what a performance!
Value of Collaboration in Performing Arts For their Teachers Inquiry Group task this year the Drama Department focused on bringing an Indigenous perspective into the Performing Arts and the curriculum. Collaborating across the Junior and Senior Schools, earlier this year the Drama teachers ran a series of workshops with an Indigenous woman from the ILBIJERRI Theatre Company. ILBIJERRI is Australia’s leading and longest-running Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander theatre company. The workshops explored a variety of themes, including colonisation and cultural identity for our Indigenous population and the misconceptions and stereotypes that can arise. These discussions occurred at all year levels in the Drama curriculum, but there was a focus on Years 5 and 9. The girls were given a book to read called The Rabbits by John Marsden and Sean Tan, symbolic of colonisation in Australia. Both year levels worked on their own interpretation of this stimulus, and the Year 9 girls were tasked with creating ensemble pieces. During the individual year level workshops, it was fascinating to discover the similarities between the specific interpretations of Year 5 and Year 9 girls. Rehearsals were conducted between both year levels, with a joint introduction flowing into individual interpretations of firstly the Year 5 girls, followed by the Year 9 pieces.
Parents provided positive feedback: ‘From my perspective, I loved [the fact] that the Junior School Year 5 and Senior School Year 9 girls had the opportunity to work together to develop a really interesting and thought-provoking performance. I think the Year 5 girls were inspired by the older girls and excited about drama in the Senior School. Eloise in Year 9 said that they learnt to work with younger students and how to direct them. Miranda in Year 5 said that she loved working with the Year 9 drama girls. She thought they were all so talented and she learnt so much from them about putting together a play and performing it.’ Melinda Gray (Eloise, Year 9 and Miranda, Year 5, both participated in the workshop.) ‘The integration of the Year 5 and Year 9 drama production was amazing. It allowed the Year 5 parents and girls to see the level and the depth of talent at Ruyton of both the students and teachers. The production demonstrated the direction that drama subjects take, as the Year 9 students were following the format of drama in Years 11 and 12. I congratulate all drama teachers, Georgie [Parker], Darcie [Kane-Priestley] and Emma [McDonald] for this fantastic achievement.’ Althea Bond (Lilly in Year 5 participated in the performance.)
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the ruyton reporter