Behind The Scenes: Penn O'Brien & DECAMERON 2.0
Written by Penn O’Brien
Image Description: An open space in a warehouse. Photographer: Jack Fenby via State Theatre Company South Australia
Between Australia’s Black Summer of bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the growing international support for the Black Lives Matter movement, 2020 has been nothing less than momentous. There’s been no shortage of topics for new and contemporary art. And in uncertain times, perhaps stories are what we need; to share hope and wisdom and to collectively envision a better future.
This is the message of Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th-century collection of novellas The Decameron. The book follows ten young people (and their servants) who flee Florence, Italy for the surrounding countryside to escape The Plague. During their fourteen days in isolation, they dedicate ten days to telling each other stories based on a daily theme. The Decameron has served as inspiration for The State Theatre Company South Australia and ActNow Theatre’s COVID response piece, the Decameron 2.0 project. Like Boccaccio’s work, the result of the project will be one hundred individual stories, told over ten weeks by ten writers, professional, emerging, and in collaboration with community groups.
Among those community groups is a version ActNow’s Queer Youth Theatre Workshops called Queer 2.0, which I have been fortunate enough to be involved with. The Queer 2.0 workshop is a theatre workshop for people aged between 18 and 30 who identify as queer or LGBTQIA+. Attending the workshop was an amazing experience to collaborate and share ideas with a room of queer artists and creatives.
I first heard about the workshop through my position as a volunteer with ActNow Theatre. I began volunteering with ActNow Theatre shortly after moving to Adelaide from my hometown in regional SA earlier this year. But it wasn’t my first interaction with the company. In 2017 I completed my high school work experience with ActNow and had been eager to be involved in future projects. So when I was asked to be a writer for the first week of the Decameron 2.0 project, I jumped at the opportunity.
I’ve written for several high school and youth theatre run projects including plays and fiction podcasts, although very few prepared me for the experience of writing a monologue for Decameron 2.0. The greatest challenge for me was the short time frame, having only three days to write my piece. But, daunting as it was, this proved to be a strong asset. The looming deadline motivated me to finally pen down an idea that had been floating around my brain for several weeks.
Quarantine measures have impacted everyone differently, but the ban on elective surgeries has had a unique impact on members of the transgender community who were awaiting gender-affirming surgeries. For people who already experience difficulty when accessing healthcare, a further delay in transitioning, however necessary, was devastating. By centering my monologue around this topic, I aim to bring light to a struggle many people are likely unaware of and share a narrative that is not often portrayed in the media and arts.
By sharing my perspective as one of many incredible pieces, I hope to reinforce the unifying power of stories and remind people that no one is alone, even in this age of isolation.
DECAMERON 2.0 is presented by State Theatre Company South Australia and ActNow Theatre.
