Drama

Year 11 Play: 'Us And Them'

We have been very busy in the Drama department, kicking off Term 2 with our production of "Us and Them", presented by our incredibly talented cohort of Unit 2 Theatre Studies students. This show incorporated aspects of "epic theatre", "poor theatre" and "immersive theatre", creating an experience that invited the audience to participate in the world of the play. This style of theatre doesn’t aim to tell you what to think, but to rather get you thinking.

Congratulations to all Unit 2 students involved, as well as the Year 10 Theatre Studies class who assisted with the backstage and technical aspects of the show. Additionally, we’d like to give a huge thanks to our Alumni Bryan Chin and Nathan Yuen for their lighting and tech support.

Theatre Excursions

Drama and Theatre Studies have gone on a number of exciting excursions this term, including a visit to the Comedy Theatre for our Year 10 and 11 students to watch “Lord of the Rings – a musical tale”, and Year 2 students making a trip to see “The Lyrebird’s Voice” at The Round, presented by Opera Victoria. These opportunities to see live theatre are an invaluable part of our students’ theatre education.

St Andrews Drama Showcase

The St Andrews Drama Showcase is a new addition to the Drama Program in 2025 and is an opportunity for students in Years 7 to 10 to showcase their talents, be it acting, singing or dancing. Students have two months to devise original scenes, dance items and songs, in line with the theme “Out of the Box.”

“Out of the Box” will be performed at Knox Community Arts Centre on Friday the 8^th of August at 5:30pm and 8:00pm. Tickets will be available at https://www.trybooking.com/DCHYD from 5pm on Monday 24^th of June.

Music

Generations in Jazz

On the 2nd of May, 64 music students and nine staff members travelled to Mount Gambier in South Australia for the annual Generations in Jazz festival. GIJ is an incredible weekend-long event that includes an adjudicated competition for schools, concerts featuring international and national jazz and contemporary artists, workshops with these artists, and the opportunity to be inspired by students from schools around Australia.

This year, St Andrews had our largest ever participation with 64 students across 6 ensembles entered into the competition. The ensembles and their divisions were:

• Junior Jazz Band (Division 5)
• Jazz Band (Division 3)
• Jazz Combo (Jazz Combo 1)
• Harmonium (Division 3 Vocals Large)
• Euphonix (Division 2 Vocals Large)
• Perfect 5th (Division 2 Vocals Small)

Results from the competition were very encouraging, with our Jazz Band taking out 3rd place, and our small vocal ensemble Perfect 5th placing 4th in a very competitive division. In addition to these amazing results for our ensembles, Thenul Perera (Electric Guitar) was named in the Division 3 Superband.

Other memorable moments from the tour included the Friday/Saturday night concerts featuring Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, and performances from the Div 1 and 2 Superbands at the Farewell Concert on Sunday.

Thank you to the music staff who guided these students through many rehearsals and all the festival preparation: Mrs Georgia Bailey, Mrs Karen Elbourne, Miss Stephanie Greenwood, and Mr Caleb Elbourne. Thank you also to Mrs Esther Loke, Ms Mardi Easton, Mr Colin Sires and Mrs Marina Heading for all their assistance with the supervision of the camp, and thanks to Miss Hannah Peake for her administrative and organisational help in the lead up to Generations in Jazz.

Ensembles Concerts

Additionally, our two Ensembles Concerts on May 12th and 13th were a fantastic celebration of musical talent across both our Primary and Secondary schools, where each ensemble performed a selection of pieces that they have been working on so far this year. Congratulations to all the students involved and thank you to family and friends who came along to support our young musicians. Thanks also to all the staff who helped to make this event happen, by either directing or conducting an ensemble, assisting with setup/pack up, or by providing backstage/tech support.

We look forward to a busy term 3, with various competitions and events such as VSMF, South Street and our Instrumental Music Soirees coming up soon.