Performing Arts

Howdy all!

This term has been one full of experimentation, making choices and rehearsals (lots and lots of rehearsal). Emerging from these rehearsals is students’ growing confidence and skill in shaping a multitude of characters, influenced by what they know and read about the character, and telling a story in the best way possible. 

In Prep, learners have created a few different types of puppets. Building on their appearance on our class talk show, students have begun to perform as their puppet characters using a stage to showcase their puppets. By utilising a “stage” in which students faces and bodies are hidden, it encourages learners to experiment with the quality of their voices and their volume without feeling as exposed as one might on an open stage. In the final weeks of term, students will begin working together to have their puppets have conversations with one another.

In Years 1/2 and 3/4, students have been working as a whole class to act out a readers’ theatre story scene by scene. Using this round robin method allows students to play multiple characters during a single performance. Learners have engaged in a variety of activities, including creating tableaus, miming and disguising their voices to strengthen the interpretation of their characters. These types of exercises (often disguised as games 😊) support experimentations that students can then use to differentiate the multiple characters they play. In the final weeks of the term, students will work as a whole class to have their final performances recorded, while the 3/4 students will perform their readers’ theatre for the younger grades.

In Year 5/6, the filming process is coming to an end and students have begun to edit their short films. While recording their films, students were given feedback and encouraged to shoot multiple angles and reaction shots for each of their scenes. During the editing process, learners will work in their small groups to decide what parts of their acting best tell the story of their short film. In the final weeks of term, students across the two classes will watch one another’s films and do anonymous voting to determine our winners for Trinity’s first annual Academy Awards. Wishing luck to all of the actors, directors and film studios!

Though the term is coming to a close, many of the lessons we’ve learned in experimenting to make interesting choices, supporting one another and determining how best to tell a story will (fingers crossed) carry on into next term!

-Ms. S

A student in Prep introduces her puppet character, using first person when talking and disguising her voice.

Year 1/2 students during rehearsal. They have been working on changing their movement to show a character and improvising their lines to encourage interaction between actors.

Year 3/4 students warm up doing whole group tableaus, trying to capture a character by only using their movement.

Year 5/6 students working together to determine which shots will make it to the final version of their film.