Drama | Express run to the end of Term 4
The Drama Department has taken inspiration from Old Boy Oliver Hoare’s victory in the Commonwealth Games 800 metres and staged a sprint to the end of a marathon 2022.
In the past few weeks, the Department has done the following:
- Used the boys in Drama Cocurricular to stage a tribute at Quad Assembly to the life and death of Old Boy James Whittaker. He was killed at Ambon in World War 2 after giving up his reserved seat on an evacuation boat for a friend who had a wife and two children back in Australia. Special commendation to Lochlan Demark (10SC) who played Whittaker with noble restraint to make his sacrifice even more affecting. Mr Bradburn, Mrs Pasfield and Mr Slaven interwove music, voiceover, stylistic movement and symbolism with intensity and emotion as a pre-Remembrance Day event. You could hear a pin drop around the Quad.
- Developed the Year 7 Theatresports team of Morris Buckle (7KE), Oscar Heralt (7WJ), Liam Hudson (7DU), Eddie Huynh (7KE), Owen Kingham (7HO), Michael Mikhael (7KE), Sebastian Musumeci (7KE) and Hugo Verguizas (7KE). The boys placed equal third in the Regional Semi Final of the State Theatresports competition on November 15th. Ten weeks ago, these boys barely knew each other. Yet under the mercurial and inspirational leadership of fast developing cult hero Mr Slaven, they have developed into a finely attuned ensemble who riff off each other’s creativity in high stakes risk taking improvisation. They are only in Year 7 and now knocking on the door of the Grand Final!
- On the same night, Mrs Pasfield’s Year 9 Drama class put on a performance of scenes from Morris Glietzman’s much loved “Two Weeks with the Queen”. Under her sensitive direction and before a packed audience, the boys put into practice their study of the Stanislavski system of naturalistic performance to extract the humour and sensitivity in the script.
- One good thing to come out of remote learning was the Trinity Grammies. This was Mr Bradburn’s hosting of a Teams session which celebrated the best work done by students in TV Production. This year’s many highlights are: Kick That Goal segments of students going from solving a Rubix cube in record time, to composing music for a Video Game and to (I kid you not) learning how to fly a plane. Plenty of other praiseworthy and entertaining work using advertising techniques and music video will be shown. Contact bduhigg@trinity.nsw.edu.au if you want to be sent the link to join the meeting which will take place on Tuesday November 29th 7pm until 9pm.
- Auditions are being finalised for next year’s production of “The Commitments”. Set aside third week of May 2023 for the last show in the present configuration of the Assembly Hall (which, for the show, will be turned into an Irish pub) to listen to some great soul classics done by some fearsomely talented Irish men and women. If you happen to know some talented young female singers (suitable for Years 10-12) who might capable of belting out Aretha Franklin’s “Think” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, contact bduhigg@trinity.nsw.edu.au
Like Oliver, the Department will collapse over the line, but what a few weeks (and a year) of achievement it has been. Bring on 2023!
Brendan Duhigg, Head of Drama.
