This year’s winner of the House Performing Arts Festival was Henty House!
A truly collaborative learning experience
Henty House performed Batman
There is a noticeable frisson in the Kew air each year as the date for the annual Trinity House Performing Arts Festival – affectionately known as HPAF – draws nearer. Pity the poor cast of Hamilton Australia that they had to share their opening night with such a wealth of talent as graced the ‘stage’ in Trinity’s Peter McIntyre Gymnasium.
HPAF has had many locations – Dallas Brooks Hall, the Plenary, and, in COVID times, the McIntyre Gym. The moveable feast of venues has never dampened the enthusiasm of the performances though, and the ability of the event to ‘pivot’ with the times highlights its true value. I am sure we have all seen iterations of House Music performances at other schools – wall-to-wall neat blazers and carefully curated voices harmonising in songs of praise. HPAF is not that. It is so much better. This is, uniquely, a truly student-led event. The talented student bands are directed by a pragmatic student conductor. The erudite studentwritten scripts are acted by student thespians. The lissom dances are choreographed and performed by
eager student artistes. The process is gently guided by the wise and patient Heads of House, but the show itself will live or die on the efforts of the students themselves. And that is student(s) plural, for every member of the House from Years 7 to 12 is expected to be on stage together – not just the obviously talented few! In an increasingly restrictive and risk-averse world, an event such as HPAF is truly to be celebrated. Enjoy the wonkiness of some of the props, the occasional out-of-tune note, the improvised dance steps – knowing that all of it represents a genuine collaborative learning experience for our students, not the least that the show must go on! Kate Fewster Co-Head of Year 12
April 2022 | 19
