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

Download Scenic Breakdown

                                               

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.