Some photos from our Year-end plays.

We ALWAYS have a wonderful fun time during our Year-end Plays, and here are some photos from this year's productions.

 "Gloria Van Der Bergen's party is the gala event of the year!"

 "Anyone who's ANYONE is invited to be here!"

 Play some music, Hip-Hop Ants!

 Mr "Cool"!

 School for Superhero's.  Where we use our powers for good!

Cinderella is very different in Africa!!

Hope you enjoyed these photos.  And I hope you have all ordered your DVD's of the performances!

A few Pre-production photos in the meantime.

Another Great Year!

What fun Year-end plays were this year, and how fantastic to have the technical and backstage staff we have.  Many of you have worked with me for a few years now and if I may say so, we are melding into a wonderful team!  Thank you everyone involved.

Also thank you to the University of the Freestate Drama Department and their Scaena Theater for housing us once again. 

But a particular big THANK YOU to Maselspoort Resort and Conference Center http://www.maselspoort.co.za/ for once again sponsoring the theater, so that you don't have to buy tickets and pay entry fees to see your children perform. 

Watch this space for photos....soon!

Term Four is blasting off!

Our Term Four classes started up on Monday!  Everyone is so excited about our Year-end play rehearsals that we have had almost full attendance at classes so far!  Keep it up all you Hip-Hop Ants, Party guests, Superheros, and Pantomime fans! 

Term 3 is sooooo 'yesterday'!

Here's our End of Term 3 info!  Looking forward to seeing you all back first week of Term 4!

YEAR-END PLAYS

As you must be aware we have spent the last few weeks starting on our Year-End Play rehearsals. 

Some of the plays being rehearsed are:  “Gloria Van Der Bergen’s birthday party”,  “School for Superhero’s”, and “The Grasshopper and the Ants”. Both Youth Theaters are performing  “Cinders in Africa” – a modern South African take on the old Fairy Tale, Cinderella!

a TIMETABLE WILL BE AVAILABLE EARLY NEXT TERM.

The date for the plays is the last weekend in November:

Saturday 24^th  Nov.  At the Scaena Theater.

Classes start up for Term 3 as follows:

MONDAY    -        8th Oct TUESDAY    -        9th Oct WEDNESDAY       10th Oct

THURSDAY -        11th Oct FRIDAY       -        12th Oct

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Unlike the ballet and music teachers, I NEVER have extra classes to prepare for our concerts!  It is the Helen O’Grady policy not to inconvenience parents with extra’s (classes, money…). So we rehearse, direct, produce, supply certain costume items, along with sets and most of the props, without placing too much stress on parents, and all within 10 one-hour lessons! Try asking your ballet teacher if she could put on a reasonable show in only 10 hours!

So I DO ask that every effort be made to make sure your child attends each and every class. I know illness happens. I know there are sometimes unavoidable problems, but as far as possible, please do not let your child miss a class!

Have a wonderful  holiday, short though it may be! 

Weekly Drama Classes are so relaxing!

The Children in our classes have been telling me how much they look forward to their weekly drama classes, as it is a release from the pressures of school, homework, and sporting expectations!  
With test weeks, and exams approaching, do not keep your child from drama classes thinking they should be studying instead!  Work out their study schedules to INCLUDE the one hour drama a week.  You will find this an excellent way for them to discharge some pent-up energy, to relax their brains, and have them better able to concentrate again once they get back to their books!

Drama classes are physical and encourage freedom of movement and gesture.  Drama Kids are better able to express themselves!

You should join us!

3rd Term in full swing!

Soon we will start rehearsals for our Year-end plays, but for now its all fun, fun, fun!

DISCO MANIA hit some classes this week!

 And other classes encountered a scary kite or two!

Helen O'Grady Drama classes are the "funnest, fantastickest" thing on the planet!  :)

Countdown to Hols!

We are on the back end of our Parent Day Presentations 2012, and as parents watch their children perform they are once again raving about the programme!

The Sirens!

Ulysses and shipmates, under attack by Sirens!

I will be off to Perth to visit my kids, and will see you all back next term! 

Dynamic structured scenes!

Friday class starting on Ulysses! Getting a 'Greek Chorus' going. :)

Classes back in swing!

Term 2 has been running for a week now and we are excitedly getting ready for a Parent Day Presentation at the end of the term. It's all so much fun! Here a Monday class have just finished pretending to have a sack race wherein they all came down in a heap!

Beauty and the Beast!

Eunice and PACOFS presented "Beauty and the Beast" at the Sand du Plessis theater last week. Many of you were in it! I found you, yes I did! (It helped that you all told me where you would be found in each scene!). I saw you all....assortments of spoons, forks, piggies, wolves, books....I LOVED seeing you up in the Sand stage! You were all fantastic! I am convinced the Helen O'Grady students were just that much better than everyone else, and stood out! That's what made it so much easier for me to find you on that stage of 400 children!! :) What a show! Proud of you all!

I arranged with PACOFS to take my Lebone Village studio kids to the Saturday matinee.
The children loved the show, and indeed the whole big theater experience! Thank you PACOFS for making it possible!




The Lebone studio at the Sand du Plessis Theater before "Beauty and the Beast"
Anri Holder (Lebone Exec Manager), and myself.

Bring-a-Grownup Day!!

Grownups have just as much fun as the kids!

Dress-up fun!

Dress-up days are the best at the Academy!

Time flying!

We are almost half way through term one of 2012 already! Here are some photos of fun.




Wednesday Studio in Fichartdpark














Friday studio Upper Primary struggling through 'snow'!

















Monday Upper are exploding like a volcano.
















Monday studio having fun with a Mexican dress-up!

2012 Starts up!

At last .... it seemed like these holidays would NEVER end! :)

We have started up with a bang as always. Great fun ahead!

Here we have the Wednesday Ficahrdtpark studio washing cars.