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NEWS own style,” Loth said.“ Through this association, they can experiment with the form of theatre and create works that really push the boundaries. Having chances to create their own work, in addition to the opportunities we provide within their courses, is essential for their development as theatre-makers.”
Campus Review spoke with Tiana Buckley to find out more.
Rebellious stage
USC drama students and Ursa Major co-founders Tiana Buckley and Annie Sterling.
Ursa Major is a home for student theatre that dares to challenge the traditional forms and breaks the fourth wall.
Tiana Buckley interviewed by Patrick Avenell
Tiana Buckley is a lover of original, immersive, experimental and applied drama. We’ ve all sat in a theatre watching a play, tense in our seats, funereally quiet, all terrified of observing an actor slip up and having to bear witness to such grievous collective embarrassment. Not that the theatre isn’ t wonderful – drama is a bedrock of the human artistic experience – but the codes and mores that govern its performance lean towards the staid and conservative, often disenfranchising those even slightly culturally unaware. Non-traditional drama tears down these rules and rebuilds the format in the guise of the creator’ s whim. Settings can be fluid, audience participation encouraged; a wrecking ball is taken to the fourth wall, scripts are minimal, stage directions mutable.
One piece of experimental theatre that went mainstream was The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. The play comprises stories, anecdotes and screeds – the titular monologues – of which a selection are performed by a revolving troupe of players. The play has been updated and adapted for different settings and, in some performances, the crowd is encouraged to yell out the c-word, to reclaim it from epithetical use.
Buckley is fond of such interaction with audiences and has teamed up with fellow University of the Sunshine Coast drama student Annie Sterling to found Ursa Major to foster non-traditional performances, under the imprimatur of USC drama lecturer Dr Jo Loth.
“ It’ s great to see the students creating their own pieces and developing their
CR: How was Ursa Major founded?
TB: We were first contacted by the student guild on campus at USC in regards to signing up … under them, because there was a lack of members. After that, there was a matter of finding people to be active members and contacting drama heads to facilitate a time for creating a well-structured group that would work hand-in-hand with the undergrad drama degree offered at USC.
Why do you think it’ s important to have this sort of program? It’ s an opportunity not only to connect with fellow drama students, but also to collaborate and create something that’ s not traditional in Western theatre. We want to develop anyone’ s creative ideas and help them nurture and grow. We focus mainly on developing skills and creating pieces that aren’ t too traditional.
What do you view as traditional? How does the new association differ from that? Traditional, in my definition, would be stage productions. Very linear, basically something that’ s been done multiple times, just revamped. We will try to do pieces that are more immersive and apply to theatre and physical theatre – those that you don’ t always need a stage to create. Ones that interact with not only people onstage but also those in the audience; they break that fourth wall.
What was it about drama that attracted you to the performing arts, and to theatre, when you were growing up? I’ ve always had a passion for theatre and the process. That can be on stage, but I’ ve also loved having a one-on-one conversation with the actors afterwards, or seeing a panel. They not only knew their character and their story, they also knew the history behind it. It’ s not just a 15-minute piece or an hour piece, it’ s a culture, and I guess that’ s what I like about it. ■
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