Drama News

This week’s banner is a picture of the cast from ‘The Female of the Species’ play-reading.

HSC Drama

Congratulations to the class of 2022 who were rewarded with stellar HSC Drama results. They employed terrific resilience and humour in navigating their finale year. We look forward to their dramatic pursuits and accomplishments in the years ahead.

On Stage

Students from Year 11 and 12 Academic Drama attended On Stage – the annual exhibition of practical work from HSC candidates, on Thursday February 9 at the Seymour Centre. Students embraced the opportunity to observe examples of high achieving works to propel them into their 2023 study.

House Drama

We are delighted to announce that Kate Fitzpatrick and Tom Campbell will join us to adjudicate the 2023 House Drama festival.

Kate is known to Australian audiences for a vast array of work on stage and screen, as well as being the first woman to commentate on cricket for Channel Nine. Tom can presently be seen on stage in the Hayes Theatre production of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and on screen in “Seriously Red”.

Rehearsals are proceeding with much enthusiasm and collegiality. Houses are pumped and (almost) ready to take to the stage.

This year’s challenge sees each House randomly allocated a fictional character. This character will form the focus of an original origin story.

The narrative is constructed in the most creative way possible. Musical elements may be added. You should consider “the world” which your character inhabits. We MUST still be able to recognise a journey for your character – what early events shaped who your character was to become?

Ursula became an evil villain deep below the ocean.
Trunchbull became a treacherous villain as Head of a school.
Scooby Doo became a key sleuth joining forces with a merry band of misfits.
Big Bird became an educator and representation of childhood wholesomeness.
E.T. is a victim of circumstance and subsequently saves a family.
Captain Jack Sparrow became a wayward, eccentric leader of piracy on the high seas.

In constructing the 10 -15 min (max.) performance you should consider the involvement of as many House members as possible. Consider the strengths you have in your house and capitalise on that. eg Do you have excellent creative writers/playwrights who might be assigned the job of script?

The influential narratives from Children’s Literature have been selected by the House Committees.

Co-Curricular Drama

St Peter’s classes have commenced for the year. Primary students starting in Week 2 with the Years 7-9 class starting this week. Tutors for classes are Poppy Lynch and Romy Bartz.

Monday: Years 5 & 6

Tuesday: Years 7 – 9

Thursday: Years 3 & 4

Productions of “The Appleton Ladies Potato Race” and “Ladies in Black” also went into rehearsal this week with production dates scheduled for Weeks 4 and 8 in Term 2.

The Female of the Species

SCEGGS Drama will present a play-reading of Joanna Murray-Smith’s “The Female of the Species” on Wednesday March 8 at 7.00pm in St Peter’s Playhouse.

This special event has been produced to support our HSC Drama students in their study of the play under the syllabus topic “The Voice of Women in Theatre”.

Murray-Smith states that she set out to see if she “could make feminism funny”. Her comic farce tackles a contrast of feminist theories as the disgruntled Molly arrives unannounced into the home of celebrated feminist icon Margot Mason, challenging her theories and writing.

SCEGGS is delighted to feature Poppy Lynch in the role of Molly. Stage and television veteran Belinda Giblin will play Margot Mason. The cast is completed with Romy Bartz, Mark Humphries, Elijah Williams, and Anthony Phelan. We are indeed fortunate to have engaged actors of such a high calibre.

The reading will be guided by celebrated Director, Gale Edwards. Gale has had an extensive career directing theatre around the world. She was the first woman to direct at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has had productions of musicals on Broadway and The West End.

The reading will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

The SCEGGS community is invited to attend to performance. Admission is free.

This promises to be a most engaging evening of theatre.

“Investing feminism with comedy is a mark of respect. Feminism is a big girl now – it’s strong enough to laugh at itself.” – Joanna Murray-Smith (Playwright: The Female of the Species)

Peter Eyers
Head of Drama