Fine Arts: Performing Arts Program
Story appeared in the 2014 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.
BY LEANNE SCHULTZ, OPERATIONS & HR MANAGER
Before there was YouTube, before there was television, even before there were cinemas and movies, mass entertainment in small communities like Duncan consisted of amateur theatrical performances and concerts.
Through acting, we are able to shed our self-consciousness and step into a character whose personality may be very different from our own, allowing us to learn more about who we truly are. Through experimenting with characters, we learn about philosophies and moralities, and are given the chance to decide for ourselves what we will take from these experiences and apply to our own lives — Alley Millar
In the creative spirit of the 1920s, the Founders placed a heavy emphasis on drama, choral speech, and individual verse speaking. All of these endeavors were reflective of the educational focus on elocution at the time, when young educated women were expected to be able to speak eloquently, with beauty and complexity, whenever the occasion demanded. Annual Shakespeare competitions and participation in choral speech competitions from Victoria to Nanaimo were the highlights of the drama program at QMS in the early years. In the mid-century, drama and speech arts became integrated into the curriculum. Shirley G. Brewer (Grey) recollects a “...rather unusual field trip to a graveyard...to read Elegy in a Country Churchyard.” She went on to note, “It certainly had atmosphere.” (p. 336)
In 1978, when Beryl Reiger joined the faculty as a Drama Teacher, her focus was to develop the person. In class, students would work on trust, improvisation and theatre games. The students conceived and delivered top-notch performances, and collaborated on Christmas productions in which every single student took part.
From 1923 production of “The Story of the Life of Queen Margaret” to recent drama productions, the strong tradition of performing arts has become a hallmark of QMS.
“The theatre has always been a part of my life and the program at QMS has enriched my high school years and provided a basis for learning the skills of improvisation and communication.”
The modern, technologically-enhanced drama program at QMS is a prime example of an instructional department that is almost entirely able to function in project-based education.
Ania Esquival dances in the 2014 production of Matilda: The Teenage Years.
The driving concept behind all of the school’s theatrical efforts has been one of authenticity in student-driven learning, drawing upon 21st century skills and knowledge that the learners already possess.
In our theatre, the students are challenged to work in much the same way as they would in a laboratory set-ting. Instructors Martina Blake and Kimberly Phillips utilize “teacher-in-role” and other experiential (hands-on) performance-facilitation processes as a catalyst for creativity in expression. Learners are taught the rules and safety procedures (The Rules of Improvisation) in their early foundational classes, and gradually they begin to experiment in deeply developed character psychology and physically dynamic portrayals.
The QMS Fine Arts Performance Laboratory serves as a vessel for learning true empathy for someone they may never meet. Through playing silly, virtuous, lovable or even despicable characters, learners will continue to discover exactly what sort of person they truly want to be when they go out into this world. We are in the business of character construction.
In a laboratory like the QMS Drama Department, we mix solutions from conflicts. We amalgamate mercurial tempers and passionately driven ions. We laugh a lot. Sometimes our reaction yields are incendiary. In every case, meaningful bonding opportunities are achieved.
