Drama CCA (AY18/19)
Caleb Foong Zhi Kai S2L and Cheng Yi Shien Lorraine S2M
Building on our experiences from the primary section, we were excited to have Drama CCA at the secondary section this year. Drama is a powerful platform, a form of self-expression that connects us all. Power lies in the stories we tell, and everyone has a story of their own, unique and defined, a voice inside of them. It was important to us that the voice of the students was expressed through this artistic form, creative and unbounded, weaving together talents with action, spoken thoughts, dance, music and enhanced visual effects on a stage.
Production – Finding Hope
For the very first year of Secondary Drama CCA in SISHK, featuring 14 actors across S1-DP1, 5 backstage and IT crew and 2 writers, our team came together to produce the school play “Finding Hope”. Working with this year’s school theme, “Hope,” we delved deep into real life inspirations, from parents to bullies, dreams to reality, stress and internal voices… “Finding Hope” was a journey about witnessing one’s growing pains, and how as young adults, we can rise to find the worth in ourselves and in life.
Actor’s Experience: Caleb Foong Zhi Kai, S2L
The limited rehearsal time posed some challenges for us but we found ways to come together to practise our different scenes and our approach to express each character. It was an interesting experience to showcase our talents in the first few sessions, which helped to break the ice and allowed us to know the amazing talent we had. Personally, I was really happy to see all of us grow as a team despite the challenges we faced.
Writer’s Experience: Lorraine Cheng Yi Shien, S2M
Drawing inspirations from our personal stories and from those around us, it was an enriching process to develop the script. Starting from a small seed of “hope” in life as the main idea, our story grew to encompass other major themes that impacted us as students, such as family, school, stress, passions, dreams, and the question of identity. Personally, I was influenced by the actors themselves and their infectious, unique personalities, as well as the general student body, having observed inspiring and stressful factors of adolescence. It has been a wonderful process to witness the growth of our team, from tireless rehearsals behind the scenes to the amazing final performance. I believe that this has been worthwhile journey for everyone involved.
War Horse Learning Journey
As part of our CCA learning journey, we attended the award-winning global production “War Horse”, a visually stunning and emotional story. The musical contained moments of humour and heart-warming affection between the horse Joey and his owner Albert, punched with the heart stopping, horrific scenes of war and violence. It was very interesting to explore the form of “puppets” used in the performance, as the actors breathed life into the characters. The opportunity to watch this professional production enabled us to learn how different dramatic conventions such as slow motion and freeze frames could be used to bring audiences into an unforgettable and emotional journey.
Next Year
Thanks to the collaborative effort of our creative team, amazing actors, director, and forever supportive teacher Ms Sullivan, this year was a success! For our theatrical production next year, we hope to bring to the school a sensational and emotional experience in addition to continued learning and development for members from our learning journeys and workshop leaders.
