Woodhouse Arts Faculty Newsletter
Come along to watch the A level Theatre Studies performances this week. You are all welcome!
The upper sixth, and their teachers, have been working hard on their final performances. They are now ready. Why don't you come along to watch their finished pieces this week.
Performances begin at 6pm and there are three shows per night lasting 40 minutes each with a twenty minute turnaround. All performances will be in the main hall.
Come along. All shows need an audience. Here is the schedule.
Tuesday 6pm- 9pm
1. Abigail's Party
2. The Lying Kind.
3. The Birthday Party
Wednesday 14th March 6pm -7.50pm
1. Popcorn
2. The Lying Kind
3. The Birthday Party.
Here is a brief snippet of Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party in rehearsal.
Past Theatre Studies performances
If you simply cannot make it here is a link to previous performances and the lower 6th performances from last month. You may need to sign into your Woodhouse College account to view these performances.
Youssef Khaireddine, Literature student, wins the English department Poetry competition on the theme of Secrets
Winning entry Secrets
amica mea. Youssef Khaireddine
let me tell you about love. my love.
my hidden truth; somehow both my greatest pride and worst fear.
it is strong, and powerful, and light, and hated, and shunned, and heavy.
above all it is good, i know it. it fills the world.
but
the world is not kind to boys like me to boys who like boys.
that lesson
i did not need to be taught;
my love was wrong
(but so right)
and dark
(but my only source of light)
and i feared it too. before him.
he is my sanctuary and i his.
we are stolen touches in quiet moments,
the softness of his lips against mine.
we are fumbling fingers in the dark,
warm
and
gentle.
our love is all encompassing.
it is raw and soft and safe and bright and magic.
we nurture it like a rose,
touches of sunlight,
smiles of water,
embraces of soil.
every day it grows
and grows
and grows
and grows
UNTIL
a thundering crash.
the ocean waves on the beach,
but not the violence of it, no.
the sparkle of the sand in the light,
the gentle caress of the water on skin,
the comfort of the sand enveloping my body as the water recedes.
our love is the ocean,
sometimes roaring, sometimes whispering, but always there.
i try not to hide my love any longer,
for it is good, and light, and strong.
the fear is always there (after all, the world is not kind to boys like me)
but as is my love, and with it, my pride.
i love though the world tells me not to-
i love fiercely and without shame.
i love fondly and without regret.
i love endlessly.
2nd Place The Inevitable by Moressa Chambers
If you must forget me,
Erase my name from your lips
Call me the girl that never was
Hide my memory behind an eclipse
Look into her light and be blinded.
Please,
Blur my swollen eyes
Muffle the tremble of my lip
Drown our roaring flame
Stifle the echoing drip
Let me hold the embers
Watch them glow as they forget
I am nobody’s fool, and yet
I will not let go
Third prize went to Olivia Emin for DO You Send
‘Do you send?’ by Olivia Emin
You have a filthy little secret, which comes out late at night.
Deep down you know it’s wrong, yet they paint you as Mr Right.
Your wit and brains is something institutions seem to cherish,
So they’re quick to cover up your slimy sneaky fetish.
Reports about you are disregarded as people fester in sweet denial
You had the nickname ‘head’ boy long before you earned the title.
My phone buzzes late one night as you ask ‘what u doing?x’
Each cruel intention is disguised as an innocent attempt at wooing
I say ‘just had a shower x’ you ask ‘without me,y?x’
Truthfully your presence would make my shower dry.
I see your confidence growing as you clock that I’m alone;
But hearing me complain about you is the only way you’ll make me moan.
There are plenty of other girls, whose privacy you violated,
You only enjoy entertainment, if what you’re viewing is x-rated.
My phone lights up to confirm that your pleasantries are pretend,
I see your message to no surprise it reads ‘Do you send?x’
Theatre Studies students go to see Girls and Boys, a one woman show, with Carey Mulligan and get to see the star. Matilda Maglio writes.
Carey Mulligan, My One True Donny
On Wednesday 28th February, the Theatre Studies department took a trip to the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square to watch ‘Girls And Boys’, a one woman show starring Carey Mulligan, known for her roles as Daisy Buchanan in ‘The Great Gatsby’, Jenny Mellor in ‘An Education’ (based off of the life of Lynn Barber), and Sally Sparrow in ‘Doctor Who’.
The play is a 90 minute monologue about an unnamed woman, who tells the story of how she rises through the television industry, meets her husband, and her relationship with her two children. Mulligan exhibits her versatility as an actor by creating a compelling, witty character who flits between conversations with the audience about her life and miniature ‘memories’ of times with her invisible children. The comedic tone of the piece shines through as Dennis Kelly’s exceptionally written text covers a variety of topics prevalent in modern society, such as class divides in business, sexism, and parental roles. It will strike a personal note with every member of the audience. The ending (no spoilers) had everyone in tears, or at least a hard-core sniffle.
After the performance, a couple of friends and myself, braved the snow and cold to wait at stage door for Carey to appear. Not only was she chatty and very funny, she was kind enough to take photos and sign scripts for anyone who asked.
If anyone wants to be laughing until your sides hurt, or cry until you haven’t any tears left, ‘Girls And Boys’ is the show for you.
How many stars would I award this show?- As many as possible.
The Theatre Studies department are delighted to be welcoming the playwright, Dennis Kelly, into Woodhouse to discuss the play and his work with our students.
Portraiture from Kleida Nanaj in L6 Art.
Rules for drawing a face.
Kleida says her drawing skills really improved at Woodhouse as a result of understanding the rules for drawing a face. These are outlined below.
1. The eyes are located approximately half way up the full height of the head (including the hair), not three quarters of the way up as most people imagine. This means that the forehead is larger than most people think unless the head is tilted backwards. The tilt of the head strongly affects the volume of the forehead.
2. Regardless of how large the eyes are, as a rough guide the width between the eyes is approximately the same as the width of a single eye.
3. The white of the eye only fully surrounds the iris if a person opens their eyes as wide as possible (in e.g. a look of astonishment). Usually, the iris is cut into by the eye lid.
4. The whites of the eyes are rarely pure white, but the lit side of the whites (which may sometimes have a dab of pure white in it) will be on the same side of the face as the light source. The iris however, is most lit up on the side furthest away from the light source because the light enters into it and reflects off the far side.
5. Dropping vertical lines down from the tear ducts will guide you to the two edges of the nose.
6. Find the extent of the mouth widthways by dropping vertical lines down from the pupils.
7. The ears are larger than most people think. The top of the ear may be as high as the level of the eyebrow and the ear lobe may come as low as the bottom of the nose. However, be aware that this will alter drastically as the head is tilted upwards or downwards.
A german valentine's day poem. Maybe a little late but can you translate? Sei mein Valentinsschatz! (Be my Valentine) von Schülern in der 12. Klasse
Du und ich
Du und ich im Winter
Kuscheln vorm Kamin,
gemeinsames Plätzchenbacken
Du und ich im Frühling
Die ersten Sonnenstrahlen genießen
Bestaunen der bunten Blumen
Du und ich im Sommer
Baden im Meer
Entspannen am Strand
Du und ich im Herbst
Drachen steigen lassen
Zusehen, wie die Blätter fallen
Du und ich, in allen vier Jahreszeiten, immer wieder
Dinge tun, Dinge lassen
Dies und das
Doch das Wichtigste: Zeit miteinander verbringen!
Here is a little research on St Valentine, again in German
Wir haben in unserer Abiturklasse über Feste und Traditionen in deutschsprachigen Ländern gesprochen. Der Valentinstag ist solch ein Fest, das in Europa seit ca. 1950 gefeiert wird; vor allem in Grossbritannien und in den USA hat der Valentinstag Tradition. Aber woher kommt der Valentinstag? Der heilige Valentin lebte im dritten Jahrhundert nach Christus im heutigen Italien. Er war bekannt dafür, dass er Paare mit Blumen aus seinem Garten beschenkte. Vor allem aber vermählte er Verliebte nach christlicher Tradition, womit er gegen das ausdrückliche Verbot des römischen Kaisers verstiess. Weil es sich nicht verbieten lassen wollte, seine Religion auszuüben, wurde er am 14. Februar 269 in Rom hingerichtet. Etwa 100 Jahre später wurde Valentin heilig geprochen.
Here is a map of the London Underground in German
Mathmaticians say there is poetry in Maths. Here is a poem by Brian Bilson created from a venn diagram
Upper 6th Theatre Studies students will be performing their scripted performances in the hall next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Recette de la pâte à crêpes
Recette de la pâte à crêpes
Cassez les œufs, mélangez et versez le lait, petit à petit.
Ajoutez l’huile.
Laissez reposer la pâte pendant une heure
Mettez du beurre dans une poële et faites cuire les crêpes 3 minutes de chaque côté.
Upper 6th Art students are currently three weeks into their ten week exam on the theme of freedom and restraint. Here are some examples of work in progress.
Lower 6th Literature students have made short videos filling in the back stories of characters from The Tempest, a play they are studying for exam.
Spanish students go to The London School of Economics
Last Tuesday a group of Spanish students went to The London School of Economics, to see the documentary En Tierra Extraña. The documentary film is part of a research project carried out by the well-known Spanish director Íciar Bollaín. Her project involves the study of the experiences of Spanish immigrants living in Edinburg. All of them had to leave Spain due to unemployment during the economic crisis. Immigration is one of the topic we study in the second year of A level Spanish. The screening was followed by a question answer session in which three guests gave different perspectives on the crisis in Spain.
SomeYr 13 students gave this feedback:
‘ Great documentary, very informative, an enlightening experience’ Joanna Misca
‘ It was interesting to hear people’s experiences first hand. It gave a different perspective to think about other than what is available to us through the media' Aisha Begdouri
'My experience going to LSE and watching the documentary was highly enriching to understanding immigration in the Hispanic world' Alex Daly
'A good experience. It showed how university life will be'. Alice Monteforte