We encourage girls to get involved with as many performance projects as possible as we see first-hand how involvement in Drama, in whatever capacity, increases self confidence and team work skills.
The biggest event in our Drama year is the whole school musical with recent productions of Godspell The Musical, Grease, Bring It On, Cats, Sister Act and The Sound of Music still echoing through our corridors. Girls from Year 8 through to the Upper Sixth are involved in all disciplines of the Performing Arts including acting, singing and dance. We employ a freelance choreographer to devise dance sequences, musical numbers are directed by the Director of Music and characterisation by the Director of Drama. We are also very fortunate to have an extremely talented Technical Manager at St George's who works with a big team of the girls to provide the backstage AV operation, working on lighting, sound, set construction, stage management and hair and makeup design.
There are many opportunities to be involved in smaller scale performance throughout the school. Our Year 7 pupils perform a pantomime at Christmas, just ten weeks after joining the school, and performance is built into the Year 8 Drama curriculum. Our Year 9 pupils work closely with our Theatre Director in Residence on sketches and extracts from a range of classical and contemporary work. Pupils from Year 10 and above can audition for a part in the Senior Play, performing a diverse range of work from Shakespeare to more challenging contemporary pieces. Our GCSE and A Level pupils benefit from the incredible resources we have at our disposal and are able to create performances that closely mirror cutting edge trends in broader theatre.
Every girl at St George's benefits from Drama lessons as part of the curriculum in Years 7, 8 and 9. In Years 7 and 8 the girls follow an engaging curriculum looking at topics including A Midsummer's Night Dream, Spooky Stories, Melodrama and Harry Potter. Pupils in Year 9 develop their subject skills whilst looking at current issues such as peer pressure and making the right choice.
We offer GCSE Drama and Drama and Theatre at A Level. Both courses are highly valued by universities and employers who recognise the transferable skills that Drama develops. As part of these courses pupils create, script and devise their own work as well as work with text written by influential playwrights from all periods of theatrical history. Their work is always challenging and hugely impressive.
The school has two fully functional Drama spaces: the impressive Sue Cormack Hall; and the Drama Studio. All of our performances benefit from an extensive suite of sound equipment and lighting and bespoke props and staging are created by our skilled theatre technician. The staff in the department deliver strong and engaging lessons on all periods of theatrical history and a range of performance skills. We are particularly enthusiastic about contemporary, immersive performance work which combines both Physical Theatre and more traditional naturalistic methods. The Drama Department works closely with the Music, Dance, English Literature & Language, and Classics Departments to provide a plethora of opportunities for pupils to bring cross-subject and genre learning to life in the theatre setting.
The department invites visiting practitioners to work with Able Gifted & Talented (AGT) students and Scholars. These include Physical Theatre workshops with West End Directors, and Stage Combat and Sword Fighting classes with prestigious theatre companies such as Complicité, Frantic Assembly and Scene Productions. Year 10 and 11 Scholars take part in a script writing workshop and then work with a partner to co-write a play. They work with Year 7, 8 and 9 Scholars and AGT pupils, directing them in a rehearsed read through of the work they have created.
St George's is only 45 minutes from Central London and so curriculum-relevant theatre trips to the West End are a popular and regular feature. Many of our pupils also perform with local drama clubs and societies, they collaborate in plays with other local schools for example Eton College, and perform with notable national societies such as the National Youth Theatre and National Youth Music Theatre.
We offer girls the opportunity to take Speech and Drama classes as a way to expand theatrical knowledge and practical skills.Speech and Drama are flexible in approach, offering pupils the opportunity to work as individuals or in groups with friends. They also give the girls a chance to benefit from one-to-one tuition and allows teachers to focus on a pupil’s individual development. There are exams in a variety of genres including acting, mime, singing, verse and prose and devising which can be done with any combination or number of people.
