What the Ocean Said Immersive meditation
Term 4
Primary School: Early Stage 1 – 2, Years K – 3
Learning areas: English, PDHPE, Creative Arts
Join creativity and wellness for young students, with our specially commissioned 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.
| Term | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Term 4 | Monday 4 November 2024 | 10am, 11:30am |
| Term 4 | Tuesday 5 November 2024 | 10am, 11:30am |
| Term 4 | Wednesday 6 November 2024 | 10am, 11:30am |
| Term 4 | Thursday 7 November 2024 | 10am, 11:30am |
| Term 4 | Tuesday 14 October 2025 | 10am, 11:30am |
| Term 4 | Wednesday 15 October 2025 | 10am, 11:30am |
| Term 4 | Thursday 16 October 2025 | 10am, 11:30am |
| Term 4 | Friday 17 October 2025 | 10am, 11:30am |
Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Student | $18 |
| Additional teacher | $18 |
One complimentary teacher per class. Ratio required for supervision is one teacher per 15 students.
The only authorised ticket agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House. For more information about authorised agencies, see the frequently asked questions below.
Arts Assist: The Arts Assist ticket and travel subsidy program provides the full cost of the Creative Learning performance ticket and $5 per student toward travel costs. Find out more about Arts Assist.
We cater to students of all needs and will make every effort to accommodate any special requirements or access adjustments your students may have. All of our venues are wheelchair accessible with dedicated wheelchair positions and companion seats. Please let us know on the booking form how we can assist in making your excursion as enjoyable as possible and we will be in touch. Alternatively, you may call Creative Learning on +61 2 9250 7770 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm AEST) or email creativelearning@sydneyoperahouse.com.
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House.
This performance will be held in the Centre for Creativity.
Run time: The duration of this event is 50 minutes which includes a 40 minute performance and a 10 minute question and answer session with the artists. Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
The Opera House is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children that visit or engage with us. Download our Child Safety Policy (PDF).
Useful information:
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
About the artists
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Plan your visit
Venue information
Please ensure that your group arrives at the venue 30 minutes prior to the performance start time. Latecomers may only be admitted to a performance during a suitable break, and in some cases, may be excluded. Please call the Creative Learning team on 02 9250 7770 to notify us if you are running late.
Your safety and security is paramount to us during your visit to the Opera House. Therefore, all items larger than the dimensions of a standard A4 piece of paper must be checked in to the cloakroom. As they have limited space, we ask that teachers and students do not bring large bags/backpacks to the performance. Some bag trolleys may be available for your school in the Western Foyers. Please ensure that any prohibited items are left at home (e.g. scissors).
Students are encouraged to bring their own lunch and snacks, however you’ll find food and drinks outlets on the lower level of the concourse.
Please note food and drink are permitted inside the foyers, but only bottled water in the venues.
We recommend that students take their meal breaks on the Monumental Steps/Forecourt or in the Botanic Gardens immediately adjacent the SOH precinct. In inclement weather, there is ample room to take breaks underneath the Monumental Steps. In situations of particularly poor weather, breaks can be had in the Western Foyer. We ask that you please limit this to an as needed basis to avoid foyer congestion for other members of the General Public. There are several food and beverage options on site, as well as food and beverage options close by in Circular Quay.
Getting here
We are a 15-minute walk from Circular Quay, the closest station for public transport via train, bus and ferry. To view timetable information and ensure your public transport needs can be met, please check the Transport NSW website.
Buses and coaches can’t park onsite at Sydney Opera House. Large buses must disembark passengers on Macquarie Street in the allocated drop off zone. 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.
Frequently asked questions
Please ensure that your group arrives at the venue 30 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.
Yes, use this information to prepare a risk assessment and risk management plan. Teachers undertaking a risk assessment and risk management plan should be aware that Sydney Opera House cannot complete the risk assessment for them.
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.
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.
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