What the Ocean Said Term 4
5 – 7 November 2024
In the Centre for Creativity
James Brown, Alice Osborne and collaborators
A storytelling and meditation performance for students | Early Stages 1 - 3 | Join creativity and wellness for young students, with our specially commissioned new storytelling and meditation experience with digital projections. This is a sensory world of vivid storytelling, dreamy electronic music, animation, and the wonder of our Sydney harbour.
Photo credit: Annabel Osborne
Date | Time |
Tuesday 5 November 2024 | 10am, 11.30am & 1.30pm |
Wednesday 6 November 2024 | 10am, 11.30am & 1.30pm |
Thursday 7 November 2024 | 10am, 11.30am & 1.30pm |
Ticket | Price |
---|---|
Student | $18 |
Teacher | Complimentary* |
Additional teacher | $18 |
*One complimentary teacher per class (15 students). Ratio required for supervision is 1 teacher per 15 students.
Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Students must be accompanied at all times.
Authorised ticket agency for this event is Sydney Opera House
Suitable for Early Stages 1 - 3
This event is recommended for Years K - 3.
The Opera House is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children that visit or engage with us. Read our Child Safety Policy
Run time
Event duration is 60 minutes.
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
In English
Wheelchair accessible
Please advise us upon booking if you have any particular learning or mobility needs for us to support.
Social Story
A social story provides information about what to expect when attending a venue or show. It has short descriptions with images. See the Centre for Creativity Social Story
For any special access requirements phone the Contact Centre on 02 9250 7777 or email bookings@sydneyoperahouse.com
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House
Written and Directed by
James Brown and Alice Osborne
Concept and Musical Score
James Brown
Video Design
Solomon Thomas
Set Design
Angus Callander
Performer
Micaela Ellis
A sensory world of vivid storytelling
What the Ocean Said is a relaxing storytelling experience for both students and teachers.
Students are invited to relax amidst a magical space of calm in a sea of pillows. In this meditation and story, students imagine what it would be like to transform into a bird and fly above the harbour, morph into a humpback whale diving deep into the water, and expand into the reaches of the ocean itself. With mindfulness techniques wrapped up in a story time adventure, we’ll introduce younger students to meditation, and offer older students a whole new perspective on mindfulness.
What the Ocean Said is a Sydney Opera House New Work Now commission, enabled by Jane & Russell Kift and by the Turnbull Foundation.
Presented by Sydney Opera House
Meet the cast & creatives
James Peter Brown is known for his evocative and diverse music scores and sound designs. He has worked across a range of genres, from mainstage theatre and contemporary dance to film, documentary, animation, video games and virtual reality. His processes often involve creating music and sound in synchronicity with the development of a project, building connections between performance material and sound.
James’ collaborations with directors and producers often explore ethereal, emotive experiences that become part of the deeper exploration of character and storytelling.
He has developed continuing artistic relationships with artists and companies including Sydney Theatre Company (Constellations, Do Not Go Gentle, Lord of the Flies, Mosquitoes, The Deep Blue Sea, The Real Thing, Home I’m Darling) Bethesda (Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Fallout Shelter) Victoria Hunt (Tango Wai, Copper Promises) ERTH (Duba, Badu, Winter Camp, The Liminial Hour, Prehistoric Aquarium VR) SOIT (The Lee Ellroy Show, Messiah Run, We Was Them, Nomads) POST (Ich Nibber Dibber, Oedipus Schmoedipus) and Kristina Chan (A Faint Existence, Mountain, Brightness). He holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts, in which his focus was on composition and sound design for animation. He also holds a Master of Acoustic Physics from The University of Sydney, for which his thesis was on the physiological effects of low frequency sound on the body and mind.
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Alice Osborne is a director, theatre maker and puppeteer. For Sydney Opera House, Alice has collaborated with primary school students in Western Sydney to create performance and film within the Creative Leadership in Learning program. Alice was Puppetry and Movement Director for THE WEEKEND and RUBY’S WISH (Belvoir St Theatre), the Australian production of WAR HORSE (National Theatre of Great Britain), THE SPLINTER (Sydney Theatre Company), DIARY OF A WOMBAT, POSSUM MAGIC and EDWARD THE EMU (Monkey Baa), ALPHABETICAL SYDNEY and BLACK SUN/BLOOD MOON (Critical Stages), and Justine Clarke’s LOOK LOOK IT’S A GOBBLEDYGOOK. As Performer, Alice was a member of Compagnie Philippe Genty (Paris), and My Darling Patricia (Sydney). She co-created and performed FALLING WOMAN (Performance Space). Her television credits as Puppeteer include DIDI & B (Nickelodean), ME & MY MONSTERS, FIVE MINUTES MORE, FARSCAPE (The Jim Henson Company), and THE UPSIDE DOWN SHOW (Sesame Workshop). Alice holds a Bachelor of Theatre/Media from Charles Sturt University, Bathurst. She also holds a Master of Occupational Therapy, from The University of Sydney, and is a registered Occupational Therapist working in inpatient mental health.
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Solomon Thomas is a theatre maker and performer currently situated in Sydney. He explores the intersection between the physical and digital in theatre, experimenting with how theatre and film can co-exist in a live context. He works as a performer, puppeteer, theatre maker and video designer and is driven by how these practices meet formally.
He graduated with BCA Honours in Performance from the University of Wollongong in 2013 and for the past six years has been actively engaged in creating and performing work for both independent and main stage theatre. He is a core member of re:group performance collective, Monday Night Cards and Woodcourt Art Theatre. His collaborations include Jackson! Le Diner Est Pret! (Woodcourt Art Theatre, 2013), The Encounter (Adelaide Fringe, 2014 and La Mama, 2016, LOVELY (PACT, 2015), Tom William Mitchell (Woodcourt Art Theatre, 2017 and Merringong, 2018), Kraken Play (Crack Theatre Festival, 2017), Spacejunk (Sydney Observatory, 2018), Lifestyles of the Richard and Family (Next Wave, 2018) and Return to Escape From Woomera (Liveworks, 2018). Solomon has worked as a performer on Nick Cave’s Heard (Sydney, 2016), My Darling Patricia's The Piper (Sydney Festival, 2014 and the Edinburgh Fringe, 2015) and in development with Branch Nebula, Applespiel, Studio A, Chiara Guidi, and Erth. Solomon is currently a puppeteer with Erth Visual & Physical Inc (2014-19) and has toured with them throughout the UK, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Japan.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/1x1__200w/public/collaborodam_assets/Solomon-Thomas.jpg.webp?itok=a25guzlh)
Angus Callander is a visual artist and designer based in Sydney. His art practice focuses on how the visual language of modernism can be reappropriated to influence our understanding of the physical world and the overlay of information we impose on it. His work crosses the mediums of painting, sculptural construction and digital animation. He graduated from The University of Sydney in 2012 with a Bachelor of Design in Architecture and in 2015 graduated from the National Art School with a Bachelor of Fine Art majoring in painting. As a designer he works across architecture, film, TV and theatre.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/1x1__200w/public/collaborodam_assets/ANGUS-headshot%20%281%29.jpg.webp?itok=d1WkNuV_)
Raised in Griffith NSW, in the heart of Wiradjuri nation, Micaela pursued her passion for the arts from a very young age - her first one-woman show being in the living room of her grandmother's house.
Since then, she has nurtured skills in painting, writing, music and teaching, all contributing towards her ambitions as an artist and story teller.
Before graduating from NIDA, Micaela studied at a variety of acting schools including Actors Centre Australia, Screenwise and her high school The McDonald College of Performing Arts, and since has continued her training internationally and locally.
Recent credits include The Snail and the Whale (CDP Productions), A Play In a Day – The Changeling (Bell Shakespeare), Cool Pool Party 2: The Second (BanShakespeare), Heroes of The Fourth Turning (Outhouse Theatre Company), Experiments of Theatre and Cinema (Riverside Parramatta) and a number of short films
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Gallery
A Day Out at the House
Are you looking to extend your school excursion time onsite at Sydney Opera House?
For specific performances and workshops over the year we have combined a ‘performance/workshop’ with a walking tour of Sydney Opera House for a total 3-4 hour experience for your students at the House.
Arts Assist
The Sydney Opera House is committed to providing the very best national and international performing arts experiences to NSW students as part of their educational studies.
The Sydney Opera House Arts Assist program provides the full cost of the Creative Learning performance ticket and $5 per student toward travel costs. School applications are assessed according to socioeconomic disadvantage, schools with special needs and individual responses regarding the School Profile and School Community.
The Sydney Opera House thanks and acknowledges our generous Arts Assist donors; The Greatorex Foundation and Sydney Opera House Ladies’ Committee.
Other information
Venue information
Our foyers will be open 60 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer.
Frequently asked questions
We recommend your group arrives early at the venue, at least 45 minutes prior to the performance start time.
If you are late, we will seat you as soon as possible, but please be aware that some events have lock out periods where late comers cannot be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Occasionally this is not until the interval, and in some instances late comers won’t be admitted at all.
Please call Front of House on 02 9250 7134 to notify us if your group is running late.
The closest location to disembark from buses and coaches is on Macquarie Street. Please contact City of Sydney to confirm bus and coach set down areas. We recommend allowing an additional 10 minutes for walking from Macquarie Street. There is no bus parking onsite at Sydney Opera House.
Circular Quay is the closest station for public transport via train, bus and ferry. We recommend allowing 15 minutes to walk from Circular Quay for school groups. To view timetable information and ensure your public transport needs can be met, please contact Transport NSW. Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on COVID-19 safety measures for public transport.
The safety and security of everyone visiting our site is paramount. We require all items larger than the dimensions of an A4 piece of paper to be cloaked. As our cloakrooms have limited space, we request that where possible teachers and students do not bring large bags/backpacks with them to the performance.
Yes. Please visit our Policies page for more information.
If your students are bringing a packed lunch, Royal Botanic Gardens adjacent to the Opera House is quite pleasant in fine weather. Alternatively, our restaurants offer everything from casual snacks to kid friendly meals.
Food and drink are permitted inside the foyers, but not in the venues.
Please contact our Creative Learning Ticketing Specialists on 02 9250 7770 as soon as possible to advise if your group can no longer attend. If your group can no longer attend because your school is located in a hotspot, or has had a positive case of COVID-19 symptoms, the Opera House has introduced flexible ticketing options to help you.
The Opera House is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children that visit or engage with us. Read our Child Safety Policy.
The Opera House has also developed a Child-friendly Code of Conduct to engage with our youngest visitors.
Getting here
The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see the Wilson Parking website for details.
Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a six min walk to the Opera House.
Covid-safe information
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We’re committed to making your experience safe, comfortable and enjoyable, with a number of measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We remind our audiences and visitors to please stay home if you feel unwell. If you need to discuss your ticketing or booking options, contact our Box Office team on 02 9250 7777.
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We have a number of safety measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. While face masks are no longer required, we ask all our patrons and visitors to practise good hygiene. Please stay home if you feel unwell and read more about our flexible ticket options.
The Sydney Opera House no longer requires patrons to show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Add to your excursion
A Day Out at the House
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Arts Assist
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Schools Tour
1 Apr 2023 – 31 Mar 2024
![School girls sitting outside on the stairs of the Sydney opera house.](/sites/default/files/styles/16x9__375w/public/collaborodam_assets/schools-tour-2-credit-anna-zhu-16x9.jpg.webp?itok=gNPTmk-N)