CAPA NEWS
CAPA SHOWCASE EVENINGS
YEAR 7-11 ‘CURTAIN CALL’ SEMESTER 1
The Arts are a mode of expression that transforms thoughts and emotions into a unique form of communication. On Friday June 17th, the Creative Arts faculty presented ‘Curtain Call’ to the school community. This production played out to a full house with over 300 students taking part either in performance or exhibition. 'Curtain Call #1' was the first of a series of three Creative Arts Showcase events this year, with this showcase having a focus on students from Year 7-12 Semester 1, 2022.
Our aim is to feature performances from both Drama and Music students in conjunction with an exhibition of works from Visual Arts, Photography and Digital Imaging students. It is a celebration of the talent found in both the wonderfully talented students and staff here at our school. Learning through the Arts goes beyond creating more successful students. We believe that it creates more successful human beings.
On behalf of the Creative Arts faculty I would like to extend a special thank you to the Entertainment class and the school office staff. Without any of you this showcase could not go on. Unquestionably, the support of our Principal, Mr Wayne Marshall, Deputy, Brad McAllister and our Creative Arts staff, make these showcases possible for our students to shine.
HSC CAPA SHOWCASE 2022 TERM 3
On Friday September 2nd, we had our HSC CAPA Showcase event. This Showcase represents a wide variety of expressive forms from individual performances, group performances and exhibitions of submitted works from Drama, Music and Visual Arts. It was held in two locations; Lower Hall for Drama, 6.-7.00pm, then F block for Music and Visual Arts from 7.15-8.30pm. Both venues were packed.
The sometimes-daunting experience of creating a body of work, performance or project is intellectually rigorous, time consuming and demands a healthy dose of bravery-not to mention a substantial amount of resilience. All skills that are lifelong lessons as students move into their post-school life. It enables students to challenge themselves and embrace areas of creativity that ignite a sense of passion and awe. The enormous value of creating, the important role aesthetics and the significance of expression are all bound up in this same experience.
Our students in Creative Arts know the value of it. They know they can transform ideas into physical representations and as such reflect their capabilities as thinkers, learners and creators. The final result is inspiring and truly worthy of celebration as exemplified in our Showcase tonight. I would like to thank all those parents and friends who attended on the night supporting our students. Thanks to our Creative Arts faculty and in particular our HSC teachers; Mrs. Angela Cascarino (Drama), Mrs. Chantelle Morton (Music) and Mrs. Ashley Hume (Visual Arts). Finally, I wish to congratulate each student for completing such accomplished, sensitive and thought-provoking performances and practical submissions.
YEAR 12 DRAMA GROUP PERFORMANCE DEVISING WORKSHOP
On Friday 1st July, John Therry Alumni, Lana Filies (Class of 2015), returned to the College to run a devising workshop with our HSC Drama class. Lana graduated with a Bachelor of Performance (Acting) from the University of Wollongong (2019) and has worked with professional companies including Milkcrate Theatre who have been rehearsing at Sydney Theatre Company in recent weeks.
As part of the HSC Drama course, students are required to develop a Group Performance on a topic or issue of their choosing using a range of theatrical conventions and techniques to help tell their story.
Lana, who currently works at Shopfront Arts Co-Op, helped students in the process of refining their performance for their upcoming performance exams. The students all had fun as they worked on creating distinct characters and refining their timing to ensure that their Group Performance is as entertaining as possible.
We are blessed to have such passionate members of our community sharing their times and talents with our students and wish the Year 12 students the very best with their exams. Thank you to Mrs. Cascarino and Miss Abela for organising this workshop for our students.
‘KINKY BOOTS’ MUSIC EXCURSION
On Friday September 9th, Mrs. Morton, Mr MacDonald and Mr. Estrada took both the Year 10 and 11 classes, as well as a couple of Year 8 to watch the musical theatre production ‘Kinky Boots’ at Parramatta Riverside Theatre. The excursion reinforced the concepts of music, duration, dynamics and expressive techniques in relation to Theatre Music.
Many of the students from had not yet seen a professional musical before. Mrs. Morton commented that watching the student’s faces throughout the show and seeing them with huge smiles, or laughing or checking out the sets was rewarding to see. Furthermore, a member of the public commended the students on their exemplary engagement and behaviour. To make it even more interesting, alumni Mark Simpson (class of 1997) came over and spoke to the students about the production, explaining that he was in the Sydney production of the same show.
YEAR 10 PHOTOGRAPHY EXCURSION COCKATOO ISLAND
On Friday September 16th , students from the Year 10 Photography and Digital Media classes accompanied by Mrs. Hume and Mr. Macdonald visited Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour, as part of the current unit of work; Locate, Situate, Speculate. The focus for this term’s artmaking task is film-making. At this location, students worked to produce a short conceptual film with i-movie. Other locations on offer included Circular Quay, at the railway stations, on the ferry or on the train.
In addition to an awe-inspiring harbour location, Cockatoo Island provided backdrops ranging from heritage to industrial. The remains of a convict prison, houses dating from the 1840s, cavernous workshop spaces, sculptural cranes and dry docks, all only 20 minutes away from Circular Quay by ferry. Students engaged with this spectacular and natural landscape, colourful convict past and industrial heritage to shoot for both their short films (moving images) and photographs (still images). Students were given a short walking tour of the island by their teachers and given the remainder of time to go to their own site-specific location in groups to get footage for their films. Their behaviour was exemplary. We look forward to their completed films. Thank you to Mrs Hume for organising this excellent experience.
JTCC ALUMNI TURNED FASHION DESIGNER FEATURED IN THOR FILM ‘LOVE AND THUNDER’
Over the years Denisse M Vera creations (62.5k followers) have been featured in print magazines such as Vogue, Grazia, Wild Hearts and Fashion Journal.
Our school community is so proud of the latest achievement of world-renowned Fashion Designer Denisse Marianela Vera, (HSC class of 2007). Four of her original pieces are featured in the Australian-shot film; ‘Thor: Love and Thunder‘. A crucial part of one the most memorable scenes from the film depicted the four Greek goddesses who flank Russell Crowe’s Zeus in Omnipotence City wearing macramé dresses personally created by Ms Vera through her self-titled design studio.
Denisse felt connected to her natural surrounds and displayed a love of creative arts. Furthermore, she was inspired by her Motherland, Chile which was where she learnt the art of Macramé. In 2013 Denisse travelled through South America and befriended an artisan who entrusted her with his beloved art. Seven years on, Denisse now sells her Macramé creations worldwide and has become known as the pioneer of wearable macramé.
Denisse has built her business with deep gratitude and respect for her craft which flows through her blood from her native Araucano lineage and Chilean Background. Her ongoing dream is to keep the art alive and to raise the profile of her work and that of her fellow artisans.
Thank you to all the Music teachers; Mr. Mayes, Mrs. Morton, Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Estrada for all their contributions to make the excursion possible.
Mr Stephen Peters
CAPA Leader of Learning