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Fashion students at SMMC take on a new (wild) adventure

22 June 2022 | Posted in LearningandTeaching

Fashion students at SMMC take on a new (wild) adventure

Marianne Milani

By Marianne Milani

Teacher

St Margaret Mary's College, Hyde Park

We have all heard the saying in theatre, ‘never work with children or animals’, the courageous Year 12 Fashion students at St Margaret Mary’s College are bravely doing both. 

Led by local theatre director, Carla Lejarraga and head of costume designs, Judy Atzeni and with the support of their Fashion and Design Teacher, Marianne Milani, the students at St Margaret Mary’s College are designing, prototyping and creating the costumes for the Townsville Choral Society's first ever children only production; Madagascar, A Musical Adventure Jr.  

The fashion classroom at St Margaret Mary’s College is a buzz with fur, glitter, glue guns and creativity. It has been a wonderful opportunity to meet with real directors and production team members to experience what goes on behind the scenes of a theatre performance. 

Throughout Term 2, students have worked closely with experts in the industry who have shared their knowledge and experience, this has given validity to a design brief. In meeting this design challenge, the students will have the demands of a real audience, real actors and their work will be on a real stage. “It’s going to be awesome to see our creations and hard work come to life on the stage,” said Emma Neiberding, student in the Year 12 Fashion class, “it's exciting to be behind the scenes.” Having the opportunity to connect with the Townsville arts and culture scene, has allowed our students to see another side of fashion and costuming and how it affects peoples’ lives. 

“We could have gone out and purchased new costumes online but having the students interpret the script and design and create costumes, brings the sense of community back to the stage,'' commented Carla Lejarraga, production director. “All costume materials have been donated or upcycled and given a new life, this is an integral value of sustainability and community theatre at the Townsville Choral Society.” 

The students have applied their knowledge and understanding of construction and technical skills to produce beautiful costumes that meet the intended design challenge of theatre costuming. Ryanne Girgenti, Year 12 Fashion student, commented that she “has really enjoyed the ability to design and create with materials outside of fabric and to work as a team to create a product.” 

As their teacher, it has been wonderful to watch the girls interact with members of the community and participate in the design process to achieve this task. The production is the first of its kind for the Townsville Choral Society and is guaranteed to be a side splitting, adorable and fun wildlife adventure. There will be six performances held over two weeks from 7th to 16th October. Please support the Choral Society and our students by going and enjoying the show. 

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