Performing Arts 

Drama Matters

Senior Ensemble (Monday) & Intermediate Ensemble (Thursday) will begin again next week (Week 8) in the Sarto Centre after school.

Last week Year 7 finalised their Melodrama Radio plays. Students really enjoyed adding music to their acting skits and playing with the many different voices needed to bring each character alive.

Year 9 students will perform their monologues this week. They have studied acting techniques from Stanislavski’s System of Acting and then applied them to the performance of a speech that they present in front of the class. 

Here are some acting tips given to the students:

• Do not play the victim – as human beings we have HOPE and we FIGHT for what we believe in (good or bad).
• WHAT does your character want? We all WANT something all of the time. Play the WANT not the EMOTION (that will come if you try to get what you want.
• LISTEN to yourself. LISTEN to the words as they come out of your mouth and allow yourself to be AFFECTED by them.

Theatre Online

Online theatre continues to be the best way to consume drama if you crave the live event. Here are two productions I have watched this week that have been astounding:

Coriolanus by Shakespeare

https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/nt-at-home-coriolanus

Tom Hiddleston stars as Coriolanus, one of Shakespeare’s later plays. This intimate staging is powerful and enigmatic, filmed at The Donmar Warehouse in London.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness at The Old Vic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRIZB6tErfE

A Monster Calls is a story about a 13-year-old boy, Conor O’Malley, coming to terms with the loss of his mother by listening to the advice and stories of an ancient monster. This is an amazing production directed by the wonderful Sally Cookson. She created the adaptation of Jane Eyre that was so incredibly staged by the National Theatre and presented online last month. 

Ms Penny Lindley - Drama Teacher