On Wednesday 6th March, 33 students from years 7-9 attended the Eskdale Festival of the Arts in Whitby. All students have been rehearsing hard over the last few weeks and presented their performances on stage in front of a live audience. They were all very pleased to see so many parents and family members in the audience.
The first performances were from Meghan, Miranda, Christina, Susie and Cameron who competed in the Shakespeare Solo class. The pupils had to prepare a three minute monologue from a Shakespeare play of their choice, not an easy task for pupils who have only studied drama for a year! All pupils achieved high marks, showing technical skill through their choice of facial expressions, body language and changes in voice. However Susie and Cameron did exceptionally well to achieve a Commended mark which asks for a convincing performance showing artistic ability. Cameron won the class with a mark of 85 and will perform his Macbeth monologue at the Festival’s Gala Concert on Saturday 16th March.
All pupils then competed in the Group Drama class. The pupils had worked in small groups to create their own pieces of drama, described by the adjudicator as “surprising, entertaining and sometimes bizarre”, each performance showed the group’s individual ideas and style. In the end the class was a close run competition, with “The Three Amigos” coming out on top. The adjudicator was pleased with the way they “communicated humour” and “established their characters” and gave them the high mark of 85. In second place was “The Muffinmen and Sharron” who performed their GCSE Drama piece “Depression”. The Festival Secretary commented this was one of the best pieces of drama he had ever seen and the group was rewarded with a mark of 84.
All pupils were a credit to the school and should be incredibly proud of their efforts. I have been impressed with the dedication and time all pupils have put in and look forward to next year!