Second Helping

Second Helping was written and directed by John Harding. The play was written as a result of research done through a project called "Sit Down at my Table" where members of ANTaR Victoria (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) invited Aboriginal people for dinner and a series of questions were posed about reconciliation by John Harding. The discussions which resulted were videotaped by Megan Evans and these tapes as well as the experience of the dinners were inspiration for the writing of the play.

Pre- production

Megan Evans of ANTaR worked with John Harding to build a team of people to work on the play over the months leading up to the production. The following people were employed on the production team:

• Production Manager - Kevin Fregon
• Stage Manager - PJ Rosas
• Lighting Designer - John Dutton
• Music Designer - James Wilkinson
• Set Design - Margaret Eastgate
• Lighting Operator - Rebecca
• Publicist - Kathryn Ross

John auditioned and selected the following performers:

• Naretha Williams
• Isaac Drandich
• Joe Clemments
• Lousie Merrett

Images Contributed by Megan Evans

Rehearsal Period

Rehearsals were conducted for three weeks leading up to the production and were held in the church at the Clifton Creative Arts Centre in Richmond. The play was workshopped and developed during the rehearsal period with several rewrites along the way. The Music Designer, Lighting Designer and Set Designer were all involved at the rehearsal stage and worked with the Director to create the sound and visual of the production. During this time the publicist began to promote the production and Ponch Hawkes was contracted to photograph the performers for publicity shots. Megan Evans then designed and had printed the poster and postcard to advertise the production. The posters were distributed by both the production team and ANTaR volunteers.

Production

Image Contributed by Megan Evans

The play began with a preview night on Wednesday 6th of July. This was well attended with over seventy people in the audience. One of the people attending was Andrew Jackamos from the Victorian Governments Justice Department and he was so impressed with the play that he booked a whole performance for people from the Justice Department. The back of the theatre as well as a stall and people were invited at the end of each performance to join the cast and crew the end of the night to discuss the play and the issues bought up by it.

The bar was also a fundraising opportunity for ANTaR. There was always a large group of people who stayed behind and talked for at least an hour each night. On Thursday the 14th of July the Justice Department provided 150 seats as well as food for everyone. Three Judges from the Magistrates Court came to the performance as well as the secretary to the Attorney General and many other people from the executive of the Department of Justice.

Publicity

The publicity was highly successful with reviews in the print media and on radio. Click here to see the Media report (link to SecondH media report doc)

Documentation/Evaluation

The play was filmed and a complete video of the production will eventually be available to distribute.

The production was also evaluated by Borderlands who included a questionnaire in the program which people either filled in on the night or sent back. These were on the whole very positive.

The play is being toured by the Justice Department next year to regional Victoria, finishing with a performance at the BMW Edge Centre at Federation Square.

The opening night was also well attended with a full house of 150 people and several reviewers came. There were nine performances all together and over 800 people attended.

Second Helping DVD now available!

To obtain a copy of the Second Helping DVD, contact us by email or on 9419 3613.