It has been a fabulous start to the year in Drama and the girls have settled in well to their classes.

For the Year 7 students Drama is a new subject they have jumped into with a great deal of enthusiasm. The first hurdle is finding the room, which I can say with every confidence they now have no problem making their way to. We are focusing on building confidence and skills in performance using a range of texts such as, Where the Wild Things Are. In Year 8 the students are already familiar with Drama, so this is a year of consolidation with the expectation that they will challenge themselves and engage with more complex texts and stimuli.

The Year 9/10 elective is exploring the concept and influence of fame and celebrity on today’s society. This elective provides students an opportunity to create and devise their own work using a stimulus. As a small ensemble they will devise the script, direct and act as well as take on a production role such as make-up, publicity, costumes etc to gain an understanding of what it means to put on a show.

The Theatre Studies (VCE) students are well underway, having attended two professional performances already, Malthouse Theatre’s Picnic at Hanging Rock and the National Theatre’s touring production of A Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-Time at MTC. The girls are very fortunate to be able to see such rich and diverse theatre. These two performances make up some of the performances that VCAA prescribe, which they will need to complete a written analysis of and then possibly write on in their end of year exam.

Like all new years, this one has hit the ground running. To get a feel of what the girls think and expect of drama, the Year 7 and 8 students were asked “When you think of Drama, what do you think?”

These were a few of the responses:

“When I think of Drama, I think of creating something you only thought possible in your imagination. I think of bringing one small idea and incorporating it with so many more and creating something really enjoyable.”

“I love Drama. I’m not always one to speak in front of a crowd, but I love expressing through actions.”

“I think of sound, movement, gestures, music and space. I think what makes Drama unique is the combination of elements to create a performance.”

I think these comments speak to the positive influence Drama can have.

I look forward to an exciting and Drama filled semester ahead!