Senior School 

Performing Arts

Drama Year 12 Class of 2020: Outstanding Achievement Recognised by NESA 

What an amazing group of performers! Congratulations to five of the Drama Class of Year 2020 who have been nominated for inclusion in OnSTAGE, NESA’s showcase of exemplary work in HSC Drama. Congratulations to Xanthe Booth, Laura Cockerill, Ondine Slack-Smith, Sophie Starr and Harrison Straw for their hard work, persistence and creativity in Drama which has led to their nominations. Congratulations to Miss Alex Dunkley for her excellent teaching of Year 12 Drama and her willingness to go above and beyond for her students. 

Following are overviews from Miss Dunkley of the students’ performances. 

In her piece Fool For Love, Laura Cockerill plays the French court jester, Vivienne, who has been sentenced to death for being a mistress of King Louis XIV and therefore seeks to publicly expose him and spark a revolution. While sharing all his secrets before the eventual beheading, Vivienne showcases a variety of caricatures, sock puppets display and much jest in true court jester fashion. It is a lighthearted, physical and hilarious piece.  

Onny Slack-Smith’s highly comedic monologue, Dog Eat Dog, seeks to discuss the realities of office culture, suggested by the common idiom that is the title. The piece is centered around Pamela- a hypocritical, middle aged office worker who is struggling to deal with the dynamics within her workplace, namely the unfair promotion of a fellow worker. The piece involves much witty repartee, pop culture reference, and a giant bottom, all encompassed by the highly suspicious, slightly erratic but completely endearing Pamela.  

Sophie Starr’s piece D.I.D he do it?! is a massaged Verbatim Theatre piece derived and inspired by the controversial Mark Peterson multiple personality court case in America 1990. The piece showcases six different characters throughout the course of the trial, including an 8-year-old boy called Watcher, Anya who is a Southern mother figure, and a tough and foul-mouthed man called John. It is a fascinating insight into the complexities of someone living with Dissociative Identity Disorder. 

Harry Straw’s piece Ze Rats is based on the character Colonel Landa from the film Inglorious Bastards. Harry played a charming yet malevolent Jew hunter who cleverly interrogates a farmer, suspected of hiding Jews under his floorboards in German occupied France, 1941.  

Xanthe Booth played the infamous, fiery and foul-mouthed figure skater Tonya Harding in her piece titled I Tonya. Set as an interview style monologue, Tonya shares the tumultuous stories of her life, her career (including landing the Triple Axel) and the real truth behind “the incident” involving fellow competitor Nancy Kerrigan. 

ABC Concerts

Mrs Moxey’s Know Your ABC’s concerts continued this fortnight, with students presenting their repertoire for the upcoming AMEB examinations. Please take a moment to listen to some of the performances below. All the very best to all of our students preparing for their examinations. 

Budding Pianists: Year 7 keyboard lessons 

Year 7 Music classes have been focusing on developing their music literacy and understanding of Blues music whilst having fun learning the keyboard.  They have been learning about the Blues scale and the 12 Bar Blues and have been developing their improvisation skills in the process.  Both Mr Key and Mrs McRae say their classes are really enjoying learning Music theory through practical application. Here’s what some of the students in 7L had to say: 

‘Finding new techniques on the keyboard is fun’ - Charlie Jones  

‘I like learning new songs like Beginner Blues and the 12 Bar Blues’ - Will Mannix 

Mrs Jacqueline Shields 

Head of Performing Arts