Magazine 2019

133 The stage was transformed into an intergalactic space through Poetry, Art and Music.Creativity,confidence, problem-solving, perseverance, fo- cus, collaboration, dedication, ac- countability and non-verbal commu- nication are just some of the skills that children learn from the arts.We are privileged at Parklands College to have specialist Art, Drama and Music educators who are passion- ate about arts education and strive to create and foster the love of arts through their particular genre. We are helping to build confident, articulate, expressive and curious criti- cal thinkers. In the words of William Shakespeare,“All theWorld’s a Stage”. Roch é Buckle Head of Culture, Preparatory This year the FET Drama learners had the opportunity to see the origi- nal cast ofWoza Albert! Percy Mtwa and Mbongeni Ngema perform this iconic work at the Baxter Theatre. This is an important work as it is part of the canon of protest theatre and is considered the ultimate in the Theatre of the Struggle for its po- litical and artistic impact on South AfricanTheatre.The Grade 9 Crea- tive Arts Drama learners enjoyed a trip to the Baxter theatre to see Magnet Theatre’s Every Year Every Day I amWalking. For some of the group this was their first exposure to live theatre and for the majority their first time at a piece of theatre that spoke about the world around them.. Unlike last year when the Drama de- partment was involved in many small projects, in 2019 the focus was firmly fixed on staging the musical produc - tion of Cats. All of the FET Drama learners were involved in the produc- tion in some capacity. A primary aim of the Drama department is to equip the learners with real life skills and work ex- perience whilst still at school.A produc- tion on the scale of Cats offers a large number of opportunities for learners to learn valuable organisational and team building skills as well as to extend their creative talents. Those Drama learners not performing on the stage worked tirelessly behind the scenes as lighting, sound, wardrobe, make-up and props technicians to realise the magic night after night. Congratulations to all of you for the successful staging of this chal- lenging and iconic musical. A new initiative this year is the quar- terly awarding of the POPPI for high- est practical mark for Drama in each Grade. This introduces the College to the next generation of young actors and acknowledges excellence across the College. The entire FET Drama phase entered at least one Eisteddfod compe- tition this year and the results were very pleasing. The Drama department con- tinues to create a legacy of excellence and we are very proud of our dedicated Trinity Speech and Drama learners who achieved great results in last year’s ex- amination.Well done to everyone in the Drama department on yet another very successful year. Catherine Dodders Head of Culture, Secondary