Performing Arts

Finding Creative Solutions to Performing

This year in Performing Arts, we have had to find creative ways to ‘perform’. Students have adapted well to recording their performances.

We have had ‘Aladdin Jr Remote’, recordings of the Choir and many solo and ensemble music performances. Drama and Dance performances have also been recorded, including the Year 9 Drama, ‘Suitcase Series’ ensemble.

The recording studio has been well utilised during this time, and it is hoped it will continue to be used into the future. In Year 10 and 11 Music, students create their own compositions. Budding songwriters, Frankie and Alexia recorded their songs recently in the recording studio.

Keryn Holden

Learning Leader:

Performing Arts

Suitcase Series

The 'Suitcase Series' was probably one of the most exciting and challenging tasks of 2020. It started off with us reading a script called 'Hello World'. It was very interesting to read through as it was about Climate Change and 2020, but through a Gen Z perspective. We spent a lot of time discussing the events and challenges of 2020 so far (we didn’t know what was about to hit us) and talked about how teenagers view the world's issues and how we would take them on. Then COVID-19 took over our lives and put us into lockdown. We had to read, write and perform a play… online!

As you can imagine, preparing a Drama performance online wasn’t the easiest thing to do, given that Drama is all about doing things in person. However, the idea of the play is all about climate change and the internet, so being online actually worked out quite well. We used it to our advantage, incorporating technology into the play in ways that it isn’t normally used in conventional theatre. It was a great way to connect with the audience and express our key message about Climate Change. We did this through things like having video calls in the show, something we can now all relate to, as well as using technology to capture the idea of the internet with photos and videos. This use of technology and live performances has helped us create a world through styles such as Epic Theatre and Verbatim Theatre.

During the process of creating our performance through scripting, rehearsing and refining, we were able to create our own scenes and dialogue. This experience included using a variety of skills, from brainstorming to performing. After finally returning to school after a long quarantine, we began to collaborate our ideas as a class and started rehearsing. We are currently reaching the end of this challenging yet exciting experience and are preparing to film our performance to send to the Malthouse Theatre.

Although this year’s 'Suitcase Series' was not like anything that we could have imagined, it was an amazing experience that we gained so much from and will always be remembered as a highlight of 2020.

Ava Bustill, Mary Tobin

and Vali D’Souza

Year 9

VCE Dance

In Unit 2 VCE Dance our students have been working on presenting their solos. Part of the solo process involves the researching and planning stage in order to ensure the movement material created is expressive and clear to an audience. Often we are focused on applauding the end product as it is always so exciting to see the solos come to fruition. However, I thought it important to share an insight into the process of creating, that our students so thoughtfully engage in.

Here is a sample of some of the planning and research undertaken by three students in Unit 2 Dance, using text, photography, and visual art that the students use as stimulus to create movement vocabulary. This movement is then manipulated with variations of time, space, and energy to communicate their original and innovative ideas.

Student: Emily Smith

Solo intention: The Ugly Duckling