The Arts Faculty of Aquinas College presented 1st Act – an Art and Drama one-night-only collaborative experience. The evening showcased visual artwork from Years 11, 12 and 13 students, alongside the gallery owner and artist Jacki Barklie’s current show at local gallery Back Studio: https://backstudio.nz/
The opportunity to exhibit and perform student work in a professional setting, beyond the requirements of NCEA assessment, was exciting and included visual arts and Year 12 & 13 photography work. The Year 11 students exhibited their Digital Art course – photography and digital illustrations and the Visual Art students with drawing, photography and collage canvas.
The senior Drama students delighted with some pop-up drama performances throughout the evening. The first being a monologue about a frustrated artist grappling with ancient fairy tales’ and political incorrectness. Later, an Improvisation from a Commedia dell’arte piece – a theatre form popular in Italy in the 16th century often performed in town squares and marketplaces and characterised by stock characters and physical comedy. The third performance, ‘The Bald Prima Donna’, is a piece of Absurd Theatre by Romanian playwright Eugene Ionesco. This form of theatre was a reaction to the chaos and devastation wrought by World War 2, embracing the chaos with slapstick comedy, and language deterioration.
A big thank you to the Arts Faculty team and the Student Arts Executive, especially visionaries Ella Svendsen and Lily Hodgson (our MC for the night).
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