32 minute read
ENGAGE AND GROW
As Roman scholar Quintilian observed, “Virtuo preceptoris est ingeniorum notare discrimina.” Namely, the excellence of the teacher is to identify the difference in talents of students. And that’s where my role comes in. I work closely with teachers across the Senior School, to find innovative and divergent ways to deliver content, tier tasks and align teaching and learning with students’ abilities and needs. Working so collaboratively with so many different teachers has exposed me to a wide range of teaching styles, which has enriched my practice and expanded my repertoire of teaching techniques.
Advertisement
Beyond the academic support I provide, I am mindful of my responsibility for monitoring and supporting a student’s mental health and wellbeing. Giving students with additional needs a voice, a sense of agency, and helping them to feel safe, supported and valued in the classroom is a critical part of my role. I am a passionate advocate for my students. I want students to feel a sense of achievement as I believe that their increased self-esteem is a strong protective factor for their psychosocial development. Thus, while every teacher is a teacher of wellbeing, it is particularly true in ESS as we bring a holistic approach to helping each student engage in their learning. I never let my students opt out – I empower them to participate. Each girl faces different challenges, but with the right support, she will love learning. Providing appropriate access points that are tailored to individual students requires continual reflection, evaluation and creativity. I’m always searching for innovative ways to bring fractions to life or make comprehension tasks more engaging!
I’m excited about the future. My role at Wenona is rich and varied – as well as my Learning Support role, I teach Psychology to Upper School students and I am the Wellbeing Teacher for a group of Year 11 students. Completing my Masters while working fulltime definitely had its challenges, but ultimately, it has
enriched my practice. Moving forward, I would like to undertake another postgraduate degree in either Gifted Education, Educational Leadership or Student Wellbeing. But for now, I am enjoying a well-earned rest from those midnight assignment deadlines!
DIGITAL SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER
By Linda Blamey Digital Learning Facilitator
If I start mentally flicking through the pages of my childhood photo albums, it’s nearly always the same scenario: I’m either buried in a book or I’m perched on my dad’s lap playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on our Commodore 64. Books and technology. My two constants.
Books have the power to transport us to new worlds and different times. But they can also take us back to revelatory moments in our life. As a child, my favourite book was Corduroy by Don Freeman. It’s the story of a toy bear who lives in a luxury department store. Nobody ever wants to buy Corduroy because he has a broken button, so every night he roams the shop floor, trying desperately to find a way to repair himself. One day, a little girl falls in love with Corduroy and disregarding her mother’s advice, she uses all her pocket money to buy him. What resonated with me as a child – and still has the power to move me to tears today – is that the little girl loved Corduroy despite his perceived imperfections. For me, the story shone a spotlight on the concept of self-acceptance and its importance in paving the way to positive relationships with others.
My love of technology and gaming marked me as ‘different’ at the all-girls’ school I attended in the early 2000s. At a time when female gamers were a rarity, no one could understand my genuine passion for playing World of Warcraft on my PC. It heartens me to see that today, an increasing number of girls are participating in the fun, flexibility and freedom that gaming affords, and that storylines are becoming more inclusive. But in the mainstream cultural consciousness when I was growing up, video games were perceived to be the preserve of teenage boys. Albert Einstein once said, “The only thing you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.” And during my schooldays, the library not only served as a safe space where I could find respite from the pressures of school life, but it was also a space of permission. Curiosity thrives in libraries and here, I had the freedom to pursue my passions for reading and technology without censure or judgement. In many ways, my future was formed at the library. When I finished Year 12, it seemed like a natural progression to undertake a Bachelor of Information Studies (Librarianship) at Charles Sturt University. I then embarked on a career as a librarian in the tertiary education sector, before joining Wenona as a Library Technician in 2018.
Like many 21st century libraries, the Wenona library offers much more than the books on its shelves. Although the library staff are skilled at making reading recommendations, they also teach students how to find, evaluate, and use the right resources, empowering them to become active creators, readers and contributors of content in this digital age. As the Library Technician, it was a privilege to play my part in helping students to access books and resources, supporting them to discover, learn, imagine, and create. But what really motivated me was having an opportunity to come alongside the more quirky or introverted students and encourage them to ‘own’ their interests. As I know from my own personal experience, whether these interests remain hobbies or become their life’s work, pursuing their passions will give them a sense of purpose and accomplishment.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and my role at Wenona changed. For many years, education visionaries
have predicted that the digital revolution will transform teaching and learning. The pandemic served to accelerate history by forcing schools to pivot to remote learning. And fast. As a tech-savvy member of staff, with expertise in digital technologies and practices, I was seconded to the Digital Learning Team to assist the School in its transition to the Wenona Athenaeum Learning Pathway (ALP). Under the guidance of Wenona’s Digital Learning Leader, Mr Rolfe Kolbe, and Director of ICT, Mr Reza Jalili, I was able to develop my skills as the School piloted new approaches and built on existing practices. In the lead up to lockdown, I supported professional development through Wenona’s Techie Time sessions, as well as one-on-one meetings with individual staff and students. It really helped to build and strengthen digital capabilities at all levels, as well as further embed technology across the School. I continued to provide remote mentorship and coaching during the lockdown period. I loved it.
When you’re in a job, it can be difficult to see beyond what you’re doing, but the time away from my Library Technician role gave me the space and time to reflect. In the words of Star Trek’s Spock, “Change is the essential process of all existence.” Taking a step back from my role made me see that I was ready for a change of direction; the tumult of 2020 was merely the springboard for this change. Again, as Spock would say, “Insufficient facts always invite danger.” So, to test out my decision, I decided to do a Certificate III in Education (Knowledge Networks and Digital Innovation), which I enjoyed, before accepting a permanent role in the Digital Learning Team.
I love what I’m doing now. Not only can I indulge my passion for technology, but I can also share my knowledge with staff and students across the School. One of the most exciting aspects of this shift is that it offers greater accessibility to students with additional needs. Assistive tools such as captioning, dictation software, text-to-speech, electronic magnifiers, largeprint keyboards, smart pens, and software that converts musical scores into Braille, have enabled these students to experience school in a much more inclusive and connected way. I’m excited to see where innovation in technology will lead us in this respect. I’m also enjoying being part of Wenona’s ICT Club, leading coding camps, hackathons and mentoring opportunities for our girls and young women.
Technology offered a lifeline to schools during the pandemic and while it can never replace a teacher’s ability to inspire students, or build a positive school culture, or see the world from the perspective of an individual child, it can help them with their classroom preparation, administration, evaluation, and feedback tasks. When technology is used to its potential and with purpose in the classroom, it can also support students to develop core skills that will benefit them in the world they are growing up in. For example, the ability to gather and create rich content, share information and communicate with people globally. This year, I will complete a Master of Education (Digital Technology). My studies have already helped to enhance my theoretical knowledge, as well as my ability to build the capacity of teachers and school leaders to harness technology more effectively. With a new future on the horizon, I’m excited to be part of Wenona’s Digital Learning Team, helping to further enrich teaching and learning outcomes across the School. But most of all, I’m thrilled to be part of the shift to making digital learning safe, accessible and equal for all students.
COMING FULL CIRCLE
By Laura Monk Junior School Teacher and Stage 2 Coordinator
Memories are our past and present. To know who you are today, you need to have some idea of who you were growing up. A few years ago, I was rifling through a box of my old schoolwork. In a Proustian flood of memories, I was taken straight back to the classroom of my primary school, to the smell of glue sticks, glitter, coloured cardboard and poster paints. Buried deep in the box I found an unexpected wild card, a Year 4 project in which I had written: “When I grow up, I want to be an Olympic shot putter, or a teacher of any kind.” While my dreams of an Olympic gold medal have long since faded, my childhood ambition to become a teacher clearly stuck.
The opportunity to lay the foundations for children’s social learning and intellectual development was what initially attracted me to Primary Education. I have fond memories of my own primary school days, and the happy, safe and encouraging environment created by the teachers there. I successfully applied to study a Bachelor of Education (Primary) at The University of Sydney. In my third year, I was awarded the University Teacher Education Scholarship, which offers the recipient a chance to work in a school during their final year of study. After meticulous research, I narrowed down my preferred options of schools to Wenona. It stood out to me as ambitious and forward-thinking in its approach to teaching and learning, inspiring its students to think for themselves, and to be globally minded in a culture of care and support.
On the morning of my interview at Wenona, I was nervous and excited. Although the butterflies in my stomach quickly dissipated, my feelings of excitement only intensified after my interview. Walking around the School campus, I saw creativity and imagination everywhere. I was struck by the students’ intellectual spark and curiosity, as well as the strength and warmth of their interactions with teachers. I was thrilled to be selected as Wenona’s Teaching Scholar.
My year as a Teaching Scholar proved to be a formative experience. While I had ample opportunities to observe a wide range of teachers across different year groups, I was fortunate to complete my final internship under the inspiring mentorship of Ms Carolyn Martin. A highly experienced teacher, Carolyn’s calm demeanour and innovative approach really helped to set me up for success as a young teacher. She provided me with emotional support, she encouraged self-reflection to help me understand and improve my practice, and she helped me to develop classroom management techniques in ingenious ways. I will never forget the way she guided her Year 4 students to create their own cookbooks, quietly nurturing their creativity, and encouraging them to explore their own interests and talents through inspired pedagogy.
When I finished my degree, I didn’t feel quite ready to go into the classroom fulltime. All my work experience to that point had revolved around working with children. I decided to extend my skills and widen my perspective by gaining experience in a different environment. Building on my passion for education, I successfully applied for the Graduate Program with the Australian Government’s Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) in Canberra.
DESE seeks to ensure that all Australians experience the wellbeing and economic benefits that quality education, skills and employment provide. As part of the Graduate Program, I undertook placements that enabled me to gain insight into both educational policy and projects. This included shadowing the Secretary of DESE, Dr Michele Bruniges AM, an exceptional leader who has made an outstanding contribution to the fields of education and across a range of sectors. I had the privilege of sitting in on her meetings with leaders of several national education authorities as they discussed policy and initiatives. As someone with a keen interest in politics, it was exciting to see government in action and to work alongside some of Australia’s top public servants.
My time in Canberra was devoted to acquiring new skills and perspectives ahead of my eventual return to the classroom. Upon completion of the Graduate Program, I moved back to Sydney where I spent three years teaching Year 6 students at Chatswood Public School. I was also the Year 6 Coordinator for two years and taught the Opportunity Class for a year. The joy I felt when one of my students had their first “A-ha!” moment confirmed to me that I had made the right decision in leaving the public sector behind and finding my way back to the classroom.
In 2020, I was excited to return to Wenona as a Year 4 Classroom Teacher. I had only been in my role for a few weeks when the world threw us a curveball. A global pandemic ushered in a whole new reality. Along with my colleagues, I was forced to recalibrate and adapt to teaching my students from the confines of my dining room table at home. The challenges wreaked by COVID-19 on education systems globally have been well documented, but I am extremely grateful to have been working at a school of Wenona’s calibre during this time of crisis. The staff responded without delay, modifying programs and learning experiences to ensure that our students would continue to receive an exceptional education. The fact that many online learning platforms, digital tools and resources were already being effectively utilised in our classrooms meant the School made a smooth transition to remote learning. In addition, the expertise, generosity and camaraderie of my colleagues in the Junior School was invaluable in helping me to navigate my way through any turbulence. Despite the success of Wenona’s transition to remote learning, I was thrilled to return to face-to-face teaching in Term 2. In a job that’s all about
connection and interaction, lockdown was a reminder that a school is a deeply communal entity – a genuine community. 2020 gave me a newfound appreciation for the joys that come with being in the classroom.
My experience as a teacher, combined with the challenges of 2020, has highlighted to me that my true passion lies in student wellbeing. At the core of my personal educational philosophy is a belief that wellbeing is central to our role as educators. Our purpose is to provide students with a sense of safety and security, to help them value their individuality, and to ensure that our young people develop the confidence, resilience and persistence they need to embrace life with poise and conviction. Moving forward, I am eager to explore different ways to equip our students with the social and emotional capabilities they will need to thrive in an ever-changing world.
I used to pride myself on my ability to plan. However, if I’ve learnt anything over the past year, it’s that life doesn’t always go to plan and that often the greatest opportunities come along when we least expect them. In the words of Sophocles: “Chance rules our lives, and the future is all unknown. Best live as we may, from day to day.” I have no idea what the future holds for me or where I’ll be in five years’ time, let alone twenty. Suffice to say that the odds of me making a cameo appearance as a shot putter at the Paris Olympics in 2024 have lengthened considerably!
But in the meantime, I will continue to appreciate every moment of being part of this wonderful Wenona community and having the opportunity to do a role I love.
FELLOWSHIPS
Each year, Wenona awards Teaching Fellowships to outstanding staff in order for them to explore a specific discipline or advance their understanding of best practice. We revisit some of our Fellowship recipients to see how they have applied their learning.
A desire to help her students explore movement led Head of Drama, Tiffany Crittle to apply for a Wenona Teaching Fellowship. In 2019, she travelled to New York, Paris and Amsterdam, where she immersed herself in the aesthetic rigour of physical theatre. It has been transformative for her own teaching and for her fellow Drama teachers and her students.
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
By Tiffany Crittle Head of Drama
I’ve always been fascinated by physical theatre, which is a type of performance that places the human body at the centre of the storytelling process. After all, as we know from the ancient Greek chorus, Commedia dell-arte and Japanese noh, movement is an integral part of storytelling. It was a chance viewing of a video by PUSH Physical Theatre that proved to be the catalyst for my Wenona Teaching Fellowship application. I was immediately entranced by the visual storytelling, which was an exciting combination of circus skills, dance, gesture and mime. I saw that PUSH offered a threeweek Summer Intensive program at their studio in Rochester, New York and before I could second guess myself, I’d applied.
I’d describe my time at PUSH as a baptism of fire. It pushed me out of my comfort zone physically and emotionally. Each day, we’d start with a two-hour warm up session to develop our core strength, before devoting days to learning acrobatics and mime. At the start, I could barely do a forward roll, but by the end of the program, I was able to spring from standing into a one-armed roll and do a headstand unaided. In the evening, we’d reflect on our progress and immerse ourselves in the theory and dynamics behind different movements. It was a steep-learning curve, but it gave me a whole new toolkit of techniques to use on stage at Wenona.
While I was in New York, I attended several shows to put my new-found knowledge of physical theatre to the test, including Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More at the McKittrick Hotel. The play is billed as an immersive retelling of Macbeth and the audience, who all wear white masks, can follow the roving actors across the six floors of the hotel at their leisure. It was nerveshredding at times, but the set was incredible and the acting sublime.
After three weeks, I headed to Paris where I travelled to the Cartoucherie in the Bois de Vincennes, home to Ariane Mnouchkine’s Théâtre du Soleil. Here I had the opportunity to see Le Chant du Pied, Voyage en Kathakalie, a performance which drew heavily on an ancient form of Indian classical dance and storytelling, combining footwork, gestures, music and mime, with age-old martial arts movements. At the start of the show, the audience were invited to join in, mimicking the actors’ hand and eye movements, which I realised afterwards was about them generously sharing their knowledge. I found the show to be deeply moving and I was impressed by the actors’ grace of movement and their skilful use of stylised gestures and facial expressions.
Probably the most challenging part of my Fellowship, was my week-long training program with Dr Lynne Bradley, co-founder of the Zen Zen Zo Theatre Company in Amsterdam. The program, which follows the Suzuki Method of Actor Training, is rigorous and highly physical, designed to push an actor’s concentration, endurance and balance to the limit. The hardest part of the day was the Suzuki Stomp, which involved bending down as if sitting on an imaginary chair and then stomping around the room to music, keeping our ankles and knees together. It was hard. We would also perform exercises by Butoh, a Japanese form of dance-theatre, before moving on to The
Viewpoints to explore theatrical composition, gesture and creative space. While I’d used The Viewpoints at Wenona, it was an opportunity to really immerse myself and learn from an expert.
I returned to Wenona, physically stronger, inspired and full of ideas. My Fellowship gave me a much greater understanding of my physical capabilities and a greater awareness of how the body can be used to communicate powerfully and with precision. It’s had a profound effect on my teaching practice too, enabling me to accelerate my students’ learning and give them a whole new repertoire of skills and techniques to develop the physical life of their characters on stage.
Last year, the School commissioned Lachlan Philpott, an award-winning writer, dramaturg and teacher, to work with our Year 9 students to devise an original script for a physical theatre performance in Term 4. Unfortunately, our plans were scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but we’ve resumed our workshops with Lachlan this year, and the students are progressing well. It has been immensely gratifying and rewarding to share my learning and ideas with my colleagues in the Drama Department. Performing on stage both demands and displays teamwork in compelling ways and we’ve really worked together to embed physical theatre into our teaching, which has led to enriching outcomes for our students. This was borne out by our 2020 HSC Drama students, with seven students nominated for the prestigious OnStage HSC Showcase and two selected. Sophea Pennington was accepted into the NIDA Bachelor of Fine Arts – Acting, Claudia Kraft was accepted into WAAPA Diploma of Screen Performance and Kirsten Drake was accepted into NIDA Bachelor of Fine Arts - Technical Theatre and Stage management.
Above all, I feel that my Fellowship has made me more empathetic as a teacher. Acting is innately risky – when we perform on stage, we open ourselves up to vulnerability. At the same time, risking failure increases the possibility of greater creative achievement. My experiences in New York and Amsterdam reminded me of this and it really helped me to walk in my students’ shoes. Learning physical theatre showed me just how hard it is to move out of your comfort zone, so I have a new-found respect for my students when they move out of theirs.
I would encourage any of my colleagues with a dream or a passion to apply for a Wenona Teaching Fellowship. Stepping outside your usual milieu of teaching, timetables and learning objectives, and challenging yourself to do new things is scary, but it will push you to achieve things that you never thought possible.
Following on from her Wenona Teaching Fellowship, Tiffany Crittle has worked with her fellow Drama teachers, Stephen Colyer and Lydia Parker, to share her knowledge and learning of physical theatre and extend their movement skills and techniques.
How much experience did you have of teaching physical theatre before last year?
Stephen: Tiffany and I participated in workshops with a practitioner from Zen Zen Zo, a Brisbane-based physical theatre company at the forefront of contemporary performance and training in Australia. These workshops were used to prepare Year 12 students for devising their HSC Group Performance.
Lydia: While I’d had previous experience of teaching physical theatre, I learnt new techniques from Tiffany. Physical theatre can be tricky for students because it’s challenging to move in an engaging way on stage throughout a performance. Learning the skills of Viewpoints has enabled me to help my students improve their improvisational skills and really use their body in a space to create meaning.
How much did you know about Viewpoints?
Stephen: Through Zen Zen Zo workshops, I had a good foundational understanding of The Viewpoints. I’d also done my own reading and research into Anne Bogart’s approach to directing and devising. They began as a tool for choreography and as I was formerly a dancer, they appeal to my choreographic brain.
Lydia: I have always used gesture and mime to help students incorporate meaningful movement in their performances. I encourage my students to see movement in a metaphorical manner, as portraying this is always more engaging for an audience.
What techniques did you draw upon previously to incorporate movement into your teaching to enhance storytelling?
Stephen: I have an extensive dance background, which led to an interest in Physical Theatre companies such as Kneehigh Theatre, Propellor, Matthew Bourne’s Adventures in Moving Pictures, DV8, Complicité, Force Majeur, Forced Entertainment, Siti and Frantic Assembly. They’ve all influenced me and I was fortunate to participate in a 2-day workshop in 2019 with practitioners from Frantic Assembly. In addition to Stanislavski’s
techniques for achieving realism, we introduce our students to Commedia dell’arte and conventions of melodrama, which also inform their approach to physical theatre and storytelling. Students have successfully used a range of these techniques in productions of Great Expectations, The Government Inspector, The Book of Everything, The Crucible and Shakespeare performances.
Lydia: While I’ve always tried to incorporate movement into my teaching, these techniques have really helped to inform the way I direct students and help them to ‘show’ the story they are trying to tell. Physical theatre underpins everything that we do at Wenona, and to have these inspiring techniques in my repertoire has ignited an absolute passion in me to impart them to my students. It’s so important for actors to portray character and movement in a powerful and engaging manner. These techniques prioritise movement and metaphor, so that our students can tell a story on stage in a beautiful and evocative way.
How did Tiffany help you develop new skills and understanding of physical theatre?
Stephen: I learned from work Tiffany did with the current Year 12 students, using counter-balance to extend the potential for partnering and exciting lifts. The language of The Viewpoints that Tiffany has implemented gives teachers and students a great framework to critique and refine their work.
Lydia: By exposing me to The Viewpoints’ method, Tiffany has really extended my knowledge and given me new pedagogical skills, which have really benefited my students. It’s helped to connect me to my profession even further.
How have you incorporated some of these new skills and techniques into your teaching? What benefits have you seen?
Stephen: The principles of The Viewpoints that Tiffany and I have been using to underpin devised work is central to the way I teach play-building. The potential to extend this with the skills to teach partnering that Tiffany has acquired, has added another exciting tool to the toolkit. Students often come to Drama influenced by film and television and are only familiar with the very literal performance style of naturalism. It’s wonderful to watch them expand their understanding of theatre by introducing the potential for performance to be metaphoric and symbolic, which is what physical theatre invites. They love discovering how dramatic meaning can be conveyed in dynamic and sometimes surreal ways. A moment that sticks in my mind is two years ago, a group performance about nuns found a way to transform their nun’s habits into a front curtain they were peeking through. It was such an inspired, magical image.
Lydia: These skills have undoubtedly increased the sophistication of student performances by enabling them to make skilful use of metaphor to increase storytelling in their devised performances. Last year, our students had to create a Verbatim piece of theatre about the Australian bushfires. Tools of observation are critical to exploring complex ideas in theatre and it was heartening to see how much the Viewpoints method had sharpened their powers of observation and enabled them to portray an emotional response to this issue. One group used The Viewpoints’ concept of ‘Architecture’, using chalk throughout their performance to create a picture on the floor. At the start, there was a bare tree drawn on the ground, but as they moved around the space, the tree was barely visible. Gradually, each actor began to recreate the tree, so by the end of the performance it was healthy and alive. It was a clever way of representing the destructive nature of bushfire, the regeneration of nature and the rebuilding of communities. The students felt that Viewpoints enabled them to use the space in a much more creative and imaginative way.
How has it benefitted your pedagogy?
Stephen: Being equipped to guide students in this style of performance allows them to create work that is practically unlimited in its expressive range.
Lydia: It’s given me the confidence and skills to really extend my students and push them to achieve their creative potential.
Has Tiffany’s Fellowship inspired you to pursue further professional development opportunities?
Stephen: I would love to work closely with Frantic Assembly, Complicité or Sally Cookson, whose production of Jane Eyre was endlessly inventive. Hopefully it won’t be too long before international travel is an option again. However, there are also gifted practitioners in Australia such as Kate Champion who worked closely with DV8 as a performer and recently directed My Brilliant Career for Belvoir Theatre. The introduction of Theatresports and Improvisation Training at Wenona is another area I would like to gain further experience in.
Lydia: It has absolutely inspired me to learn more about physical theatre and Viewpoints in particular. In the future, I will explore opportunities to immerse myself further in these techniques. As teachers, it’s so important that we continue to develop our skills, so that we can be the best practitioners for our students.
STEPHEN COLYER
Chloe Gillis, Katherine Golchin and Aimee Russell are all in Year 11 at Wenona and are studying Drama for the HSC. They reflect on how physical theatre has shaped their approach to play-building.
What do you love most about Drama and why?
Chloe: The Drama Studio is a safe space for me, where I have the freedom to be myself. We are very bonded as a group and very supportive of one another, so I’m not afraid to let my guard down and be vulnerable here. Aimee: Drama gives me an outlet for creative expression, to try out new ideas and to develop my imagination. When I look at my timetable and see I have Drama, I always feel excited. Katherine: I’m a dancer, so I wasn’t going to choose Drama initially. But then I got to know all the other girls and really enjoyed doing Commedia dell’arte with them. I feel like Drama has really helped to boost my confidence and encouraged me to put myself out there without fear of judgement.
What did you know about physical theatre before last year?
Chloe: I didn’t really know much at all. It’s been an eyeopening experience. If Ms Crittle gives us a word and tells us to make a shape out of it, we now have the knowledge and confidence to do that. Aimee: I came in thinking I knew what it was, but I quickly realised I didn’t. It’s all about making shapes. It’s almost like communicating telepathically with other actors, projecting your thoughts and emotions through your body. Katherine: I didn’t know anything about physical theatre. When I watched the HSC Showcase, the students made it look easy, but it’s so much harder in practice. Physical theatre is the same premise as creative writing in English: show don’t tell. I’m still working on it.
How did Ms Crittle help you bring different elements of The Viewpoints to life?
Chloe: Verbatim Theatre is a form of theatre made from real people’s words. We interviewed each other about the bushfires, using these word-for-word transcripts as the dialogue for our play. We used The Viewpoints to develop characters, theatricality and dramatic tension, to explore time and space, and to think about how to transition from scene to scene. Aimee: The Viewpoints helped us to add realism and authenticity to our play. It helped us to think about how we could better convey a message… it was like adding the missing piece to a puzzle by giving us the means to create tension, movement and drama. Katherine: The Viewpoints gave us a framework to make better use of the stage. It made us think about how we were communicating dramatic intention to the audience, whether it was by tapping the floor repetitively to build tension, slowing down the tempo of a scene or the shapes we were forming with our bodies.
After learning new techniques in Year 10, has it made you more observant about the way in which different actors use movement to bring meaning to their work?
Chloe: Absolutely. I can’t watch a movie without observing how a character inhabits a space – even if they are still – and thinking about what this says about their mood or their feelings towards another character. It’s completely changed the way I watch things. It’s like my senses have been trained to pick up on the tiniest movements. Aimee: I know immediately if there is tension between characters just by looking at the space between them. I can see when tension is building by the way they physically interact. It can be a subtle movement, but I notice it. Katherine: It’s given me a deeper understanding of each scene. It makes you see it in a different way. There are so many layers to uncover and so much can be inferred from a stance, a gesture or the proximity between characters.
CHLOE GILLIS
How has learning about physical theatre helped you to see play-building and Drama in new ways?
Chloe: Through play-building exercises, we’ve learned how to incorporate physical theatre into everything we do. It’s given us the techniques to create drama, interest and engagement. And it’s really helped us to think about how we transition from scene to scene. Aimee: It’s shown us how to bring storytelling to life and to think about how we can use movement to convey emotion. There’s a much stronger sense of connection between us as a class because we need to work together to succeed. Katherine: It’s given me a much greater appreciation for the craft of play-building. It’s given me a greater awareness of my body and how I move. I’ve always danced, but I’ve had to learn different movement techniques to express myself.
How has this learning helped you as begin the HSC course? Are you incorporating some aspects of physical theatre into your storytelling – and if so how?
Chloe: I think it’s given us the confidence to take more risks and make bolder choices in our storytelling, which will give us a point of difference from other schools in the HSC. Discovering all the different elements of physical theatre and incorporating them into our work has helped us to be more creative, more unique and more confident. Aimee: As Drama kids, I think we are very aware that we are essentially making plays for each other. I know my classmates will appreciate it if I use techniques like ‘Architecture’ or ‘Kinesthetic Response’ in my storytelling. It pushes you to step outside your comfort zone and really think about theatrical movement from all angles. Katherine: Building my knowledge of physical theatre has helped me to become more versatile as a performer. It’s also given me a repertoire of techniques to develop characterisation. It’s been incredibly helpful for my confidence as I embark on the HSC.
