Bell Shakespeare

We were lucky enough to get a visit from the Sydney theatre company, Bell Shakespeare, who performed Romeo and Juliet with a modern twist to the Year 10 to 12 Drama students.

Our students enjoyed the show and the opportunity to ask the actors questions about their careers in the Performing Arts.

Black Swan State Theatre Company

Our 2021 Drama Captain, Jake Battle, had the special privilege of partaking in work experience with Black Swan Theatre Company. Twenty-six students were chosen from high schools in Perth and Bunbury to participate in a two-day event on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 July at His Majesty’s Theatre.

The event included:

• A tour of His Majesty’s Theatre, including the Museum of Performing Arts
• Artistic Director Clare Watson sharing her journey as Artistic Director of the company and Co-Director
• Zoë Atkinson sharing her design process and final scenography for York together with an informative history of design.
• Literary Director Polly Low guiding students through the process of writing for the stage with an emphasis on stories of place, which was explored further with devisor Andrew Sutherland, on the following day.
• Soaking in the ambience of the Maali Festival before seeing a matinee production of York at the State Theatre Centre of WA.

“The deep spiritual journey represented in York is both chilling and inspiring. The delicate balance of comedy and tragedy leaves you feeling both unsettled and in awe. It was truly breathtaking, setting a promising precedent for the future of rich Indigenous storytelling working in unity with the modern theatre experience. The program as a whole was unlike any other, and the raw passion and love each speaker shared for their craft challenged me to explore my own passions further, not only in dramaturgy and scenography, but also in my writing. The relationships forged and skills earned will prove invaluable to me in my theatre journey, and I am so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to network with so many like-minded individuals and gain a small glimpse into the creative minds behind Black Swan’s latest masterpiece.” – Jake, Year 12 

That’s a Wrap!

Congratulations to Year 11 student, Andrew, who has been cast in a lead role in the feature film Sweet As!

Andrew recently returned to school after filming along side a star-studded cast including Tasma Walton (Mystery Road, Looking for Grace), Mark Coles-Smith (Last Cab to Darwin, The Circuit) and Ngaire Pigram (Mystery Road). Sweet As is the first Western Australian feature film to be written and directed by a female First Australian. The production took place over five weeks in various locations within the Pilbara region.

“It’s a touching story based on true events, which follows four at risk teens who go on an outback safari tour in Karratha. A few highlights of the experience for me were, meeting all the people, becoming a family with the cast and working with director, Jub Clerc, on her first feature film.” - Andrew 

We are all very proud of Andrew and look forward to seeing him on the big screen soon!

Madelaine Jones
Director of Secondary Drama