Belvoir Theater and 2025 Kempsey Eisteddfod

The last week has been very busy for the Drama department with the Sydney Theatre company Belvoir coming to the College for a full day of Drama workshops and the annual Kempsey Eisteddfod taking place.

Belvoir Theatre Workshops
Students from Year 8-11 were given an amazing opportunity to work with industry professionals in engaging and inspiring workshops. Students began the day exploring the world of Improvisation. This was followed by Group Devising and Script work. This all day Drama Bootcamp extended the students creativity, built on their growing skills, and fostered collaboration as an ensemble. This was an incredible experience to work with a Sydney based theatre company and we look forward to many more opportunities like this.

The day started off with the Impromptu section. This tests the student’s improvisational skills, thinking on the spot, knowing each other's strengths and creating a performance from a given situation after two minutes. It is thrilling and challenging. These performances were very funny and entertaining for the audience.

The results were as follows:

• 1st: Kaitlyn Chadwick, Gracie Campbell, Hayden Brack and Sam Farrell
• 2nd: Emily Woods, Ruby Sproule, Sharni Crossley and Jayden Bolton
• 3rd: Jessica Preston, Olivia Rafton, Will Perry, Emily Walton-Potts
• Highly Commended: Ruby Green, Indy Allen, Havi Clarke, Eva Lemanski and Eli Baywood

The next section of the day was “Stage 4, 5 & 6 Short Play, Poetry or Prose”. Students entered this section with their Group Devised performance inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The results were:

• 1st: Gracie Campbell, Kaitlyn Chadwick and Sam Farrell
• 2nd: Kempsey High

The Year 12 students then took to the stage to compete in the HSC Monologue Solo section. This allows the students to perform their monologues that they will present as part of their HSC practical component. The results were:

• 1st: Ruby Bradford
• 2nd: Ruby Robbins
• 3rd: Alana Ennis
• Highly Commended: Grace Clarke and Isla Dowling

The rest of the afternoon focused on Shakespeare, with scenes from Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth. This is a challenging task, however the students competed with confidence in three different sections. The results were:

• Shakespeare Monologue
  1st: Hayden Brack
  2nd: Havi Clarke
  3rd: Matthew Collins
  
  
• Shakespeare Play or Excerpt from a Play
  1st: Olivia Rafton, Jessica Preston and Ruby Sproule
  2nd: Sharni Crossley, Jayden Bolton and Will Perry
  
  
• Shakespeare Duologue 
  1st: Ruby Green and Indy Allen
  2nd: Eva Lemanski and Eli Baywood
  3rd: Emily Woods and Emily Walton-Potts

Congratulations to each and every performer. You have rehearsed diligently and have proven how talented you all are. A big thank you to Mrs Ingrid Yssel for all her hard work in assisting to prepare these students. Looking forward to next year.