On Tuesday 16 August, forty five excited Drama and Theatre Studies students from Year 10, 11 and 12 headed off to the Princess Theatre to witness the spectacular that was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It certainly did not disappoint! At the interval, the students were excitedly discussing all of their favourite parts of the show and trying to work out just how some of that magic happened! These wonderful conversations filtered back into our classes at school where the students started to analyse different aspects of the performance ready for them to write on for their assessment tasks.
It was wonderful to see the students' joy and excitement as they embraced the rich theatre culture that Melbourne has to offer. At the conclusion of the performance, our students were invited to stay back and have a question and answer session with five of the cast members as well as the director. This was a fabulous opportunity for the students to be able to ask questions about the show, life as a performer/director and really get a backstage look into the show… although no magical secrets were shared unfortunately!
Thank you to the staff who attended, the students for their outstanding theatre etiquette and the parents/guardians for the late evening pick up in the city! It was well worth it.
Student Reflection:
My experience of the excursion to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was one of my favourite memories from this school year, it was full of fun and confusion, the tricks they pulled and illusions they made it feel as if it was really magic. As it all happens before your eyes, they included a lot of audience participation, and the stage around us without giving much away, all the mise en scene that was used is unlike anything I have ever seen. It would have taken a huge amount of creativity and effort to pull off something that exciting, and it effortlessly entices you for the whole show. By the end it leaves you questioning anything that you know about theatre. We as a group were lucky enough to be able to meet some of the cast and crew after the show for a Q&A with one of the directors. It was definitely a great experience and not that they could reveal very much about the physical show, we got to ask a lot about what the actors personally liked, or what their favourite trick was. Definitely a great school experience!
Indra L. Year 10 (MFTA)
Felicia Taine and Hayley Gamble-Curran
Drama Teachers