In the Media: Herald Sun, Sunday 10 May 2020, page 15, by Catherine Lambert

THE footlights may have dimmed temporarily on school productions but they’re rising in another format. 

Strathcona Girls Grammar production director Claire Johns said that without the annual musical or play to perform, students had looked elsewhere to express their creativity. 

“We had to postpone our school musical, which was due to start a few weeks after the pandemic hit, but we saw that as such an opportunity for the girls to share their work in another forum,” Ms Johns said.

“So I contacted some other drama school friends to come up with ideas to keep the girls engaged as performers.”
The result is the CO-Video Festival for which students from six girls’ schools are creating their own work, filming it and submitting it to show on You Tube at the end of the month. Some of the other schools include Ruyton, Melbourne Girls’ College and Firbank.

Some will read their own writing, some recite verses from Romeo and Juliet, some create their own film and others, such as Brooke Gosper (above), perform ballet. 

“We want the girls to connect with each other and give students of drama a platform to share,” Ms Johns said. “The theme is connection. We have no idea what the girls will come up with but we can’t wait to see the results.” 

CO-Video Festival will screen live on YouTube on May 30. There are prizes in a range of categories.