Performing Arts Department Update
So much is already up, running and exciting in Performing Arts at Thornbury High for 2026!
Year 12 Theatre
The Year 12 Theatre Studies class is deep into rehearsals for their production “Children of the Black Skirt“ an Australian Gothic piece on in week 9 of this term. This is a production lead entirely by the senior students themselves: they not only act and direct themselves, but also design, curate and create Lighting and Sound designs, Costume, Props, Set and Hair and Make up.
Tickets are free and available through this LINK HERE. Come see and support THS Theatre excellence!
Shakespeare Festival
The Year 11 Theatre Studies class and Year 9/10 Music class have also started rehearsals for their upcoming performances as part of the annual Shakespeare Festival. Pencil it into your calendars folks, this celebration is on May 7th, in Term 2 and is looking to be an excellent evening!
Top Screen, excursions and Top Class excellence
We have an upcoming excursion to see Top Screens for our VCE Media students: screenings of A+ student-made films from across Victoria’s 2025 VCE cohort. This is a wonderful chance to see student excellence and know what to aim for ourselves.
Top Class excursions for Music and Theatre Studies are on for this term, and we are particularly chuffed to be there to be celebrating a student of our own: Wilco! Wilco was a THS Theatre Studies student last year, whose wonderful design work for his Year 12 Monologue exam was chosen to be presented to the audience at Melbourne Recital Centre this March as an example of excellence. Wilco will be one of around 15 students in all of Victoria to show his Theatre work, in his case Sound and Prop design for Titania in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. He scored and created his own original sound design for the piece. We love to see Thornbury High excellence on the state stage. Congratulations Wilco and break a leg!!
2026 school production: “Chicago”
We have started rehearsals for our 2026 school production, the musical “Chicago”! The show was cast and crewed last year and year 7 auditions happened two weeks ago. This week we all got together for a read and sing through of Act 1! What an amazing (huge) ensemble of young people.
If you are here Tuesday mornings before school, or Thursday arvos after classes have finished, you may be starting to hear the Stage Band and Concert bands as they work through some “Chicago” repertoire!
This exciting musical is set for July 30th-August 1st (Term 3) and we will keep you updated on events, through the newsletter, Compass feed and the THS social medias.
Lone Gum picnic Music concert
Last, but certainly not least, our most exciting event for Term 1 is fast approaching: the Lone Gum picnic Music concert! Tuesday 31st of March join us on the Matisi street oval, behind the Sports & Performing Arts Centre at Thornbury High for an evening of incredible musical entertainment and community. Not only are our Stage and Concert bands on display, not only do you get the first sneak peek of our actors and ensemble from “Chicago”, not only do you get to hear amazing ensembles and classroom bands and not only do you hear our year 8 massed class band but, for the first time ever, you can see the year 7 2026 classroom band perform for you! Last year our Year 7 band was comprised of almost 150 students: that’s a lot of hot cross buns! We are incredibly proud of our music program here at THS, hugely proud that all Year 7 and 8 students have the opportunity, regardless of experience or circumstance to play a concert band instrument.
We can’t wait to see this year’s incredible turn out of both students, families and friends. Tickets are free (though donations to support this rare program are very gratefully accepted) and can be booked HERE THROUGH THIS LINK.
If you are keen to help support the program, we are always in need of people to join forces with our Music Parents committee. Maybe you can give an hour to help man the concession stand at the concert, or maybe you have more time to give; we would love to have you! Contact Jules through musicparents@thornburyhs.vic.edu.au
All the world’s a stage, baby!
The Performing Arts Team