HRDS CELEBRATES ITS 5th BIRTHDAY IN 2012
Our 5th Anniversary Program is full of exciting things to get involved in. So make 2012 the year YOU try something different.
5 REASONS WHY DRAMA IS VALUABLE
1. Nurtures creativity
2. Fosters young personalities
3. Develops confidence
4. Develops important social skills
5. Encourages team work
5 REASONS TO TRY HUNTER REGION DRAMA SCHOOL
1. Largest range of activities – Drama, Acting, Musical Theatre, Screen Acting, Youth Choir, Creative Play
2. Largest number of workshops to choose from – Up to 30 classes
3. Proven Success – We provide avenues for our students into the industry. Some students have gone onto to work professionally in theatre, film & television.
4. Youth Scholarships – valued to $500
5. Agent Nights, Masterclasses, Private Lessons for Audition preparation & Trinity examinations
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?
Our focus at Hunter Region is training actors.
We do this through:
- our carefully designed syllabus that we teach during our weekly workshops.
- offering opportunities for our students to audition and become part of our professional performance opportunities.
- Quality – our teaching artists have real passion, and are driven by the fact that the arts have the power to enrich the lives of young people.
LATEST NEWS
2011 CONDA AWARD Nominations
Best Non-Professional Musical Production – Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Excellence by a Professional Director – Daniel Stoddart, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Excellence in Professional Achievement in Music, Sound and Movement – Hayley Stoddart, Choreographer, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Excellence in Professional Achievement in Set, Costume, Make-up and Lighting
Sandra Joyce - Costume Design, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Brian Lowe – Set Design, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Theresa Sawert – Lighting Design, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Excellence by a Non-Professional Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical – Callan Purcell, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Best Juvenile Male Performance - Callan Purcell, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Best Ensemble Acting in a Non-Professional Production,
Fantastic Mr Fox
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Newcastle Youth Theatre Development Grant – Jerry Ray
CONGRATULATIONS to all on their nominations!
AUDIENCE MEMBER REVIEW – Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jnr
Dear Daniel and Team at HRDS
We just wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate the Hunter Drama Academy for an excellent production of Beauty and The Beast and wish the cast well for future endeavours.
This was our first viewing of a performance by Hunter Region Drama School (but certainly not our last). We have seen many youth and senior productions in Newcastle, Melbourne and Sydney and wanted to take this opportunity to convey our complete surprise at the professionalism and maturity of the youth in the performance of Beauty and Beast on Friday matinee and were impressed with how they conducted themselves. There was certainly a great deal of talent at Friday’s performance and we think we better “watch this space” as these young people will definitely be able to mix it with the best in later years.
The singing and voices of these young actors which was displayed was unbelievable. We knew we were coming to youth theatre but were amazed how professional and believable the parts were played out in such a beautiful story line.
So thank you Daniel for your efforts and expertise with these young actors. Keep up the good work, we will look forward to more performances by HRDS as well as seeing some of these young actors in Sydney….maybe even New York one day.
Please pass on our thanks and congratulations to these youth and their parents for providing inspiration to other youth, for their the hard work and determination which goes into the end product and for making great choices in spending their leisure time for the benefit of others. The hard work certainly paid off (and always does) and they should be commended! Well done.
The Donnellys
New Lambton
McDonald’s Sydney Eisteddfod 2011 WINNERS
Group Devised Scene (Any Age)
Hunter Region Drama School has again proven that Hunter Region talent is of national standard. HRDS’s Performance Troupe entered the Group Devised Category (open age) yesterday (June 5) at the prestigious Scots College in Sydney and came home WINNERS!
HRDS entered 3 performances. “TWISTED”, a colourful story of fairy tale characters banding together to fight a common enemy…US! The people of the 21st Century, who have allegedly forgotten all about the “Old Guard” and have become too caught up with Harry Potter and various other modern day characters. The second performance “ACTING SCHOOL ACADEMY FOR ACTORS” was about a group of students going through Acting School and learning that you have to be patient and determined to do whatever it takes to get noticed and ultimately become a professional actor.
The Winning performance was titled “THE GRANNY MURDERS”. A comical look at the generation gap between the young people of today and some bitter old Grandmothers. Set in a hair salon, grannies getting their hair done, bicker and gossip about how the young people of today aren’t like they use to be, until one young hairdresser determined to stick up for herself revolts against the patronizing oppression and decides to get even. In the style of a classic Agatha Christie “Who-dun-it” murder mystery, generation Y get their own back in this tale of revenge.
Adjudicator Lynette Pierse (1983 NIDA graduate and now Improvisation teacher at NIDA and Actors Centre) complimented our students on how dynamic the performance was,
“The style of melodrama was very exciting for the audience. Granny Murders had a fun and entertaining spirit of work. Was great to see the students taking risks within their performance.”
All performances had to be under 10 minutes and were devised and performed by HRDS students between the age of 9 and 17. The category was open to all ages.
The winning students included Jerry Ray, Taya Calder-Mason, Bianca Bunn, Claire Campbell, Jennifer Cooksley, Jesse Dean, Macayla Eberhard, Adam Grossenbacher (CONDA Youth Scholarship Winner), Deanne Hotchkies.
All performances can be seen again at HRDS’s WOW Fest performances at the Civic Playhouse 24th – 26th Nov.
NEW! CREATIVE PLAY
The Hunter’s ONLY drama workshops designed for Pre-Schoolers 3 to 5 years.
Your child will have loads of fun in these 45 minute weekly sessions incorporating music, storytelling, dance, singing and simple character play. The game based workshops taught by reputable child expert will focus on developing imagination, socialisation, co-operation, movement and voice.
Small class sizes.
ACADEMY STATEMENT
Hunter Region Drama School (HRDS) is still the Hunter’s newest youth based theatre academy for young performers.
FACT! * The arts have the power to enrich the lives of young people by promoting a positive outlook.
FACT! * Theatre has a lasting impact and motivates young people to develop important social skills, to effectively solve problems and to develop confidence and personality.
OUR MISSION! * To inspire young people to be the best they can.
2010 sees HRDS turn 3 years old. Our 2010 program is packed with more than ever before. More workshops, more tutors, more auditions, more productions and more performance opportunities for all our students. There’s heaps to get involved in! So make 2010 the year you let yourself be inspired to act, play, tell and perform. Your own imagination is your most powerful tool. Learn to use it!
