During the holidays the Regional NIDA Winter School was hosted at Stannies in the Performing Arts Centre. NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) is the premier drama and acting school in Australia and boosts many well-know actors among its alumni. The Regional Winter School is an annual event that offers interested students in the Central West training for both stage and film performance. This year, NIDA offered short courses in Acting techniques for Stage, Film and TV Acting. The PAC, with its fantastic facilities, proved to be an excellent venue. The lighting, sound and projection and the use of the stage for direction, enabled the students to experiment with various dramatic techniques and workshop their new skills in a professional environment. Students enrolled in these courses engaged with a variety of scripts and were taught by Kate Shurman, a NIDA Drama teacher. Four Stannies students were given scholarships to attend a short course of their choosing. The students involved were Ryan Sanders (Year 11), John Stevens (Year 10), Harrison Tucker (Year 10) and Trae Mongta-Cruse (Year 9). I was able to watch some of the work that was done not only by our students but also the visiting students, and was very impressed.
It was wonderful to have NIDA working in our Performing Arts Centre, and furthermore, it is fantastic to be able to offer students in the Central West this opportunity.
During the holidays I was able to catch up on some theatre in Bathurst and Sydney. It is always an enjoyable experience to witness great Australian acting and directing on the stage. I was able to attend an interesting production of the Greek play Oresta and the spellbinding production of the American classic Long Day’s Journey into Night, both produced by the Sydney Theatre Company. A Long Day’s Journey into Night was directed by Andrew Upton and starred William Hurt and Robyn Niven. The musical The Producers produced by the Bathurst Carillion Society starred many well-known local faces. This was an uplifting and fun production that made the audience feel better for having seen it. Among the cast were two Stannies students, Conagh McMahon Hogan(Year 11) and Patrick Antolovich (Year 12). It was fantastic to see these young men up on the stage performing so convincing. Finally, I attended a performance of Waiting for Godot at the Sydney Opera House. This was an outstanding production. The set was revolutionary and the cast were able to make sense of this well-know Absurdist play. There is a lot of wonderful live theatre being produced both locally and in Sydney and I encourage any interested students and parents to take the time to enjoy this wonderful entertainment.