CBCA News and Views, Feb 2013 - Aleesah Darlison

Writing Workshops
the Powerhouse museum/
sydney writers’ Festival Writer
Overnighter
michael Pryor
i
’m lucky enough to be invited to speak at many schools,
libraries and festivals. Every appearance is different, but my
recent engagement at the Powerhouse Museum – as part of
the Sydney Writers’ Festival – was unique in my experience.
the Writer Overnighter event has, as its centrepiece, the
chance for young people (and their parents) to sleep
overnight in a real museum. Before the sleeping part gets
underway the museum takes the lucky participants on a
tour then presents enthralling demonstrations and a movie.
Slotting into this program is a series of writing workshop
activities conducted by a writer of note. On 18 May 2012 i
was fortunate enough to be that writer.
the staff at the
Powerhouse was
wonderful. in putting
the program together
we talked about the
possibilities offered
by the museum.
Since i have been busy
writing Steampunk
for a number of
years, i jumped at the
opportunity to do
something that would
utilise the museum’s
Steam revolution
exhibition and the
remarkable Boulton
and Watt steam engine. Anticipating some of the fun of the
occasion – and wanting to add to it – i dressed up in some
of my Steampunk finery. i dusted off my top hat, carefully
tied my bow tie, and put on my white gloves. this, naturally,
brought some stares as i walked from my hotel to the
museum.
the result was a workshop that had the young writers
creating Steampunk heroes and heroines, using the best
aspects that the genre has to offer. i was able to use the
big screens in the workshop space to good effect, showing
examples of magnificent Steampunk characters i have
accumulated over the years.
We worked for an hour and a half. We wrote, shared,
supported and laughed so much that the time disappeared
in front of us. After more chatting and enthusiasm i had
to make my farewells as the evening’s movie (Steamboy of
course!) started.
i’m always impressed by the young writers and the freshness
of their creations. i see that my role is to share what i’ve
learned about writing, but also to guide and give shape to
the bubbling, fervent imaginations of the participants. i’m
a writing practitioner and young writers seem to appreciate
that my suggestions come from a practical, experienced
background.
i thoroughly enjoy writing workshops and the Writer
Overnighter at the Powerhouse was one of my most
memorable.
10
the shakespeare talk
tony thompson
was lucky. My first book, Shakespeare, The Most Famous
i Man in London, was published by Black Dog Books in
2009. Something bardly must have been blowing in the
wind because Andy Griffiths produced the masterful Just
Macbeth and John Marsden brought his uniquely disturbing
voice to Hamlet that same year. this, no doubt, prompted
Mike Shuttleworth at the Centre for youth literature in
Melbourne to hold a two day symposium on Shakespeare.
He phoned me up and told me that i would be sitting on a
panel with Andy and John as well as giving my own talks.
i said that i felt like an obscure local band being asked to
open for led Zeppelin.
those first talks were uncertain affairs. i was nervous and,
maybe because i had spent my working life in schools, i
couldn’t quite shake the sense that i had to “teach” the
material in my biography of Shakespeare. Watching Andy
was a revelation. He was entertaining, highly so, but he
also spoke about his books and his approach to writing in
a serious and informative manner. John Marsden was like
a wise uncle. He told stories, he made observations, and
mused about possibilities. When my turn came, i stumbled
through a long explanation of the Elizabethan school system
to a sea of expressionless adolescent faces. i realised then
that i was going to have to develop another voice.
A few weeks later i was once again sitting on a stage
with Andy Griffiths, this time at the BMW Edge for the
Melbourne Writer’s Festival. i had streamlined my talk
somewhat and it had gone over reasonably well but i could
feel that something was still missing. During question time
we were both asked to talk about how we became writers.
As Andy wittily explained his own beginnings, i realised
that i was drawing a blank. But then it occurred to me that
there was a plausible starting point and that it was rather
dramatic. Andy finished and indicated that it was my turn. i
turned to the audience and said:
“i was arrested for armed robbery when i was at university
in Canada. it was a case of mistaken identity but i wrote
a story about it and it was published in a journal called
Proem.”
For the first time, i had everyone’s attention. While i had
been speaking most of the students had been staring over
my shoulder at Andy. they were listening to me now. i told
the story and it went down pretty well. i had my first clue.
Not long afterwards i was speaking to a group comprised
mainly of year 8 and 9 boys in a large theatre. they were,
for the most part, polite though not terribly interested
in what i was saying. My old teaching instincts noted two
boys at the back who were mucking around, completely
lost in their own world of some private joke. i wasn’t
particularly worried. they weren’t distracting anyone else
and if they didn’t want to hear what i had to say, well, that
was up to them. But i was talking about the dangers of
Shakespeare’s london and i happened to use the phrase,
“concealed weapons”. One of the boys looked up. i said it
again. “Everyone was drunk and they all carried concealed
weapons.” His friend went to say something but was
shushed. i had his attention and now his pal was listening
too. Another clue, i decided.
i enjoy talking about Shakespeare to students. there is a
lot of resistance at first. Shakespeare, for some of them,
represents everything they dislike about the texts they study