Acting in verbatim theatre: An Australian case study

Bald heads and blue stars is a verbatim play that explores the female experience of Alopecia; an autoimmune condition that results in varying degrees of hair loss. Writing and performing in bald heads and blue stars was integral to my practice-led PhD research into the process, form and impact of creating verbatim theatre. In this article, I focus explicitly on the rehearsal process of our 2014 season of bald heads & blue stars with Artsworx at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). I explore some of the challenges faced by the cast, describing various strategies which we employed in rehearsal, and articulating what I learned about rhythm, breath and audience positioning through rehearsing and performing this verbatim play. I begin with an introduction to the context and methodology of my research, followed by an overview of the bald heads & blue stars narrative.