From the Head of Drama

Now in Week 5, this Term is flying by. The Term began on a high with the incredible performances of Crazy For You by the very talented Senior students and VCE Theatre Studies class in conjunction with St Kevin’s College.

Head of Performing Arts, Mr James Brown, provides the following post show summary:

“We’ve been workin’ together, and carin’ about things and feelin’ alive!”

Congratulations to the cast, crew and production team of the wonderful senior musical Crazy for You. The excitement and joy on the stage was contagious and audiences across the three shows left smiling and exhilarated. The production showcased skilled actors, singers and dancers in challenging and entertaining roles, expertly transporting us to New York and Deadrock in the 1930s. The impressively intricate dance numbers, stunning costumes and toe-tapping Gershwin standards were a definite highlight in what was one of our best productions to date.

The outstanding band, comprised of our very own Music staff and other industry professionals, were matched stride for stride by the supremely talented students from both St Catherine’s School and St Kevin’s College. Even more impressive is that all other stagecraft areas were entirely student run during the performances – an accomplishment of which they should be extremely proud.

Thank you to the staff and families who contributed to the production; a wonderfully committed and selfless group who share their time, energy and talents to help our students reach their potential.

The Years 7 and 8 Play has been announced, Tales From the Arabian Nights by Donna Abela. Auditions will be in Week 7 of this Term on the 28, 29 and 30 May.

There is already much excitement surrounding it. If your daughter would like to audition, there is a sign-up sheet outside the gym and an audition form on mystcatherines,  information regarding rehearsals and expectations is also provided. Performances will be in Term 4, on the 19 and 20 October.

Our Years 7 and 8 classes are well underway. The Year 8s are busy creating storybook performances, which will be presented to the Junior girls and ELC classes, at the end of the Term. This task is a highlight on the Year 8 drama calendar.

The Year 7s are enjoying extending their performance skills in script writing and devising performances, using an image as a stimulus.

The Year 9/10 Elective, Creating the Drama, is busy producing and creating their group-devised pieces using the stimulus of Fame. These engaging and thought provoking pieces will be performed on 30 May in the Ballroom. Tickets for this event will be advertised shortly. Watch this space!

Enhancing the girls’ creativity and keeping imagination alive is so important in an environment where many of these girls will be creating their own jobs with the ever-changing education and workplace landscape. In Drama, we foster collaborative learning and build on the importance of group work to assist the girls’ ability to communicate and work with a range of personalities and abilities to harness self-awareness and confidence. We believe these skills can only benefit the girls in all aspects of their educational and co-curricular pursuits.

Miss Tessa Dunstan, Head of Drama