Issue 5 2012.pdf - St George Christian School

Senior School
On 28 May, Year 9 and 11 Drama students were given
the opportunity to attend an in-school afternoon
workshop in Commedia dell’Arte.
“Commedia” originated in Italy during the 16th and
17th Centuries and used masks, archetype, acrobatics,
song and dance to tell farcical stories that poked fun at
and relayed gossip about the various strata of society;
kind of like a renaissance “Women’s Weekly”!
Both Year groups have had the chance to explore the
form in class this term and so a professional Commedia
troupe was invited to show the students how this
traditional style can still entertain us today.
The afternoon’s activities were organised by theatre
company, Matriark Art Theatre and gave students
the opportunity to watch a short play performed by a
professional Commedia troupe, ask questions in a Q&A
panel discussion and then learn the skills for themselves
on the floor in small group workshops run by the
performers.
Commedia 2 – Lachlan McWhirter (Year 9) learning to play the
character 'Il Capitano' with tutor Bobby Den Engelsman
from Matriark Art Theatre.
As an intensely physical art form, Commedia dell’Arte
can often be quite a difficult theatre style to master.
However, our talented students jumped right into the
workshops with great energy and could be seen in
spaces across the school jumping, waddling, squawking
and squealing as they tackled the ancient theatre
form.
At the end of the session, students were given the
chance to perform some of the characters and
situations that they’d been exploring, and some really
original and inventive performances were given by
both Year 9 and Year 11.
The workshop and performance were a really
enjoyable and unique experience for all involved.
Thank you Matriark Art Theatre and well done to our
wonderful students!
Commedia 3 – Mr Parker and Matriark Art Theatre answer
questions asked by Year 9 and Year 11 students.
Commedia 1 – Abbey Nicoll, Phoebe Honor and Kelly Chan (Year 9) perform the character of 'The Servant'
with tutor Nicholas O'Regan from Matriark Art Theatre.