Arts News Term 2, Week 4 2026

The After Party - an interview with Isabel Marsh 

Congratulations on such a tremendous show Issy. Have you been in many shows like this before?
I’ve been in Middle School productions, but not on this scale. It’s a pretty big step up to the Senior production, especially one of this size.

What were the highlights for you?
Seeing everything come to life from everything that we worked on in rehearsals and meeting new people - making new friends and relationships.

How did you go about preparing for your role as Madame Thénadier?
I had singing lessons throughout the holidays, so I had the music ready to go, which I was happy about. I then worked on blocking with the Directors and Susanna, who was playing Madame Thénadier in the other cast. I continued to think things through and work on them at home.

Was it difficult being double cast, having another person playing the same role as you?
It probably made it easier as we worked with each other at rehearsals. You could also watch the other person which was useful. It was strange separating at the end though.

Were there any challenges learning this part?
Some harmonies were pretty awful as the part has clashing notes. I always had to make sure that the character wasn’t dropping off and that I stayed in character the whole time. I tried to think like the character, imagine what they would do and play off the other person who was playing Monsieur Thénadier.

What was it like doing a joint production with Christ’s College?
It was really fun working with a much wider community and such a major cast. I enjoyed creating friendships with new people and it was great having something I really looked forward to during the week. 

It was such a long rehearsal period. How did it feel to finally perform in front of an audience?
It was almost surreal. The first night felt like it went really fast. It was a bit scary, but we had a  lot of support from all the teachers, so it was also really exciting. There was definitely a mix of emotions.

What’s next for you?
I’m performing the Shakespeare piece at Nationals next weekend. I’ll keep going with school productions and keep an eye out for more opportunities outside of school. I’ll keep working with my singing teacher and hopefully audition for Ovation productions when I don’t have another big production on.

DANCE

Showquest took place on Monday, with the whole of Yr 8 participating in this extravaganza at the Town Hall. 

They showcased the fragile relationship between humans, animals and the planet we share and how humans affect the environment around them. The first section revealed animals in their natural habitats, disrupted by poaching and human exploitation. Girls took on wild animal movements with costumes to match. The second showed the transformation of these spaces as development replaces nature - buildings rising where life once thrived. A few hi-vis jackets, wheelbarrows and jackhammers were seen at this stage, all handmade! In the third section, a powerful tsunami emerged, with the girls dancing as the water, symbolising climate change and natural disasters, sweeping through the very structures built at nature’s expense. 

The final section showed the girls coming together and reflecting on the consequences of human actions, pleading with us to consider what happens when we take more from the Earth than it can give.

Students got to see other schools perform during rehearsal and learn about all the factors involved in staging a show. Highlights for the students were meeting lots of new people from different schools, hanging out together as a year group and encouraging each other performing onstage...and lots of hairspray! 

It was a very long day, but we were complimented with two awards:

Recognition in Art (costumes and props) and the best story.

Showquest also celebrated another element. St Margaret’s Fashion Lab Club proudly entered the Toi Wearable Art Competition for the very first time. We showcased seven creative garments -  five designed by our talented Year 6 students and two by our innovative Year 10 teams. We were amazed and inspired by the incredible standard of work on display and left with many exciting ideas for future competitions.

As a newly formed group, our main aim this year was to get selected for the competition and be part of the event, so we were especially excited to achieve two award wins. Ellie Fridd (Year 6) received an award for Best Storytelling, while the Year 10 team of Sienna O’Connell, Lucy Gredig, and Omega Spencer-Berry won Best Reuse of Materials for their surgically inspired garment, Tidal Resuscitation. Congratulations to all of our students for their creativity, courage, and outstanding effort.

MUSIC

There is a lot of music happening this term, in various guises.

Come and celebrate the many talents of girls receiving music lessons at the Itinerant Music Concert TODAY! Charles Luney Auditorium from 3.45pm onwards. Everyone is welcome at this free event.

Rockquest THIS WEEK!

We have 7 band entries this year, with one solo and one duo entry. Girls range from Yr 9-13. 

Come and support our rockstars as they compete at the Rockquest regionals this week. 

SmokeFreeRockquest is Nationwide and provides young musicians with the opportunity to perform original songs live in a professional setting. It aims to motivate young people to strive for success, realise the potential of a musical career, and to encourage support for NZ music. It has been growing steadily for over 38 years now!

Run over two days, SMC bands will compete on Friday 9 June at 4.30pm at the Aurora Centre, Burnside High School. All acts perform one song, lasting no longer than four minutes. After watching the acts, judges select the regional winning solo and duo acts and the top 12 bands from 45 bands competing. 

At regionals, bands compete to win prizes for their school - equipment provided from the Rockshop, with varying financial amounts. There are several other awards possible too.

Tickets are available on the door from 4pm $20 adults, $15 students. 

Read on for a student perspective on the event.

The Combined Concert is a showcase of orchestral work, chamber groups and the Chamber Choir with SMC and Christ’s College. This event is held annually, with each school taking a turn to host, this year being held at Christ’s College. You will be treated to some familiar pieces such as the orchestra performing Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite and some less familiar pieces such as a newly composed Chamber Choir piece written by Patrick Shepherd.

This takes place on Wed 27 May at Christ’s College 7pm, free event.

Next month, our Chamber Choir will compete at Big Sing, the Nationwide secondary schools choral festival that takes place in 10 centres involving more than 9,000 students from around 280 choirs from 190 schools, supported by their families and communities. Wow!

The Big Sing has been taking place for over 35 years and is New Zealand’s largest choral event. It aims to encourage a diverse range of students to participate in choral singing, develop young people and inspire them to achieve excellence and to enable collaboration through shared performance opportunities, highlighting NZ music.

​​​​​​Of the 250+ competing choirs, 60 are selected for the area Cadenza festivals (held in the Upper North Island, Lower North Island and South Island) and National Finale.

This is a Big Sing and a big day for our 37 students in the Chamber choir, and we wish them well.

We have three entries for the Chamber Music NZ contest this year, with a harp group and two chamber groups, involving flute, oboe, violin and piano. Bea Bentley, Faye Lichen and Caitlin Ching will be performing with their harp group Les Demoiselles. Amanda Yang and Sophia Yang will be joined by a Rangi Ruru student to perform a violin, oboe and piano trio named MSG and Grace Kim, oboe and Summer Zhou, piano, will team up with a flute student from Papanui High School to combine as The Nightingales. They will all perform at The Piano next month. The latter two groups will also get an opportunity to perform in next week’s Combined Concert.

DRAMA

Over the weekend, several SMC Speech and Drama students took part in the Great Talk Poetry Recitation Competition organised by Ruth Agnew. This is a National competition, and for the first time, it was held over Zoom. This was a busy weekend, so students had to juggle all sorts of commitments: Isla Ballantyne zoomed in minutes from her Mother’s office, after finishing a (winning) netball game, finding herself facing someone in poetry recitation who she’d just played from the St Andrew’s netball team, Ena Yoon and Nari Yoon zoomed from Oamaru in between competing in the Oamaru Speech and Drama competitions, and Julia Nguyen performed her poem outside the Christ’s College theatre as I held up her phone and a revolution raged on inside [Les Misérables]. Abby Nguyen (Yr 1) was the youngest competitor, managing to recite a 100 year old, 6 stanza Ogden Nash poem, and Jolin Ye (Yr 11), at the other end of the age spectrum performed an Amanda Gorman plea for environmental protection. Ruby Ballantyne performed an original poem about ancient book burning, Jody Ye lamented the loss of the Huia, and Gurbani Gill introduced us to dogs.

As a result, we have three SMC National finalists, which is outstanding. In the year 4-6 category, Charlotte Tan Xing Tong Tan and Chriselle Tok-Lee are finalists, and in the year 9-10 category, Caitlin Ching is a finalist. They will compete in the National final over zoom on King’s Birthday. They all perform the same poem they originally recited, with Caitlin also having to learn a new poem that the organisers will give to her.  For Charlotte, this is her first competition, and as a year four, is up against much older competitors. It’s extra special that Chriselle and Caitlin made it through, because they’re cousins, so their mothers can be especially proud! And while Nari and Ena didn’t make it through to Great Talk finals, they both medalled in Oamaru, with Ena winning gold and silver, and Nari winning silver medals, and ribbons in each class. 

So SMC students are speaking up and making themselves heard!

Ruth Agnew

SENIOR ARTS COUNCIL

Student perspective on Rockquest

The Rockquest Canterbury Heats are being held this weekend. Our girls have been putting lots of effort into rehearsals over the past couple of weeks to help prepare for the exciting event ahead. Rockquest is always an amazing opportunity, which encourages students to step out of their comfort zone, share their passion for music, and inspire others to shine on stage as well. 

Rockquest is an annual competition held in regions across New Zealand. It is a brilliant opportunity for students, either in a band, solo or duo, to perform their original songs to an audience. For each regional heat, judges choose a select number of acts to progress through to the regional finals, where the top two performances are given the chance to compete at the National Finals, held in the North Island. The judges also provide feedback to each of those progressing to the regional finals, providing an opportunity for professional development. 

I am Chloe Drinkwater, a member of The Spoons, and last year we managed to play our way to third place at the Canterbury Regional Finals. This was an electric night with an enthusiastic and supportive crowd. It was absolutely amazing to have such a high-energy audience to perform for. We, as a band, are very excited to showcase our music again at Rockquest Heats this year. We are also equally excited to support all the other St Margaret’s College performers at the event. We can’t wait to watch and listen to a variety of original songs written by students across Canterbury.

I am Chloe Marfell, and I participated in Rockquest last year in the band Cherry Coke, which we all enjoyed so much. Although we didn’t get through to finals, it was such a fun and interesting process: writing the song, learning it as a band, and finally performing in the Canterbury heats. I learned so much from my bandmates and improved on lots of skills, as well as having a really good time with my friends. I strongly recommend participating in 2027 and coming to watch the SMC girls perform, as there is such a variety of groups, and it’s amazing to see what everyone has been working on.

Having participated in previous years, Rockquest provides a safe, positive, and altogether fun environment for students to express their love for music and performing with others. It’s so incredible to see so many students with a passion for music all perform for each other. We would like to thank all the staff members who make competing at Rockquest as amazing as it is.

We can’t wait to see what Rockquest 2026 has in store for St Margaret’s College! 

ACHIEVEMENTS and CELEBRATIONS

Lucy Pugh (Yr 11) and Miaki Green (Yr 12) competed at the Australian Dance Crew Championships (ADCC) as part of Ace Dance Studio’s mega crew, FullHouse, recently.

In an exceptionally large and highly talented division, the FullHouse crew delivered a standout performance, placing 2nd in their division. 

This has qualified them to compete in Sydney at the World Championships. Congratulations to both Lucy and Miaki.

The following students have been selected as NZ Speech and Drama Ambassadors for 2026: Rose Martin, Yr 11, Tessa De Wit, Yr 12 and Isobel Pettigrew, Yr 8. Congratulations to all of them. 

Ena and Nari Yoon achieved the following at the recent Oamaru Speech and Drama competition:

Ena: Own selection poem: 3rd, Dramatic extract: 1st, Reading at sight : 3rd, Improvisation: 3rd, 

Pepeha: 1st, Tomorrow: 2nd and This Little Light of Mine: 3rd

Nari: Reading at sight: 2nd, Own selection:  5th, Character: 2nd, Light verse: Very Highly Commended, Improvisation 2nd and Test: Very Highly Commended.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:

Itinerant Concert - 21 May

Rockquest - 22 May

Combined Concert - 27 May

Shakespeare Nationals - 28 May-1 June

Big Sing - 5 June

Chamber Music NZ Regionals - 9/10 June

Itinerant Concert #2 - 2 July