Actor Leah Purcell works with students to develop a performance fit for the Cornerstones Conference.

Playwright assists with Cornerstones performance

By Sally Edsall

Twelve students from Keira, Leumeah, Merrylands, Orange, Riverside Girls and Warners Bay high schools, have gathered in Sydney to prepare a presentation for the Cornerstones Conference to be held on September 22 and 23.

Five boys and seven girls are working with renowned actor, playwright, director and author Leah Purcell and teacher Nola Edsall to develop a live performance to convey the hopes, aspirations, needs and desires of students in public education.

The talent exhibited by these students is astounding. Leah led the students through exercises which helped the ideas to emerge very quickly, and to then start to translate that into music, script and performance ideas.

The students and Leah are now working together to finalise a script, compose music and fully realise the concept before their final rehearsal on the day of their performance, September 22.

The conference is privileged to have secured the services of Leah Purcell, one of our country's most accomplished performers. Her first stage break came in Bran Nue Dae, which toured Australia. She became known to a wide audience via her major first television role in Police Rescue. Since then she has written and performed Box the Pony, a semi-factual account of her life (it is also an option for study in the NSW English syllabus). Currently Leah can be seen on cinema screens in Jindabyne. Other film credits include Somersault and Lantana. Leah also directed the documentary Black Chicks Talking.

Sally Edsall is a Research Officer.

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September 2006 contents