150216 MTC Launches $5 Tickets

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Monday  16  February  2015  

MTC  LAUNCHES  $5  TICKETS    

The  first  of  the  four  key  components  of  MTC’s  Sharing  the  Light  initiative,  supported  by  Crown  Resorts  Foundation,  has  begun   rolling  out  with  $5  tickets  to  all  MTC  mainstage  and  education  productions  now  available  to  eligible  schools.           The  Crown  Resorts’  Student  Theatre  Pass  provides  disadvantaged  schools  across  the  state,  who  perhaps  otherwise  wouldn’t   have  access  to  mainstage  theatre,  with  subsidised  $5  tickets  to  experience  live  productions  from  Victoria’s  flagship  theatre   company.         Over  250  secondary  schools  across  Victoria  have  been  contacted  with  the  offer,  which  also  grants  access  to  $5  tickets  for   designated  pre-­‐show  talks  to  further  enhance  students’  experience  and  understanding  of  theatre.  Schools  in  outlying  areas  can   also  apply  for  a  travel  cost  subsidy,  further  reducing  geographical  disadvantage  so  often  faced  by  regional  schools.     MTC  Executive  Director  Virginia  Lovett  said,  ‘MTC  is  dedicated  to  removing  barriers  that  prevent  some  young  people  from   experiencing  world-­‐class  theatre,  and  giving  more  students  access  to  the  unique  learning  opportunities  we  provide.  With  the   support  of  Crown  Resorts  Foundation,  our  Sharing  the  Light  initiative  is  enabling  us  to  do  just  that  by  making  unforgettable   experiences  much  more  affordable.’     ‘We  want  to  see  a  new  generation  participating  in  transformative  artistic  and  cultural  experiences  that  could  inform  and   influence  their  education,  and  potentially  their  lives,  and  we  hope  that  relationships  developed  through  this  new  subsidised   ticket  program  lead  to  long-­‐term  affiliations  with  school  communities  across  the  state.’     MTC’s  Sharing  the  Light  initiative  will  be  accompanied  by  a  longitudinal  study  facilitated  by  the  School  of  Cultural   Communication  at  the  University  of  Melbourne.       ‘I  am  very  pleased  that  the  University  of  Melbourne  has  come  on  board  to  use  this  project  as  the  basis  for  a  study  looking  at  the   benefits  exposure  to  live  theatre  has  on  young  people  throughout  Victoria.  Across  five  years,  the  study  will  monitor  key   outcomes  and  possibly  inform  future  subsidised  projects,’  Ms  Lovett  said.     MTC’s  2015  Education  Production  for  secondary  school  students  is  the  acclaimed  Swedish  play,  I  Call  My  Brothers  by  Jonas   Hassen  Khemiri,  translated  by  Rachel  Willson-­‐Broyles,  which  will  play  in  the  Lawler  at  Southbank  Theatre  from  16  April  –  1  May.   Recreating  24  hours  in  the  mind  of  a  young  Arab  man  following  a  terrorist  attack,  this  thought-­‐provoking  play  deals  with  issues   of  identity  and  belonging,  prejudice  and  racial  profiling.       Directed  by  Nadja  Kostich,  I  Call  My  Brothers,  will  also  tour  to  regional  Victorian  secondary  schools  from  4  –  15  May  in   partnership  with  Regional  Arts  Victoria,  to  Geelong  Performing  Arts  Centre  on  18  May  and  to  Launceston  College  in  Tasmania  on   20  May.       Later  in  the  year  The  Boy  at  the  Edge  of  Everything,  by  internationally  acclaimed  Tasmanian  writer  Finegan  Kruckemeyer,  will   play  to  family  audiences  during  the  school  holidays  and  have  an  education  season  for  upper  primary  and  lower  secondary  in  the   first  week  of  term  four.  Director  Peter  Houghton  will  take  audiences  young  and  old  on  this  imaginative  extra-­‐terrestrial   adventure.       I  Call  My  Brothers  and  MTC  mainstage  productions  Endgame  and  The  Weir  also  feature  on  the  VCE  Theatre  Studies  and  Drama   playlists.  MTC  Education  provides  extensive  teachers’  resources  to  complement  the  study  of  these  plays  as  well  as  enrichment   experiences  such  as  pre-­‐show  talks  and  post  show  Q&As  hosted  by  the  cast  and  creative  teams  behind  each  production.       For  further  information  about  Sharing  the  Light  or  to  apply  for  a  travel  subsidy  email  [email protected]   For  school  bookings  to  MTC  productions  email  [email protected]    

     

       

Media  Enquiries:  Rosie  Shepherdson-­‐Cullen     Acting  PR  and  Communications  Director   03  8688  0944  |  r.shepherdson-­‐[email protected]