The start of the New Year has seen a
lot of exciting changes in Marrzipan
Drama!
We have recently appointed one of
our senior teachers, Julie Comerford,
as our Client Manager. At Marrzipan
Drama, we realise how important it
is to look after all out current
parents and schools, not just to
focus on new business. With so many
new clients joining each term, it
became apparent that we needed
someone who is dedicated to ensuring
the needs of all our wonderful
parents, students and school are
met. Julie will ensure that there is
constant communication between
Marrzipan Drama and yourself - if
you have any questions at all, she
is the person to speak to!
Another promotion has seen Emma
Davison become our Education
Manager. Emma will be creating all
the Marrzipan Drama lesson plans and
even writing some of our scripts,
alongside myself, with input from
other teachers. As with last year,
each lesson will have a particular
focus - students should be able to
explain to their family what they
got up to in class, when they get
home each week. Emma will also
personally email updates to all
parents of what was covered in class
each week. If you have any questions
about your child's dramatic
development, please get in touch
with Emma and she will be able to
provide you with some feedback.
Marrzipan Drama is also excited to
be in talks with several schools in
the Wellington region! It seems that
"Hobbit Fever" has spread all around
Wellington and we have lots of young
students keen to test out their
dramatic abilities, in Marrzipan
Drama's reassuring and supportive
environment. We look forward to
teaching you all soon and seeing you
flourish!
We would like to give a special
shout-out to one of our students,
Xavier Miller who is 8 years old.
Xavier attended the January Holiday
Workshop and his Mum sent me this
fabulous video that he created...all
in the aid of trying to catch the
attention of his idol Australian
Artist, Reece Mastin. It had me
smiling from ear-to-ear and laughing
at points too - I hope you enjoy it!
As you
can see, Xavier does not
suffer from shyness!
Which is also Marrzipan
Drama's focus for Term 1
- "confidence". We
believe that having
confidence enables you
to do lots of things
that you never thought
possible, and is also a
skill that even a lot of
adults lack. By ensuring
all our students
increase their
confidence this term, we
hope this will have a
'knock on' effect and
benefit them in every
other area of their
school and private
lives.
Our focus as a team is
to ensure we are
providing the best
possible service to you
that we can. As always,
I welcome any feedback
you may have and look
forward to a fantastic
2013!
As this busy year draws
to a close, all our
performances are now
taking place at various
schools and daycares
across Auckland. Good
luck to all our students
performing - we just
know you will do great!
I have been very proud
to see so many of our
students increase in
both ability and self
belief. To see the look
on a child's face after
they have just performed
in front of their whole
school is truly
priceless. Our teachers
often ring me to tell me
of a particularly moving
or special moment they
have been a part of or
witnessed.
One moment that tugged
at my heart most this
year, was of a young
student of ours with
physical disabilities.
After being told by
friends that she
couldn't do Drama due to
her physical
limitations, she worked
hard all term and ended
up actually using her
physical attributes to
her advantage when
performing - working
with what she has rather
than against it. It was
truly inspiring, and I
was very humbled to
witness such confidence
from such a young and
brave student.
We look forward to
experiencing the same
advancements,
inspirations, fun and
excitement next year,
with the addition of new
schools in the
Wellington region.
Marrzipan Drama would
like to wish all our
students and their
families a very Merry
Christmas and a Happy
New Year.
We have some exciting
changes planned for 2013
and look forward to
sharing these with you.
Thank you for your
continued support - have
a lovely break!
It
might still be chilly outside, but that
is not dampening Marrzipan Drama’s
spirit!
Our
Holiday Workshop at the Pumphouse
Theatre in Takapuna was an enormous hit!
Feast you eyes on our latest and
greatest clip by our talented students –
courtesy again of talented parent, Max
Whitehead!
With
the recent crowning of our Manager,
Collette Lochore as Miss World 2012, we
believed it would only be appropriate to
hold our very own “Miss Marrzipan
Drama”. The main aim was to showcase
‘Beauty with a Purpose’ and help
contestants to think about inner-beauty.
Collette emphasised that, “the
stereo-typical perception of pageants
today is far from the truth, in fact,
near the opposite.” Her goal is to build
this awareness and allow New Zealanders
to understand the true meaning behind
the crown. The Miss Marrzipan Drama
contestants managed to raise nearly
$2000 for Variety the Children’s Charity
– we couldn’t be prouder! A special well
done to Molly who was crowned “Miss
Marrzipan Drama 2012”, and to Grace who
was crowned “Miss Beauty with a
Purpose”, after donating lots of her own
money to the charity. I am so proud to
put our name to such a worthy cause, and
we thank the PumpHouse Theatre for their
continued support.
Marrzipan Drama classes are continuously
expanding due to increasing demand from
schools in Auckland and the wider area!
If you are a parent / caregiver, student
or teacher and would like Marrzipan to
come to your school, do get in touch
with us by
clicking here.
We would love to hear from you!
Remember, as a thank you for introducing
us to your school, your first term of
Marrzipan Drama lessons are free!!
Keep
warm and enjoy the rest of the wintery
months ahead!
The
cold is upon us in the month of May,
and the Marrzipan Drama teachers and
students are already busy auditioning
and rehearsing for our end-of-term
performances! We have lots of exciting
news this month, with our Manager
Collette Lochore being thrust in to the
spotlight after winning Miss World New
Zealand 2012 (more about this below)!
This was followed by one of our students
staring alongside her sisters in a
Warehouse TV commercial, and a YouTube
video created about Marrzipan Drama by
one of our dedicated parents, Max
Whitehead…
Marrzipan Drama has the great pleasure
of announcing that our amazing and
talented Manager and Head Teacher,
Collette Lochore,
was recently crowned Miss World New
Zealand 2012! She wowed the judges (to
say the least) and we couldn’t be more
proud to have such a talented beauty on
our team! She did Marrzipan Drama proud
expressing, “Marrzipan helped with my
self-confidence, especially through
public speaking, consequently making it
a huge factor in winning the overall
title.” Marrzipan not only promotes
achievements by students, but evidently
Marrzipan teachers lead by example! We
are all behind Collette for the upcoming
Miss World 2012 in China, where she will
be the ambassador for New Zealand.
Marrzipan Drama will continue to be one
of Collette’s main sponsors during this
time. All of the classes she has popped
into this term have been delighted to
see her in her crown and sash!
Collette will also be running the
“Acting Course” on Saturdays at The
PumpHouse Theatre for 11-17 year olds.
As Collette’s charity is the “Variety
Children’s Charity”, Marrzipan Drama
have allocated 4 scholarship places to
Variety Children. Variety does a
wonderful job working with sick,
disadvantaged and disabled children and
Marrzipan are humbled to be able to
‘give back’ in this way.
Once
again,
Marrzipan Drama would like to commend
our high performing stars. This time, we
are delighted to announce that the three
Brunton sisters (Molly, Sabrina and Zoe)
have done us proud by scoring an
advertorial for The Warehouse – NZ’s
most beloved department store. What an
achievement girls! Their proud mother
said the girls spent all day shooting
the ad, and loved the overall real
filming experience.
Marrzipan Drama was also
lucky enough to have helpful parent,
Max Whitehead,
video the April Holiday Workshop
performance of his daughter, Paris. It
shows the fun and excitement students
participate in at the end-of-term 3-day
Holiday Workshops at The PumpHouse, with
the end results being an awesome
performance on stage to an audience. We
loved every bit of Max’s video,
(including the creative editing) and we
hope you do too. Here's a sneaky
peek.... Enjoy!
Last
but not least – if you haven’t already,
‘liked’ us on Facebook...Marrzipan
Drama updates will be conveniently
posted on your newsfeed, which will be
the best way to see what we are up to
more regularly! Marrzipan hopes to grow
alongside your child, so we continuously
endeavour to maintain the highest of
standards for our students, teachers and
the wider community.
Wow!
It is the end of Term 1 already! What a
great start to the year!
First
and foremost I would like to send a
massive congratulations to our
Scholarship Winners
Max Harrison
and Leon Perry
for their outstanding performance,
talent and overall enthusiasm in
Marrzipan Drama
this term! This gifted duo are entitled
to 50% off their
Marrzipan Drama fees next term,
as well as the chance to host the
performances at the end-of-term show
next term! Additionally,
Rush Gosney
has received an award for the ‘Most
Improved’, Bella
Jones for being the ‘First to
learn lines’, and
Stella Jensen for taking the
‘Best Direction’ this term…all from the
lovely Mount Eden Normal Primary School,
Auckland. Well done - Marrzipan is
extremely proud of you all! The question
is, who will be next...?
Marrzipan has had a fun- filled and
extremely productive Term 1 to say the
least! With our new teaching additions
Toni,
Julie
and
Laura,
I feel extremely privileged to be
working with such an amazing and
talented team.
Toni
has done a wonderful job teaching the
gifted students at Campbells Bay School
(Castor Bay, North Shore) and St
Joseph’s School (Takapuna, Northshore)
this term, and is looking forward to
starting lessons at Sunnybrae Normal
School (Hillcrest, North Shore) at the
end of April. The students of
Westminster Christian School (Unsworth
Heights, North Shore) and Mount Eden
Normal Primary (Mount Eden, Auckland)
are lucky to have had
Julie
as their teacher this term, with the
Treehouse Nursery (Auckland) also
benefiting from her calm and patient
manner next term.
Laura,
our newest addition, is thrilled to be
taking on the talent at Milford Primary
School (Milford, North Shore) and
Murrays Bay Intermediate (Murrays Bay,
North Shore) next term.
As
with every term, the
Marrzipan Drama
team has been given a special
end-of-term treat as a thank you for all
of their hard work. I am sure you will
all agree that they deserve a big
pat-on-the-back for the dedication they
have shown to your child’s Dramatic
development! This term, we all headed
off for a spa treatment and dinner in
Auckland city! After such a wonderful
relax, we are ready and eager for next
term to get underway!
On
that same note, I am ecstatic to
announce that
Collette
(due to continually setting herself the
highest of standards) will now hold the
new and exciting role of the
Marrzipan Drama
Teacher Trainer. In this role,
she will oversee the
Marrzipan Drama
teachers, regularly popping in to
lessons to ensure that our high
standards of teaching (and fun!) are not
only met, but exceeded! Collette is
overjoyed to commence her new position
with the implementation of an ongoing
Training and Teaching Programme for
Marrzipan Drama
teachers.
I am
also excited to mention that our
April Holiday
Drama Workshop is now taking
place at the wonderful
Pumphouse Theatre
in Takapuna. Students will get
the chance to develop their own script
and set, as well as rehearse and then
perform in a REAL THEATRE! In Term 2,
Marrzipan Drama will also be offering
students aged from 11- 15 the chance to
take part in our
Acting Courses at
the PumpHouse Theatre.
Please
email us
for more info or to secure your child’s
space in any of these Drama activities –
as always, we are limiting spaces to
12 per class.
With
such a positively productive first term,
I am eagerly anticipating the rest of
2012! May I personally wish you all a
lovely Easter break.
Welcome to the start of another
wonderful year for Marrzipan Drama!
With our first ever
Holiday Workshop completed, we are looking
forward to getting stuck into our
lessons this term! Great fun was had by
all at the
Holiday Workshop -
with the children creating, directing,
designing set and costumes, and
performing in their own play, which they
named "Mermaid Hunters". I think parents
will agree that the students did a great
job and that the Workshop was a great
activity to get stuck into before the
start of term! Places are already
filling up fast for the next Holiday
Workshop so get in now to secure your
space for the end of Term 1 (April
2012).
We also have limited spaces left for our
Drama lessons that take place in schools
each term. If your child already attends
a Marrzipan Drama school and has not
signed up yet for Term 1 - please email
us as soon as possible!
With lots of schools on the North Shore
now signed up to Marrzipan Drama,
(including those in Takapuna, Devonport,
Silverdale and Northcote), we have had
lots of parents email us their interest
for Speech and Drama lessons in schools
that are city-side! If your child's
school is not yet one of the schools we
currently teach at, please just email us
and we will arrange a meeting with your
school to get Speech and Drama lessons
underway. It's as simple as that!
As the first year of Drama classes for
children at Marrzipan Drama draws to a
close, I cannot help but look back at
how far we have come!! It is with great
pleasure that I recall all the
after-school lessons we are now
providing at so many wonderful schools
in Auckland and the North Shore. The
teachers and I are all very excited
about next year and we have lots of new
ideas planned.
A big ‘well done’ to
our teacher,
Collette who will be our ‘Team
Leader’ next year.
Collette
will be helping out with all the
performances so many of you will get to
meet her soon. She is a natural with the
children and very entertaining to work
alongside!
We are particularly
excited about our first
Holiday Workshop.
Collette
and I spent a fun afternoon trying out
games and coming up with creative ideas
that has resulted in an action-packed 3
days of Drama! Children will be guided
into creating their own play from
scratch, deciding upon costumes for
their characters, designing the set,
acting, directing and so much more! The
Drama Workshop is an ideal Christmas
present if you want to avoid the madness
at the shops!
The Drama Workshop will take place
towards the end of January (30
Jan-1Feb). This should help out some
parents who are back at work by this
date, but still want their child to be
having a fun holiday, rather than just
being stuck in childcare! For more info
about our Holiday Workshops, click
here.
We are also proud to
announce the launch of our
Facebook page!
Pop onto the page and have a look around
(there are some sneaky pics from the
Marrzipan Drama Christmas Party at the
performance of The Twits). If you
‘like’ us, you will be in with the
chance to win either a free session at
the Holiday Workshop, or a free term of
Drama lessons next year!
I would like to thank
you all for your continuing support of
Marrzipan Drama, and wish you a
fun-filled 2012.
Welcome to the first
Marrzipan Drama blog! So much seems to
be happening at the moment that I
thought this would be a great way to
stay in touch with all the Marrzipan
Drama students and parents around
Auckland and the North Shore.
First off, I would
like to give a warm welcome to our three
new Marrzipan Drama teachers – Jasmine,
Laura and Collette. I have had the
pleasure of watching all three of these
young women teach Drama to various
classes and have been in awe to watch
the children be so immersed in the
lessons they have created. I am looking
forward to watching the performances
with parents at the end of term!
A big well-done to
one of our Marrzipan Drama students,
Samara Blackwell from St Leo’s School in
Devonport, who is in the cast of The
Wizard of Oz - showing at The Civic
this September. I have already got my
tickets! If you would like to see Samara
in action, you can get your tickets by
CLICKING HERE.
We are very proud of you Samara!
Finally, I would like
to wish all our Drama students good-luck
for the up-coming performances to their
after-school care groups, their school,
and their supportive friends and family.
If anyone needs a hand with costume
ideas, feel free to give me a bell, as
we now have quite an extensive Marrzipan
Drama costume and props wardrobe! I look
forward to seeing you all at the
performances!
