House Drama 2025

HOUSE DRAMA 2025

SAME STARS This year’s structure asked each House to create a performance that incorporated their selected star and its meaning in different constellations in either a literal or metaphorical sense. The connection between the constellations was to be represented through individuals having connected dreams. The performance had to then seek to solve the mystery of the connected dreams and what or who was causing them, whilst exploring the idea that diverse groups see different meanings in the same entity.

The House Captains selected a star that appears in many constellations from diverse cultures at random from the House Drama hat.

The House selections were: Boyne - Mirphak - Mirphak is a bright yellow supergiant star that is located 510 light-years from Earth. Mirphak is incredibly bright in the night sky, approximately 62 times the radius of the Sun and over 7,000 times more luminous. It is often ascribed to animal shapes such as puma, deer, elk, and birds.

Clarke - Regulus - Regulus is a blue-white star and is the 21st brightest in the sky. Due to its regal name and brightness, the star has been associated with royalty and importance throughout history.

It is also often connected to lions or in Arabic, Qalb al-Asad, meaning “the heart of the lion.

Hughston - Alphekka - Alphekka is a bright blue-white star that often features as part of constellations that represent a crown or broken circle. Alphecca is also considered a star of mystique and transformative power.

Maxwell - Spica - Spica is a binary star system located about 250 light-years from Earth, consisting of two massive, hot stars that orbit each other every four days. Spica is considered one of the most auspicious fixed stars, and it is often linked to success, fame, and recognition Murdoch - Altair – Altair is approximately 16 light years from Earth and spins extremely quickly, completing one rotation in about 6 to 10 hours. Altair is often connected with animal constellations, particularly eagles and other birds. It is also used by many cultures as a navigation star.

Ower - Capella – Capella appears as a single, bright yellow star but is actually a quadruple star system with two yellow giant stars and a pair of red dwarfs. Capella is prominent in the northern hemisphere’s winter sky and if often associated with goats.

WELCOME

Welcome to Fintona’s House Drama performance for 2025, Same Stars. What a fantastic way to end the year for our students, collaborating to create something special to share with you.

House Drama is most definitely a celebration of Fintona’s students and the extraordinary things that they are capable of. Each year, the Houses are given a topic that challenges them to utilise contextual information, a stimulus selected at random and an overarching theme in their performance. Again, this year, all the Houses have risen to the challenge and created a unique and entertaining piece of Drama, which they are very excited to share with you.

Congratulations to our Year 11 students for creating the script, choreography and design and to all of our Years 5-10 performers and artists who have brought their vision alive. I hope you are proud of what you have achieved together.

An event of this size and complexity does not happen without the contribution of the whole school community. I would particularly, however, like to acknowledge John Batterham and Daniel Bowen (Clear Systems), whose support of House Drama for the fifth year in a row has helped it to reach such wonderful heights. A particular thanks must also go to our incredible Heads of House: Fairlie Marsland, Meredith Harris, Emily Erwin, Bryndyll Loughrey, Sheryl Manassa, Paul Kelly, Tiffany Zhou and Kate Brooke, who have supported and encouraged their Houses throughout the process and performances.

Well done to everyone involved, it is a pleasure to see your creativity and imagination on stage.

Bronwyn Bye Drama Learning Leader

CLARKE

THE LION IN THE STARS The Lion in the Stars is set in the kingdom of Regalia, where the celestial lion god Regulus watches over the people. When the queen dies and Regulus’ star suddenly disappears, the kingdom of aristocrats, knights and peasants’ fractures into suspicion and panic. Hoping to guide the people to the truth, Regulus descends from the sky and enters their dreams with a vision of the queen’s death. But instead of uniting them, each group misreads the dream, twisting it to fit their biases and accusing each other. This sends the kingdom into chaos. Amid the turmoil, three unlikely individuals: Pete the peasant, Nina the knight and Anastasia the aristocrat notice the king’s suspicious behaviour. Recognising their ability to see past prejudice, Regulus brings them into a shared dream and urges them to uncover the truth of the queen’s death.

CAST Anastasia

Aahana Pandey

Neil the knight

Inaayah Altaf

Nina

Cynthia Dong

Annie the aristocrat

Ira Dand

Pete

Danika Mendis

Naomi the knight

Ariana Eda

King

Rebecca Ang

Andrew the aristocrat Ritisha Rao

Queen

Zoe Sun

Penny the peasant

Riley Yadav

Guard 1

Chloe Shen

Nico the knight

Ruby Herbert

Guard 2

Yuxuan (Elly) Fu

Adam the aristocrat

Oneli Hewakoparage

Pope

Olivia Salim

Paul the peasant

Lauren Huynh

Featured dancers

Zoe Sun, Amy Zhu, Bridget Lavery

Arnald the aristocrat

Sophia Hartnett

Polly the peasant Alice the aristocrat Pablo the peasant

Zoha Mohamed Aflal Claire Wang Wun Wun (Iris) Yang

Dancers

Xiaoyu (Sophia) Chang, Megan Clarke, Elena Dimou, Allanah Fuss, Xinyan Gu, Jacqueline Ho, Sonali Koelmeyer, Liana Lam, Hana Le, Abigail Leung, Zoe Li, Phoebe Lin, Audrey Masters-Fleming, Maya Mohseni, Mia Kaili (Mia) Rui, Allison Shi, Chloe Snaden, Qingyi (Kiki) Song, Jiayi (Jelena) Xin, Hailey Yeung, Chloe Yung, Zi Xuan (Christina) Zhai, Phoebe Zhang 2.

Fintona Girls’ School

CLARKE

PRODUCTION

Scriptwriters

Vidya Sivakumar, Lexi Stefanou, Bindi Wagalekumbure Gedara, Carolyn Ke, Alessia McCormack

Choreography

Emilie Yu, Sara Vesely, Isabella Gale, Matilda Hodge

Sound design

Emilie Yu, Isabella Gale

Lighting design

Emilie Yu, Vidya Sivakumar

Costume and props design Carolyn Ke, Miao (Nancy) Lan, Bindi Wagalekumbure Gedara Stage Managers

Emilie Yu, Vidya Sivakumar, Lexi Stefanou, Alessia McCormack, Sara Vesely, Isabella Gale, Matilda Hodge

Design team

House Drama 2025

Carolyn Ke, Miao (Nancy) Lan, Bindi Wagalekumbure Gedara, Yuhong (Hannah) Lan, Charlotte Seng, Minghan (Rena) Chai

3.

OWER

THE LIGHT OF CAPELLA Many centuries ago, a circle of powerful wizards prophesied a great battle that would one day threaten the world. To prevent it, they bestowed five chosen individuals with a rare gift, the power to glimpse the future through their dreams. Guided by the cryptic Keepers of the Auriga Observatory, the dreamers follow the light of the Capella star, a symbol of unity and destiny across cultures, all the way to Mexico.

But when their visions begin to point toward one of their own as the source of this great peril, fear fractures the group. This begs the question: will the dreamers find a way to unite under the light of Capella?

Or will they be doomed to be separated forever?

CAST Morana Giada Kallia Caspian Cyran General Marrock Keeper 1 Keeper 2 Keeper 3 Camilla Maria Jose Pedro Mateo

Scarlett Ellis-Williams Aarushi Mihailescu Baishakhi Choudhury Chaitra Madhujith Kathryn Karametos Ollie Neil Chelsea Dong Eden Tan Charlie Lau Avery Shi Leonor Tinoco Chereen Zhang Mishka Chadha Tia Gupta

Dancers Yuru Bai, Zoe Eleni Buccella, Jana Bouralexis, Khloe Chen, Naomi Chuang, Chelsea Dong, Kay Lee Foong, Rae Ann Foong, Shreya Garg, Devya Gupta, Surya Gupta, Kayleen Kang, Zi Shen (Joyce) Li, Zara Poon, Charlotte Salimi, Theia Sarawgi, Jasmine Sethi, Charlotte Singh, Chloe Singh, Ava Small, Sage Stone, Vivian Tran, Lydia Wang, Hannah Wei, Charlotte Wilsmore, Kwan Lok Wong, Melody Tran, Christina Richert 4.

Fintona Girls’ School

OWER

PRODUCTION

Scriptwriters

Emily Salimi, Zixuan Li, Sophie Marianne Li, Barbara Tinoco, Georgina Lennen

Choreography

Georgina Lennen, Mia-Grace Wain, Ivanka Zhao

Sound design

Mia-Grace Wain, Abby Zhao, Georgina Lennen, Emily Salimi, Ivanka Zhao

Lighting design

Emily Salimi, Barbara Tinoco, Georgina Lennen

Costume and props design

Barbara Tinoco, Yutong Liu

Stage Managers

Georgina Lennen, Emily Salimi, Mia-Grace Wain, Ivanka Zhao

Design team

Barbara Tinoco, Nainika Choudhury, Alison Liang,

Meeraya Tiwarilal, Melody Tran, Yulin Su

House Drama 2025

5.

HUGHSTON

THE STAR OF THE CELESTIAL PRINCESS When Princess Astraea’s beloved star, Alphekka is shattered at the hands of her husband. The world is put at risk of being drained of the essence of life itself, its hopes and dreams. Separated by distance but united by desire, three unlikely heroes, Min, Tawaret, and Tyche wish upon a broken star and are bound to each fragment, forcing them to embark on a quest to save the constellation. These three individuals must face unique trials and put their personal convictions aside, to gather the fragment by any means necessary. When they wake up from their dream, will the star be fixed?

CAST Princess Astraea Tyche Tawaret Min Debt Collector Dad

Evelyn Jiang Kalyani Shasitharan Onelli Wimalasuriya Mia Nguyen Hayley Porter Esha Lingaretnam

Stewie Stewie’s Mum Hippo Graveyard Goer 1 Graveyard Goer 2 Elara

Girl Mum Of Girl

Lily Downes Melody Chen

Princess Dancer Husband Dancer

Claudia Huang Gargi Naik Erika Liao Charlotte Mcnally Emma Yung Sienna Siswojo/ Camilla Be Nia Jayasinghe Chloe Mcnally

Gambler 1

Angeliex Xu

Opponent

Yahara Wimalasuriya

Dealer 1

Aanya Gaur

Widow Children

Gambler 2 Dealer 2

Catherine Li Maya Sivayoganathan

Anna Yung, Amanda Yung, Charlotte Mcnally, Angeline Zhou

Dancers Fatima Anwar, Keira Chan, Andrea Chen, Charlotte Chung, Emily Feng, Amy Gillman, Lauren Ho, Yuehan (Sara) Huang, Zoe Huynh, Amelie Huynh, Olivia Li, Chaelyn Lim, Charlotte Mah, Haana Pedram, Liana Razzaghighadikolaei, Hana Sameer, Raina Stribbling, Isabelle Wang, Xinran Yu 6.

Fintona Girls’ School

HUGHSTON

PRODUCTION Scriptwriters

Sophie Zeng, Isabella Madden, Elisa Wang, Jayda Mukhlif, Marlow McCallum, Kye-May Cheong, Natalie Lin, Yichun (Helene) Zeng

Direction

Sophie Zeng, Isabella Madden, Elisa Wang

Choreography

Marlow McCallum, Isabella Madden, Jayda Mukhlif, Kye-May Cheong

Sound design

Elisa Wang

Lighting design Marlow McCallum Props design

Natalie Lin, Yichun (Helene) Zeng

Stage Managers Sophie Zeng, Isabella Madden, Jayda Mukhlif, Marlow McCallum, Kye-May Cheong, Natalie Lin, Helene Zeng Design team

House Drama 2025

Natalie Lin, Yichun (Helene) Zeng, Melody Deng, Yan Yan (Summer) Qin, Stephanie Gillman, Cheuk Tung (Chloe) Lam

7.

MAXWELL

STAR OF THE CIRCUS Welcome to the Circus Spica, where the performers seek no less than the stars. They are the Bright Ones, the Innocents, and the Maidens, led by the High One – their Ringmaster. Every night, one of these acts – the pyros, acrobats, or mimes, are brought out to perform for the crowd. However, this circus holds a dark secret. Behind the curtains of their perfect acts, the Ringmaster controls all. When not entertaining the crowds, the performers lay in an enforced sleep, one induced by their own Ringmaster. He thrives off the control, off the applause that rings at the end of the night. When a pyro act goes wrong, everything comes crashing down. Performers are not sticking to their Ringmaster’s instructions.

Five individuals start having dreams – dreams they cannot explain on their own. So, when they are the only ones who regain full consciousness, they begin to piece together what is going on and embark on a quest to finally discover why the Ringmaster holds onto that mysterious star so closely.

CAST Ember

Charlene Choy

Immy Oliver Dolores

Ebony Southward Yujie (Emily) Cai Alyssa Xiao

Ophelia

Georgia Nicola

Conscience

Amaryah Rajasagaram

Ringmaster

Jos Kerr-Smith

Old Man

Bridget Southward

Bodyguards

Rosea Khorram, Erica Lau, Abigail Long

Circus Performers Eva Bai, Audrey Li, Mansikha Maharana, Lillian Xue Featured Dancers Charlotte Kemp, Alisha Chen, Ellie Kim, (Zhiyi) Angela Fei, Mia Fang, Holly Pace, Ruicheng (Rachel) Wang Pyros

Yoyo Fan, Ira Kamath, Chenyu (April) Liu, Allegra Maharaj, Caitlin Membrey, Seohyeon (Alice) Moon, Anagi Nihalsingha, Maayra Oberoi

Acrobats

Eva Bai, Bella Chen, Yixiao (Liliana) Cui, Tian Xin (Mumu) Kang, Dengguoer Liu, Holly Pace, Amelia Saricam, Xinle (Ella) Shen, Yu Rong (Angela) Shi, Aya Xue

Mimes

Bella Chen, Brooke Lac, Rui Qi (Rosina) Li, Audrey Li, Mansikha Maharana, Lillian Xue

8.

Fintona Girls’ School

MAXWELL

PRODUCTION

Scriptwriters

Teresa Chen, Heidi Hsieh, Isha Kapur, Claire Lau, Mahlia Ratnam, Lucy Thomas, Minah Tjangdjaja

Direction Choreography

Claire Lau, Mahlia Ratnam Teresa Chen, Isha Kapur, Lucy Thomas

Sound design

Isha Kapur

Lighting design

Claire Lau

Costume design

Teresa Chen, Heidi Hsieh, Claire Lau, Kexin (Cindy) Mei, Minah Tjangdjaja

Multimedia design

Claire Lau

Stage Managers

Teresa Chen, Isha Kapur, Mahlia Ratnam, Lucy Thomas

Design team

Heidi Hsieh, Minah Tjangdjaja, Maheen Akhtar, Janet Tran, Jennifer Bai, Yi-Xin (Naomi) Law, Lanxin (Lancy) Zhang

House Drama 2025

9.

MURDOCH

DREAMS OF THE LOST Peace in the animal communities is shattered when three groups—lorikeets, armadillos, and eagles— awake from the same frightening dream of a dark, towering figure When morning arrives, each group is shocked to discover that one member of their group has vanished. Realising the dream was more than a simple nightmare, the animals set out to uncover where their missing friends might be and who had taken them. Bounded by fear, hope, and determination, they join forces. Their shared vision and shared mission unite them as they travel into unknown territory, hunting for the dark, towering figure who has drawn them together through his selfish actions. But who is this mysterious figure? And when the moment comes, will the animals be able to work together to bring their friends home?

CAST Bobby Stew

Tayla Chan

Layla

Archie

Nicoletta Bakirtzis Flora Stella Aguilar Oswin Erin Elder Ixlu Valentina Aguilar Oswin Louisa Fung Louis Madeleine Whitehead Emily Semczyszyn Featured hunter Emma Houget Yiyun (Evelyn) Zhang dancer Amelie Ashley Featured animal Olivia Xu

Alice Edgar

Yuko Walsh Kanak Ghotra

Leslie Levi Amy

Elvis

Eliza Creek

dancer

Dancers Joelle Calder, Eloise Calder, Katelyn Chan, Ananya Chekka, Xinran (Heidi) Du, Lan Duong, Emily Enverga, Laura Feng, Yueshan Gao, Della Gassert, Katara Haran, Elsa Ji, Sharmeen Kaur, Celine Li, Zihan (Elisa) Li, Carol Lou, Katherine Manolidis, Chloe Qi, Jenny Qiu, Mila Tankir, Sera Tankir, Gisele To, Veronica Wang, Vienna Wong, Jiayi (Cindy) Xin, Olivia Xu, Stella Zhao, Ella Zheng

Ensemble Yanruyu (Annie) Miao, Celine Li, Tesia Gu, Minxuan (Matilda) Lin, Rebecca Wang

10.

Fintona Girls’ School

MURDOCH

PRODUCTION Scriptwriters Choreography

Yongxi (Vicky) Huang, Sofia Marmaras-Turner, Elizabeth (Ibby) Wotherspoon, Ruby O’Brien Hei Wun (Emily) Cheng, Yixin (Cynthia) Xiong, Tayla O’Neil, Ava Kirkwood

Sound design Lighting design Costume and Props design

Sarah Wang Yongxi (Vicky) Huang, Ruby O’Brien Ruby O’Brien, Sum Yin (Ruby) Wong

Multimedia design

Sarah Wang, Ruby O’Brien, Sum Yin (Ruby) Wong, Elizabeth (Ibby) Wotherspoon, Yongxi (Vicky) Huang

Stage Managers

Sofia Marmaras-Turner, Elizabeth (Ibby) Wotherspoon, Sum Yin (Ruby) Wong, Tayla O’Neil

Design team

Ruby O’Brien, Sum Yin (Ruby) Wong, Jiaxi Zhu, Kewei (Eva) Yang, Tanishq Utsav Kapadia

House Drama 2025

11.

BOYNE

UNDER THE MIRPHAK STAR In a world where every culture is gifted with a unique elemental power, harmony once thrived; Egyptians command the wind, Italians shape the Earth, Chinese control the water and Norwegians wield fire. But centuries ago, a terrible war shattered this unity. Though the evil world leader was defeated, the cultures were left isolated, each losing all memory of the others. Now, generations later, Nadia, a young Egyptian, is about to take part in the traditional Demon Head Star Ceremony, a ritual dance performed whenever the demon head constellation crosses the sky. Legend says that if the dances are not done correctly, ancient spirits may awaken. On the night of the ceremony Nadia discovers her wind powers do not work.

Her anxiety rises... what if her mistake brings disaster? Meanwhile, through Nadia’s unusual dreams she is connected to three other teens, Luna from China, Lucia from Italy and Casper from Norway. All from diverse cultures, they lack the powers of their tribes and are treated as outcasts. Once the Ancestor is raised thanks to Nadia’s failure during the ceremony, Nadia, guided by the Mirphak star and with her risen Ancestor’s encouragement, sets out on a quest to find the others from her dreams to restore light and to reunite all the cultures back together as it once was.

CAST Ancestor Nadia Casper Luna Lucia Teacher Fredrick

Caterina Lear Caitlin Huang Ruimi Zhang Evelyn Teng Toqa Muhammed Mallika Jaisinghani Anne Chen

Nubia Aya Nina Cherry Olaf Sofia

Ghaanavy Yathavan Vrushali Amrita (Amrita) Rajeev Nicole Zheng Manasvi (Mani) Kommidi Bonnie Xu Athina Kanarev Eliza Bourke

Dancers Ara Amir, Leena Bhat, Eliza Bourke, Scarlet Campbell, Yong- Qian (Hailey) Chan, Ivana Cheung, Tze Ning (Katrina ) Chu, Angie Dong, Shalina Hananto, Vishaka Hewabajjamage, Wanqi (Amelia) Huang, Nayonika Jain, Claire Jia, Moxuan (Sandy) Li, En Xi (Hilary) Li, Anna Li, Prisha Mangukiya, Olivia Morgan, Olive Nantes, Navya Sethi, Vienna Sood, Wei (Sylvia) Sun, Nicole Sun, Aakriti Suresh, Qingyang (Kelly) Tang, Olivia Tatchell, Qinwen (Gabi) Yang, Qimeng Yang, Qixuan (Queeny) Yang, Xinlai (Grace) Yu, Catherine Zhang

12.

Fintona Girls’ School

BOYNE

PRODUCTION

Scriptwriters Choreography

Shenara Vidanapathirana, Chloe Saleh, Aurelia Tropea, Aria Nantes Chloe Saleh, Aurelia Tropea, Konstantina (Tina) Kapnias, Elise Pitts, Alaina Rumpf, Yee Kei (Katie) Yee, Clare Zou, Xingyu (Julie) Guo

Sound and costume design

Shenara Vidanapathirana, Chloe Saleh, Aurelia Tropea, Aria Nantes, Konstantina (Tina) Kapnias, Elise Pitts, Alaina Rumpf, Katie Yee, Clare Zou, Julie Guo

Lighting design

Aurelia Tropea, Alaina Rumpf

Props design

Shenara Vidanapathirana, Katie Yee

Sound operation

Aria Nantes

Stage Managers

Chloe Saleh, Aurelia Tropea, Konstantina (Tina) Kapnias, Elise Pitts, Yee Kei (Katie) Yee, Clare Zou, Xingyu (Julie) Guo

Design team

Shenara Vidanapathirana, Katie Yee, Clare Zou, Julie Guo

House Drama 2025

13.

FINTONA GIRLS’ SCHOOL Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country 79 Balwyn Road Balwyn VIC 3103 Australia CRICOS 00139C +61 3 9830 1388 fgs@fintona.vic.edu.au fintona.vic.edu.au