Good morning, my name is Phoenix Robinson and today I will be speaking about the recording of the live stage performance “Aprils Fool ? by David Burton. This presentation with focus on Verbatim Theatre, which is the style of play Aprils Fool is. Other aspects of this oral presentation will be the educational purpose of this performance and the elements of drama *List on Slides* as seen next to me. Aprils Fool is based off the true story about a young Australian boy named Kristjan Terauds who in April 2009, just a mere two weeks short of his nineteenth birthday died due to abuse of drugs and exposure to pneumonia.
The live performance follows the story of his family, it displays their heartache, their anger and their regret. The moving performance engages captivates and shocks the audience. Verbatim theatre is a form of theatre that is written completely by the real spoken and written words of those involved. The playwright (David Burton) would have had to interview those who were affected by Kristjan’s death, meaning his mother, father, his grandparents, his siblings and his friends. The father had also written a journal that contributed greatly to the writing of the script.
Verbatim plays are often focused on politics and disasters. Famous verbatim productions include: The Kings Speech and The Diary of Anne Frank. In the production of April’s Fool there is no appearance of Kristjan, and even though he is not there you still understand the effect that he had upon others. This is shown through verbatim theatre. The setting of a play is like that of a film or short story, the setting relates to the time and place in which the dramatic events take place. Unlike films and stories, on a stage the setting dominates the audience and improves the overall experience.
The setting of a live performance establishes the atmosphere and overall mood of the production. This is shown in April’s Fool through the projection of certain images onto a white sheet, for example when in the hospital slow moving people where reflected onto the sheets to provide a sad yet safe atmosphere. Human Context refers to the roles, relationships and situations within the performance. There are a range different people in this performance, Kristjan’s family (brother, sister, his parents and grandparents), his friends who he did the drugs with, and even a few girls from tafe.
These people and the relationships they have with Kristjan are shown throughout the play, the irresponsible friends, the worried siblings and the love from all. The live stage performance Aprils Fool is performed mostly in the hospital really letting the thought of how easily this kind of thing can happen, the educational purpose here is to show that there is no need to take drugs, it doesn’t matter if your friends are doing it because what happened to Kristjan could happen to you.
The mood of a performance is strongly brought out by the setting although things like lighting, music and the visual effects can also evoke emotion and create a mood. April’s Fool used these aspects to it advantage, the lights dim when needed music and sound effects are played to enhance the performance and the actors and projections top it off. This helps to both create a life like experience and a realistic representation of the emotions people ion that situation feel.
