Creative Arts Week

From the 26 June, we shone a spotlight on Music, Drama and Art in celebrating Creative Arts Week.

Throughout the week, students had the opportunity to engage in ‘choose your own adventure’ form activities, specialist workshops during lunch times, student-led assemblies and we invited the school community to attend our Creative Arts Showcase. Each year we centre our form times, assemblies and workshops around a theme, and this year our theme was diversity.

We have received excellent feedback from students throughout the week - here's what they had to say:

‘The Paper Birds workshop allowed us to enhance our acting skills and made us view theatre in a different way.' - Daniel, Year 7

'This week is such a great opportunity to express yourself' - Amina, Year 10

'The Paper Birds workshop was very interactive and engaging. My favourite activity was writing and performing our poems in Verbatim Theatre style.' - Jay, Year 7

'I attended the Acting Workshop with Kate Walker, and it was brilliant and really informative, as I was able to learn about different acting techniques and career opportunities available to actors. Overall, it was very useful for anyone who would like a career in acting!' - Adam, Year 9

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'I like Creative Arts Week as it focuses on my passions, it also helps others come out of their shell and express themselves.' - Oliver, Year 9

A Night of Madness

On Wednesday, 28 June the Creative Arts Department hosted the ‘A Night of MADness’. After the success of last year’s event, we were so pleased to invite our parent community back to showcase the talents of our students. We opened the evening with an art exhibition, followed by musical and theatre performances. Miss Ferguson, Mrs Churchill and Mr De Santis are so incredibly proud of the students for displaying such confidence and we hope the school community enjoyed the event.

If you would like to see a short video of the performances, please click on the links below: https://youtu.be/K23bObzNOS8 https://youtube.com/shorts/wYo2dEMPY-U?feature=share

Workshops

During the creative arts week, students had the opportunity to sign up to a range of creative extra-curricular sessions. To begin the week, our very own Mr De Santis hosted a Ukulele workshop where students learnt how to play the instrument.

Later in the week, one of our talented parents, Farah Rauf, facilitated a Calligraphy workshop where she showcased her work and taught the students how to calligraphy. There was also a friendly competition for the best calligrapher and the lucky Shaikha won a beautiful quill.

We invited Paper Birds Theatre Company in to facilitate a devising workshop and the students had such fun writing and performing their own poems inspired by the poem ‘I Come From’. Here is an extract from a poem one of our students wrote:

‘I come from Gujrat on the coast of India, I come from the pollen infested cricket field, I come from my grandma’s delicious but really spicy chicken curry.’ - Jay, Year 7

Here’s a few short snippets of the Paper Birds Workshop- https://youtu.be/DBdD7aiRwm8

To end the week, Mr De Santis hosted a Piano workshop where he taught the students the musical notes and they learnt a short song. We then invited another talented parent, Kate Walker, to facilitate a workshop about the World of Professional Acting. The students enjoyed the interactive and informative advice about casting agents and auditions. Overall, it was excellent to see so many students engage in the workshops and to see their love of the arts grow.

Congratulations

We would love to say a HUGE well done to Ben Schaerer (Year 9), who has already received results for his grade 8 piano exam and has successfully achieved a merit!

Year 7 Theatre Visit - Mrs Doubtfire

On 8 June, the Year 7's visit Shaftesbury Theatre to see the new hit musical Mrs. Doubtfire. Much like the cult classic film, Mrs. Doubtfire was about an out-of-work actor, Daniel, who will do anything for his kids. After losing custody in a messy divorce, he creates the alter ego of Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire in a desperate attempt to stay in their lives. As his new character takes on a life of its own, Mrs. Doubtfire teaches Daniel more than he bargained for about how to be a father.

Here's what some Year 7 students had to say about the performance:

'The acting was awesome with lots of enthusiasm and emotion making a very believable yet still entertaining performance.' - Iskander

'Mrs Doubtfire was an extraordinary musical which successfully stimulated and amused the audience.' - Bernado

'Overall, the musical was an amazing comedy which made me laugh a lot!' - Richard

Year 7 & 8 Theatre Trip - A Midsummer Night's Dream

On the 23 June, the Year 7 and 8 students attend the Globe Theatre to watch the performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. This was an entertaining and engaging opportunity for students to experience a live performance as audiences would have experienced in Shakespeare’s time.

On Midsummer’s eve, four rebellious young lovers, a band of ambitious artisan players, and a feuding Fairy King and Queen all cross paths in a riotously enchanted forest. When the shapeshifting, mischief-making Puck, the Fairy King’s servant, is ordered to cast spells on everyone, what could possibly go wrong? All hell breaks loose as nature, and human nature, are turned upside down and inside out; the forest’s new inhabitants are in for a wild and unsettling night of love, jealousy and utter confusion… but once the nightmare is over, will life be a dream again by morning?

Here's what some of our Year 7's and 8's had to say about the play:

'The costumes were very abstract and brought the characters to life' - Connor, Year 8

'I really liked experiencing the Globe Theatre as a whole and appreciating what it was like for people back in the day' - Ruggero, Year 7

'The play was very interactive, and I particularly liked the live musicians as they added an extra element to the performance' - Daniel, Year 7