change in the situation offered by a student adding to the postcard.

Teacher encourages students standing in the circle (the audience) to assess the postcard being created before they enter (to become the actor). How can they add to the narrative? How can they add to the mood and atmosphere of the place?

At any point a member of the audience can shout out ‘finished’ when they think the postcard has enough information.

Task #1 Exploring & Responding

Science Fictional

What you’ll need: Computers and/or paper and markers.

Activity: What do students know about Science Fiction as genre. Discuss the name. Why is it called Science Fiction?

What are some examples? Brainstorm a list on the board. Guide them to think about books, film, TV, art, comics, podcasts, and games. The list might include Star Wars, Star Trek, Minecraft, A Wrinkle in Time, Spiderman, Lost in Space, Deltora Quest.

In small groups students work out what the similar themes and elements are. Are there similar character types, action, objects, conflicts, settings? How do they usually end?

Come together as a whole class and create a list of elements and character types that are found in most Science Fiction.

In small groups, students can now use this information to plan, create, rehearse and perform a short scene of Science Fiction. This scene should include:

• Characters
• Settings/s
• Something the characters want or need to do.
• Something or someone that gets in their way (a problem that needs to be overcome!)
• Other elements of Science Fiction that they have brainstormed previously – objects, vehicles, outfits, creatures, a journey, a transformation, or discovery.

Modification/extension:

• Teachers can combine the teaching of science with this activity and delve into the ‘science’ in particular stories such as space and space travel, force, asteroids, gravity, light speed, matter and so on.

Content Description: AC9ADR8E01

• Literacy
• Intercultural understanding

Task #2: Exploring & Responsding

Character and Actor

What you’ll need: Computers or other recording devices, possibly paper and pens.

Activity: Students respond to Sun Runners from a character AND actor perspective, focussing on either Olli or Gamma. Have a conversation about the roles the students played – they were a mix of character, actor and audience! Were there moments when these roles were discrete? Or did they always blend? What did the artistic team do to place the students in these roles?

Students are going to record an audio or video diary, focussing on one of the characters. They can ‘perform’ the diary in character and costume can be used. When they talk about acting and audience, they may choose to drop character.

They must answer the following questions:

• Name a moment in the experience where you felt like you were in character.
• How about a moment when you were aware of your role as the actor?
• What about a moment where you felt like the audience?
• Can you explain why you felt these shift? There is no right or wrong answer here as each person will have a different experience.

Character

Olli:

• Think about the dangerous moments you found yourself in as you were playing Olli. Describe the feelings you had during these moments. For example, how did you feel when you heard the Diamond Dogs scratching outside the cave?
• Did you have any moments when your thinking was that of the character? Maybe in predicting what might happen next? For example, what did you think would happen to you after you were taken over by an Alien?

Gamma:

• Think about the dangerous moments you found yourself in as you were playing Gamma. Describe the feelings you had during these moments. For example, how did you feel when you made your treacherous journey to the freezer?
• What skills did you have that helped you to reconnect to Olli? And did you feel like these were coming from you, as Gamma?

Actor & Audience

• Describe the most exciting moments from the series. What made them so?
• Describe how the recorded voice (volume, pace, intonation, and pitch) was used to engage you. Did you feel like it became your voice?
• Describe how sound effects and music were used to immerse you in the world of Sun Runners. Make sure you give solid examples of the moment and how it impacted you.
• Did you enjoy being active within the story? Or would you rather be an audience member just spectating? Why?
• Do you think you follow the story more closely when you are ‘in’ the story as opposed to just being a straight audience member or is there no difference for you? Why or why not?

Options from here can include –

• An ‘Olli’ diary can be shared with a ‘Gamma’ diary.
• All the Olli’s or Gamma’s can get together, identifying similarities and differences in their responses
• A few diaries can be shared with the whole class.
• In pairs, the diaries could be used to make a prediction about what happens to Olli and Gamma next. This could lead to a creative writing or scene work response.

Content Description: AC9ADR8E01

• Literacy
• Intercultural understanding

Task #3: Creating & Making

Understanding and making Digital Theatre

What you’ll need: Computers and/or recording devices, editing program, butcher’s paper, sticky notes, markers.

Activity:

Unpacking Digital Theatre

Ask students the following question: What elements have Audioplay and Windmill used to create Sun Runners? (e.g., Plot, character, relationship, tension, setting, dialogue, monologue, SFX, music, audience interaction etc.)

• Use these as headings on butcher’s paper and place them around the room.
• Using sticky notes or writing directly onto the butcher’s paper, students identify examples from the episodes where these conventions are used effectively.
• Teacher invites students to read the responses of others.
• Ask students what the best moments were for them and why? Maybe highlight them and add information about why these moments work so well.

Making Digital Theatre

Using this knowledge, students can now create their own piece of Digital Theatre.

In pairs, students devise their own 2–3-minute parallel episode of Sun Runners using these conventions. This will be the story of two different characters who are also a navigator and pilot duo participating in the Sun Run.

Students develop and plan their story by working out their setting/s, characters, relationships, dialogue, and use of tension. How will they incorporate the following?

• Voice (loudness/softness, use of contrast through control of pace, pitch, dynamics, pause and silence)
• Shape shifting props
• Sound effects and music
• The classroom space to engage their actor/audience.

Once the planning is complete, the students can test their idea on another group by performing the ideas live. Groups feed-back to each other considering what worked well, what needed to be clearer, did the listeners know what to do and have enough to do, how it could be improved and so on.

Presenting and responding to Digital Theatre

Students now record their work, using their computers or other recording devices. The work can be recorded in one take if necessary or editing programs such as Adobe Audition can be used, recording a section at a time and layering sound and music into the narrative.

Responding the Digital Theatre

Using headphones and an audio track created by another group, students listen and experience a new episode. Ask them to consider the manipulation of the conventions of digital theatre and voice to create dramatic meaning, mood, and atmosphere.

Individually or in pairs, students write a response to the experience answering the following questions –

• How did the creators develop my empathy for the character I was playing?
• How did the creators use their voices to heighten tension and engage me in the drama?
• Evaluate how successfully the creators developed a clear narrative?
• How were space and props used to convey dramatic meaning?

These responses can be shared with the creators of the episode.

Content Description: AC9ADR8C01

• Critical and creative thinking
• Personal and social capability