Performing arts at Wesley College
What do the following people have in common?
Cate Blanchett, Emma Matthews, Amber Scott, Hannah Gadsby, The Veronicas, Rhonda Burchmore, Emma Henshall, Simone Young, Amy Dickson.
Yes, they are all performing artists - people who use their bodies, often in relation to other objects, to convey artistic expression. Actors, singers, instrumentalists, dancers, comedians, cabaret artists and contemporary circus performers – the list is still growing!
Throughout the year, there are always many performance projects in rehearsal at each city campus, preparing for their presentation to an audience. Only then can performance reach fulfilment, where the performer/s convey something of themselves to listeners/viewers, who receive the performance, and are affected by having had that experience.
The winter months are warmed by musical theatre, and currently we have around 250 students across the College spending many hours after school and at weekends rehearsing on stage, or in bands, or assisting backstage in Glen Waverley’s Little Shop of Horrors, Elsternwick’s Hot Mikado, and St Kilda Road’s Les Miserables, all to be performed during August. Booking details for each of these can be found on the College website www.wesleycollege.net under Upcoming Events.
Many other students are also rehearsing for concerts, soirees and competitions occurring this term, and for musicals and theatre performances beginning rehearsals for Term 4 productions.
It’s a rich arts environment at Wesley that has also seen many students creating their own works of music and theatre, and continuing with these pursuits post-school. Song writing and composing a wide range of music for performance by the composers and others is a prominent part of Wesley life. I take this opportunity to draw your attention to the Wesley New Song Competition, open to current students and alumni, and coinciding with the sesquicentenary celebrations. The winning entries, one by a current student and the other by an alumnus, will be published in the 2016 reprint of the Fourteenth Edition of the Wesley College Song Book, and a prize of $300 for each winner. The closing date for entries is 5.00pm on 23 October, 2015.
What do the following people have in common?
Kick Gurry, Lachy Hulme, Isabella Dunwill, Jo Schornikow, Sam Dundas, Melanie Adams, Richard Stubbs, Paul Grabowsky, Sophia Exiner (Phia), Hoang Pham, Justine Electra, Ashley Zukerman, Chris Howlett, Jack Howard, Andrew Aronowicz, Waleed Aly and Laura Brent.
This is just a tip of the iceberg from current lists, and these names will soon be joined by many other Wesley College alumni who are in the early stages of their careers in the performing arts.
