Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA
About
Black Swan’s vision is to connect artists and audiences through the power of theatre to entertain, challenge and inspire. We create exceptional, high-quality theatre that speaks to the world from our unique WA culture, landscape and moment in time.
We aim to remain true to this indomitable and inspired spirit to nurture works that reflect imaginatively on Black Swan’s place and time in bold and uncompromising ways, in ways that will make people take notice, and in ways that will endure.
Company History
Black Swan is a theatre company of national significance, creating exceptional theatre that nurtures Western Australian audiences and artists, and promotes our artists within the state, nationally and internationally.
Founded in 1991, Black Swan has earned both critical and popular acclaim for its world premiere productions and highly distinctive reinterpretations of international theatre classics – all of which are infused with the unique culture of Western Australia.
In addition to the work produced for the stage, Black Swan’s underlying strength is in artist development and broadening access and engagement with our state-wide community. Over the past five years, the company has seen enormous growth in audiences, built its internal capacity and established a benchmark for quality productions of scale in Western Australia. Looking to the future, the three areas of core strategic focus are artist development, education and regional engagement.
In 2022, Kate Champion joined the company as Artistic Director.
Further Information
Black Swan is committed to supporting educators in developing an appreciation of the Performing Arts. Our mission is to be accessible to all school communities with selected performances, workshops, quality resources and value adding experiences that support and complement the West Australian and Australian Curriculum.
SPECIALIST WORKSHOPS
Infuse learning with fresh approaches and hands-on industry knowledge. Our in-school Specialist Workshops are led by teaching artists who are skilled at motivating even the most disengaged student, and developing skills in all aspects of performance, theatre-making and design.
For more information on the workshops available in 2024, head to: blackswantheatre.com.au/school-programs/school-workshops
BEHIND-THE-SCENES EXPERIENCE
These one-day events are an ideal way for young theatre enthusiasts in Years 10-12 to gain access to industry-led workshops, backstage tours and panel discussions aligned with our productions. Each Behind-The-Scene Experience is aligned with one of our mainstage productions and includes one ticket per participant to see the corresponding production.
THE BRIDGE PROGRAM
Based on relevant learning theory and instruction models, and utilising arts-integration practices with subject curriculum, The Bridge Program is designed to develop greater levels of engagement and achievement through experiential-learning activities.
The program lasts for 6 weeks and takes place in the classroom for 1-2 hours a week, depending on the school schedule. For each lesson the teaching artist will apply a diverse range of creative processes to the unit of study selected by each teacher.
SCHOOL RESOURCES
Our recommended productions for schools are diverse in form, content and themes and are accompanied by complimentary learning resources containing informative behind-the-scenes content and curriculum linked activities for Drama, English and Literature teachers to use with their students pre and post-show.
To book a workshop or get further information, head to https://blackswantheatre.com.au/school-programs/ email Learn@blackswantheatre.com.au
