Drama@ISM

Drama is a popular curriculum subject and co-curricular activity at ISM. At ES, Grade 4 students can sign up for the after school Children's Musical Theatre (CMT) program, which is managed alongside all other ES activity sign ups via the AFAC website. There is no discreet Drama curriculum subject offered in the ES and Drama skills are instead infused throughout the curriculum. This is especially evident in the Music program develops performance and movement skills in a developmentally appropriate manner.

Once in MS, Drama is a curriculum subject available at all grade levels. All Grade 5 and 6 students will complete a semester a year of Drama. These classes focus on building collaboration and communication skills that are transferable to all areas of life. Grade 7 & 8 students then have the chance to specialise by taking one or more of the following semester-long Drama courses: 'Improvable 007' improvisation, Musical Theatre, Technical Theatre, and/ or 'Page to Stage' scripted theatre.

There are also several options for MS students to experience Drama in the co-curricular program. In first semester, students can sign up via the AFAC website to do after school Drama Club. The focus changes each year, but has included such things as Intro to Shakespeare, Stage Combat, and Devising a musical. In addition, students can also apply to travel as part of the ISTA ensemble to attend a Drama festival overseas. The biggest co-curricular event of the year is the MS Play, which usually auditions in December and is performed in May. It usually involves around 80 MS students from all grades as either cast or crew.

At High School Level, curriculum Drama becomes known as Theatre to reflect it's more broad focus on acting, production, technical and backstage roles. There are two year-long courses for underclassman: Intro Theatre and Explore Theatre. In Grade 11 and 12, students take the 2 year IB Theatre program. Information about all these classes can be found on Pages 47 and 48 of the HS Course Offering Guide.

In terms of co-curricular Drama in the High School, the HS Play takes place in October, with auditions generally happening in the first week of Semester One. The play is open to any student who wishes to participate and there are generally more than 100 who join as either cast or crew members. The plays are a mix of devised, adapted and scripted works, with some musicals. In November, students then audition to represent the school for IASAS Drama. Those who aren't selected, but still wish to do some form of Drama, help out as mentors on the MS Play or join together to create student- directed short performances.