Performing Arts
Drama
The Drama Department has enjoyed a highly successful end to 2017 with wonderful and inspiring theatrical performance work in both curricular and co-curricular Drama. The College is truly blessed with an abundance of talent and passion amongst our Drama boys. We were thrilled to receive news recently that three Year 12 HSC Drama students- Callum McManis, Liam Hurley and Nicholas Bogard- received OnStage nominations for excellence in their HSC 2017 Drama performance exam. Nominations are an indication of an exceptional level of performance, and if selected, nominees will have the chance to perform their pieces before a live audience at the Onstage Student Showcase at the Seymour Centre early next year. This is a wonderful reflection of the outstanding performance work from the Year 12 Drama cohort seen in their HSC Drama showcase in August at the College.
Earlier this semester, the Year 9 Elective Drama cohort travelled to the Roslyn Packer Theatre to watch the Sydney Theatre Company’ s production of 1984, an adaptation of George Orwell’ s 1949 novel. The performance was a highly compelling and theatrical show, thrilling our Year 9 Drama boys with outstanding stagecraft and
giving them valuable insight into theatrical decisions and staging to inform their own work.
The 2017 Semester 2 co-curricular Drama productions and the Year 7 and 8 Theatresports Competition excited students and audiences with a variety of theatrical experiences. We began the Semester with the Year 9 play Treasure Island, followed by the Year 7 and 8 Theatresports Competition where over 40 students competed. We then travelled into a fast-paced thriller that tested the ethical boundaries of science with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde performed by Year 10. Our final co-curricular production was the highly popular Year 7 Drama Club Performance Evening.
The Elective Drama Showcase finally closed our very busy year with a showcase of some of the diverse range of performances from the various theatrical styles and performance conventions we teach in the Elective Drama classes in Years 9-11. The show was a brilliant display of the extraordinary work we see every day in our Drama classrooms.
LOUISE ARNOTT, HEAD OF DRAMA
PERFORMING ARTS | IGNATIAN | 27