Arts & Tech News 

Theatre Studies

For our excursion, we had the privilege to go to the city and watch some of the highest performing monologue performances from last year’s theatre studies exam. We went in order to understand how to effectively realise a monologue, noting any acting, directorial, and design choices last year’s students incorporated to be successful in their performance. 

It was all really fun to watch. I personally find it fascinating how much creative freedom there is in interpreting and executing a monologue – and if you’re able to justify your choices, you can do pretty much anything. I especially loved Gabby’s (Nossal class of 2022) surreal and expressionistic performance as the body double from the play ‘Lake Disappointment’, where she incorporated distorted mirrors in order to reflect the psyche of her character. With an incredibly evocative and uncomfortable acting performance, we were all blown away by the skill and creativity she used to produce her piece. 

We were also really lucky to get to talk with Gabby after the performances about the creative process of interpreting a monologue, learning for when we eventually have to through the same process. She had heaps of valuable advice to share, especially her wisdom about keeping an open mind in approaching the performance and understanding that your ideas will shape and evolve throughout the whole process. We are all incredibly proud of Gabby and feel a little less terrified for when we have to perform the fated monologue. 

Cameron Cooper  

Year 11