The Backyard Bard

Infobox_Company
company_name = The Backyard Bard
company_
company_type = Christian Theatre Company
foundation = 2003
key_people = Simon Camilleri, Creative Director Robert Turnbull, Storytelling Coordinator
location = Melbourne, Australia
company_slogan = stories worth telling
homepage = http://www.thebackyardbard.com

The Backyard Bard is a Christian theatre company based in Melbourne, Australia. It specialises in Biblical Storytelling but also in Shakespeare. It was created in 2003 by Simon Camilleri.

History

Origin

In 2002, Simon Camilleri directed "Mark" through La Trobe Student Theatre. It was a Biblical Storytelling production of the Gospel of Mark with twelve storytellers. In 2003, he directed a production of Shakespeare's Othello in the Melbourne Fringe Festival. "Othello" was the first production under the name "The Backyard Bard", which was so named because the desire to make Shakespeare ("The Bard") accessible.

Early years

After the success of "Mark", many of the storytellers continued to do small-scale Biblical Storytelling performances. In order to encourage others to learn Biblical Storytelling, Camilleri organised a 6 week course to teach the skills and philosophy behind it. To advertise the course he directed his second Biblical Storytelling production in 2004, "Storytelling Judges", which was a selection of stories from the Book of Judges. This was followed by "Daniel - Dream Interpreter" in 2005 taken from the first seven chapters of the Book of Daniel. This production pioneered the approach of "Ensemble Storytelling". In 2006, the production of "Esther" was entered into the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Major Productions

*"Mark" (2002) - Not under the name "The Backyard Bard"
*"Othello" (2003)
*"Storytelling Judges" (2004)
*"Daniel - Dream Interpreter" (2005)
*"Godspell" (2006)
*"Esther" (2006)
*"Elijah" (2007)
*"The Adventures of Elisha" (2008)

ee also

* Biblical Storytelling
* Network of Biblical Storytellers

External links

* [http://www.thebackyardbard.com The Backyard Bard Website]