Riley Valentine Play

The play, “Riley Valentine and the Occupation of Fort Svalbard”, by Julia- Rose Lewis is an exploration of the resilience of teenagers. The play is heavily symbolic and supports the dramatic meaning of the show. Throughout the Queensland Theatre Company’s interpretation of this play, the director, Travis Dowley, expresses forms of dramatic elements to articulate three types of manipulations. These manipulations include the manipulation of body and voice, space and the creation and manipulation of dramatic mood. Through these types of manipulations, it portrays the dramatic meaning towards the performance. Although, the use of space throughout Travis’s performance allows the audience to identify this dramatic meaning.

In the play, Riley Valentine

This is indicated a lot throughout the play. Riley in the performance supported the fact that he was a very unsure person and very rarely had any certainty in his voice. However, the certainty was there when Riley was talking about the end of the world. Riley during the storm emitted the feeling of uncertainty but comes out the storm a better person. This is indicated by the way he stood. At first, he never stood securely and in a solid stance. He always made sure that he balanced his weight on either foot. Riley after the storm stood facing the audience straight on, in front of Elliot, with self-assurance. His voice also indicated no wavering and afraid. Through the use of manipulation of body and voice, it showed Riley’s journey from being insecure and unsure to being resilient through the duration of the storm to coming out the other side with confidence and passion. Elliot though demonstrates the resilience of youth through the use of her body and voice. Although, she does project that nerdiness about her but she is still socially accepted and doesn’t feel isolated as Riley. However, the way Elliot moves suggest the confidence is a mask or cloak, symbolizing that teenagers can be confident under a mask or cloak so society can’t identify them. Throughout the performance, Elliot does suggest that communication is vulnerable towards teenagers. This is suggested when Elliot follows Riley to gather