In a concentrated Masterclass workshop on Saturday 17 June, Senior School Drama students learned to extend their improvisational skills and built an understanding of how ‘character’, ‘situation’ and ‘action’ can become a formula for constructing improvisational narrative.
Improvisation makes up one third of the ATAR Drama Practical Examination. It is a difficult skill to master in an examination situation where students only have 1 minute to prepare a sustained improvisation. As rehearsal is essential in order to build confidence and to stretch the students’ awareness of what they can do in an examination situation, this last Masterclass was specifically dedicated to fine-tuning their improvisation skills in preparation for the ATAR examination.
On 11 June, the Year 10, 11 and 12 Drama students went to see Endgame by Samuel Beckett at the Heath Ledger Theatre in Perth.
As absurdist theater is often illogical, repetitive and its narrative non-linear, it was helpful for students to watch a performance of an absurdist play; particularly because absurdist theater is on the Year 12 syllabus. The excursion furthered students’ understanding of the theatre style.
Ms Jane Hille
Drama Teacher
