Creative work.  Verified from attached flyer and http://www.commerceballarat.com.au/resources/03%20March%20-%2009%20March.pdf.    Associated with Elements 307121.  Original eprints ID 33994 deleted. Lyn 12/3/18
Research statement: This play, written and directed by Mary-Rose McLaren and Peter Nethercote, explores community theatre as a repository for local history and shared stories. Doing so, it expands understandings of the role of theatre and the capacity of communities to tell and pass on their stories. Influenced by Heathcote’s process drama, and Boal’s theatre of the Oppressed, it shifts the focus from the actor to the audience as the co-authors of the story. Honourable Mentions tells the stories of 125 years of the Royal South Street eisteddfod. The production was under the auspices of the Ballarat National Theatre, with the assistance of the Royal South Street Society. Material was sourced through Royal South Street archives, interviews, reports, newspaper articles, and personal accounts. Scenes were developed to capture critical moments in the history of the competitions and to create a narrative thread in order to contextualize events and experiences. The following questions emerged: What are the processes of developing a community-based theatrical production from community sources? In what ways does an eisteddfod shape the cultural heritage of a city over 125 years? What strategies can be employed by playmakers to capture the sense of a community in the development of local works? A period of research, material selection, refinement, and checking was followed by a period of writing, scene development and experimentation. The play was the outcome of this research. Other outcomes include: •	Community capacity building through participating in the process, and viewing the play •	New strategies for building community theatre •	Developing a living archive for local history It generates new knowledge through using the play as a depository for historical experiences, and by interpreting and presenting local history in experiential form for the audience. This play was shortlisted for the National Trust Heritage Awards 2016.