Class Act Theatre Inc

PO Box 1053

Willagee Central WA 6156

Telephone: (08) 9337 2060
mobile 9411122064
Fax (08) 9337 1945

TEACHER’S NOTES FOR GIRL’S TALK

 Written by Tiffany Barton

Directed by Zoe Boesen

Acted by Lauren Hopley and Josephine Clark

 Girl’s Talk is a series of monologues based on interviews with teenage girls and women about their adolescence and issues pertaining to it.  The accounts are sometimes humorous, sometimes moving and always engaging.

 

DISCUSSION POINTS

  1. Ask the girls which stories they related to, which they did and didn’t enjoy and why.

  2. Discuss societies’ perceptions of women. This could involve looking at the different ways the media portrays them i.e., women’s magazines, advertising and popular TV shows. Ask the girls how this affects the way they see themselves.

  3. Ask the girls whether the play reflected issues that they feel are important to them. Discuss the individual issues as they come up, and ask why they are important to women in particular.

  4. Discuss body image and low self-esteem. Ask the girls whether they feel pressure to feel thin, or if they are happy with their weight. Talk about why women are overly concerned and unhappy with the way they look and where the messages to be thin and perfect come from.

  5. Discuss the importance of family to girl’s self image and self-esteem. Ask the girls how they feel about their families and how important they are to them. Discuss the barbie monologue and ask how many people have step parents and how they get on with them.

  6. Discuss the importance of friendships. Ask the girls to discuss what they most value about their friends, and how friends affect their self-image.

  7. Discuss the issues raised around sexuality. Compare the difference in the two speeches about losing virginity. One is consensual and positive, the other is not. Ask the girls what the ideal circumstances to have sex for the first time would be. Talk about what the girl in the play who’s experience was not consensual could have done to avoid that situation. Ask students whether they think this was a rape or not. Discuss the importance of sexual boundaries; that it’s important to say no and be respected if you don’t want to have sex.

  8. Discuss the bullying monologue in the play. Ask the girls if they’ve ever experienced being bullied by a group of people. Discuss strategies for dealing with this i.e.: standing up to the bullies, deciding who you can trust in your circle of friends and sticking with them, talk to an adult about your experience.

  9. Discuss the issue of homophobia and ask the girls if they think it’s a problem in schools. Ask whether they think that should be acceptable or not.

 Any Other Ideas?

Class Act is always looking for suggestions to make their shows better and more effective. Please email us or fill out our feedback sheet , or ring Angelique Malcolm on (08) 9337 2060 or (mobile) 041 112 2064.