Monday, February 18, 2013

How We Are Different

I posted the following item on our Facebook page and we had such a positive response I thought it was worth repeating here.

I was talking to one of the Mothers of a new student today and I asked her why she chose to send her daughter to our programme. Well she gave me a list of reasons and she was right on the button. It reminded me of how we are different and its worth repeating here.

Points of Difference at Helen O'Grady Drama Academy

Full curriculum that is not repeated in 4 years

Every class has a proper lesson plan

Classes are operated to ensure a structure and a safe and fun environment.

Curriculum is fully developed and used internationally

Trained teachers with wide experience and recognized qualifications

Students are not required to buy uniforms or T shirts

No prior experience or interest in drama is required

No exams or hurdles to jump, students grow at their pace

The emphasis is on life skills and not performing arts

Trail programme allows a try before you buy

Its true that we focus on self development skills for children and young adults. Yes we do some acting, mime and movement and speech, but the emphasis is not on being a star or the next best thing on stage. Its about being who you want to be and growing in a fun environment.

Graham Wilson
Executive Principal
Helen O'Grady New Zealand

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Hi Everyone.

Have you sent in your enrolment form for 2013 yet?

If not please email them to us or of course you can bring them to class and give to Helen.

Have you had a chance to look at our new website or Facebook page?

Keep looking as soon we will be announcing a competition for our students.

All the best.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Welcome to 2013

Welcome to the 2013 Helen O’Grady Drama Academy Programme

We have another exciting year of fun ahead. Looking forward to seeing all our students back from last year and to welcoming new students to our fun classes.

The end of Year Productions were a major success, everyone had such a good time. It is fantastic to see our students, your children, on stage and performing so well. It is so wonderful to see how our “shy” students have blossomed and gained the skills and confidence to go on stage and become performers.

This year our classes commence during the first week of the school term.

For most this will be the week commencing 04 February, but there will be some variations throughout the country depending on the class your child attends. Please check with your local Principal if you are not sure, or check their Blog Page.

Hope you have had a chance to look at our brand new website?

www.helenogrady.co.nz

please encourage your friends and family to have a look and maybe attend one of our classes.

This year we are introducing:

“ The Present that Keeps On Giving” our Life Skills vouchers.

We had many requests, especially from Grandparents, who wanted to pay for classes for their grandchildren. They wanted to gift our programme to their children and asked if we could produce something for them.

We thought it was a great idea and have produced the Life Skills vouchers.

Now anyone can buy a voucher for a Term or longer and gift it to the child of their choice. If you are interested please contact your local Principal or via email or phone to us and we will pass it on.

Contacts.

We rely on being able to contact you via a variety of means but increasingly by email (its saves trees). Please, if you have changed any of your contacts, home address, phone or email, please let us know. That way if we have to contact you urgently

As always please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about any part of our Programme.

All the best

Graham and Helen

Friday, April 6, 2012

End Of Term One

Term 2 will commence immediately after the school holidays, the week beginning April 23^rd 2012

All children presently enrolled in classes are automatically re-enrolled.

Next term is a very exciting one as we have the

Parent Day Presentation.

You, your family and friends are invited to come and enjoy a cross-section of the curriculum the students have prepared. Along with speech and movement we will be performing mini-scripts, plays and other exciting items. Come and celebrate your children’s achievements, see how much they have developed in confidence and verbal communication skills.

Plus we will be presenting Achievement Plaques and Certificates to children who have completed one year and 100 or 200 lesson milestones.

NEXT TERM STARTS 23 April 2012

Have a wonderful break! See you next term!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

What ....... Week Six ...... Already!!!!!

Yes it is. Only 3 more weeks and the Easter Bunny will be making his way to your house.

But before he does, we still have plenty of fun activities to get through.

I have been very impressed by the improvement of your ab-libbing skills. This is one of the hardest parts of our lessons to learn because sometimes you might not be able to think of anything to say, or feel a little bit shy. Don't worry. Learning how to ab-lib is important because it means we can set scenes in a play, react to what the other characters are saying and if someone forgets their words it means we can fill the space by making up our own sentences so the play can go on and the audience won't know that something is not quite right.

Now this brings me to speech. It is great to see you all working hard at our speech exercises. I know these may sometimes seem boring, but they are very important and must be practiced. This is so we can train our voices to be nice and clear, with good beginning and ending of words with nice sounds so that when you stand up in assembly to speak, you will be able to be heard right at the back of the room, without using a microphone.

Moving on to ..... movement. This week we are learning 4 types of movement - Even and Uneven movements and Smooth and Jerky movements. When we have practiced these individually we will make a dance incorporating all 4. You'll have to listen very carefully for the tambour to give you clues when to change.

Improvisations this week are: Lower - "Sorry it was an accident" and for Uppers "Exploring the Wodonga Caves"

For the last activity of the lesson the lowers will be showing me the difference between behaving and eating politely and horribly while in a restaurant.
The Uppers will be making up a snippet starting with the sentence "Don't forget to come next Wednesday".

See you at class

Bye for now

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Hi Everyone

Week Three already
This term is flying past.

Our Dance Drama is the main focus of our lessons this week.

Over the last two weeks we have been learning about locomotion (fast and slow), moving between different styles of locomotion (walking, skipping, hopping etc), working with partners and making our bodies look happy or sad.
This week we put all that together with "The Villagers and the Tyrant".
Some of us will be villagers playing in the sun and being happy, until the Tyrant appears and starts to demand that we pay him some money. At first we are scared (and show this by sad, unhappy bodies) and give him what he wants. After a while we realise that he is not that scary and gang together to sneak up on the Tyrant and give him a scare instead. The Tyrant goes from being loud and scary to being unhappy and sad.

Of course we show all this using our Mime and Movement skills - no talking - just lots of facial and body expressions. And of course every class is different in the portrayal of the story.
I can't wait to see how your class does it!

Lower Primary classes our Improvisation this week is about having "Fun in the Sun" at the beach. Don't forget to bring your props.
Upper Primary, our Improvisation is called "The Bus Accident". We might have to practice our first aid skills to help the injured passengers.

Keep up the good work on your ad libbing. Your speech is coming along, but remember practice makes perfect. So that is what we will be doing - practicing so we can be perfect.

See you all at class.

Bye

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

How's It Going??????

Have you all settled back into your school routine?

I really enjoyed our first week back, seeing all the old faces and meeting lots of new ones. The start of the term is always a little unsettling but we too will soon be into our routine.

It has been good to hear lots of fine voices. I can tell that some of you have been practicing your speech exercises. Your ad-libbing is coming along too and it has been great to hear this during our classes last week. Dust off those imaginations and get all those creative minds working. We can have sooooooo much fun.

The subject of our "snippets" this week is "Why did you put the phone down when I came into the room?" - That's a very long sentence by itself. Can you come up with some answers to it. I look forward to hearing them all.

Also I have really enjoyed watching some of our younger members having fun with crepe paper. We have been making flames and fires and dancing around the room using them as streamers. Just remember, while it is fun to pretend to be flames, we don't play with matches or fire as it can be very dangerous.

Have a really good week. I look forward to seeing you at class.

Bye for now

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Here We Go

Welcome to Term One 2012

Hello to all of you who are returning for another year and a BIG WELCOME to all our new students.

Yes classes are starting this week and I have a very busy term planned.

The first thing we need to do is get those voices back into fine form after their rest over the holidays, so......
more projection, articulation and forward placing required. I will need just as much practice as you so it's something we'll be working on together.

Mime and movement is next on the list. I don't know about you but I will have to start limbering up to get into all those wonderful shapes that we make. I may be getting to old for this bit, so you will have to do it for me.

Improvisations or The Weekly Play.
This week some of us will be going to a barbecue with Timothy who loses a tooth, can you guess where??? Others of us will be off to the fairground to see if we can win a prize by Ringing the Bell. I wonder who it will be.

Snippets are returning this term. This week: "School was unbearable today". I hope this wasn't really the case for you.

See you all at class

Bye for now

Helen

Friday, January 27, 2012

Happy New Year Every One

I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Christmas and New Year.

Well, term one for 2012 is starting shortly and with it our drama classes. Many of you enquired about our classes last year but were unable to take part in our wonderful programme so I warmly welcome you to come along and join in our fun for 2012.

Our classes in:

Dunedin for 6 - 11 year olds are:

Monday Wakari School Hall, Helensburgh Road 3.45 – 4.45 pm - Starting Monday 13th Feb

Tuesday Musselburgh School Hall, Marlow St 3.30 - 4.30 pm - Starting Tuesday 7th Feb

Thursday Green Island School Hall,Howden St 3.30 – 4.30 pm - Starting Thursday 9th Feb

Friday Dunedin North Intermediate School Hall, North Road 4.00 - 5.00 pm - Starting Friday 3rd Feb

Youth Theatre for students - 12 - 16 years

Thursday - St Clair Womens Club Hall. 47 Albert Road, St Clair 7.00 - 8.00 pm - Starting Thursday 9th Feb

Invercargill class for 6 - 10 year olds

Thursday Holy Trinity Church hall, King Street, Windsor, Invercargill 3.30 - 4.30 pm - Starting Thursday 9th Feb.

The lessons are divided into three sections.

Speech: Projection, articulation, helping children to speak clearly with clear beginnings and endings of words. We learn rhymes and poems to help keep this fun and to stimulate the imagination.

Mime and Movement: Learning to move our bodies in different ways and to make different shapes with our bodies. Sometimes we have partner work and we also act out short stories (plays) to music.

Creative Improvisation: We learn a short play each week where the emphasis is on making up our own sentences to react to a scenario.

The students work together to help them feel confident in class.

Youth Theatre includes all of the above concepts and combined with stage craft and performance skills helps young adults grow in confidence and self esteem.

These classes are like a youth group, a safe environment without peer pressure or the other negative issues young people can face in society today.

Our programme runs for the full school year with classes held each week of the four terms. The fee for Term One is $135.00 all-inclusive or $250 which include a family discount for 2 children. Fees are paid at the first lesson of the term, however, I can offer you an installment plan and internet banking is available if this is more convenient.

For those students who may take a little while to settle into our programme and to enjoy the benefits we provide, we offer a 4 week trial period for $60. This ensures we both find the programme of benefit to your child.

Please access our website at www.helenogrady.co.nz. for more general information, testimonials etc.

Students are encouraged to call me Helen. I am a fully trained Helen O’Grady Drama teacher. Michelle Penny is my wonderful teacher for the Invercargill class.

At the end of Term Two you are invited to our End of Term Presentation and Prizegiving. At the conclusion of Term 4 we welcome you to attend a play presented by the children especially for parents and friends and our end of year prize giving.

Parents are not encouraged to stay at class as this can distract the children, is not conducive to creative development and can make teaching difficult.

If you have any questions please phone on 03-465-8412 or email gdwilson@xtra.co.nz.

I look forward to meeting you and your wonderful, creative children in the very near future.

Kind regards

Helen Wilson

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Hello and Welcome to....

Week seven........ already. I just can't believe we are so close to our performance days.

Thank you all for really trying hard with your roles in the plays. At this time of the term it is all getting a little trying and tiring for everyone. So.... we all need to put in that little bit more effort and concentration to make our plays the most wonderful thing our parents, family and friends have seen.

Most of us have finished learning the lines and moves, now it is a matter of putting that little bit more acting into your character, having lovely loud, clear voices, (both speaking and singing) and adding that bit of sparkle and dazzle.

Dress rehearsal is only a couple of lessons away. Have you thought about what you will wear??? Lots of colour and sparkles will be great.

See you all at class

Remember keep smiling

Monday, November 7, 2011

It's Show Time

Dear Parents,

Its Show Time!

We are delighted to present our End of Year productions:

Circus Capers

Roslyn - Monday December 12th - 4.15 pm

Musselburgh - Tuesday December 6th - 4.00 pm

The Gardens - Friday December 9th - 4.30 pm

Pirate Joe

Invercargill - Thursday December 8th - 4.00 pm

Green Island - Thursday December 8th - 4.00 pm

Murder at Mornington Manor

Youth Theatre - Thursday December 8th - 7.30 pm

DRESS REHEARSAL TIME IS: Half an hour before the production for a final run through

Students please be there on time and in costume. We will perform for our parents and guests during the second half of the lesson

Its really important we support our class mates by attending and being on time.

Please dress in costume for the performance, it would be fantastic. However this is not compulsory, please do not go to a lot of expense.

As always, your co-operation at this time of year is much appreciated.

The students have worked incredibly hard to bring these performances together.

See you there

Monday, October 3, 2011

Week 10 - End of Term

TERM 4 and THE PLAY!

This week is the last lesson of Term 3. Term 4 starts the same week as school.

THE PLAY!

As you know, our Academy year is divided into 4 terms. Terms 1, 2 & 3 concentrate on our extensive, developmental programme designed to help your child gain confidence and self esteem. Term 4 amalgamates the drama and life skills learned during the year into a finished product - the end of year play. This is a very exciting and rewarding time for the children as it gives them all an opportunity to be part of a very successful activity and to show you how they have progressed!

It is really important to make every effort to ensure that your child completes the year and gains the benefit of this unique experience. Children are encouraged to invite their family and friends to come and see the play and celebrate their achievement.

In Term 4, all students will be rehearsing for the end of year play.

Each student has been given a role in the play.

Very few students leave classes at this time of the year so we assume that your child will be continuing and playing a role in the play. Please let us know if this is not the case. To avoid clashes with school activities, the plays will be presented between December 6^th and December 12^th 2011 on the same day of the week you normally have class.

Please put this in your diary to ensure your child can attend and be part of the production.

Fees

Term 4 is an eight week term and the fee is reduced to $120. If you send your fees in with your child, please enclose in a sealed envelope, with your name and the amount clearly marked. Or payment can be made online to our account ASB 12-3150-0266940-00

An installment payment plan is available to help you spread the fee over the term. Please phone or email me if you wish to use the payment plan.

TERM 4 COMMENCES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

I look forward to seeing you all again and enjoying the fun of producing our play.

Have a great break. See you next term

Monday, September 26, 2011

The craziness has ......

started. Yes now is the time for the hard work to begin for the end of year plays which will be performed between December 6 and 12 depending which studio you attend. Mark these dates on the callender now so we don't get any clashes. I would hate for you to put in so much hard work only not to be able to perform because of a clash with another activity.

This year we are going to be performing:
"Pirate Joe" for the Green Island studio and I have seen some great pirate acting already.
"Circus Capers" for the Composite classes. You guys have started with a hiss and a roar so the standard is going to be very high.
"Murder at Mornington Manor" for the Youth class and thank you to those people who are joining Youth to help add a few more voices. I really appreciate the effort you are putting into being part of the play.

So now is the time to start thinking about how your character would behave, how would they look, how would they talk, what kind of clothing would they wear. How would they walk, would they old or young - lots of things to think about as well as remember moves, lines, songs and dances, but guess what? ............

We are going to be having so much fun, I can't wait.

See you at class.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Almost time .....

to start work on our plays. I have been busy putting scripts together, working out dance steps, sorting music etc. It's getting really exciting. I am so looking forward to helping you learn your lines and put your characters together. Only one week to go...... Yeah.

So this week, we have to work hard on our speech, making sure all the exercises are in place before we begin any script work. Mime and movement this week will be about the 3 different panes of movement, we certainly be using those skills in our plays. Improvisation is about catching the wrong plane for our holiday - oh no .. what shall we do ... only one thing for it -- practice using all our ad libbing skills to get us out of a tricky situation. Are you up for it??????? - Of course, I know you are.

By the way - what is your favourite Rugby World Cup team???? ---- Who is going to win??????

See you soon

Monday, September 5, 2011

Hello Spring

Isn't it great!!!!!

Sunshine, flowers, lambs, calves, doesn't it make you want to smile, laugh and jump for joy!!

Welcome to Week Six.

Well more miniscripts this week. It is very good practice for learning our plays. We have to think about the type of character you are playing and making sure you stay in character all the way through, not just when you are saying your lines. Also let's try and learn the mini script off by heart, that way you can use heaps more acting to make your play come to life.
It's also a great way to help us to work with other people and respect what they have to say and do. Just remember to keep having fun.

Another Mime to Music this week. Remember we have been working on "wring and dab" and "press and flick", well this week we are going to put those skills together to become "grubby germs" lurking in the kitchen and find out what happens when they get cleaned.

See you at class

Monday, August 29, 2011

It's Week Five .........

and that means we are half way through the term already and that means ..... only 3 weeks until we start work on our end of year plays Yeah !!!!!!

More about plays in the coming weeks, but there will be lots of singing and lots of colourful costumes, may be even some dancing.

Well the last couple of weeks we have been catching up with our inclass improvisations, The Thief and The Trial (because some classes were cancelled because of the snow)

What a great job you all did. It's hard to imagine what life was like way back in those horrible dark days when you could be sent to Australia because you were starving.

Important note: Although it makes a great play, it's still not okay to steal, even if it's something like a loaf of bread.
This week we are again working on Mini scripts and I am looking foward to all your great characterisations.

See you at class

Monday, August 15, 2011

Hello Week Three and ......It's Snowing

Hello everyone

Yes it's snowing, even here in Waikouaiti. Many of our schools in Dunedin are closed today because of snow and ice, therefore there will be no class at Wakari today. Very disappointing as our improv this week is "The Thief" I was looking foward to all the great ideas you were going to bring to class. So Wakari students next week we will put the two improvisations together - "The Thief" and "The Thief con't" and see what a great play we can make.
Now for the rest of the week, I will see what the weather is like each morning and if the class needs to be cancelled I will let you all know before lunch time.
Have fun in the snow and keep safe and warm.

Untill next time ..........

Monday, August 8, 2011

Hello Week Two

Hi every one, great to see you all back again this term.

Last week was a hoot. I was really impressed with your ad-libbing during our improvisation "Health and Safety". There was some great characterisation too. Well done.

This week we start our first mini-script - "Clear Up This Mess". The unusual thing about this script is that one person is going to be playing the part of a waste paper basket. I am already looking forward to how you are going to work on this one. Will it be funny, serious, weird, have a hidden message???

Remember to check with the Prop list posted last week for what you may need to bring to each class.

Have fun

Cheers

Helen

Monday, August 1, 2011

WELCOME TO TERM 3

Hello everyone.

I hope you have all managed to have a good rest over the holidays. What about the snow?? Exciting. We had lots of lovely white snow here at Waikouaiti which was really amazing, it even snowed on the beach.

Well here we are ready to start Term 3. First of all I would like to thank you all for the really hard work you all put into our presentations last term. I was very proud of you all.

This term we go back to the normal format,

Introduction activities, speech, mime and movement, and our improvisations although every now and again I will throw in some miniscripts just to keep you on your toes.

We will be focusing on our ad libbing skills this term also, in preparation for our end of year play.

As the school terms have been changed this year, we will begin work on the end of year play in week 7, so we have plenty of time to master it before the rush of term 4.

Below I have included the themes of each lesson improvisations, so if you want to dress up or bring props please do.

Have a great week

Helen O’Grady Drama, TERM 3 Prop and Costume Suggestions:

UPPER PRIMARY

LESSON: DATES: THEME: