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Australian Script Centre Australian Script Centre i(A40285 works by) (Organisation) assertion (a.k.a. ASC)
Born: Established: 1979 ;
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1 y separately published work icon The Promise Jadah Milroy , Hobart : Australian Script Centre , Z1864363 2010 single work musical theatre The Promise is a musical drama with a full existing score by Dalmazio Babare. Vikala's husband died three years ago and for three years she has remained pregnant. Faced with the choice of spiritual and physical death if she will not confront her fears or the promise of life if she will, Vikala embarks on a journey into the anarchic and contradictory world of her psyche, accompanied by the ever-watching Nightbird.
1 y separately published work icon Furious Mattress Melissa Reeves , Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2016 9695915 2016 single work drama

'Loosely based on events that took place in country Victoria in the mid nineties, 'Furious Mattress' is the story of a back-yard exorcism that goes tragically wrong. Convinced that his wife is possessed, Pierce enlists the aid of Annette and Max, and together they battle for the soul of Elsie. As the country swelters in the grip of a heat-wave, even Elsie's death can't shake Pierce and Annette's desperate conviction they have done the right thing, and together they wait for her miraculous return.' (Source: TROVE)

1 y separately published work icon Departures Christine Croyden , Australia : Australian Script Centre , 2014 9611898 2014 single work drama

'Lars likes to compose autobiographical sentences about him self and perform his idiosyncratic daily rituals without interruption. But beneath his obsessive and rather enigmatic persona lies the impulse to kill. And, as a globetrotting businessman, the opportunity is never far away.

'When he makes his next flight to London a bereaved father, on a tragic mission to identify the body of his missing daughter, sits across the aisle. While beside him is a young and unsuspecting woman, who could well become Lars’ next victim.'

Source: Australian Plays (https://australianplays.org/script/ASC-1594)

1 y separately published work icon Swamplands Vanessa Badham , 2010 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2011 Z1800264 2010 single work drama 'The Diplomat, the Spy, the CIA, Rudyard Kipling, Lord Byron, Dick Cheney (a 10 foot lizard) and 32 other characters defend and patrol, confuse and concuss the US, the middle east and the rest of the world in a boiling vortex of subterfuge, paranoia, incompetence and international intrigue. This wild and furious play - it's stylish, surreal, funny and alarming in equal measure - gets its teeth into the intelligence that lead to the war in Iraq asking tough questions about politics, accountability and the human cost of the war on terror.'

Source: Australian Plays website, http://australianplays.org/
Sighted: 23/08/2011
1 y separately published work icon The Girl Who Forgot to Sing Badly Finegan Kruckemeyer , 2010 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2010 Z1820312 2010 single work drama children's 'This is the story of Peggy, and the packing, and the blizzard, and the boat. Peggy O’Hegarty and her parents are packers. They pack one kind of thing, into another kind of thing. But one day the phone it forgets to keep ringing – because all of the people in her city are gone. So Peggy goes out to explore.' (Publisher's website)
1 5 y separately published work icon Wretch Angus Cerini , 2007 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2009 Z1502694 2007 single work drama Wretch looks at the relationship between a mother and her son, at love in all its ugly and brilliant forms. Set within visiting hour in the juvenile detention facility where he is living, the young man struggles to comprehend the manner of his crimes while she tentatively tries to reconcile her own story. (Publisher's blurb)
1 1 y separately published work icon The Man with the September Face Kylie Trounson , Australian Script Centre , 2008 Z1652593 2008 single work drama humour 'It's 1983. Jesse wants to make it big in roller skates. His coach (and Mum) Naura, runs the tuck shop at the local rink. Newbie Harriet and her naive Marxism intrigue Jesse, but skating is only a hobby for her. Wolf, the rink's hot DJ lothario, throws down the gauntlet for skating glory, and for Harriet's hand. Jesse is troubled, caught between the Scylla and Charybdis of 80s hits: will he go for 'Gold' or collapse into the neo-nihilism of Ultravox's lament for the modern man, 'Vienna' ... Can Jesse stay true? And who is the man with the September face? A sharp and generous comedy for our times, on roller skates.' (Australian Script Centre record)
1 y separately published work icon Between These Lines Michael Butler , Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2008 Z1595980 2008 single work drama humour young adult

A funny, moving and realistic human drama, Between These Lines follows the stories of a range of characters as their lives intersect with both humorous and far-reaching consequences, proving that the simplest actions can have the greatest impact.
The play is constructed of ten interrelated stories that form one story: just as all of our lives are entwined in one larger drama. While each scene draws upon the Realist tradition of exploring everyday situations, ordinary motivations and common interactions, it is structured in a more overtly theatrical fashion, creating a dynamic and thought-provoking puzzle. ( Publisher's blurb)

1 1 y separately published work icon Collection #7 : 27 New Plays from the Australian Script Centre Lian Tanner (editor), Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2008 Z1594920 2008 anthology drama The twenty-seven plays on this CD have been selected by our National Reading Group as representing some of the best in contemporary Australian scriptwriting. Many of them have either won or been short-listed for major prizes, and they cover a wide range of themes and styles, from documentary theatre to seditious comedy and apocalyptic drama. Some of the playwrights are well-established, others are emerging writers whose work shows exciting potential. (Source: CD ROM)
1 y separately published work icon When Our Teacher Was A Creature Bruce Shearer , Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2008 7796595 2008 single work drama children's

Festus Flynn, Gertie Goat, Zelda Zone, Lionel Limb and their class are awaiting the arrival of their teacher, but instead a creature comes to teach them for one very special day.

1 y separately published work icon Can't Wait For Love Bruce Shearer , 2008 Australian Script Centre , 2008 7795614 2008 single work drama romance

Can't Wait for Love consists of three short comedies of roughly 10 minutes each:

Esla and Frinz Go Partying

Esla and Frinz are balloons at a small child's birthday party. They are in love with the romance of the cake and the song. But when the red cordial comes out there is danger for the balloons. Can they escape to freedom in the open skies? (2 actors of either gender)


Not Yours, Not Yet

Cynthia and Valerie both want to marry Osborne, and they are prepared to do whatever is necessary to make it happen. But is Osborne more comfortable at home with Mum? (2F, 1M)


Can't Wait for Love

John sees himself as a ladies' man. He's getting ready to go out to a dance, to meet some new ladies. But is he as irresistible as he thinks he is? (1M)

1 y separately published work icon Stand Alone : Twenty Contemporary Audition Monologues for Young Actors Australian Script Centre , Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2007 Z1575073 2007 extract drama (Shondelle the Tiger)(Burnt Piano)(Burning)(The Keys to the Animal Room)(Ray)(Salt Creek Murders)(Bumpy Angels)(Melinda)(Under Mulga Wood)(This Uncharted Hour)(Sold)(X Ray)
1 y separately published work icon Howard the Arselicker D.B. Valentine , 2004 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2007 9569764 2004 single work drama humour satire This drama is a confronting historical snapshot of the 2004 election landscape - Howard works in the high flying world of the corporate sector and hopes to make a huge impact on the world stage one day. But for now he is at the beck and call of his boss Bushy - CEO of a huge foreign-owned energy conglomerate by day, fearless corporate vigilante by night. When a major takeover bid is rejected by the Government, Bushy declares war! It's not long before Howard joins the crusade and his tongue shifts into overdrive. Is Howard the man he appears to be? Why does he have people detained in his home? Is he an accomplice to murder? What happened to his Christian values? Is he a lying rodent? Is he trustworthy? As Howard's world spins out of control, there are clearly no depths too low for Howard to stoop. He doesn't know it, but his actions are about to bring him face to face with the darkest depths of human despair and depravity. http://sydney.citysearch.com.au/E/V/SYDNE/0030/20/98/3.html (Sighted 23/09/04)
1 y separately published work icon Wedding Belles Bruce Shearer , 2007 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2007 7796197 2007 single work drama young adult

Wedding Belles incorporates three short plays - Wedding Belles, Bedtime Bliss and Funeral Plan

Wedding Belles

Ella is getting married to Loren’s brother, but she has fallen in love with Loren. At the last moment she reveals her feelings and confronts a shocked Loren with the truth. (4 F, 2 M)


Bedtime Bliss

Angelique and Harvey are a happy young couple, except for one blaring issue. Harvey’s snoring. One night Angelique can’t put up with it any more.

(1 F, 1 M)


Funeral Plan

Golma is on the last train from Dandenong to Melbourne on a Saturday night. She tells us about her life and the funeral plan she has taken out. It is Golma's way to control her future and to go out with a blast. (1 F)

1 y separately published work icon Freedom Ron Elisha , Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2006 Z1596021 2006 single work drama

'US President Charles Foster Raye (Chuck) is due to address the UN in order to try and avert an all out war with China. He approaches a speechwriter, Theresa, in order to write the first great speech of the 21st century for the occasion. Unable to resist such an opportunity, she takes on the challenge, then panics, terrified that she will be unable to deliver. Norman, her therapist, offers to help her through the process. Together, with the iconic speeches of the 20th century projected over the entire set, they deconstruct each speech, in an effort to discover what makes it work.

'The reason that Norman offers to help Theresa is that he is deeply in love with her, but cannot say anything because of the therapeutic relationship. Norman's therapist, Prudence, disapproves strongly. Never having been in a serious relationship herself, she aches for the touch of another human being, but would never dream of acting on this desire.

'As it happens, Prudence is also the President's therapist. Chuck is not coping, and is on the verge of a total breakdown. Prudence feels she should somehow reveal his predicament, for the public good, but is restrained by her fear of destabilising the nation in a time of crisis.

'As the public rhetoric of freedom grows increasingly hyperbolic with each successive speech, the personal freedom of each of the characters progressively narrows, as they become increasingly trapped by their circumstances.

'A moving study of the illusory nature of freedom in the West.' (Publisher's blurb)

1 y separately published work icon Carbon Dating Ron Elisha , 2006 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2006 Z1595810 2006 single work drama young adult humour Thirteen characters go on a succession of first dates. Through a number of hilarious, sometimes excruciating scenes, we come to see not only the complex web of relationships that exists between these characters, but also a certain primal template for the mating ritual that cannot be ignored. Part of the folklore of this ritual is the necessary myth that, somewhere out there, there is a Mr or Ms Right for each of us. (Publisher's blurb)
1 y separately published work icon Spinning the Line Christopher Thompson , 2005 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2006 Z1423172 2005 single work drama young adult
1 y separately published work icon Pri-mates Damon Lockwood , 2005 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2006 Z1423169 2005 single work drama children's humour A primitive odd-couple join forces in a hilarious bid for survival that sees them move from considering each other as potential dinner items to forming a friendship and accidentally discovering fire, the wheel, art and language.
1 y separately published work icon Parallax Island Maude Davey , David Pidd , 1999 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2006 Z1423166 1999 single work drama humour Not so much a play, more a performance about the performance of gender. - (from synopsis, Collection #6 (2006) p.55)
1 y separately published work icon Motion Sickness Michael Hill , 2004 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2006 Z1422856 2004 single work drama young adult Sean has a terrible confession to make. He wants to tell his sister the unforgivable thing he has done, but just as he gathers the courage to walk through the door of the building where she works, the ground begins to shake and the walls begin to crack. This work tracks the interconnecting stories of nine young city-dwellers. Sibling rivalry, ambition, fear and the promise of something better fuel their struggle to cope with the ever-increasing speed of daily life, with its media saturation and high expectations. But these everyday stresses are thrown into relief by a devastating earthquake that changes all their lives. (synopsis, Collection #6 (2006) p.49)
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