Sydney Story Factory - Supporter Newsletter - June 2018

Can you spot the difference between these two pictures? They're shots of our new Parramatta writing centre, the top one taken in January, the bottom one last week.

No? Can't see anything different? You are right. Unfortunately, we're still stuck in the labyrinths of the approval process and our fit-out hasn't begun. But like K. in Kafka's The Castle, we're ever hopeful we'll get things moving soon. We'll keep you updated. Meantime, many people think we are open - and why wouldn't they? We're running all the workshops we said we would, with our crack team of Parramatta storytellers working from our Redfern base. This week, as we wind up term two, we've been in Liverpool, Belmore, Mt Druitt, Campbelltown, Ambarvale, Rosemeadow, Canterbury, Punchbowl, Parramatta, Guildford and more. Plus, of course, our Redfern team have been in all our usual haunts: Redfern, Waterloo, Woolloomooloo, Matraville and up in Manly at Royal Far West, working with kids visiting Sydney from regional areas for medical treatment. EARLY MORNINGS AT PARRAMATTA PCYC Would you come to a creative writing workshop at 7am? Well, 10 at-risk boys from Arthur Phillip High School would. These boys have been coming to Parramatta PCYC early every Friday morning to create a video about positive uses of social media, and about being your best self online. And their tutors are all local police officers, trained by us and doing an incredible job. Students and police officer volunteers at our Friday morning PCYC Parramatta workshops.   The students' video tells the story of a young man on his red Ps, who loses his license after being bullied into driving with too many passengers. Instances of cyberbullying occur as a result, and the students responded to, engaged with, and created the content (videos, text messages, recordings) that told that story. They also developed tableaus, and acted out some of those events and character pieces in person. They've been an outstanding and thoughtful group. Our Parramatta Storyteller-in-Chief, Bilal Hafda, said of the workshops: "Having the officers there gives weight to the content of the boys' work, by virtue of their presence, but also by their commitment to the program." One of the officers said: "Coming here is like a tonic, it sets you up for the week." WELCOME OUR NEW GIANT!

This wonderful giant arrived at the Sydney Story Factory in Redfern this week. Created by artist Katy Plummer for Unmapping, our collaboration with the MCA, he's around for the next few months.

At our Redfern office, we now have a soft giant slumbering and dreaming near the doorway. It was created by Katy Plummer, our artist in residence for this phase of our Unmapping project with the MCA, supported by The Balnaves Foundation. Inspired by Moliere's The Hypochondriac, this work, like most of Katy's practice, is a combination of classic stories, modern history, and her attempts to understand why these stories stick with her and influence her thoughts. In the video playing above the giant, you can see him confronted by the demands of one of his subjects. The subject then slowly discovers the true meaning behind the Emperor's inaction. Students from Belmore Public and Bankstown Girls High who have taken part in this term's workshops have investigated themes of fears, dreams, and authority, and have been encouraged to make their own world-changing demands of the sleeping giant. We're waiting, with just a little trepidation, to see how he responds. Thank you so much for your support. With best wishes from Cath and the Sydney Story Factory team

STUDENT OF THE MONTH: HADI  Hadi is in Year 10 at Punchbowl Boys High,  and loves English, Drama and Science. He also loves his sport, especially footy, and is currently writing slam poetry from the perspective of Banquo. In this piece, Banquo will live! He’s a student that our Storyteller Bec (who was an English teacher at Punchbowl Boys before coming to us!) has had from Year 7, and we think he is absolutely amazing and super dedicated to his work. Thanks for being a great leader and inspiration to others Hadi!

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: JAMES METZGER James has been volunteering with us for a little over a year now, and in that time has been involved in loads of workshop term series, one-off workshops, community stalls, professionadevelopments and more. He loves getting stuck into challenging workshops, and has been instrumental in providing much-needed support for students who find writing one of the most difficult things to do. He's always smiling, ready to help, and a joy to have on board. James, thank you so much!

TEACHER OF THE MONTH: CHLOE BOWER Chloe is a dedicated teacher at Claymore Public where she has respect for all her students and they respect her. She has nothing but belief in their individual abilities and supports those who need it in a positive and encouraging manner. Whenever we worked in her class she always had a smile on her face and happily provided assistance to the students throughout the workshops. Chloe says, "There are multiple reasons why I love teaching and it is quite hard to decide what I love the most. To me teaching is more than just a job. I’m fortunate to spend my day with amazing young people, who don’t actually realise how amazing they really are." Chloe, thank you for being such a terrific teacher and leader!