Specialist Visual & Performing Arts
The Specialist Visual and Performing Arts (SVAPA) course at Mount Lawley Senior High School is a unique cross arts middle school program, running from year 7 to year 9 with a project class in year 10.
Students enjoy a wide range of extracurricular activities, projects, excursions, tours and numerous opportunities to work with professional artists.
SVAPA Vision
It is the program's intent to deliver a course, which is contemporary, experimental, innovative, humanistic and holistic.
In delivering this course, we aim to create inquisitive and playful students who will have the ability to become self-sustainable, work cooperatively alongside professionals and become industry ready.
SVAPA Successes
Students in SVAPA enjoy the enrichment workshops and being in classes of creative, keen peers who respond enthusiastically to the heightened expectations of their specialist teachers.
SVAPA students are highly motivated to do more and to be more involved, interested, experimental and explorative within the culture of success that is encouraged in SVAPA @ MLSHS.
Early Morning Class
Period Zero classes allow students to extend their arts skills, ability and maturity as they work with arts professionals such as dancer Sete Tele, directors Adam Mitchell and Gita Bezard, artist Anna Dunill, improvisation with Chris Isaacs and puppeteer St John Cowcher. Attendance is mandatory.
Weekend Workshops
Once a term, SVAPA students attend a Saturday workshop to extend and support the program's contemporary arts focus. It is a chance for all year groups to mingle with each other as well as work across all four arts. In the past we have had Josh Hogan and Elise Reitze (Music), Rohan Harnett (Animation), Jodee Knowles and Tane Andrews (Illustration), Andy Quilty and Abdul Abdullah (Painting) for the workshops.
Arts Festival Day
The Arts Festival Day is held at the end of April or early May.
It involves the whole school in an afternoon of arts activities and events. It culminates in a rock concert with a well-known local band. SVAPA students take on leading roles throughout the day.
Professional Learning Community
SVAPA students are privileged to work with leading theatre and dance companies as well as established and emerging artists.
Events range from workshops and productions to provocations and guidance.
SVAPA students have worked with Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (Spark Lab), ECU, CO3 Company, The Last Great Hunt, West Australian Youth Theatre Company, James Berlyn, The Blue Room and Bell Shakespeare.
Artist in Residency
The program supports an annual Artist in Residence to create a large scale performance/exhibition.
The artist in residence works primarily with the year 10 SVAPA project class, but the project is open to all committed SVAPA students.
Excursions & Incursions
Exposure to plays, concerts, performances, exhibitions and films are tremendously important to a well-rounded arts student.
The calendar is full of incursions and excursions to Perth International Arts Festival, PICA, Barking Gecko, Art Gallery of Western Australia, The Blue Room, The State Theatre and Awesome Festival.
SVAPA Camps & International Tours
Year 7 & 8 SVAPA classes attend an annual camp at Point Walter.
This is to allow the groups to work together and to introduce the new students into the 4Arts' flavor of the SVAPA course.
The teachers and the students develop creative arts' practices and friendship.
Students attend annual music camp, which is comprised of rehearsals and other musical team building activities.
Different ensembles are taken each year.
A tradition of a tri-annual Arts Tour to London and Paris has begun. Arts teachers take a group of students from years 9-11 on a once-in-a lifetime experience.
These are the few events we have seen: Opera in Paris, Complicite Theatre Company at the Barbican, 'Oh What a Lovely War' in Brighton, 'The Tempest' in Stratford upon Avon as well as tours of the British Film Institute, National Theatre, Monet's Garden and The Globe Theatre plus exhibitions at White Cube, Saatchi and Saatchi,
The Louvre, National Portrait Gallery and the Musée d'Orsay.
Senior School
Success in Senior School arises from interest, developing excellence and a joy of learning that is nurtured by the SVAPA pedagogy.
We offer visual and Performing Arts' courses in Year 11 & 12; Certificate courses at TAFE, ECU courses.
These programs give students some very exciting options.
Selection Process for SVAPA
Audition Workshops
Students will attend 3 workshops over two days.
The Drama and Art Workshops run for 90 minutes and the Music Workshop runs for 60 minutes.
Students will need to memorize a piece of literature for the Drama workshop (audition piece can be downloaded from website)
Portfolio Submission
1. An A4 portfolio
2. A cover page with name, photo, address, phone number and attending primary school.
3. A hand written letter, by the student, explaining why they would like to be part of the SVAPA Program.
4. Copy of the most recent school report.
5. Three to five pages of creative work: photographs of visual art, dance, performance, musical experience, creative writing
6. Tick Box Reference from Primary School Teacher (Downloadable PDF from School website)
The Portfolio is to be submitted to the Middle School Office by the due date as indicated on the Application Form.
Students will be notified of the selection workshop dates and times by letter.
General Information
Please be aware that SVAPA is 3-year course with a contemporary and experimental arts focus and as such, students will be exposed to a range of mature and thought-provoking work from varying artists.
These discussions will be led in a supportive and inclusive manner.
If you do not feel comfortable with your child being showed contemporary art and performance work, a generalist arts course would more suitable.
