Two Bendigo teenagers will perform in Melbourne alongside the best theatre studies and drama students in the state.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Claudia Scott and Daniel Chisholm have been selected to feature in the VCE Season of Excellence Top Class Drama and Theatre Studies on March 15 to 17 at the Malthouse Theatre.
Top Class features performances by students who received outstanding grades for their 2022 VCE performance examinations.
Scott, 18, graduated from Catherine McAuley College, where she was the only drama student in her class.
She said for her final-year performance she chose to do a piece on Yuki-onna, a beautiful snow woman ghost known to kill travelers in the mountains.
In Scott's performance, the spirit looks for love.
"I actually picked the one that my drama teacher said she didn't want me to do," Scott said.
"Exploring that character, it's been really rewarding in the way that there's so many layers."
Chisholm, 18, studied Theatre Studies at Girton Grammar School and chose a monologue from the stage production of The Talented Mr Ripley, portraying the titular character as he gets caught out for his murders and identity thefts.
Chisholm said he also enjoyed exploring the character's identity and portraying emotions of anger, fear and stress.
The two will perform alongside students from schools in Melbourne, such as the Victorian College of the Arts.
Chisholm said being named in the top performance arts students in the state silenced his doubts and increased his confidence.
"I always have doubts of my talent and my parents, teachers and peers around Bendigo have been saying, you're good, you're good, but then sometimes I think 'oh, maybe I'm not'; you don't get the roles you want sometimes," he said.
"But having this kind of sense of a top mark around the state, from probably hundreds and thousands of other students, it gives you that sense that you are talented and it definitely inspires you to keep pushing on in the arts.
"It's definitely an achievement that both Claudia and I should be proud of."
IN OTHER NEWS:
Scott, who has been a dancer for more than 15 years, said it was reassuring to see the arts well supported following the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It makes you actually think 'I can do this, I can be a performer'," she said.
"The arts and theatre have really died down since COVID ... it's nice that we can make a difference.
"We can make a comeback and show there's still stories out there. There's still legends to be told, there's still theatre in the air."
Chisholm will perform on March 15 and Scott on March 17. Click here for tickets.
Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser app. Click here to download.
Jonathon Magrath
Jonathon has been living and working in Bendigo since March 2021, currently working as a general reporter. Contact him on jonathon.magrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Jonathon has been living and working in Bendigo since March 2021, currently working as a general reporter. Contact him on jonathon.magrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
