“I loved taking part in the musical, Annie. I was so amazed at how professional everything was: we had a full backstage support crew, flexible stage scenery, individual microphones and headsets, we probably had more technical equipment than a Broadway show! Everyone was just so committed to making the musical as good as it could possibly be.”
Alba, Year 10 (Hopetoun)
The Performing Arts department is an umbrella entity for the teaching of drama, dance and theatre. Our driving goal is to provide our pupils with broad interconnectivity between all three art forms and use them to become more confident, communicative and creatively-minded individuals with a greater understanding of the human condition.
Our drama course is designed to develop both verbal and non-verbal expression, an awareness of the perspectives of others, and aesthetic appreciation. Drama should give all pupils the ability to communicate in ways that go beyond their spoken language ability and allow them to construct a deeper understanding of their community, their environment, and their own feelings and emotions.
Not only does dance help build physical skill and aptitude, it also provides pupils with a vehicle to explore and develop meaningful concepts of self, human relationships, and physical environments. As such, pupils will build critical-thinking skills as they examine the actions of other dancers, analyse and interpret the overall intent of their choreographers, and also go on to create original dance interpretations of their own.
Pupils will also learn how to contextualise different dance forms, in both cultural and historical terms, by exploring how a dance relates to the time and place of its origins.
The Pre-Prep and Prep School performing arts curriculum begins within the classroom and extends to co-curricular activities (CCAs). Productions within the Pre-Prep and Prep School area are not just a finished product or photo opportunity, but a celebration of skills learned. Initially, smaller productions are encouraged in the younger years, with a larger productions quickly following in Years 6-8.
Senior School has a number of performance opportunities ranging from full-scale musicals to classic drama performances and stage shows. There are also plenty of opportunities for pupils to get involved in the production and technical aspects of running concerts and shows.
