It has been a crazy year in the land of Drama. We welcomed our Year 9's and had begun the year with a lip sync. Our Year 10’s were feeling overdramatic and were ready to perform their own version of a Soap Opera. The seniors had leapt into Melodrama, Greek Theatre and The Glass Menagerie. Then bam! Covid 19 lockdown..

For an ensemble subject we were slightly flummoxed. What do we do now?

We had to regroup and make some decisions. Online learning became a new and sometimes challenging platform for us to learn and teach from. We had to look at our internal standards and ended up changing our Year 11’s and Year 12’s to monologues allowing them to work independently. Year 9 and 10 researched and then performed a monologue based on an influential woman. We had some outstanding performances.

Year 13 was trickier to figure out, but we found a script writing standard. The student had to write a 10 minute script and have a working rehearsal performance. The Year 13 students never dreamt in a million years that they were playwrights. Now they are. Each student has a play under their belts. A great claim to fame!

All of these changes were not necessarily what the students had signed up for by choosing Drama, however the students all responded in such a positive way. They showed such resilience and enthusiasm. Every student really embraced the new learning environment. Coping with Google Meets and Zoom, working completely in isolation, having to perform in their living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and film themselves.

After lockdown we did have some performance opportunities. Our Senior Theatresports Team performed with style and flair in the Court Theatre Competition. Despite being newcomers to inter-schools theatresports, the team excelled. Our team placed third overall which was a great result. In addition, Tilly Walbom was selected to take part in the “scratch-team” workshop. Our Junior Theatresports also competed this year. The group has been coached throughout the year by Gwyn Walker and other senior students from Year 12. They were wonderful and, best of all, seemed to have lots of fun. While they didn't move on to the finals, they showed great skills and we are sure they will have a very promising future in Theatresports. A big thank you to Mrs Rainey for mentoring these students.

The Royal Variety Show was a huge success. Led and organised by Florencia Flores and Mr Sawyer, the night was full of joy and excellent talent. From hip-hop to aerobic the night had something for everyone. We were so proud of all the girls who took part in this event.

While 2020 might not have been the year we were hoping for, we would like to applaud all our students for their tenacity and courage to keep moving forward. We are so proud!

Mrs Garrett and Miss Tinworth