Drama Snapshot
There is always something fun happening in the Drama and Dance departments. This year, we are busy working towards our whole-school musical production of Into the Woods JR., with tickets being available via TryBooking later this term. We would love to take you 'into the woods' in August.
Drama
Year 7 – First Nations Theatre
The Year 7 students' first experience of high school Drama was a storytelling unit exploring First Nations Theatre and their interpretation of a Dreamtime Story. To further develop their understanding of the Aboriginal culture, students participated in an incursion run by the Water Corporation on the Significance of Water in Aboriginal Culture.
We are now beginning our unit of work on Circus…
Year 8 – Playback Theatre
Playback theatre makes use of fabrics and tableaux (frozen images using actors' bodies) to explore emotion in retelling stories. The Year 8 students participated in workshops with practitioners Nichola and Sam from The Actor's Workshop. As always, we were impressed by the maturity and sophistication of the students' performance work.
We are now beginning our unit of work on Design…
Year 9 – Improvisation
Teenagers are very good at 'making stuff up' and the Year 9 students have proven that they do have what it takes to improvise. They have developed a range of skills including spontaneity, creativity and confidence in exploring a variety of activities and games that require them to make it up on the spot!
We are now further refining skills through a unit on Theatresports…
Year 10 – Wolf Lullaby
Students explored a unit of work on Epic Theatre – developing performance work that aims to teach the audience a moral lesson. Deciding they'd like to tackle an existing piece of theatre, students are now exploring Hilary Bell's Australian text, Wolf Lullaby. The play tackles mature themes, and the students are handling the content with impressive poise and understanding.
We are further developing performance and design skills through a study of the text…
Year 11 – Streetcar
The class has travelled back to the gritty streets of New Orleans in 1946 as they study Mrs. Grant's favourite play, Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. The classroom has been abuzz with southern accents and 1940s music, and the students' creativity, confidence, and performances have exceeded expectations.
After exams, we will continue with our Australian text…
Year 12 – Cosi , Camp & Creativity
The students are finalising their work for Unit 3 in the lead up to exams. We have explored Louis Nowra's Australian text Cosi, which involved the students embodying the characters in the dilapidated 'asylum'. The students were also offered the opportunity to attend the annual Drama Camp, and our re-elected Drama Captain, Emily, had the following to say about camp:
Drama Camp 2025 was the experience of a lifetime for our drama group, and we've walked away from the experience with our passion for the stage revitalised and new friends for life. We got to try out so many different acting and rehearsal styles, whilst learning different techniques from other students. Day one workshops engaged both ATAR and General kids in the different aspects of drama, from making abstract shapes with our bodies, to group tongue twisters. Day two had ATAR students working on being different drama roles for the day, along with some dancing, and Generals told heartfelt stories with fabric and tableaux, sang an annoyingly catchy song, and learnt how to perform stage combat. The comprehensive and entertaining workshops, delicious group meals, and heartfelt and hilarious performances from the WA Youth Theatre Company and The Big Hoo-Haa! Improv troop made the two days of Drama camp an unforgettable Year 12 experience, and we couldn't be more grateful to all the teachers who made it happen.
Dance
Students in Dance have explored different styles, including Contemporary and Hip Hop. Both the Year 9 and Year 10 classes have successfully performed to outside audiences and have demonstrated confidence and skills. Students have been exposed to external practitioners, including participation in an incursion run by Co3 Contemporary Dance. As numbers continue to grow in lower school classes, we are hopeful we'll be able to offer a Dance course in Senior School also.
Taneeka Grant, Teacher in Charge - Drama