MORE THAN AN ACTING CLASS

Not all of our students will be Oscar winning actors someday. But before you de-enroll your child let’s look at some of the amazing benefits – major film awards aside – of attending drama classes.

The skills acquired while part of a drama course like Helen o’ Grady will be of use to these young hearts throughout their life. While acting and performing are of great value one of the most valuable skills your child will learn from drama is probably self-confidence.

The games and activities taught during our classes sow seeds and nurture spontaneity and creativity. There is no wrong or right, all is accepted.

Stellenbosch students follow their teacher, Inandi, to new corners of the imagination.

The drama class is a place where imaginations can run free and expression is praised rather than supressed. And this will overflow into other areas, at school, at home and at play.

We are so exceptionally proud and honoured to be a place where children can come and enjoy the many avenues drama can take them.

Production Term Is Here!

Term Four started with a flourish as teachers and students hit the ground running preparing for a whirlwind term. This is of course all because Term four is Production Term!

Every year ends in spectacular fashion where all classes take to the stage and present a scripted production they’ve worked towards. This is a time where students showcase the performance skills they’ve learnt throughout their time with Helen O’ Grady. The plays are fabulous in showing off the students’ strengths while giving each individual time to shine as well as dazzle together as a cast.

A real theatre, a real stage, costume, sound, lighting and an audience that’s lined up and paid to see them!

All of the excitement culminates on the following days:

Durbanville and Bellville Studios, Rainbow Montessori, De Tyger Primary and Bellville Christian Academy take centerstage on Saturday 19 November at the Collective Arts Theatre in Bellville.

The Old Mill Theatre hosts the Paarl studio group on Tuesday 22^nd of November.

And we return to the Collective Arts Theatre on Saturday 26 November to be entertained by the Kenridge, Stellenbosch and Kuils River Studios along with Hebron Christian Academy.

Keep your eyes glued to our Facebook page for ongoing updates and further details around these unmissable productions.

Brand new season for Kindy

The heat is on in the Cape and it’s making its way to our classes and studios.

But that won’t stop the students from putting their best faces and voices forward as we prepare for our production. Productions are little over a month away and the excitement and nerves are building. From aboard a Pirate Ship to the mishaps of a Circus Troupe to the tragedies of Shakespearean yesteryear.

Our Kindy classes may not be preparing for full production like our older classes but they have been enjoying inspired classes. Themes this term will see them travel through the jungle and learn all about the seasons and weather in the most dramatic way.

But while that’s what we’re looking forward to, let’s first look back. Let’s just take a minute to admire the princesses and super heroes of our Kenridge Kindy class.

We love it when a plan comes together

Term four has got of to a rocking start with students filing in to class ready for action.

This term is extra special as we gear up for our year-end productions. It’s great to see that students spent time during the holidays learning their lines, familiarising themselves with their scripts and getting ideas for costumes and characterisation.

Productions are a highlight of the Helen O’ Grady calendar. It’s a great time to bring together all the principles we’ve taught our students throughout the year.

Students will get to show what they’ve learnt in the speech component of the curriculum as they deliver their lines in crisp, bold voices.

We will see their movement skills as they assume the levels, special awareness and planes of different roles.

Ad libbing, which is an important skill taught, practised and emphasised throughout the year will be on show throughout the plays throughout the age groups.

Parents, friends, family and teachers can look forward to a display of skill wrapped up in clever stories in a showcase of colour and fun.

Lights. Camera. PRODUCTIONS

Productions are a great time of the year when teachers, students and parents lose sleep, teeth and hair while they gear up for the highlight of the drama year.

A great part about Helen O’ Grady productions is that no one has to audition. The students ALL get to be a part of the action.

Another exciting element is that our productions will be performed at a real theatre at the end of the curriculum year. HOW EXCITING.

Real lights, real props and costumes and of course, real drama.

We are very excited as we’ll start working towards those productions in the coming weeks. Teachers will be revealing the 2015 plays to their classes, casting and sharing what we’ll be showing our friends and family at the end of this year.

We hope our parents and friends will support us this year as they have in the past so that, together, we can put on a showcase of our young talent and hard work.

We look forward to a grueling but fun build up to PRODUCTIONS 2015.

Keep your eyes on this page, our Facebook  for details around this year’s Productions.

Dreams begin at Kindy class

Helen O' Grady and their teachers strive to inspire students to dream. And dreaming is not age restricted. Dreaming starts right now!


Last week the Kenridge Kindy princesses ended off the second theme for this term: Night and Day. They got to do this with sleepover themed lesson. Not that any sleeping happened!

The girls practiced their speech, did their movement exercises and discussed what they'd learnt thus far during the Night and Day theme. They then ended off the lesson with The Pillow Fight improv.

The Kindy class is a great platform for young students to learn the basics of speech and drama in a high energy, interactive and informal way. They are also exposed to other students and learn to listen not only to instructions but the stories of their classmates.

Call the office or visit our website to find out more about the Kindy class.
We're waiting to meet you and your little one.

TO DO OR NOT TO DO

Last week our Youth Theatre groups got to tackle their first monologues of the term. It was great! The script was fun and relatable and the students could give their individual twists while learning about characterization and owning the stage while you’re up there alone.
Experience with monologues are especially important as students will often be asked to perform on their own for auditions.
Here are some tips on what to DO and NOT TO DO when choosing a monologue:

DO:

-          Have options. Prepare two monologues and make sure they are very different. When there’s a large turnout at the audition performers are called back for a second round. Showing range of performance qualities will put you ahead of the rest.

-          LOVE the piece of work. If the student loves performing it, the audience or judges or casting directors will love watching it.

-          Extract a monologue from a play. There are books available with monologues pre-written for this purpose but choosing something that has context will allow the student the depth of the character, other characters and the plot to feed into their performance.

-          Look for an age-appropriate piece that the student can relate to. Let who you are help you in selecting who you’d like to play.

-          Look for something where the character is doing something – ACTion, ACTing, ACTive.

-          Keep it short. Your first 30 seconds are most important, everything else is just bonus.

DON’T:

-                   -     Choose a monologue that’s been overdone…Out damn spot…

-                   -     Choose monologues with content that will make the audience uncomfortable.

-                   -     Not read the rest of the play. Know the context of the scene you are showing and       show and understanding and appreciation for the entire play you are performing from. 

For more, join a Youth Theatre group near you and get in on the ACTion.

 

Somerset West Youth Students rehearsing their monologues to perform for the class