Performing Arts

Arts Centre Melbourne Performing Arts Excursion

Wheelers Hill Secondary College students had the wonderful opportunity to experience the first class performing arts on offer in the City of Melbourne. We recently received funding from Arts Centre Melbourne, via the "First Call Fund", for students to participate in a tour of Arts Centre as well as seeing an outstanding performance called 'Pike Street' by acclaimed performer, Nilaja Sun. I was so proud of the way the students conducted themselves while we were in the city, as they all seemed to be so grateful for the opportunity provided to them. 

"We all arrived at Glen Waverley station at 8:45am to start practically one of the best days. Once we arrived at the Arts Centre there were two guys who were playing instruments and were just hyping everyone up and basically made everyone’s day. Before we got inside the Arts Centre we were given a brief history of the building. We were then taken into the Arts Centre and learnt about the interior design and the reasons behind why everything was build a certain way.  We were shown the different theatres and why there were different colour changes between them and walked through this hallway that was completely sound proof. We were taken into Hamer Hall where we saw a live orchestra rehearsing - a super secret preview performance (which wasn't really allowed!). We also saw 2 Academy awards in person in the room that was purposely built for Princess Diana.

After lunch we went back to the Arts Centre to watch “Pike St” performed By Nilaja Sun, which was amazing, she played so many different characters. The show was done so perfectly that you would forget it was only one person on stage. The day was literally one of the best days ever."

- Nicholas Chronopoulos, Year 10 Drama Student

"The Arts Centre Melbourne tour has helped me a lot, I have learnt a lot of skills about acting and confidence. Seeing Nilaja Sun transform into a bunch of different characters in her performance of "Pike Street", the way she moved and acted, making it her stage - was just incredible. Honestly, I was lost for words. Getting behind the scenes of the stages and seeing the way things work before a performance has taught me that not only do things take time, but they take a lot of effort. These people are dedicated to their jobs and it is truly inspiring to see just how passionate people are about the theatre"

- Jake Power, Year 10 Drama Student

"I thoroughly enjoyed this excursion because I was surrounded by my friends and drama lovers, we were going into the city which means that we were able to demonstrate our independence, responsibility and most importantly, have some free time to go get some awesome city food! Earlier in the day we were taken on an extensive guided tour of the Arts Centre which taught us about its history and architecture and were shown of each of their venues and even access to a theatre where a live orchestra was rehearsing for their upcoming show. Already being in the city with good company, some freedom and a tour of the Arts Centre my day was 10/10 but then we saw the show we had been awaiting. ‘Pike Street’.

Words cannot explain how talented the actress was, playing a ridiculous amount of characters at any given time, never changing costumes, never leaving the stage and never ceasing the constant engagement of the audience. She switched between characters of polar opposites in a matter of seconds and with only her body she made it possible for the audience to understand who she was playing and how they felt.

On the stage was just a chair, some simple lighting and sound effects and a couple of book shelves, yet she created a world that we could see and feel with nothing ever physically being on the stage. I swear at one stage I was in an apartment of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, but no, I was in a theatre in Melbourne just so completely absorbed in the performance. The plot was humorous, heartfelt, tragic and so real. The characters ranged from a crippled teenage girl, a scarred war hero, a single mother trying to do the best she can and even to a 95 year old Holocaust survivor. Each line was purposeful, each movement expressive and each moment impressive beyond words. It was a performance I will never forget and it makes my heart want to burst with admiration for its every part.

I could go on about this excursion for hours on end and I feel so privileged to be given the opportunities to go into the city, to see more of the Arts Centre than I ever knew, and to see ‘Pike Street’. I learnt so much from this day about performing, acting and some things about life in general. These are the things great excursions can provide and I took so much from it all. I can’t wait for more of these awesome days at Wheelers Hill! Thank you Miss Lentini for making it all possible!"

 - Jemma Frisina, Year 9 Drama Student

"On top of the tour of a cultural icon and the outstanding performance of Pike St, another highlight of the day had to be the Arts Centre Melbourne's performers who roamed around being chill and funny. They played instruments entertaining the crowd of people waiting outside of the Arts Centre. They were so talented and being able to dance and laugh with them was the icing on a really awesome big old awesome cake... day."

- Thomas Bowley, Year 10 Drama Student

Year 8 and 9 Drama Incursion

In the past week, students of Year 8 and 9 drama had the opportunity to see a hilarious performance called, "Fooling in Love" by the exceptional educational theatre company, "Make a Scene". The performance was in the style of Commedia Dell'Arte, and students were engrossed in the stories on the stage.

Here are what the students had to say about it:

"In drama we have been studying Commedia Dell’Arte, which is a unique style of theatre originating from renaissance Italy and directly translates to The Art of Comedy. Commedia Dell’Arte differentiates itself from other styles of theatre because of its unique and timeless conventions of stock characters (a specific set of characters used in every performance), use of masks, exaggerated and stylised movement, and use of lazzi (repeated physical or world play jokes), improvisation and heavy audience interaction.

As part of our recent assessment task we had an incursion at school in which we watched a modern retake of a Commedia Dell’Arte performance called ‘Fooling in Love’ staged by Australian educational theatre company “Make a Scene”. I thoroughly enjoyed this incursion because it was performed by only 2 people playing multiple characters each! It was hilarious, very engaging and an incredibly valuable experience. I thought it was amazing how they created a whole different world for us to explore with just a simple set, some props and costumes. I really enjoyed how involved the audience were and how much they relied on audience interaction to fuel their story, I loved how the performance was highly influenced by Italy and the improvisational skills demonstrated by the actors. I took great pleasure in seeing how the theory side of Commedia Dell’Arte lined up with the quality practical professional performance we watched. It was a great experience to see the show and the great skills of the actors. It really boosted my understanding of Commedia and what a show might have looked, heard and felt like all those hundred years ago in the streets of Venice.

It is a timeless style that is entertaining, very amusing and ahead of its time whilst also being complex and technical, and I have really enjoyed both the theory and practical side of this topic."

- Jemma Frisina, Year 9 Drama Student

"We watched a performance about 6 people in Italy and their funny experiences. There were only 2 actors and they did an amazing job at playing different roles. The show was filled with lots of #relatable problems. They interacted with the audience and left everyone in hysterics."

- Sarah Hattwell, Year 9 Drama Student

Genelle Lentini

Performing Arts Leader