John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School

JOHN SEPTIMUS ROE ANGLICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL

DRAMA EXPERIENCE: A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

Like many ASC schools, John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School (JSRACS) provides students the opportunity to form lifelong friendships and memories through connections made during extracurricular activities in the arts, sports and academics. Year 12 students Teneisha and Emily recently participated in their final production, having first become involved nine years ago. Here they recount their experiences being involved in drama at school. Being a part of productions at JSRACS have given us some of the best experiences and helped us to create some of our most cherished memories of school, according to Teneisha Alagoda and Emily Murphy. “It has been such an important part of our lives that we are extremely sad to see coming to an end, from starting shows in 2014 and enjoying the new feeling of being onstage, to growing as performers up until our final show in 2022,” they said.

The girls said that their final production, Bye Bye Birdie was a perfect choice, allowing the cast to display some of the skills they had learnt not only in class but also during their previous involvement in dramatic productions. “It is an intricate production, with demanding musical and singing elements, dances and it required us to learn to act using accents,” they said. The musical was a challenging one, being set in the 50s as it required students to put themselves in an era with ideals so different from today’s society. Bye Bye Birdie is inspired by Elvis Presley being drafted into the US Army in 1957. “We were very fortunate to have wonderful teachers and instructors supporting us through this and many other productions, and we are eternally grateful for this,” they said. With a nine-year involvement in school productions coming to an end, Teneisha and Emily said involvement in the drama program had given them some of the best experience and most cherished memories of school. “It’s a bittersweet feeling to perform for the last time. However, we will always remember the love and support we received from our production family,” they said. Both students outlined the incredible support and time that staff and volunteers from the school community contribute to a show’s success. This ongoing support allows students to explore their love for theatre and grow as performers with many of students pursuing their passion once they leave school, either by joining WAPPA or Community Theatre groups.