A Busy Term in the Drama Department
By Mrs Jeeves, Head of Drama
The previous half term may only have been 5 weeks long, but the drama department have packed as much as possible into the time! With a whole range of performances and exciting projects throughout the senior school this is one of our favourite terms.
Year 8 Make Maquettes
Year 8 started the term focusing on design in theatre, one of three major areas of the industry. They have studied costume making, make up design and made maquettes (stage designs from shoe boxes) all based on the musical The Little Shop of Horrors. The winning maquette was outstanding and the pupils have had a great time learning how design can influence an actor’s work.
Performance Time for Year 10
In the final two weeks of term, we reached performance time for our senior pupils. Year 10 have been working on their own devised scenes since before Christmas, based on a range of themes from friendship to poetry. Their task was to create a dramatic scene which explored their topic. The groups had the assistance of their own stage managers within their groups who controlled their lighting, sound and stage design. Giving pupils the option to complete the course through technical modules as well as practical acting is one of the huge benefits of the Creative and Performing Arts course we cover in the senior school.
Olivia completes her Dance Level 3
Our first ever Dance Level 3 candidate Olivia, finished the practical aspect of her course this week too, with a grueling two-hour assessment including work she had choreographed herself and classical ballet routines too. With support from Anya (yr11), Harry (a visitor from her dance school) and some year 7 pupils Olivia did a fantastic job in her assessment and we look forward to seeing more dance in the Barn Theatre soon. A huge thank you to Miss Helen at Yorkshire Coast School of Ballet for her support for Olivia throughout the course.
Year 11 Perform A Ghost Story
Year 11 also completed the practical element of their course this half term, with a performance of 2:22 A Ghost Story by Danny Robins. The award winning script captured their imagination in October and since then they have been working on producing an excellent performance which they shared with family and friends on Thursday 6th February. This marks the end of 12 years performing on the Barn stage for two of our pupils who first appeared in Nativity plays in reception! We are incredibly proud of all the year 11s who smashed their final performance and wish them all the best with their future shows, we can’t wait to see you on stage again soon.
The Eskdale Festival
So a busy term in the Drama Department and there is still more to come! The Eskdale Festival of the Arts begins on 4th March 2025 and we have pupils entered from Reception to year 12 in music, dance and drama classes.
If you have monologues, poems or speeches to practice remember to put in 5 minutes a day, we are eagerly anticipating your performances at the competition!
🌟 The Days That Make Us Happy Make Us Wise