COG Newsletter

The Drama Department 

Welcome to the Drama Department

My name is Senhora Sproule and I run the Drama Department at McClelland College. We have some wonderful programs, and even more wonderful students who are creative, passionate and always keen to have more students on board.

 

Drama Chamber

At McClelland, we have the Drama Chamber; this is a committee of students keen to represent and develop our college Drama Department. The group currently meet weekly to discuss the possibility and potential for the department with the student representatives sharing what they would like to see the Drama Department do and offer.

 

Each COG issue, we’ll introduce a student or two from the Chamber – this time around it’s the terrific Taylah Corkery!

 

Hey, I'm Taylah. I am in Year Nine and have an obsession with Spotify. I applied to join the Drama Chamber this year because I feel like the Drama department doesn’t get the praise and appreciation it deserves, so hopefully by joining the Chamber, I can help promote Drama. My favorite part of the Drama Chamber this year has probably been the people in it. Everyone in the chamber is very friendly, and of course the teacher who leads the drama chamber Senhora Sproule always entertains us with her amazing stories. I feel like the main goal we want to achieve by the end of this year is to get the work and opportunities of the Drama Department more well-known in the college, so that next year we can have Drama as a year 9-10 and VCE elective. I feel like a lot of people see drama as useless or stupid, but Drama helps with expressing ideas through voice and movement, and can also help with team work. Not to mention how fun Drama is in general. If you have any questions or suggestions about Drama I'm more than happy to help answer them. 

 

MAP MUSICAL [Musical Theatre Production MAP]

Every year the sensational students in the Musical Theatre Production MAP spend semester one learning about all of the different areas of stagecraft required to create a piece of Musical Theatre (for example, song-writing, music, singing, dancing, acting, lighting, sound, costume, set, promotion etc.), so that in semester two they can specialize in one or two of these areas while producing their own musical from scratch! This year’s original script, Extraordinary, written by Taylah Corkery and Charlotte Nation, is, well, ‘extraordinary’ and auditions for this will be in the last week of semester one [Wednesday, 8.6]. If you are not currently in the Musical Theatre Production MAP but are moving into it for semester two, make sure you come and see Senhora Sproule in the Main Staffroom and grab an audition booklet from either the Main Office or the Library.

 

College Musical 

This is a biennial event [every second year] and so will be staged in 2023. However, Information Night and Auditions will be in term 4 of this year so watch this space as we begin to hint to the musical chosen, and promote how and when you can get involved.

 

Project Direct!

In the alternate years to the College Musical, we run a program called Project Direct! This is an opportunity unique to McClelland. After an application and interview process, students are selected to direct their own play, and all interested students, from all six year levels, are invited to audition for the available roles.

 

This year, we were fortunate to have five successful applicants: Cai Venn and Rohan Pettigrove in Year 12, Matilda Forsyth in Year 11, and Jasmin Salah and Lily Hosking in Year 10. I will let Lily tell you more about it.

 

Hi! My name is Lily Hosking and I’m in Year 10. I am one of five directors for this year's Project Direct. Project Direct is a biennial event that McClelland College’s Drama Department puts on for the community. Project Direct is an opportunity for students to direct, stage manage or act in a short one-act play. Students directing first choose the play that they will be presenting, then work alongside their peers who are stage managing and acting to create their vision. I have previously co-directed, and last year directed one of the Musical Theatre Production MAP Musicals. I have also acted and been a keen member of the Drama Department at McClelland College for a couple of years now. I was interested in directing for Project Direct as I participated as an actor in it in Year 7 and had a great time and was interested in seeing what the process would be like from a different perspective. We have only just started the process of directing our plays, with weekly director’s meetings with Senhora Sproule to learn about the craft before we start directing. 

 

Auditions for the Project Direct plays are going to be held on June 16th; these will be after school in G1 and G2. Look for the Audition Booklets at the Main Office or in the Library and go and see Senhora Sproule in the Main Staffroom if you have any questions. We'd love to see as many people as possible audition. Personally, I am super excited for what is to come with Project Direct and I can't wait to see everyone’s creative visions come to life. I highly encourage all students to audition as this is a really unique experience. Project Direct is a great opportunity to perform, meet students from different year levels and to gain confidence, all while having heaps of fun. More updates about Project Direct to come!