Letters of recommendation and quotes from the people we've worked with.
❝My name is Don Rowlands OAM, I am an Elder of the Wangkangurru Yarlyulandi people of the Munga-Thirri (Simpson Desert) and Diamantina region. I worked with The Storey Players on the production of ‘Rainbow Serpent and the Story of Creation’ performed at the Big Red Bash in July 2018.
The Storey Players are a respectful, collaborative group to engage with regarding storytelling and performance within our Indigenous cultural arena. They approached me with a Dreamtime-style story which they had written, asked me to approve it, and then I translated it into my Wangkangurru language. I performed this piece with Simon and The Storey Players at the Big Red Bash (a music concert in the Simpson Desert) supported by 55 kids and other members of the NAIDOC community in Birdsville.❞
Don Rowlands OAM
❝Concerning Simon and Tina Storey and their contribution to Aboriginal Education in the Far West. Simon and Tina interact well with the students and provide opportunities for them to learn through drama and know how to motivate their students to learn and give their best at these performances.
This committed couple and their two children who also assist, have visited the schools each year for the last two years and continue to excite and motive their remote students to learn about culture and history as well as developing their self-confidence and self -esteem. As retired teachers, we recognise the qualities and gifts Simon and Tina possess that help children learn and be positively and personally involved in the activities and tasks organized.❞
Peter and Christine Coates - Mobile School Chaplains
❝Their methods proved highly effective in building the confidence of the more reserved students and prepared them to stand in front of an audience. Building “Resilience” in students is a core focus of our school, which the Storey Players incorporated into their program.
The workshops they presented were robust and concise and stimulated participants’ creative passion by allowing them to work in different spaces and teaching them to share their ideas with the appropriate methods ranging from words and sounds to physical movement. When working with a range of Aboriginal students with hearing impairments and English as an alternate dialect these kinaesthetic and oral language approaches are valued inclusive practices.
The Storey Players were very responsive to educational needs of the students. They frequently sought advice from me about drawing links to the Australian Curriculum.
The isolation and population of our small town means that students and the wider community are often starved of opportunities to participate in initiatives that stimulate culturally. The performance and workshops build the capacity of the community to not only take pride in its strong aboriginal culture but to have the skills to present and pass on vital traditional awareness and share with others what it means to be a part of our community.
The performance ‘Tiddalik the Frog’ attracted the whole town as an audience and left parents and the community laughing and excited about the quality of the students work.❞
Miebaka Dede - Principal of Dajarra State School
