Igniting Ideas
Astrid Pollard is the School Captain. She disappeared for a while but is now returning. Only her good friends know that it’s because she lost her little sister. When she returns, she has changed and finds it difficult to accept that life around her continues as usual.
Upon receiving her History assessment—an oral presentation on Joan of Arc—things become even stranger. Joan, the 17-year-old warrior who claimed to have divine visions that called her to battle, becomes all too real for Astrid.
Astrid sees Joan, and Joan speaks to her. With the help of a new friend Hadley, it becomes clear that Joan is calling Astrid to embark on a mission against her own system and to lead a crusade for her little sister, Lucy.
It is a story of defiance, coping with change and finding a way to make a mark.
Scenic Breakdown
SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION | SCENIC BREAKDOWN
| SCENE | CHARACTERS |
PAGE
|
|
| Prologue | Fire with Fire | Ensemble, Joan, Astrid | 13-15 | |
| Scene One | Saint Joan | Joan, Astrid, Miss Dunkirk, Soldier, Students | 16-24 | |
| Scene Two | Piece of Cake | Sienna, Astrid, Students, Piece of Cake | 25-31 | |
| Scene Three | End of the Line | Astrid, Hadley | 32-38 | |
| Scene Four | Take Away | Astrid, Deidre, Joan | Students | 32-44 | |
| Scene Five | Frog’s Legs | Astrid, Hadley, Sienna, Mr Mancello, Frog, Students | 44-51 | |
| Scene Six | No Regrets | Ms Beaufort, Sienna, Astrid, Joan, Hadley, Students | 44-59 | |
| Scene Seven | Eat It Too | Deidre, Astrid | 59-61 | |
| Scene Eight | War | Hadley, Astrid, Joan | Students | 62-67 | |
| Scene Nine | Skimmer Box | Hadley, Posie, Cecilia, Marilyn, Astrid | 67-72 | |
| Scene Ten | Arrest | India, Sienna, Astrid, Hadley, Students, Joan | 73-77 | |
| Scene Eleven | Trial by Fire | Ms Beaufort, Miss Dunkirk, Sienna, Joan, Astrid, Students | 78-79 | |
| Scene Twelve | On Ice | Takedown | Deidre, Astrid, Joan | Astrid, Hadley | 80-83 | |
| Scene Thirteen | Formal Fire | Students, Hadley, Cecilia, Posie, Marilyn, Astrid, Sienna | 83-91 | |
| Scene Fourteen | Parting Words | Ensemble, Joan, Astrid | 91-94 | |
| Scene Fifteen | Burn | Astrid, Hadley, Miss Dunkirk, Ms Beaufort, Students | 95-99 | |
| Epilogue | Miss Dunkirk, Astrid, Sienna, Hadley, Joan | 100-106 |
WRITING ACTIVITY | Plotting the Action
Create a timeline or graph plotting the action. A timeline could note the interjections and collisions of the past and the present. A graph can help to show the introduction of conflicts, the rising action, the climax and the resolution. Note that the Prologue repeats in a latter scene in the build up to the climax.
PLAY READING ACTIVITY | First impressions
As you read the play for the first time, write down your initial impressions and questions. These observations may be about characters, the action, the structure, the style or key ideas.
2020 Copyright Brisbane Girls Grammar School
This resource was written by Mrs Katrina Riveros with video by Mr Brad Jennings.