On the Coast – Families Issue 98 I February/March 2019 | Page 11

Mad Cow Theatre Company
Mad Cow Theatre Co was founded 22
years ago by professional actor Iain
“Mouse” McGuire. The purpose: To
give young people a voice in a playful
yet disciplined atmosphere. Mad
Cow is well known in the Australian
acting industry for both old fashioned
values and the ability to read the
needs of fluxing generations.
The company provide students
aged 5yo to 19yo an organic
curriculum where homegrown
Juniors class with Iain McGuire,
Tina and Rhiannon Cox
processes feed the mind body and
soul...and funny bone!
Mad Cow’s unique drama philosophy
Storytelling and narrative is what
has
given thousands of students a better
modern social media devices thrive on. The
understanding
of themselves and directly
stories are cheap, short, and of suspect
connects
each
student
to have the
value. Combined with vivid violence where
confidence
to
speak
their
individual voice
a viewer makes choices non verbally and
and
thus
be
socially
effective.
with impunity, modern day storytelling is
creating an anxious society of youth often
DRAMA IS THE ART and ARTIST
punctuated with mental health issues.
A drama student is the artist and the art: the
Mad Cow teaches students how to
colours, the music, the clay, the animation,
redefine their imagination through process
the canvass. Drama classes combine
driven narrative at a rate the human mind
learning to trust your own imagination or
can happily associate with. The quest here
collaborating with others to bring their
is to indoctrinate stability within a student,
imagination to life. Mad Cow drama students
to ground them in their thoughts so they
improve their lives by developing:
learn to own their choices and actions.
• Character
Keep me away from the wisdom which
• Lateral thinking abilities
does not cry, the philosophy which does
• Collaboration skills
not laugh, and the greatness which does
• Multi layered social interaction skills
not bow before children.
• An understanding of boundaries and
KAHILL GIBRAN
when to challenge them
• Self esteem and personal confidence
through self awareness
We should be more concerned about
•
And
a sense of joy that anything is
our mind’s structure than our physical
possible.
appearance.
Mad Cow tutors guide
students to the truth
they see before them.
The student begins to
understand how best
to design how they fit
into the world around
them. We encourage a
student’s development
to understand when they
should make waves and
speak up, and when to
listen. Student’s aren’t
confined by what’s perceived as normal.
They learn to think outside the box.
Normal is a cycle on a washing machine,
not a human mechanism. Normal is a
tyrant to personal feelings and minimises
our ability as humans.
IAIN McGUIRE – Mad Cow Founder/Director
To develop and make constructive
choices in our lives children need to
develop in a variety of social settings
outside the bounds of traditional
competitive education. They need a place
where they can overplay and act out what
might seem ridiculous. Mad Cow drama
provides a regular forum where their
student’s ideas are not edited. They are
guided by adults and encouraged by peers.
We know it’s a worthwhile pursuit because
humans are all we’ve got!
Be kind and stay human!
The crew at Mad Cow. x
FEBRUARY/MARCH – ISSUE 98
11