Drama Department
PROJECT DIRECT IS NEARLY HERE!
Over one evenings, five one-act plays will be presented; these five plays will form a single evening’s program. Each play will be directed and produced by a drama student at McClelland College. This year’s directors are Matilda Forsyth, Lily Hosking, Rohan Pettigrove, Jasmin Salah and Cai Venn. These students had to choose their play, submit a proposal, and be interviewed about their choices to be successful for this program. They’ve now held auditions, cast their actors and been rehearsing for several weeks, their plays are nearly ready for the stage and they’d love for you to come and see them when they are. Please see above for all the key details.
THE PLAYS:
A Matter of Husbands - Written by Ferenc Molnar, directed by Matilda Forsyth and performed by Carla Azzopardi and Matthew Lanarus – Stage-managed by Dayna Corkery
This play surrounds two women, a Famous Actress and an Earnest Young Woman. Distressed and panicked, the Earnest Young Woman seeks out the Famous Actress believing that her husband is in love with the actress. The two argue, comically contrasting the actress's wit and the young woman's hysteria.
Kingdom of the Spider - Written by Nick Zagone, directed by Rohan Pettigrove and performed by Carla Azzopardi, Matthew Lanarus and Layla Taylor-Prentice – Stage-managed by Hannah Dimmic
A black comedy where Bob, a new parent, has an absurd conversation with a giant spider and a Mormon, in the middle of a midlife crisis. He is absolutely terrified of the fact that his newborn child is vulnerable to all kinds of danger that he can’t prevent. The play targets parents and caretakers of young children, and evokes frustration and rage at the world.
The United States Collection – Delaware - Written by Claudia I. Hass, directed by Jasmin Salah and performed by Cypress Daly and Cleo Carroll – Stage-managed by Jennifer Lamb
A short comedy about two siblings who are passionate about many things and go to many different protests. The younger one is skeptical and teasing when the older one tries to convince her to go to a protest about chickens. There is back and forth childish banter between the two of them, the youngest finding the whole thing quite amusing.
Echo - Written by Joseph T. Shipley, directed by Cai Vennand performance by Jorjah Davies, Makayla Doyle, Molly Jones and Tyrah Pocock-Davies – Stage-managed by Hannah McCleary
Harold, a failing writer, is celebrating his fifth anniversary with his wife, Mary, when they run into Mary’s ex, John, at a cafe. Harold realises that he has become an ‘echo’ of John as a result of Mary’s subtle manipulation, and must navigate this revelation while the two sides of his mind (the emotional self and the rational self) clash over their different views and desires, embodying the duality and complexity of the human mind.
All About Biffo - Written by Stephen Bittrich, directed by Lily Hosking and performed by Emma McCleary and Shreeya Prakash – Stage-managed by Hannah Mortimer
All About Biffo is a short comedy that focuses on the dynamic between two performers. Sid is a long-time performer, comfortable with their character and technique that they use for the circus clown act. Biffo is new to the business and has some fresher ideas on how the clown act should be performed. The two get into a heated argument over who’s a better performer/clown that leads to the pair getting in a very reckless but funny situation.
Here are some words from two of the Directors:
JASMIN SALAH – Year 10
Hi, my name is Jasmin, I am a Project Direct director. So far, the experience has been great. We are a few weeks into rehearsals and my cast has been working really hard to learn their lines and make their performance as good as possible. I’m very excited for them to show it on stage. I think you should come to performance night and see how much effort everyone has put in :)
MATILDA FORSYTH – Year 11
Hello! I'm Matilda, director of A Matter of Husbands for Project Direct. We are about halfway through the rehearsal process now, and it has been great so far! Directing is a new experience for me, so it's awesome to get a new perspective in relation to theatre and learn some new skills. I think the final product should be pretty cool and I look forward to seeing how the play looks after all this hard work, which should also be really rewarding for my actors!
Look forward to seeing you there!
Emma Sproule
Head of Drama