Theatrical Mask Mastery – Year 8 Performance Evening

The Year 8 Performance Evening offered an entertaining reprieve from the busy demands of Term 3, bringing hearty laughter to all who attended. Parents, siblings, and teachers packed into the Drama Room on a drizzly evening, eager to watch the culmination of weeks of dedicated effort by the students. With delivery skills honed throughout the term, Year 8s were ready to give a series of entertaining performances as part of their Oral Assessment. 

In class, the girls had been studying Commedia dell'arte, a theatrical form where performers often use masks to portray exaggerated stock characters. For their original performances, the students seamlessly integrated these classic characters into their own storylines. As the evening progressed, the audience began to play a kind of guessing game, eagerly anticipating how each familiar character—complete with their well-known quirks—would navigate the creative new situations devised by the students.

The preparation was evident in the smooth execution of each scene. From the sharp confrontation of Cat Fight to the chaos of Death with Spaghetti, the performances were brimming with humour and energy, effortlessly bringing the characters and their narratives to life.

Beyond being an entertaining evening, the showcase was a key part of the students’ Waiporoporo/Purple Oral Assessment. The adjudicator’s presence on the night encouraged the girls to infuse their performances with extra flair, and the audience responded with ripples of laughter during each scene. Our students rose to the occasion with enthusiasm and skill, a sure indicator of some confident young actresses in training.