The Parsifal Project: a community arts project
2022-06-13 - 2025-05-04 | Living Arts Centre, Mt Barker School, 27 Sims Road, Mount Barker, SA, 5251
The Parsifal Project

The Parsifal Project is a community project that aspires towards a contemporary envisioning of the famous medieval legend, one that recontextualises the Parsifal legend for a modern multicultural audience.
What is it about?
Writers, poets, philosophers and artists tell us that myths and legends hold spiritual insights into the sacred wisdom of past cultures, but what about the spiritual insights we need to navigate our current world? Drawing on the cultural heritages we bring with us, the Parsifal Project seeks find meaningful resonance between this medieval myth and contemporary intergenerational audiences.
Using the talents of a diverse cast and a script written by playwright Peter Oswald, the project aims to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the Parsifal legend in light of Anthroposophy, as a cosmopolitan Michaelic impulse and as a metaphor for modern human development. The story is our future; if so, its mythic themes could be critical to today’s youth, to all of us.
Whether your interest is in the spiritual foundations of the legend, the literature, creative writing or performing, there is something here for anyone and everyone fascinated by the whole collection of Grail legends and its interpretations, medieval or modern, book or film.
Timeline for the project
The project has five stages highlighting different arts and media:

June – July 2022: Parsifal Unpacked
Completed. Explored the original story through performance, literary text and thematic discussion.
September – November 2022: Parsifal Reimagined
Completed. A series of writing workshops where we reimagine the story through the lens of current cultural perspectives.
January 2023 – November 2023 : Parsifal Rescripted
Ongoing script development in conjunction with performance-based creative development intensives with on-the-floor exploration on the themes explored in Stages 1 and 2.
February 2024 – February 2025: Parsifal Reinterpreted
Auditions, eurythmy and music workshops from February. Rehearsals begin in April 2024, using the script based on Parsifal Rescripted.
April -May 2025: The Parsifal Project performance
Saturday 26 April at 5.30 pm ACST
Saturday 3rd May at at 5.30 pm ACST
Sunday 4th May at 2.30 pm ACST
Venue: Living Arts Centre, Mount Barker Waldorf School, Mt Barker, SA

Project Director: Jo-anne Sarre, Artistic Director of Ink Pots Arts
Jo-anne Sarre has worked in the performing arts sector as a freelance director, actor, storyteller, playwright and educator since her four-year Speech and Drama training at The Harkness Studio, Sydney in 1986. She has a Diploma of Teaching (Primary 1980-1982), a Diploma of Creative Speech and Drama (The Harkness Studio in conjunction with The Goetheanum School of Spiritual Science 1983-1986) and first-class Honours in Drama (Flinders University 2009). Other trainings include MICHA in the US and various Michael Chekhov practitioners in the UK and Europe (1997-2009).
Jo-anne has performed in local, national and international arenas as an independent performing artist including as a freelance storyteller, with the Aphaia Eurythmy Group (Poetry Recitation), and as an actor with Ink Pot Theatre, The Rose Theatre Company and Portal Productions UK (The Soul’s Awakening). During her career, she has trained Steiner/Waldorf teachers across Australia (Rudolf Steiner College, Sheoak College), in the UK (Emerson College), India and China. This includes supporting teachers in their own artistic development in poetry recitation, storytelling, acting and directing as well as assisting in classrooms, directing plays etc with both primary and high school students. In 2016, she was also Assistant Voice Coach at Flinders University Drama Centre with Dawn Langman.
As co-founder of Ink Pot Theatre (the professional touring company) and founding Artistic Director of Ink Pot Arts Inc (a community arts not-for-profit), she has been actively engaged in bringing high-quality theatre as a catalyst for personal transformation and community cultural development inspired by Anthroposophy.

Feature image credit: Seamus McArdle
Photo credit: Jo-anne Sarre

“Most societies have come to define themselves by their historical myths and national narratives. We are, who we say we are… People grow up believing they live within a story … what is the story we believe we are living within? Where is our narrative going? “
Prof. David Blight, 2009

Grail Quest
2024-02-16 16:30 - 2024-05-17 19:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Tarremah Steiner School, Kingston, Tasmania, 27 Nautilus Grove, Huntingfield, TAS, 7055, Australia
... a journey into the spiritual science of Rudolf Steiner

Grail Quest is a two-year part-time self development course inspired the the insights of Rudolf Steiner. Program includes biography work, singing, storytelling, craft, visual arts and much more.
Gerry Josephson has been running these life-changing courses for over 30 years.
Enrol now for the 16th February 2024 intake.
When
Fridays 4.30 pm – 7.30 pm
Saturdays 9.30 am to 12.30 pm.
Where
Tarremah Steiner School, Nautilus Grove, Huntingfield
For more information
Please contact Gerry Josephson on 0406788050 or download the flyer

Working with Colour, Out of Colour
2024-03-02 16:00 - 2024-04-06 17:00 | Online
Painted Space Studio

A short online course
introducing how to work with colour in painting

Anthroposophic approach to painting
How do we experience colour? And what does it mean that form arises out of colour, and not that colour is attached to form? So how do we paint ‘out of colour’ and not form? To answer these questions, we start with Goethe’s Theory of Colour as our foundation. Using immersive wet-on-wet watercolour, we explore the qualities and gestures of each colour, and learn how colours have a life of their own, qualities that express their very essence, when painted ‘out of colour’.
Why Goethe’s Theory of Colour?
Goethe proposed a revolutionary method of approaching the phenomena of colour, one which integrates the observer with the experience. Further, Goethe was concerned with the qualities of colours, which he called the ‘deeds and sufferings of the light’. By immersing our senses in the colours, we come a deep, intuitive relationship with them that connects us more strongly to both the physical and soul worlds.
This course provides a foundation to the approach to painting used in Steiner (Waldorf) schools and to the anthroposophic understanding of colour itself.
Who is it for?

For Steiner class teachers who would like to learn more about the nature of colour as used in the Steiner School curriculum
For anyone interested in learning the fundamentals of the anthroposophic approach to art, colour and painting.

When is it?
2 March-6 April, Saturdays 4pm-5.15pm AEDT
Six weekly sessions plus recording
Cost
$170 AUD/$120 USD
$190 AUD for PD certificate
Bookings
Book here!
For more information
Find out more about this course and others,

About Painted Space Studio
Painted Space Studio offers a comprehensive training program in art, emphasising its potential as a spiritual practice. By recognising art as a bridge to the spiritual, the studio provides individuals with an creative path for harmonising and strengthening their inner being through art.
Painted Space uses the anthroposophic approach to art as its framework, but leads each artistically-striving individual towards the full expression of their own creativity, which goes beyond mere aesthetics and taps into the profound connection between the human spirit and the creative process.
Director: Fiona Campbell

Feature image: Goethe’s symmetric colour wheel with associated symbolic qualities (1809)

A Virtuous Journey: Living with the 12 Virtues as a Cycle of the Year
2024-03-21 19:00 - 2024-12-22 20:00 | Online
Exploring the Virtues
Working with the 12 monthly virtues as an exploration, contemplation and mediation

Rudolf Steiner gave twelve virtues to be worked on for each zodiac. Whilst we have this list from Steiner, he gave very little else directly.
This course takes up his introduction. It will explore each of the virtues more deeply, and what they mean in relation to the zodiac over the cycle of a year. We will be working with a discourse, a contemplative practice of verse and Heart Awareness to bring the virtues to life exploring both the practical and spiritual aspects of each of the virtues.
Find out more
Download the program
When is it?
Starts March 21 with Aries as the theme. The paper and contemplation will be emailed on the 21st of each month related to the virtue and the corresponding zodiac sign. and we will meet online (via zoom) at 7pm AEDT for 1 hour on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month to explore,
Cost
$240 for the year donation suggested.
You can register directly or organize an alternative payment schedule for this upcoming course by emailing me here.
Bookings
Buy tickets

Course leaders
Jude Samson and Craig Logan.
Download the flyer or contact Jude for more information
