HSC Drama Excursion

Over the past four days the HSC Drama Class has been exploring Sydney with the key focus being “What does an ACTUAL band 6 look like?” This meant attending OnStage and workshops focused around the students' Individual Projects and what the Group performance will look like next term. 

After a long train ride, day one saw us being invited to Jannali High School where the students participated in workshops focused around their Individual Project and Verbatim Theatre. The students learnt quite fast that public school students are in the same boat as them with many realising that it's okay to feel overwhelmed at the moment with their Project but there are ways to move forward and balance work, life and school. Verbatim theatre saw the students giving a dramatic retelling of a stolen lunch and the importance of telling the truth when using interviews as a script. The day finished with a competitive Space Jump (improv drama game) where OCC were deemed the winners (we won't brag too much). We look forward to continuing to work with the school and who knows we might have some city visitors one day. 

Day Two saw the students attending workshops run by the Sydney Theatre Company. We learnt how to move and work as an ensemble and how to create a character that will have a certain effect on the audience. They were able to receive fast feedback from the workshop coordinator and apply it to the scenes they were working on. The students were able to also spend some time shopping in Sydney where many created a mini lego figure including Mini Sam who joined us on many adventures for the remainder of the trip (pictures below).

The students attended OnStage both nights which included (the best scores 90 and above in the HSC) Video Drama’s (films), Group Performances, Monologues, Costume and Set Design and Promotion and Programming. This experience allowed the students to understand exactly what the markers are looking for and allowed us to turn the marking criteria from words into an actual understanding. The students quickly learnt that a good choreographed fight scene, moving as one to create a monster or having a catchy song within your piece can have a lasting impression on the audience and makes you one to remember. 

Huge thank you to Matt Griffin for coming with us as an extra teacher but also teaching the OCC and JHS students about Indigenous culture and the importance of totems and family.