David Williamson’s The Club · In studying David Williamson’s play The Club you will be...
Transcript of David Williamson’s The Club · In studying David Williamson’s play The Club you will be...
Dialogue in Society
David Williamson’s
The Club
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© Pamela Cohen Page 2
In studying David Williamson’s play The Club you will be developing your
ideas in relation to dialogue. You will explore what this play says about
Australian identity and its relationship to sport. Williamson’s clever language
choices provide us with the opportunity to explore themes, issue, ideas and
contexts relating to sport, in this case Australian Rules, particularly as a
representation of the political landscape of Australia during the 1970s.
You will study the explicit and implicit meaning that is shaped for the
responder by examining stage directions and dialogue. You will explore the
various language forms, features and structure of the play to ascertain the
composer’s purpose and the reactions that could be expected of an audience.
The Club was first performed in 1977 and focuses on the interpersonal politics
of the administrators and players in a fictional Australian Rules football club.
The play explores conflict within the club. Using the strategies of analysing
context ( social, cultural, political, historical, religious, gender, intellectual and
physical) you will be able to identify the conflict set up in the play between
traditionalists and those who, in the 1970s, were looking at the economic and
commercialisation of the ‘Great Australian Game’. The play is a satire – we
will also explore what a satire is and why satire is used and created by
composers.
© Pamela Cohen Page 3
Board of Studies Syllabus Content
Module A: Experience Through Language
This module requires students to explore the uses of a particular aspect of language. It develops
students’ awareness of language and helps them to understand how our perceptions of and
relationships with others and the world are shaped in written, spoken and visual language.
Each elective in this module requires study of a prescribed text through a key aspect of language.
This provides the basis for the study and use of this aspect of language in other texts, including
texts drawn from students’ own experience.
Students examine particular language structures and features used in the prescribed text and in a
range of situations that they encounter in their daily lives. They explore, examine and analyse
how the conventions of textual forms, language modes and media shape meaning. Composition
focuses on experimentation with variations of purpose, audience and form to achieve different
effects. These compositions may be realised in a variety of forms and media.
Elective 2: Dialogue
In their responding and composing, students explore the nature of speech and how it is
represented in a range of texts. Students will examine one prescribed text, in addition to the
examples of spoken language in their lives, to explore the uses and conventions of dialogue and
its interpersonal nature; students will analyse who controls the conversation and whether certain
voices are silenced. In their exploration of Dialogue, students develop an understanding of the
differences between spoken and written language.
Students will choose one of the following texts as the basis for their further exploration of the
elective, Dialogue.
Drama
• Williamson, David, The Club, Currency Press, 1978, ISBN 0868190136
The 1986 edition is in ‘Collected Plays: Vol 1’ Williamson, David, Currency Press, ISBN
0868191108 and 0868191108 (pbk)
© Pamela Cohen Page 4
Exercise One
Read the introductions to The Club by Lou Richards and Ian Turner. Who are these men
and how are they qualified to comment on this play? What type of language do they use and
how does that language identify the personal context of the speakers?
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Richards makes the statement: ‘David Williamson must have pinched half his lines for The
Club from a fly on the committee room wall. His mastery of ocker footy lingo is so word perfect
you’d swear he was given Ron Barassi’s old athletic support for his first birthday and had
board and lodging at Jack Dyer’s place.’
Explain what Richards means in this opening statement and identity how and why the
introduction engages readers in the 21st century. What would you have to do to develop a
real understanding of what he is saying? Do the research into the names and concepts he
refers to and then rewrite your initial understanding with the contextual understanding you
have gained.
Initial understanding
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Informed understanding (based on research)
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What does Turner mean by ‘playing the game’? What language feature is
being used here?
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Exercise Two:
Examine the ‘images’ of the play provided in your text. Are your initial
reactions meeting your expectations of the content of the play? How or how
not? Why or why not?
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Select two film stills from the film text. Explain what each conveys to you as a
responder without referring to their context in the play. Questions to consider
are:
What can you ‘see’? ( explore the images in detail using the ETA visual
literacy analysis sheet)
What are the characters doing?
How are they doing it?
What tone do the images create?
How effective is the setting?
Does the setting or the costuming used date the play? How? Why might
this be important for you as a responder?
Williamson provides a brief description of the setting he envisages the play
being performed in. What tone does this description establish?
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Exercise Three
Theme
What is the central precept explored in The Club? Are there sub-themes?
Provide an outline of the themes in the play using the worksheets and suggest the purpose
of the composer in presenting them as a play rather than in a novel, poem or other text
type.
Theme: Power
Thematic discussion
What is the theme?
How do you know it is
a theme?
Composer’s purpose
Textual References
Language features
used explicitly to
convey the theme?
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Theme: Conflict
Thematic discussion
What is the theme?
How do you know it is
a theme?
Composer’s purpose
Textual References
Language features
used explicitly to
convey the theme?
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Is this theme still relevant in 2014 within the codes of Australian Rules, and
indeed, other codes of football?
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How has the dialogue conveyed this theme? Select at least four quotes from the
text and deconstruct for the language features present.
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Exercise Four
Structure
A play has to engage the audience – it is live theatre and the director has to
provide opportunities for the audience to empathise with the characters as
well as recognise the settings. He has to provide background context visually
and through dialogue. He must establish a beginning, rising action, a climax,
falling action and a denouement before the conclusion of the play where
hopefully, the audience applauds the experience and performance of the
characters.
Develop a visual image or graph and map out the play:
It must contain the following elements:
Beginning
Exposition
Rising action – including complications or suspense/tensions. Are there
doubts or expectations the audience will gain from this action?
Climax
Falling action – has the composer addressed the rising action?
Denouement
Conclusion
You should create the image in Word or Publisher.
You should provide a quote or brief summary of the plot that is
occurring at each stage of the structure you provide.
You must use colour.
You may use images appropriate to the play.
You must present your image to the class in a three minute
presentation.
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Exercise Five
Characters and Dialogue
Playwrights use a range of strategies to provide the responder with
information about characters in the play and in turn, provide the audience
with opportunities to empathise with, laugh at, hate or otherwise engage with
the characters.
Strategies include:
1. Direct descriptions: explicit instructions provided by the playwright in
the stage directions of the play. The playwright states how they
characters should look, ‘act’ (gestures, tone etc), dress and behave. As
the audience does not get to ‘read’ the stage directions these instructions
are provided for the director to ensure the themes, issues ideas and
contexts of the composer are being addressed in a performance. These
descriptions are explicit – they are usually provided in italics and
parentheses throughout the script.
2. Dialogue (a) – what the character says about him/herself – these may
include physical descriptions, psychological descriptions, intellectual
descriptions. These are direct and implicit descriptions provided within
the dialogue of the play – search for nouns, adjectives, adverbs,
metaphors and similes that are used by individual characters to describe
themselves.
3. Dialogue (b) – what other characters day about each other – how they
describe other characters in their interactions with other characters.
These are direct and implicit descriptions designed to provide insight
into the various personal qualities of the character – and may well vary
from the characters perception of self.
4. Reactions – how other characters react to other characters in the play.
This is an indirect and implicit way of providing insight into a character.
It may provide the audience to explore the possibility of multiple
personalities for any one character.
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Select four examples of dialogue that explores an individual character (at least
150 words) and provide a close analysis of each including:
Character being described
A summary of the language techniques used
Tone of the scene
Contextual framework of the dialogue
Implicit and explicit, direct and indirect nature of the dialogue
Example One: Act: Page:
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Example Two: Act: Page:
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Example Three: Act: Page:
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Example Four: Act: Page:
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Exercise Six
Language devices and dramatic techniques
Williamson’s play uses a wide range of language and dramatic devices and
techniques that provide the responder with insight into the themes and
contexts explored in the play. These include:
Formal language
Colloquial language
Irony
Euphemisms
Clichés
Metaphors
Similes
Repetition
Puns
Slang
Idiom
Jargon
Pace
Inflection
Pitch
True dialogue
Dualogue
Antithesis
Baiting
Double entendre
Dramatic irony
Irony
Paradox
Mock ignorance
Juxtaposition
Sardonic tone
Sarcasm
Stage directions
Poetic justice
Modality
Contradiction
Bathos
Monologue
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You are to identify at least one examples of each technique and then explain
the contextual meaning behind the use of the language and how it used to
shape meaning for the responder( what it means in terms of developing the
narrative, the context and themes of the text).
This meaning might include:
insight into characters or time and setting
the satirical meaning behind Williamson’s composition of the work
language as an indicator of social class
the language of sport
regional influences and idioms
politicized nature of sport
role of sport in society
sport as a reflection of social angst
power conflict and hierarchies in sport
power conflict and hierarchies in society
Use the worksheets provided at the back of the study guide. Provide a full
sentence quote (using appropriate punctuation) for each example provided
and identify the Act and page number you have taken the quote from.
© Pamela Cohen Page 16
Exercise Seven
Vocabulary
Williamson’s vocabulary has been carefully chosen to have an impact on the audience.
Examine the vocabulary in the table below and provide your understanding (using research
if necessary) to understand the terms/phrases and how they are meant to shape meaning for
the responder. Some of the language provided has specific purpose - a euphemism, a double
entendre, metaphor etc. You should identify the language technique used in your column on
meaning.
Vocabulary/phrase Technique and Interpretation
‘the olive branch’ ‘flu impartial ‘through a slump’ absolve conciliation autocratic pussyfooting ‘a hundred percent behind
Laurie’
‘roll up’ ‘gives Laurie the boot’ Industrial anarchy ‘sticking your nose in’ ‘as welcome as a blowfly at
a butcher’s picnic’
‘give him a big kiss’ ‘platform of reform’ ‘bear fruit’ ‘strangled’ (p14) recruits marketplace ‘boom or bust’ p 14 diehards had’ve ratshit p 15 clown cobber p 15 bottle up
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cronies puppets p. 16 forward line ‘money to burn’ ‘kicked in’ ‘cunning little rodent’ p.
17
‘There’s a storm coming
up…’
‘…weather it’ dynamite Placate p. 18 ‘clinched it’ ‘Blind Freddy’ ‘getting the axe’ ‘pampers them like
babies’
‘tough bloody hand’ ‘dead duck’ ‘thrashed it out’ p. 19 Despicable p. 20 ‘Club colours’ ‘looking for a scrap’ bandied p. 21 ‘you fat turd’ p. 24 ‘…getting uppoty’ p. 26 calibre ‘Strike while the iron’s
hot’ p. 27
‘ have a bit of a yarn’ cahoots p. 30 ‘fossicked around’ p. 35 plummet p. 37 antagonism p. 39 devil’s advocate p. 42 Achilles p. 43 ‘hacks’ p. 53 conservatism p. 59 pragmatism p. 60 Denuded p. 73
© Pamela Cohen Page 18
Exercise Eight
Reflecting on the study of David Williamson’s The Club
As a result of your study of dialogue in The Club, what are your conclusions as
to the composer’s purpose in writing this play? (Use the language of purpose:
to inform; to persuade; to argue; to define; to expose etc)
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Is this play relevant to the use of language of sport used in society today? How,
Why? Provide examples both from the play and contemporary new reports on
sport.
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Describe and evaluate the linguistic structure Williamson has used created the
text? (Use language such as forceful, grateful, delicate, intense, realistic,
impressionistic, simple, grandiose, lively, verbose, flowery, humourous,
satirical, etc)
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What dialogue takes place related to sport that reflects wider concerns about
conversation, argument and discussion in society? Provide examples.
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What metaphorical images of sport does the dialogue in the text provide?
Provide examples.
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How effective is The Club as a text to be studied under the context of Dialogue
in English? Justify your response with references to the text.
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Explain the impact of The Club on the audience in terms of the impact of the
language used as dialogue in the play? Compare the idea of reading the play as
opposed to viewing the play as an audience? How does the dialogue change in
impact when the written word becomes spoken language? Refer to at least
three scenes from the play.
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Go through the past paper questions on the following pages.
For each question:
Identify the key verbs
Identify the terms of reference the examiners are asking you to
engage with
Develop a thesis that would be suitable for the question
Suggest a related text that might be appropriate to use with the
question
Develop an introduction that states the titles of your texts
appropriately formatted and presents three arguments you will
develop for your response.
Construct paragraph plans: what argument you will focus on,
the evidence you would use and explain how this language
responds to the question and links to your thesis
Write a conclusion that sums up your arguments and uses
evaluative language to demonstrate the significant lessons we
can learn from the use of dialogue and what it suggests about
society
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