Performing Arts
Performing Arts Matters
We have our HSC performance dates for both Drama and Music. Drama will be on 25 August and Music 1 is on 6 September while Music 2 will be on 8 September. We wish all students involved the best as they prepare for these exams.
Our annual Splinters, Splashes, Stage and Sounds presentation will take place this Thursday at 6.00 pm in the Music, Art and DT areas. Come and see what our students have been doing in class for the last year and wish them well as they finish their major works in those subjects.
Our Farewell to the Seniors Twilight Concert will be held in the school gym at 5.30 pm on Thursday 2 September. For those boys staying around there will be some food provided before the concert with coffee and tea available from the canteen. There will be a presentation to all Year 12 Performing Artists. An email will be sent to all participants and their parents will more details.
And don’t forget...
Week 10
Monday 19 September – The Climate Change Film Project screening 6.00 pm in the Sarto Centre
We will finally be presenting the 3 films that were completed during our recent lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Please book a ticket using the link below. Its free but we want to know numbers for catering
https://www.trybooking.com/CBTJZ
It’s a marvellously busy time for the Performing Arts but it’s a welcome change to the previous 2 years.
Below are two photos of students enjoying their drum lessons!
See you at a performance soon.
Mr Anthony Timmins - Performing Arts Coordinator
PAPA
CALL FOR SPX TWILIGHT CONCERT #2 VOLUNTEERS
Any family or friends of SPX Performing Artists performing in the upcoming special Year 12 Farewell SPX Twilight Concert #2 to be held at St Pius X College, Chatswood in the SPX Gymnasium, commencing at 5:30 pm on Friday, 2 September 2022 who are interested in volunteering to assist with a relaxed, celebratory food service of hot pizza and soft-drink / water for the SPX boys, plus a tea and coffee service with sweet treat for parents at 4:30 pm - 5:15 pm.
Please register your interest with SPX PAPA Secretary, Tamar Avakian via email garryandtamar@optusnet.com.au
CALL FOR MEMBERS TO JOIN THE PAPA COMMITTEE
If you are interested in joining the PAPA Committee, we would love to hear from you.
Please contact Michelle Godfrey, SPX PAPA President for additional details or to register your interest by email chellegodfrey@bigpond.com.
ALL GIFT CARDS WELCOMED FOR P&F TRIVIA NIGHT
SPX PAPA are still seeking generous community donations of gift cards to contribute towards the P&F Trivia Night. They can be from any preferred supplier, of any value, but $20, $30 or $50 cards would be greatly appreciated.
Mrs Michelle Godfrey - PAPA Committee President
Drama Matters
Year 12
Tomorrow, markers from NESA will come to our school to mark the HSC Drama students. This is the Drama examination for both Group and Individual Projects. When students have performed, they will have completed 60% of their external HSC exam and will then prepare for their written examination in October of this year. Good luck to all the students involved. This is a culmination of 4 years work!
Year 9
Last week Year 9 took part in Drama workshops with actor and director Chris Tomkinson. We were specifically looking at the Mechanicals from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and how we should approach acting the characters and tackling the language. Chris started with a wonderful David Mamet quote that really resonated with the students:
“Invent nothing, deny nothing.”
We discussed the idea that the actor’s objectives are active – they are a doing thing. They are not intellectual they are physical. What do they need? What do they want? How are they going to get what they want?
Chris works extensively with Sport for Jove Theatre Company and has performed many of Shakespeare’s iconic characters – his Prospero is a mighty interpretation. He also facilitates and runs their annual Shakespeare Carnival, so it was wonderful for him to tell the students – Shakespeare belongs to you! The students were extremely engaged and enjoyed the various ways they played with the text. They gained many practical skills on how to work onstage with Shakespeare’s lines and we are excited to be performing two scenes from the play at the end of term.
Year 8
On Monday the whole of Year 8 came to the Sarto Centre to be an audience for the Drama incursion we have every year. Due to COVID restrictions we have not been able to run this show for a few years. Sefo and Tom from Zeal Theatre Company always put on a great show. Their original play “Stones” tells the true story of two young boys from Melbourne who dropped rocks from a motorway bridge and kill a man. Zeal perform each of the boys as well as the two policemen who work on the case. At the end of the show, we had an interesting and lively conversation about the story, acting, how they went about writing the script. Finally Zeal asked the audience to indicate who believed the boys had made a mistake or were guilty of murder. Thanks to PAPA who paid for this show to be seen by the whole of Year 8 and for their ongoing contributions to the Performing Arts Department.
Ms Penny Lindley - Drama Coordinator