HELP! Alma De Groen, the woman in the window
Thu, 8 Nov 2001, 06:46 ammelanie6 posts in thread
HELP! Alma De Groen, the woman in the window
Thu, 8 Nov 2001, 06:46 amDoes anybody know the play The Woman in the Window by Alma De Groen. I'm doing a piece from it for my WAAPA audtion next Thursday (I only got the pieces yesterday)
I don't live in a city, I'm only going to Melbourne the night before the audition, and I have no way of getting the play.
Could anyone at least tell me the plot of the play and the what the role of Lilli is?
I would be really REALLY grateful. Thankyou!
I don't live in a city, I'm only going to Melbourne the night before the audition, and I have no way of getting the play.
Could anyone at least tell me the plot of the play and the what the role of Lilli is?
I would be really REALLY grateful. Thankyou!
RE: HELP! Alma De Groen, the woman in the window
Thu, 8 Nov 2001, 11:42 amI'll put this here rather than emailing you personally in case there are any other people doing this monologue who read this site, and can't get hold of the play.
The Woman in the Window was performed this year at WAAPA by the graduating year - hence, I suppose its inclusion in this year's audition pieces.
The part of Lilli was played by Sally Marett and she did this very monologue for her showcase. So if there's any chance you can catch the WAAPA showcase in the east, you can see it in (a very good) performance, but this is probably unlikely.
Lilli is the maid/confidant of Anna Akhmatova who was played by senor lecturer in voice, Jennifer West. She knows the play extremely well, and you may have her on the audition panel since she was in Perth last year - they might be sending her over east this time i.e. if there is /any/ way of getting hold of the play, it would be particularly advantageous.
Anna was a (real-life) poet condemned by Stalin's regime for writing anti-communist poetry, and she was required to appear once a day in her window so that Cold War guards could make sure she hadn't skipped the country or attempted suicide. The play which is divided between the 1950s and 23rd century (hard to explain why, but it's very effective). There are regular dialogues in the play between Anna, Lilli, and their next door neighbour Tusya. Anna and Lilli's husbands have been sent away for 'ten years without right of correspondence' (i.e. killed) and during the course of the play, Tusya's husband receives the same penalty, I think because of Tusya's connection with Anna (but don't quote me on this - I can't quite remember). Lilli, on the basis of this, is taken away for questioning, which she complies with for a while but after several gruelling hours the monologue you have chosen is the result. At the conclusion of the monologue the interrogator forces Lilli to drink his urine.
Yummy.
If you can't read the play specifically, read around it as much as you can and find out what you can about Alma de Groen, and try and read some of her better known plays. That way it doesn't look like you just couldn't be bothered getting hold of this particular play. To quote from the 'Woman in the Window' programme: "Born in New Zealand in 1942 Alma de Groen settled in Australia in 1964 where, under the influence of the new theatre movement, she began writing plays. Her work includes: 'The Joss Adams Show', 'Going Home', 'Vocations' and 'The Rivers of China'. In 1998 Alma became the first playwright to receive the Patrick White Literary Award." Another Alma de Groen play is 'The Girl Who Saw Everything' but 'The Rivers of China' is probably the easiest to get hold of.
Feel free to email me personally (mandinga@it.net.au) if you want to know any more.
Good luck!
Amanda Chesterton
The Woman in the Window was performed this year at WAAPA by the graduating year - hence, I suppose its inclusion in this year's audition pieces.
The part of Lilli was played by Sally Marett and she did this very monologue for her showcase. So if there's any chance you can catch the WAAPA showcase in the east, you can see it in (a very good) performance, but this is probably unlikely.
Lilli is the maid/confidant of Anna Akhmatova who was played by senor lecturer in voice, Jennifer West. She knows the play extremely well, and you may have her on the audition panel since she was in Perth last year - they might be sending her over east this time i.e. if there is /any/ way of getting hold of the play, it would be particularly advantageous.
Anna was a (real-life) poet condemned by Stalin's regime for writing anti-communist poetry, and she was required to appear once a day in her window so that Cold War guards could make sure she hadn't skipped the country or attempted suicide. The play which is divided between the 1950s and 23rd century (hard to explain why, but it's very effective). There are regular dialogues in the play between Anna, Lilli, and their next door neighbour Tusya. Anna and Lilli's husbands have been sent away for 'ten years without right of correspondence' (i.e. killed) and during the course of the play, Tusya's husband receives the same penalty, I think because of Tusya's connection with Anna (but don't quote me on this - I can't quite remember). Lilli, on the basis of this, is taken away for questioning, which she complies with for a while but after several gruelling hours the monologue you have chosen is the result. At the conclusion of the monologue the interrogator forces Lilli to drink his urine.
Yummy.
If you can't read the play specifically, read around it as much as you can and find out what you can about Alma de Groen, and try and read some of her better known plays. That way it doesn't look like you just couldn't be bothered getting hold of this particular play. To quote from the 'Woman in the Window' programme: "Born in New Zealand in 1942 Alma de Groen settled in Australia in 1964 where, under the influence of the new theatre movement, she began writing plays. Her work includes: 'The Joss Adams Show', 'Going Home', 'Vocations' and 'The Rivers of China'. In 1998 Alma became the first playwright to receive the Patrick White Literary Award." Another Alma de Groen play is 'The Girl Who Saw Everything' but 'The Rivers of China' is probably the easiest to get hold of.
Feel free to email me personally (mandinga@it.net.au) if you want to know any more.
Good luck!
Amanda Chesterton