Black Swan State Theatre Company to Launch SHADOWBOXING Tour 2015 Next Month

Black Swan State Theatre Company launches the World Premiere of Shadowboxing on Thursday 4 June at 11am in Koorliny Arts Centre, Kwinana. Shadowboxing will then tour to Mandurah Performing Arts Centre and other regional centres.

This is the second production created by Black Swan to specifically tour to schools and regional Western Australia and is aimed at Years 7-12 (ages 12 - 17). Shadowboxing has been designed to accommodate a wide range of communities and is aligned to current social issues especially social media and current Drama, English, ESL and Society and Environment curriculum.

In the second half of 2015 Shadowboxing will perform in schools, theatres and community centres throughout regional Western Australia.

These education and regional tours are made possible through Black Swan's partnership with Chevron. The partnership focuses on regional and education programs that support Drama and English curriculum, the development of new theatre audiences and customised regional and metropolitan school workshops. This includes complimentary teacher and pre-teacher access to Black Swan productions to encourage class attendance and enhance teaching.

Black Swan's General Manager Natalie Jenkins said, The support of Chevron as our Education and Regional Partner enables students and community members to access live theatre and experience professional artist run workshops. These activities provide a unique approach to learning that improves confidence and develops essential social and literacy skills. The launch of our latest education and regional tour will build on previous success in this area and deepen our relationship with Western Australia's regional and school communities.

The play Shadowboxing challenges the notion of identity, friendship and the balance of truth and make -believe. It explores the stories we tell, lies, honesty and dishonesty. What happens when we define ourselves by the opinions of others, rather than who we really are? In creating a persona, how long until the real you disappears into the myth?

We live in a world where we are constantly building personas and grooming our identities to present on the social media stage.

In a lifetime, we make 396 friendships but only 33 stand the test of time. Out of the 33, only 6 are considered to be close friends while the 27 are social friends. Best friends are not those one sees most often but those one thinks of most. Men see friends every five days while women see them every 3.5 days. Both sexes however see their best friend only once in eight weeks. Ella Hetherington.

Shadowboxing explores the journey of two characters Cat and Benj who are at a party. But as the party becomes less appealing, Benj escapes to the co-existing world of Shadow, a limitless place filled with possibility and hope.

In Shadow he is free to be another version of himself.

In Shadow he has friends and freedom to be.

In Shadow he feels more at ease with himself than in reality.

Cat joins Benj in Shadow as his sympathetic friend Idgy. They become close, trust is built, secrets told, friendship is born. But only in Shadow!

But how can Benj have his Shadow friendship in the actual world too?

"We are so accustomed to disguising ourselves to others, that in the end we become disguised to ourselves"- Francois de la Rochefoucauld