Studio Arts

OEDIPUS REX

Ancient Greek theatre has never looked so good! Sophocles’ timeless tragedy King Oedipus was brought to life in May by De La Salle’s VCE Theatre Studies students, in collaboration with girls from Presentation College, Windsor. King Oedipus, widely regarded as the best Greek tragedy ever written, was a challenging choice for the cast and crew. Very much a dialogue-intensive play, it required students to be focussed and dedicated. The cast of 13 met every Monday afternoon from mid-February, and also spent weekends and holidays rehearsing. Their determination to do justice to such a classic text was present through the entire rehearsal period, and the rewards were reaped in May when the four performances were incredibly well received. As King Oedipus is also one of the Year 12 English texts for 2004, a large percentage of the audience were VCE students from De La Salle as well as other schools keen to enhance their understanding of the play. Director Mrs Margaret McPhee adapted the original work to a modern context, the action taking place within the boardroom of the ‘Theban Empire’, a large and powerful organisation led by its Director, Oedipus. The adoption of the contemporary setting helped highlight for the audience the enduring themes of Sophocles’ most famous play — those of fate, free will, and man’s role in the world. Our thanks to Ms Leonie Keaney, Principle of PCW, for allowing the talents of Tamsin Lofts, Juliana Karantonis and Diana Krstic to grace our stage. Their efforts and dedication are greatly appreciated. Daniel

Theatresports An inaugural Theatresports competition was launched with a bang in Arts week this year. Librarian Susan Jost was kind enough to allow us to run the competition in the library. Little did we know what was to follow. Teams from Grade 4 to Year 8 appeared in wacky costumes; judges were dolled up in their Oakes Day hats; and the capacity crowd was thoroughly entertained by the antics. Who would have thought the Great Mintie toss (a Theatresports tradition in Australia) nearly caused the first De La Library riot? How the judges could have scored a triple zero for the stupendous opening performance by two bald headed members of staff is utterly incomprehensible. Perhaps it had something to do with one of them forgetting the routine half way through. De La paparazzi photographer Jon Hewett was there to capture the action. Look out for a bigger and better Theatresports in Arts week next year.