SCIE Charity Week|Arts Extravaganza

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March 30th, the drama and music departments joined to present the Arts Extravaganza in the Halo Theatre. It was an evening of drama, music, song and dance, and a programme to support the school’s charity week.

The student performers were drawn from G1, A1 and the Arts Academy programme. Many were drama students, but some were students from other disciplines who love to perform! The drama included classic texts by playwrights such as Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw and Shakespeare, alongside more modern works by Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Phil Porter. Musical Theatre excerpts came from Les Miserables, Wicked, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, to name a few.

Piano solos were by composers from the Romantic era, such as Mendelssohn and Chopin, with a beautiful piece by Beethoven played on the violin just after the interval. The programme finished with a dazzling finale from the Annie Get Your Gun musical. There’s No Business Like Show Business was accompanied by a small ensemble from the music department comprising tuba, clarinet, flute, oboe and piano.

“There was terrific cooperation and collaboration from our students”, said Nicola Howard, our Head of Drama, who coordinated and directed the show. “Seeing how our music and drama departments can work together to create a unique and memorable experience for performers and audience was fantastic. Now the show is over, life becomes more pedestrian and less intense. I am already looking forward to the next production, to fill the void!”

The show was beautifully stage managed by the Head of G2, Michael Bracewell, with assistance from his fabulous team of helpers. Other staff involved in the production were Victoria Seymour, Mahinur Maharova, Leslie Zhang Maria Acosta and Nadine Brown. Michael Bracewell had this to say:

It has been a fabulous experience joining in with the school production. The students’ talent is immense! Covid has had a big impact on the community spirit but this performance has highlighted the importance of that community. It has been great to work with staff from across the school. This cross-curricular collaboration has supported the students in showing them the power of being part of our community and has helped build their self-esteem and responsibility. I look forward to the growth of these events and in-turn the growth of our community.

There were many outstanding performances, and it would be unfair to mention students by name; however, two students who made exceptional contributions were Judy Jiang, who gave many hours to support with costumes and even stood in to sing a song with less than twenty-four hours’ notice — also, Michael Chen, one of our Arts Academy students. Michael accompanied several pieces alone and as part of an ensemble. He performed with musical sensitivity and was a reliable and solid support for the student vocalists.

Students' Sharing

During Charity Week you will see a special Arts Extravaganza. Chloe and I will present a marvellous duologue. We began rehearsing in mid-February, constantly improving, and perfecting our clips. We added many small ideas to the performance to present our completely different character images. During the rehearsal, Chloe and I always forget the constraints brought by the performance and immerse ourselves in the rich emotions brought by this drama. This is a humorous and interesting drama: I believe it will definitely impress you and make you laugh in the theatre.

Please savour every moment while watching the Arts Extravaganza in Charity Week. Marning and I will perform a duologue from Chekhov’s play The Three Sisters. To develop a deeper interpretation on both characters, we made great efforts: Ms. Nicola first introduced some relevant settings of the piece and helped us design our movements on stage. During the rehearsals, we contributed ideas in terms of stage positions, character interaction and anything that we could do to improve the whole piece. It is indeed a meaningful experience: Marning and I even changed roles to present completely different characters on stage. I take great delight in acting on stage and thrill at watching the audience be immersed in our dramatic performance.

It was my pleasure to be invited to be a part of the drama and music charity concert. And the experience preparing for the show was quite different from the other performances I’ve done since I have the role of a soloist and an accompanist. It was interesting to accompany a singer, and I’d never done that before. First time practising the piece, as the rhythm was not the same, and we should be the ones to keep the song going. Or else we would be entirely on different tracks. But after a few times of practising, when both of us were confident, it was pretty fun. The soloist is also different in this case. After scrolling through about 4-5 pieces, I finally decided to play Chopin’s “Black Keys” since I had to worry about the piece’s length and how the work might fit the atmosphere of the whole concert. As the other performances were lively, I finally had the choice of playing Chopin’s Opus 10, number 5 “Black Keys.”

The Arts Extravaganza show, performed on Thursday night, was a spectacular display of talent and creativity, featuring a variety of great musicals and dramas that were engaging and entertaining. I could tell that the actors, crew, designers, stage manager, and our director Nicola Howard had put forward much time and effort in making this performance possible. Another round of applause for them! Several musical performances especially stood out to me. I was impressed by Emily, who presented the musical piece No One Else. Her delicate vocals and heartfelt delivery were truly mesmerizing! She celebrated her seventeenth birthday on that day, so happy seventeenth Emily! I also enjoyed the musical piece "Dust and Ashes" performed by Samuel. I was shocked by the fact that he has never studied singing with a teacher because he literally sounds like a professional musical actor. Irene's rendition of On My Own was also a standout performance, which closely resembled the original song and was a fitting tribute to Les Misérables. In addition, the final performance of No Business Like Show Business was indeed a highlight of the show, featuring stunning choreography and a vibrant, high-energy atmosphere. The performance was a fitting finale to the show, leaving me uplifted and energised.