Freyberg High School

Drama is offered at all year levels – from Year 9 to Year 13. An Introduction to Drama course is compulsory for all Year 9 students. Year 10 students can opt to continue their Drama journey through a half-year option. In the senior school, NCEA Achievement Standards (with Level 1 and UE Literacy attached) are available through all programmes at Year 11, Year 12 and Year 13. Year 13 Drama is a UE approved subject.

Year 11 to Year 13 Drama students will all participate in a major production each year. We offer regular trips to theatre performances, and strongly encourage students to view live theatre as a part of their annual Drama experience.

Other opportunities provided by the Drama Department include the Drama Academy, Musical Theatre Academy, the bi-annual musicals, the Sheila Winn Shakespeare Festival and Theatre Sports teams, and we also provide on-going support to the Freyberg High School Tech Crew.

Drama Opportunities

As noted above, Drama as an academic subject - with understanding shown in practice - is available to all students from Year 9 through to Year 13. Here in Drama, we focus not only on development of Drama skills, but on the development of the six global competencies: creativity, collaboration, communication, character, critical thinking and citizenship. We do this through meaningful performance-based learning - through our own performances, and those that others produce. This means that there are plenty opportunies to perform on a daily, weekly and termly basis!

The Performing Arts departments at Freyberg produce a bi-annual full-scale musical, alongside of the year level productions (Year 10, 11, 12 and 13) in Drama. Freyberg’s top drama students also feature in Centrepoint’s Basement Theatre Company, participate in theatre sports teams that attend regional competitions, compete in the Sheila Winn Shakespeare Festival and take part in the FHS Drama and Musical Theatre Academies.

Major School Productions

Every second year, the Performing Arts departments at Freyberg produce a bi-annual full-scale musical. This showcases students acting prowess, alongside of demonstrating the level of talent across Freyberg’s orchestras, dance groups and singers. The musicals have a week-long season and are SELL-OUT performances.

Class Performance Evenings

All senior drama classes run annual performance evenings to involve parents and whānau in the performance process. These evenings often showcase the exemplary skill of our student performers and the many elaborate items from Freyberg’s extensive wardrobe and props department.

Drama Facilities

Freyberg’s Drama Facilities currently consist of 3 classrooms (one which is fitted out as a fully functional theatre space), various breakout spaces for rehearsal, a fully-stocked costume room and dressing rooms, and we have access to our state-of-the-art performance space in the Hall. This space - and our D1 black box theatre - is equipped with full professional lighting and sound technology, which continues to be updated to provide the best experiences for our FHS Tech Crew.

In 2021, our lighting technology was fully upgraded to be equivalent to that in theatres across New Zealand. In 2022, our sound technology was then fully upgraded to be equivalent to that in theatres across New Zealand. This complete technology overhaul means that we now boast state-of-the-art performance spaces.

In Level 1 Drama, we use creativity as a vehicle to collaborate, communicate ideas and explore character (our own and that of others). We will develop our understanding and use of drama elements, techniques, conventions and technologies; devise dramas based on Rangitane mythology; demonstrate the use of features of a theatre form; participate in the performance of scripted scenes to a live audience; and reflect and respond to our own work, and the work of others.

In Level 2 Drama, we use creativity as a vehicle to collaborate, communicate ideas, explore character (our own and that of others) and engage in and promote critical thinking. We engage with increasingly complex drama and theatre forms - for example, Elizabethan Theatre. We will interpret works and create our own interpretations; devise dramas based on a psychological, historical or sociological concept; demonstrate the use of features of a theatre form; participate in a significant performance to a live audience; and reflect and respond to our own work, and the work of others.

In Level 3 Drama, we use creativity as a vehicle to collaborate, communicate ideas, explore character (our own and that of others), engage in and promote critical thinking and develop as conscious global citizens. We engage with complex drama and theatre forms - for example, Brecht's Epic Theatre. We will interpret works and create our own interpretations; devise dramas based on a psychological, historical or sociological concept; demonstrate the use of features of a complex theatre form; and participate in the performance of a full length play to a live audience.

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