Employees, people we support and guests had a wickedly good Halloween at Lawnton L&L, coming together for the premier screening of the fa-boo-lous film, Zombie Nun 🧟♀️🧟♂️.
Zombie Nun is a chilling tale, filled with an exciting blend of humour, supernatural elements, romance and horror, where the forces of good ultimately triumph over evil.
This positive outcome stems from an incredible collaborative team effort. Everyone at the hub, including employees and people we support across different programs played a role in the film’s production.
The script was written by Sam, who was supported by his team to make his filmmaking dreams a reality.
He was also the inspiration behind the hub’s drama program, called Lawnton Drama Academy.
Lawnton Drama Academy’s origins
We first met Sam over 10 years ago, when he joined the hub straight after high school.
When he approached Site Manager, Sarita Alay-ay, last year about his interest in acting, movies and scriptwriting, she explored starting a drama program to support Sam with his interests and offer opportunities for other people at the hub with similar goals.
A few months later, the Lawnton Drama Academy was born with the unveiling of the onsite stage, built by employees and people we support in the hub’s recycling program.
The drama program is conducted weekly, where people we support, Sam, Chloe, John Michael and Alex, join Support Worker, Luke Hally to learn about acting, character development, script reading and improvisation.
Luke, who has a theatre background, said the program builds on everyday skills that align with their individual goals in a fun environment.
“The people in the program have learnt better interpersonal skills and developed more confidence through learning how to act on stage and being in front of a crowd,” he said.
“I have also seen an improvement in their vocabulary, use of speech, reading and following directions. What makes it even better is that the group went to the same school, so they are already close friends and are excited that they get to act together.”
The making of Zombie Nun
Inspired by a Halloween costume, Sam originally wrote Zombie Nun as a short story.
Luke recounted how he and other support workers supported Sam in adapting his story into a screenplay and film.
“The team first introduced Sam to how scripts are written,” he said.
“He adapted it with his friends in the literacy and numeracy program and we would give them feedback.”
“I then asked him how he would like each scene, shot, and lighting to look, and we came up with a plan. Sam learnt a lot during this process, like how movies aren’t always shot in order. We would film all shots that took place in a certain room and then move to the next room.”
Sam’s fellow actors also gained a lot from the filming experience. Alex, who played a student, said filming helped him improve his memory and social skills.
“It has supported me to work with other people, I have more confidence to speak and I now have better memory from practising my lines,” he said.
What’s next?
Lawnton Drama Academy has gifted Sam and his friends with meaningful memories and new-found skills that they will cherish forever. Sam said:
Everyone only lives once and if you know what you want to do with your life, you should show it to everyone!
The filming of Zombie Nun has also inspired others in the drama program to work on scripts themselves. Employees plan to integrate more scriptwriting into the hub’s literacy and numeracy program, where people are making great progress in developing their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.
The crew is already planning a Christmas-themed production to showcase to families in December.
Congratulations to all involved for tailoring programs to suit people’s goals and making learning fun!
News
View all
Director Election Expression of Interest
Are you in email overload?
Grant funding brings new life to Alex Hills L&L
BRACE proposed changes
Fire Services – Chubb Fire & Security is our new provider
