Theatre plays an important role at Golden Hill, as it allows students to develop their creativity, express themselves and strengthen their relationships. Our performance of Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Tragedies’ is a great example of how theatre can be an enriching and engaging experience for students. Through the performance of such classical pieces, students have the opportunity to explore different roles, immerse themselves in history and create a shared experience. Theatre also helps to develop their concentration skills, memory and the ability to work together as a team.

I have been so impressed with how the students have focused and worked through each step of the play production. Learning all their lines prior to the term was a big step forward, as most students each played three characters. Assisting each other and bringing forth ideas for set design and costumes has been wonderful and an experience we will all cherish.

Performing our play at the civic centre certainly adds to the logistics of props and rehearsals, however, it has afforded our high school students with a deep theatre experience. Learning to work behind the scenes and in conjunction with our sound and light team has given the students a sense of a full-scale production. We are very grateful to James Gentle for his expertise in this area and working with the students to enhance their performance on stage.

I am very fortunate to have a supportive parent group who ensured all students had what they needed, had bikes etc on certain days for rehearsals, ensured their lines were learnt and banded together to offer soup and cakes after the Wednesday evening performance. There was a lovely community feel on both evenings and it is always wonderful to promote our school to the wider community.

Special thanks to Jewels who is everywhere with everything and to Vicky, Ros and Lesley who assisted with making costumes. Our high school costume rack has continued to grow this year with new genres and growing limbs. Thank you to Sally Jarvis who took the photos of the performance.

We are grateful to our school community for supporting the play by coming along. It is lovely for the students to hear feedback from their teachers and parents who attended. It is also a great opportunity for the teachers to see the students in a different light.

We did manage to make a profit this year and performing over the two nights certainly assisted with this. Funds have been put into our costume expenditure but will also fund a workshop with Illustrator and author Gabriel Evans in Term 4, and an acrylic painting course with Fran Rosenthal in Term 3 for our Class 7 and 8 students.

Robyn