Arts News 22 February

PRODUCTION NEWS - Auditions, Crew Sign-up up, and Poster Competition

Excitement and anticipation is in the air with sign ups for auditions for Mary Poppins underway!  All sign up forms are found on the Performing Arts Notice Board, located outside the Black Box theatre in WN. For full information download the audition pack here.
Please note that Year 7 and 8’s who are keen on a lead role will take place at the following times:

GROUP AUDITION
MONDAY 26 FEB - 12:45pm in the Dance Studio WN209
Come together first for some instructions in the Black Box, then 2-3 at a time will head down to the drama room. We will welcome you in to do some singing together of "Let's Go Fly a Kite"

CALL BACKS for a solo part will be held the following MONDAY 4 MARCH 12:45pm (WN209)
You will do this audition solo, with a script, singing and movement.

ENSEMBLE AUDITION - after solo callbacks ALL cast come to the Ensemble audition on the 10th of March at 1pm in the CLA

If you are Year 7 or 8 and just want to be part of the larger ensemble, you can just sign up for the Ensemble Audition.

POSTER COMPETITION: We are holding a poster design competition to celebrate Mary Poppins, with work displayed at SMC for all to enjoy. Prizes to be won (more details on that soon!) with the chance to have your work selected as our marketing campaign artwork. So get creative and share your ideas! The sky's the limit!

CREW SIGN UPS: If you are keen to join the awesome crew that helps bring the show to life, then jump over to the crew sign up form here.  This is open to all Year 11 - 13 students. 

Student reps for Aotearoa Academy Choir 2024
​​At the start of this year, Year 12 students Juliet Grey and Alice Penney were accepted into the Aotearoa Academy Choir.

The AAC is a national youth choir conducted by Elise Bradley and Rowan Johnson, comprised of 86 singers (including Juliet, Alice and SMC old girl Sky Dehne), that helps train choralists aged 15-25, teaching them skills and techniques that can be applied whenever they are singing. The choir meets four times a year for courses in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, where they learn up to 16 songs over a four day period to then perform throughout the year. Interspersed with their rehearsals are several workshops from industry professionals, such as Robert Wiremu and Dr Karen Grylls, who generously share their extensive knowledge about singing, rhythm, and musical notation.

The repertoire the Aotearoa Academy choir performs is complex and challenging, with over half of the 2024 pieces being sung in different languages, including Māori, Samoan, Italian, German, Latin and Russian. In July of this year, Alice and Juliet, along with the rest of the Aotearoa Academy Choir will be competing in several categories in the World Choir Games (formally called the Choir Olympics) which will be held in Auckland. In previous years, an average of 361 choirs from 67 countries have competed in the games, and this year is expected to be no different with Auckland hosting up to 10,000 singers from around the globe.

You can see the Aotearoa Academy Choir in person during their Christchurch course, as they are performing in the Christchurch ANZAC Church Service as well as holding a free public concert on the 25th of April.

https://nzacademychoir.com/

Aerial Cirque Arts with Theatre Dance Academy.

Running away to join the CIRCUS?? Tried swinging in a hammock, Climbing a silk fabric, Creating shapes in a Lyra hoop, Hanging upside down on a Trapeze? NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!!!!!  Here at St Margaret's College you can try all of these and more! Come and have a FREE TRIAL in our Cirque Aerial Classes after school on Friday and Saturday! We have Aerial Classes learning how to use a Trapeze, Lyra (aerial hoop), Silks and tricks. Come along and trial any of these classes on Friday or Saturday for free for the next week in the St Margaret's College Dance Studio! 

Aerial Junior - ages 5 - 8 years. Friday 4.30 - 5.30pm and Saturday 10.30 - 11.30am

Aerial Youth - ages 9 - 12 years  Friday  5.30 - 6.30pm and Saturday 9.30 - 10.30am

Aerial Senior - ages 13 + years. Friday 6.30 - 7.30pm

Bring a friend along and have some fun trying something new!! - These classes are open to non SMC students also. 

DANCERS - if you are looking to work professionally in the commercial dance industry this is a skill that will really take you places - Quadruple Threat! Get into it! 

Email Ali Rossiter at alison.rossiter@stmargarets.school.nz to sign up.

Christchurch Schools Music Festival 2024
REPRESENTATIVE GROUP APPLICATIONS

Representative group applications are also open. Talented singers and musicians from your school can now apply for an audition to join a Representative Group - Junior & Senior Choir, Concert Band, Orchestra. Your school choir does not need to be in the Festival in order for a student to be in a Representative Group. We rely on schools to ensure that their singers and musicians find out about the Music Festival and are encouraged and assisted to apply for an audition. Applications are made online on the Festival website here and close on the 1st of April. Parents need to make the application so that they are aware of the rehearsal and performance commitments.

We would greatly appreciate it if you could place information about the Representative Groups in your weekly communications with parents/whanau so that all your talented singers and musicians get a chance to not only participate in a life-changing learning opportunity but also to represent your school while doing it. 

POSTER COMPETITION

Every year we run a poster competition for schools.  Schools are invited to submit students’ poster designs to the CSMF Poster competition.  The winning poster design will be used for our poster, programme and ticketing to advertise the 2024 Music Festival season.

The theme this year is “E Tu – Hand in Hand”.  Music is around the theme of resilience, strength and standing up to challenges. The theme is linked with the Olympics being on in July in Paris. Some songs will reflect previous performances from past Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. Students, when designing the poster, can include images about being resilient and striving to be the best and winning but they must not include the Olympic rings or any symbols used in the Olympic logos. 

The winning artwork will be seen by thousands of Cantabrians and the winner gets $100 and another $100 for their school!

Entries can be digital or on paper.  For more information click here.