Drama
The House Drama/Music Festival was held yesterday and it did not disappoint!
House Drama/Music Festival
The House Performing Arts competitions have been given a new format in 2020. Owing to the spectacular Music concert being staged in June, celebrating the School’s 125th anniversary, the House Music Festival this year has been combined with House Drama.
This celebration of the Performing Arts took place on Wednesday March 4th in the Great Hall and a very enthusiastic school population cheered on the dynamic presentations presented by each of the 6 houses. The theme this year was a performance to be inspired by The Bard – William Shakespeare. The repertoire presented included a clever treatment of Hamlet (The Kangaroo Queen), Romeo & Juliet (Wet Side Story) and the frustrations of a young woman wanting to be an actor in the Elizabethan London. The festival was adjudicated by 3 Industry professionals who were delighted by the offerings. Director/Lighting Designer Alex Berlage, Music Theatre Leading Lady Rachel Beck and Song Company Baritone Mark Donnelly.
The successful House for Drama on the day was Barton. The winning House for Music was Docker.
Congratulations to all of the students who entered the spirit of competition and celebrated the arts in this annual festival.
Ladies in Black
The SCEGGS 2020 Musical production Ladies in Black has now been cast and it commenced rehearsals last week.
The audition panel saw 37 girls for the roles in the show. Congratulations to the students who have been cast. A big thank you also to the girls who were not successful.
Each show has its specific ensemble requirements and unfortunately we are sometimes not suited to that particular brief. That’s not to say that we are devoid of ability, skill or talent. Casting is a challenging process for the creative team too. They search for a cast who will assist them in serving the material, in the manner of their creative vision.
I encourage you to think of your audition as a learning experience. In life we frequently nominate ourselves for activities, but circumstances do not always permit participation. Hopefully you feel like you presented your “best self” on the day. Seek feedback if you require it, so that you might focus on developing necessary skills and to understand a process like casting in order to approach your next experience with renewed confidence and presentation.
And don’t forget to seek out the next opportunity to perform. Auditions for our November play, Pretty.Strange, will take place in Term III.
Drama Tour USA
Our Drama Tour to Chicago and New York is fast approaching, departing in April. A pre-departure meeting for participating students and families will be held on Thursday March 5 at 6.00pm in The Playhouse.
War Horse
A combined Theatre Club and keen participants from Years 7-10, saw 50 students attend the spell-binding production of War Horse, now playing at The Lyric Theatre.
The play, inspired by the children’s book by Michael Morpurgo, focuses on the very special relationship between a boy and his horse. The arrival of World War 1 brings a separation and gives us a first-hand experience of the trauma of this war placed on men, women and animals.
It is a challenging story that is ultimately uplifting and which employs incredible theatricality to transport us to the various locations around Europe.
The next outing for Theatre Club is Dario Fo and Franca Rame’s No Pay, No Way at The Sydney Theatre Company on Thursday March 12.
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Student Theatre Review On Thursday night, SCEGGS Theatre Club attended the fabulous production of War Horse playing at the Lyric Theatre in Pyrmont. The way the show was staged was amazing. With incredible puppetry and visuals, the skilled puppeteers portrayed horses, foals and geese. These were brought to life and the audience forgot that they were puppets at all. We were all mesmerised by the show which followed the tale of a man and his horse, separated by war. Our emotions ran high. Experiencing everything from laughter to tears, we were truly at the edge of our seats and couldn’t get enough. The opportunity to be able to attend the theatre with a group of peers and teachers is a special one and we are very grateful. Through the club, we can not only attend live theatre but be part of a community through which we can analyse and discuss. This experience is so much richer than simply viewing a show, as we all experience the show differently and can learn from the range of audience perspectives and reactions. Molly Murray and Polly Allchin (Year 10) |
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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Shore
Bookings are now open for The Shore production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The show features several of our girls; Emily Gyton (Year 8), Sienna Best (Year 10), India Poiner (Year 10), Jessica Millin (Year 9) and Eva Harris (Year 9).
The girls report that they are having a fun time in rehearsals.
Urinetown at Newington
Congratulations to Imogen Holmes (Year 10) who performed in the Newington musical last week. The show, Urinetown, enjoyed a terrific season at the Parade Theatre, NIDA.
Catch Me If You Can at Scots
We have several students in rehearsal for the Scots musical production of Catch Me If You Can – Amelia Biggs (Year 11), Annika Deitz (Year 11), Isabella Morgan (Year 9), Lizzie Lapham (Year 9) and Scarlett Pearce (Year 10).
The show is sourced from the film of the same name featuring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The season is scheduled for April 29, 30, and May 1 and 2.
All the best performers bring to their role something more, something different than what the author put on paper. That’s what makes theatre live. That’s why it persists.
Stephen Sondheim
Peter Eyers
Head of Drama
