Breaking the Fourth Wall
The fourth wall is a theatrical convention in which an invisible, imagined wall separates actors from the audience and they behave on stage as if they can’t see us. ‘Breaking the fourth wall’ typically describes those moments during a performance when actors speak directly to the audience.
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State Theatre Company South Australia's education theatre work Terrestrial which is about being a young person in a dying regional town toured to 14 places across the state. -
Written by Port Pirie-raised Elena, the historical fiction piece 'The Gods of Strangers' is inspired by migrant stories of regional SA and presented by State Theatre Company South Australia. The show will be seen by regional audiences ahead of their metropolitan counterparts -
Meweisoul 3027 – Ngarrindjeri Wathaurong playwright Glenn Shea presented a reading of his new work in Raukkan and at Dunstan Playhouse in April 2018 inspired by untold story of Ngarrindjeri ANZAC soldier Roland Carter. A partnership with State Theatre Company South Australia. Image: Chris Herzfeld
As the previous stories attest, we’ve been on a long journey redefining the nature of the relationships between the artwork we present and the people who engage with it.
State Theatre Company South Australia’s relationship with regional South Australia goes back decades – indeed architectural foresight saw our performing arts centres match the dimensions of Adelaide’s Dunstan Playhouse to expedite the export of theatre directly – but was rekindled for our inaugural Subscription Season in 1993 with Alan Ayckbourn’s farce Taking Steps.
Since then we can track the first productions to open young student minds with learning resources, post-show Q&As, workshops and work experience, and the expansion of the reach to smaller regional centres sparked by the Regional Centres of Culture. Fourteen theatres, big and small, will see the 2018 State Ed show, Terrestrial, a “mysterious love letter to the abandoned communities of regional South Australia”.
Programming work that springs from or resonates with a particular community, now a core feature of our work, took another leap forward in 2015 through our Regional Theatre Strategy partnership with State Theatre Company. Our first joint commission will be rehearsed and premiered in Port Pirie, where playwright and Greek Cypriot descendant Elena Carapetis has based her story, The Gods Of Strangers, honouring the struggle of her own immigrant family. Company and community will exchange stories – delving into the production’s backstory and rehearsal process, and sharing local migrant stories and food during the two-week company residency prior to the Adelaide season.
