Canley Vale High School has an exciting and innovative drama department where our talented students are encouraged to achieve, believe and dream.
Drama helps to equip students for the future by allowing them to develop creative problem solving skills, confidence and self- belief and they learn to work in collaborative situations.
Stage 5
Students begin by exploring the origins of theatre and its relationship to the development of societies and cultures. Through this practical exploration, students work in masked drama, such as Greek theatre and Commedia Dell Arte. Elizabethan theatre gives the students the opportunity to experience Shakespeare's brilliant plays from the point of view of an actor. Making, performing and appreciating drama and theatre, are our core work so these form the basis of many of the units. Film, stage fighting and expressive movement for actors (Laban's techniques) are also completed in Stage 5. This subject includes excursions to theatrical productions and showcase performances where students perform for friends, staff and family. These are always well received and are a terrific experience for the students as it allows them to develop performance confidence and stagecraft.
Other opportunities
Students in stage 5 drama are offered the opportunity to:
- audition for state drama ensembles
- apply for junior drama camps
- aost and perform for school assemblies, multicultural day events, primary school events and other school functions.
Stage 6
Senior drama is an exciting and strenuous subject for talented students wishing to take drama for the higher school certificate (HSC). The core areas of improvisation, playbuilding and acting, theatrical traditions and styles and elements of production are encapsulated within our HSC topics – contemporary Australian theatre and multi discipline theatre.
Group devised theatre is where the students work together to develop an original performance piece. Each student also selects an individual project which they present for the HSC exam. This gives the students an opportunity to create, research and refine a project to the highest possible standard.