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In School
Drama
Drama in 2012-13
The Drama Department has been as productive as ever, with performances going on throughout the year. As well as
extra-curricular productions, there have been many examination performances.Year 13 performed their devised pieces
in October, and then during 4 evenings in February 80 Year 11 drama students performed a range of challenging plays
to a public audience. Year 12 performed monologues in the studio theatre in February in front of an examiner, and then
their group plays in May. As well as this, in December, the 10 drama students performed their devised pieces as part of
their controlled assessments. As always, our technician Jennifer Lewington-Chislett has been a tower of support to the
team as has Mr Mark Hartley and his technical theatre students.
The biggest extra-curricular project during the Autumn term was the House Drama Competition. This involved the
whole school in some way, since each tutor group created their own Greek Theatre entry. As well as this there were
another 200 entries, ranging from Shakespearean monologues to the famous ‘Parrot Sketch.’ The final was a long but
splendid evening of drama which showcased the finest Borlase talent. All the houses won prizes in various sections but
Normans were the worthy winners overall.
In January, there was another great evening of drama when sixth form leaders directed three Year 7 pantomimes. These
had been rehearsed during lunchtime drama clubs and congratulations were in order for the high standard of these
three plays.
In February, the spectacular Borlase production of ‘Les Misérables’was put on stage, led by Miss Mountfield and assisted
by Mr Glen, under the superb musical direction of Dr Parsons. Mr Mark Hartley and his team designed and built the
ambitious set and the theatre was transformed. The production exceeded everyone’s expectations in its professionalism
and attention to detail. The acting, singing, choreography, orchestra, set, costumes and even the authentic props were
outstandingly accomplished. Plans are now underway for next year’s Senior Play but Les Mis is not going to be an easy
one to follow!
Mrs Davie
A Level Drama
This has been a very exciting and fascinating year for AS drama. Although the class is small with 12 girls and 1 boy we
managed to create some great pieces. We started the year by studying two practitioners, Berkoff and Stanislavski, and
exploring two plays ‘Metamorphosis’ and ‘Hedda Gabler’. These are two very contrasting plays; one is about a woman in
the 1800’s and one is about a man who transforms into a giant bug, however they allowed us to explore different aspects
of drama.In the New Year we began work on performing our monologues. We all helped and supported each other
during this time and everyone’s performance was superb. After February half term we were then split into two groups
to perform two plays, ‘Ashgirl’ and ‘Trojan Women’.These were also very different plays. ‘Ashgirl’ is a feminist version of
Cinderella, in which I had a lot of fun playing the evil step-mother, and‘TrojanWomen’is about women who are captured
during the TrojanWar. Both groups put a lot of work into each performance and although neither group saw each other
for a while, we were all very proud at what each other had achieved. Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed myself this year
and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next year has to offer.
Laura Nash Y12
perform in front of a panel of judges, and what was several
hundred people, early that evening. Many acts were set
to perform during the event, Komodo Krimes, Katie and
the Dragons and Sophie Lloyd were some of the Borlasian
examples. Once the acts had performed the judges came
to a decision as to who they felt was the best. The prize was
five hundred pounds, a place performing at the Rewind
Festival and an invitation to talk with a music company.
We had no expectations of winning considering the sheer
volume of talent from other acts. I commend the other
bands immensely for their amazing sets. We were shocked
and very proud to find that we had won. The event was a
resounding success and one that we really enjoyed.
Alex Kendall Y12
