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Susan Battye

SUSAN BATTYE  

 Nationality:    New Zealander
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Playmarket Inc  


Playwright Susan Battye is the Programme Manager for the Bachelor of Maori Performing Arts on the campus in Mangere, auckland, of Te Wananga O aotearoa, and former head of Drama at Epsom Girlsī Grammar School. She studied in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978 for a Diploma in Drama and Education with Dorothy Heathcote. Most of her plays have been written for use in schools and Susan's publishing history is a credit to both their calibre and her knowledge of what teachers want. In 2001 she co-wrote Ponsonby Road with Tim Bray for an adult audience. Susan began writing plays for students she taught at Greymouth High School because she could find nothing to direct that came close to fitting their needs, and nothing in the curriculum that reflected the local community's social history. Together with Thelma Eakin in 1977 she wrote and directed The Shadow of the Valley, a play about New Zealand's biggest industrial accident, the Brunner Mine disaster of 1896. The play was subsequently published by Oxford University Press and has since received many performances throughout New Zealand. Susan is a writer who is in this way inspired to write with particular people and communities in mind. Her most recent work, for example, In the Closet is set in India and New Zealand and it has dialogue in English, Hindi and Maori, reflecting the ethnic mix of the class it was originally written for. "Once students feel the power of theatre to transform their view of the world, to create metaphors for their lives, they never look back," says Battye.

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below is a list of Susan Battye's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

 Back Where You Belong         Easy As Pie         In The Closet Drama         Jigsaw         Living In Drama         Not For School But For Life         Our Hands Are Clean         Ponsonby Road         Radio Waves         Shadow Of The Valley, The         Singing Lesson, The

Back Where You Belong

Synopsis:
a Montenegrin girl is sent by her parents to live with relatives in New Zealand

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in International Plays for Young audiences, vol. II, ed. Dr Roger Ellis. Contemporary Drama Service/Meriwether Publishing, U.S.a., 2002   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Easy As Pie

Synopsis:
The mostly female workers at the Perky Pie restaurant unite to assert their rights over the profit-making demands of their bosses. Written for young people.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Epsom Girls' Grammer, auckland, NY    1989

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in On Stage Three. Longman Paul, auckland, NZ, 1984   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  12            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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In The Closet Drama

Synopsis:
It's the beginning of the school year and there's a funny smell coming from the Seventh Form Common Room, as the students get ready to welcome the new arrivals and meet a new international student Sunila, from Mumbai, India. While the students have a powhiri to deal with, the school has fundraising issues, and as the students get ready for a new year they learn how stories of our ancestors are important to all of us. The play can be done with an all female cast and two of the roles may be doubled.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Epsom Girls' Grammer, auckland, NY    2004

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  12            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Jigsaw

Synopsis:
Jigsaw is a drama text suitable for classroom study by secondary school students, centring itself around our search for identity. author and educator Susan Battye uses key topics such as body image, adoption, animal rights and the 1981 Springbok rugby tour to tell an endearing story of four young women, and their developing relationships with parents and each other. With Rangitoto Island rumbling ominously in the background, Jigsaw uses comedy, satire and the language of contemporary New Zealand to reflect on various dilemmas that will engage all young adults.

Notes:
6 of the roles may be played by A male or A female Actor. There Are Also 6 roles which can double up

1st Produced:
Epsom Girls' Grammer, auckland, NY    2001

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Reed Publishing (NZ Ltd), 2003   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  12            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Living In Drama

Synopsis:
Drama with clear development and strongly delineated characters about women's solidarity in face of a factory closure. Marlene gears up battle lines in the cutting rooms as the expected confrontation approaches. There is a witty counter-turn at the end. With one male voice. Written for young people.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in On Stage One, ed. David Dowling. Longman Paul, auckland, NZ, 1983   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  16            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Not For School But For Life

Synopsis:
a play celebrating the history of girls' education in New Zealand.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
(adapted) with Shona Hearn, Helen Pearce, Frances Salt. New Zealand Post Primary Teachers association (auckland Branch), NZ, 1993   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama, full length Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  10            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Our Hands Are Clean

Synopsis:
The arrival of the Chilean naval vessel Esmeralda in auckland in 1983 leads to demonstrations by amnesty. The Esmeralda has a black history and events surrounding the 1973 Chilean coup are brought to light. Written for young people.

Notes:
writen by SUSAn Battye And Godoy

1st Produced:
Epsom Girls' Grammer, auckland, NY    1995

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  15            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ponsonby Road

Synopsis:
Gay life in Ponsonby Road. The script features a bookshop dealer, real estate agent, the leader of a women's outdoor experience group, a closet lesbian and a male and female chorus. We witness the everyday happenings of gay friends including mix-ups, relationship issues and a successful pregnancy for a gay couple. a happy ending

Notes:
writen by SUSAn Battye And Tim Bray

1st Produced:
Maidment Studio    2000

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama/Comedy. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  16            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Radio Waves

Synopsis:
Set against a background of surfing, concerns issues of love, trust and friendship among a group of teenagers. Has potential for larger chorus. Written for young people. Part of anthology and resource book Production Works: Book a.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Production Works Book a, The Plays. User Friendly Resource Enterprises Ltd., Christchurch, NY, 1996   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Shadow Of The Valley, The

Synopsis:
On March 26, 1896, sixty five men lost their lives following an explosion in the coal mine at Brunnerton, a small West Coast coal-mining town. This documentary play deals with the impact of the disaster on the Grey Valley community and traces attempts to gain compensation from the coal company.

Notes:
writen by SUSAn Battye And Thelma Eakin

1st Produced:
Greymouth High    1977

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Oxford University Press, Wellington, NZ, 1980   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Musical Drama Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  24            Female:  15            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Singing Lesson, The

Synopsis:
This play is based on the short story of the same title by Katherine Mansfield, and devised with a fifth form drama class from Epsom Girlsī Grammar School. It is set in a classroom in 1990 and be played with up to 17 women. Written for young people.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Choices. Longman Paul, auckland, NZ, 1992   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  17            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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