Curtains up on new ATYP Collaboration

Our new collaboration with Australian Theatre for Young People has switched up a gear this term, with two junior productions to be staged in the College’s Black Box Theatre.

The Junior Acting Stream students will stage Wonder Fly, a coming-of-age superhero play, written especially to be performed by children, by Nick Atkins on April 28 and 29.

Two weeks later, on May 12 and 13, the other class of Junior Acting Stream Students will stage Jessica Bellamy’s Compass, a mystery wherein a group of Year 7 students lose their teacher but encounter a stranger as darkness falls.

The partnership between The McDonald College and ATYP began this year out of a desire to expand our students’ knowledge and theatrical experiences.

Principal Maxine Kohler said, “it is inspirational for the students to have the varied experience of working with different directors throughout the year.”

The Senior Acting Stream staged As Hamlet Likes It in term 1, under the expert hand of George Kemp as writer and director. Directing Wonder Fly marks Lucy Clements’ introduction to the College.

“The productions we pick are really ensemble based, also we’ve got a broad age range of students, that’s a really nice dynamic,” she said.
The Junior Streams started developing the productions in their performing arts period in term one.

“Two hours of performing arts a day is really amazing, I don’t know any other school that does that,” Lucy said. The venture with ATYP was Ms Kohler’s idea but facilitated by Johanna Mulholland, ATYP’s general manager and a former school captain of the College.

“Some of my strongest memories of The McDonald College are of industry practitioners coming in,” Johanna said. “That’s the biggest strength of the partnership.”