The Blue Room Theatre is hosting a day of play readings from emerging West Australian Aboriginal playwrights.
'Yirra Yaarnz' will put these playwrights in the spotlight, responding to this year's NAIDOC Week theme Our Language Matters.
Here, one of the playwrights Andrea Fernandez answers questions about the event.
As one of the playwrights in 'Yirra Yaarnz' where does your inspiration to write come from?
From my parents. In fact, my play 'Bollywood Dreaming' is about them, how they met. It is their love story. Music and musicals also inspire me and this element is also used in 'Bollywood Dreaming'. A true story, inspired by 'Dirty Dancing'.
Tell us a bit about what Yirra Yaakin's Writers' Group is.
There is a lack of Aboriginal playwrights in the industry so Yirra Yaakin created the writer’s group to encourage aspiring and emerging playwrights to join us. Facilitated by Hellie Turner, Geoff Kelso and Polly Low, with Irma Woods as the group’s Co-ordinator, each week they take us through the structure and formatting of scripts. Each lesson is different and we are able to apply what we learn to our own stories. At the end of the workshop there is always a performance outcome in the form of a public reading, titled 'Yirra Yaarnz'. It gives us, the writers, the opportunity to have a work read out by professional actors and seen by an audience. We just need to submit at least ten pages so there is not too much pressure on us to have a full length play written in a short space of time.
How long does it take to workshop and put together a script?
For me, 'Bollywood Dreaming' has been about eight years in the making. Seven years of me talking about it and almost a year now of actually writing. Last 'Yirra Yaarnz' I had about 7 pages written, now I have 50! But within the confines of our writers group we all aim to have at least 8-20 pages written between April and June.
What have you learned from being a part of this group?
I have learnt that anyone can write if they apply what they learn into their stories. Our facilitators are really that awesome! I love learning about all of the different styles of writing, how to structure our story into a play and just writing dialogue. That wasn’t something that came easy to me at first but I have gotten the hang of it now.
Image © Eva FernandezDo the names 'Yirra Yaakin' / 'Yirra Yaarnz' mean anything?
Yes, Yirra Yaakin means Stand Tall in the Noongar language. Where Yirra is Tall and Yaakin is Stand. Yaarnz is a play on the word Yarns, meaning stories or tales. So 'Yirra Yaarnz' translates to Tall Tales. Cool, huh?
These readings aim to showcase the importance of storytelling. What do you think is important about storytelling?
It’s a way to pass down our stories so they are accessible to future generations, not just verbal but also in the script form. To me, storytelling connects us to others, to our emotions, it showcases how we lived, how we are now and how we might be in the future.
Does anything happen to these scripts that you and the other playwrights put together after 'Yirra Yaarnz'?
Playwrights are encouraged to keep writing until they have a full length play. Many writers return to the next round of the Writers' Group to continue to develop their work and skill base, which is what I have done. I submitted my work last year (which was just seven pages then) into the Yellamundie First Nations National Playwriting Festival which is a part of the Sydney Festival. Mine was one of six that were selected. In January this year I was flown to Sydney to workshop my script with a dramaturg, director and actors for two weeks. I got so much out of that experience and it wouldn’t have been possible if our facilitators hadn’t of pushed me to actually get my idea onto paper. They were sick of hearing me talk about it for years! Other writers have gone on to have their work as part of The Blue Room Theatre’s season, such as Shakara Walley with 'Songbird' and James Taylor with 'Hobo'. Barbara Hostalek who is also a part of this year’s writer group with me, just recently returned to Perth from New Zealand where her script, 'Cracked' had a public reading by professional actors at the Kia Mau Festival in Wellington – a festival of bold theatre and dance.
What are you hoping audiences can take away from attending this day?
I want audiences to realise that our stories are relevant, heartwarming and perhaps even inspiring and entertaining. There is a real breadth of stories being shared on this day. Ultimately I would want audiences to go home and still be thinking about the work they have heard and what to find out more. Whether it be through Yirra Yaakin or researching more on Aboriginal culture. Isn’t that the ultimate? To still have people thinking and talking about your work, long after the theatre experience.
