Senior Drama Production(s)
The number of opportunities for boys in Fourth Year and
above to take part in extracurricular drama productions
with their counterparts at St Helen’s continues to grow.
Senior plays usually take place in the early part of the Lent
term to allow students to concentrate on exams thereafter.
Things generally start in earnest in September, when students
can choose to audition for one production from a range that
may include a large-scale musical as well as a number of
straight plays with varying cast sizes. Each year we aim to
present a variety of challenging pieces ranging from
established classics to recent or new work. Rehearsals take
place after school with performances commonly in late
January or early February. There are also rehearsed readings
of plays written by students in the Summer term or early in
September. Those who wish to stage their own productions
are invited to bring their proposals to the Drama department
staff in May/June of the year before, when we do our best to
accommodate them in the programme for the following year.
Senior productions often tour to the Edinburgh Festival during
August and there have also been trips outside the UK such as
an expedition to see a production by Peter Brook at the Bouffe
du Nord in Paris, or a trip to Japan to study Bunraku puppetry
and perform a devised piece.
Theatre Design Workshop
Members are involved in the creative side of technical theatre,
focusing on the current term’s production. The workshop’s
aim is to give participants an idea of the design aspects of
technical theatre which is then applied in the Wednesday
afternoon Amey Theatre Technical Crew activity.
DRAMA, FILM AND MEDIA
12