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!
melanieThu, 8 Nov 2001, 06:46 am
Does 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!
Amanda ChestertonThu, 8 Nov 2001, 11:42 am
RE: HELP! Alma De Groen, the woman in the window
I'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
Amanda ChestertonThu, 8 Nov 2001, 11:48 am
RE: HELP! Alma De Groen, the woman in the window
"The play which is divided between the 1950s and 23rd century (hard to explain why, but it's very effective)."
Sorry, sorry. I'm a moron. Me inglish is better'n this most times. Disregard the 'which'.
Grant, can we /please/ have a preview button?!?
Thou gorbellied rude-growing haggard!
Tee hee!
Oh poo, I'm auditioning for him on Sunday...that's just me practicing my mad scene, Grant! :-)
Amanda Chesterton
Sorry, sorry. I'm a moron. Me inglish is better'n this most times. Disregard the 'which'.
Grant, can we /please/ have a preview button?!?
Thou gorbellied rude-growing haggard!
Tee hee!
Oh poo, I'm auditioning for him on Sunday...that's just me practicing my mad scene, Grant! :-)
Amanda Chesterton
melanieThu, 8 Nov 2001, 12:31 pm
RE: HELP! Alma De Groen, the woman in the window
Amanda, thankyou VERY much! Your info will be very helpful.Good luck in your audition too!
limelight6076Thu, 8 Nov 2001, 04:20 pm
Reply for WITW - Alma De Groen.
Melanie and amanda,
I actually lit the WAAPA Production of woman in the window, and i have tried to find my character notes for you mel. Sorry! Amanda's explination was excelantly done. I wish that was in the book. The play is a bit hard to understand as a whole after one sitting but a few times it seems to gel. :()
The play is actually set in the two time to give the feeling of the parallel worlds, however Anna and Rachel are insub text exactly the same person.
Confused???
Eventhough this is done in the dream sequence as Anna and Rachel as seperate identities, however both are the same. The show strongly relates to today, with ideas about big brother and computers taking over the need for paper/books and things.
Rachel goes against all her training and tries to find all of the delisted poets and writers - hence the Akhmatova connection strand one. She hides the fact that she is still 'writing' her poems by translating them to lillie and lillie remembering them. A task that Tuysa takes over later on in the play.
The Akhmatova connection strand two is the supression of knowledge that leads to a higher understanding.
Hope this babble makes sence and is reasonably correct.
Good luck with your audition.
The play is a wonderful play to do, very lateral in the way it needs to be staged inorder for it to work, no standard set in this show.
All the best for 2002 and beyond Melanie.
I actually lit the WAAPA Production of woman in the window, and i have tried to find my character notes for you mel. Sorry! Amanda's explination was excelantly done. I wish that was in the book. The play is a bit hard to understand as a whole after one sitting but a few times it seems to gel. :()
The play is actually set in the two time to give the feeling of the parallel worlds, however Anna and Rachel are insub text exactly the same person.
Confused???
Eventhough this is done in the dream sequence as Anna and Rachel as seperate identities, however both are the same. The show strongly relates to today, with ideas about big brother and computers taking over the need for paper/books and things.
Rachel goes against all her training and tries to find all of the delisted poets and writers - hence the Akhmatova connection strand one. She hides the fact that she is still 'writing' her poems by translating them to lillie and lillie remembering them. A task that Tuysa takes over later on in the play.
The Akhmatova connection strand two is the supression of knowledge that leads to a higher understanding.
Hope this babble makes sence and is reasonably correct.
Good luck with your audition.
The play is a wonderful play to do, very lateral in the way it needs to be staged inorder for it to work, no standard set in this show.
All the best for 2002 and beyond Melanie.
Walter PlingeThu, 8 Nov 2001, 11:40 pm
RE: HELP! Alma De Groen, the woman in the window
>> The play which is divided between the 1950s and 23rd century (hard to explain why, but it's very effective).
As I understand it, Chesty, the whole plot is based on an original episode of Star Trek, where, possessed by a malevolent alien entity (aren't they all?) Mr Chekov accidentally falls through a space/time warp generated by a rogue computer (surprise, surprise) and is buffeted helplessly backwards and forwards between the present day (23rd century) and the dim & dark past of one of his distant ancestors.
Through one of those quirky twists of fate (now there's something you don't see every day), Mr Chekov actually becomes his own Great, Great, Great, Great.... you get the point.... Grandfather. The only slight perterbation to the timeline is that Chekov's daily (unsavoury) dietary supplement (impressed upon him from a young age as a family tradition) is actually adopted by his own ancestors, ensuring that it is passed through the centuries, thus becoming a self-fulfilling timeloop. After initially looking grim, everything nicely works out within 45 minutes, to leave Kirk and McCoy standing around on the Bridge chortling, as Mr Spock raises a disparaging eyebrow, and the scene changes to that of the Enterprise fading into the stock starfield as the credits roll.
Lord, I've wasted my life....
JB
As I understand it, Chesty, the whole plot is based on an original episode of Star Trek, where, possessed by a malevolent alien entity (aren't they all?) Mr Chekov accidentally falls through a space/time warp generated by a rogue computer (surprise, surprise) and is buffeted helplessly backwards and forwards between the present day (23rd century) and the dim & dark past of one of his distant ancestors.
Through one of those quirky twists of fate (now there's something you don't see every day), Mr Chekov actually becomes his own Great, Great, Great, Great.... you get the point.... Grandfather. The only slight perterbation to the timeline is that Chekov's daily (unsavoury) dietary supplement (impressed upon him from a young age as a family tradition) is actually adopted by his own ancestors, ensuring that it is passed through the centuries, thus becoming a self-fulfilling timeloop. After initially looking grim, everything nicely works out within 45 minutes, to leave Kirk and McCoy standing around on the Bridge chortling, as Mr Spock raises a disparaging eyebrow, and the scene changes to that of the Enterprise fading into the stock starfield as the credits roll.
Lord, I've wasted my life....
JB