Thank you to all the parents who attended our annual Parent Welcome Evening, particularly those new to the School; it was lovely to see you all there. Thank you to the members of the Parents and Friends’ Association for their work to make this event such a success. I look forward to seeing parents again at forthcoming events&mdashin particular, the inaugural Lowther Women Luncheon next Wednesday.
House Performing Arts
Today the Senior School girls took part in one of the most exciting days on the Lowther Hall calendar, the House Performing Arts Competition! Points were awarded to each House for script, acting, dancing, lighting, sound, music, props, costumes, House involvement and timing. Congratulations to Lees who were this year’s winners, with Perry in second place and Moorhouse in third place. Well done to all House Captains for their magnificent leadership of this event and to all girls who embraced the opportunities to get involved.
We were fortunate to have the following external judges involved with HPA this year, and we thank them for taking the time out of their busy schedules to judge the various criteria in each performance, as well as the Most Outstanding Performer award:
Drama Judge | Zoe McDonald
Zoe is an actor, writer and comedian. She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts Music Theatre course in 2008. In 2012 Zoe starred in the Australian musical Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert, creating the role of Margaret’s mum, Isabella. She debuted her one woman show FOMO: The Fear of Missing Out at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2013, and was a recipient of the Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Ready Award. Zoe debuted internationally at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2014. In 2015 Zoe was part of the writing team for the sketch comedy series Open Slather on Foxtel’s Comedy Channel and this year will be commencing her Masters in Screenwriting at The Victorian College of the Arts.
Music Judge | Gina Hogan
Gina has performed both in Australia and across the world in some of the most loved theatre productions of our time. Shows such as Cats, Beauty and the Beast, Mamma Mia and The Witches of Eastwick to name but a few. She currently performs her one woman shows all across the country and on cruiselines. She is a voiceover artist, and teaches singing and pilates.
Dance Judge | Shaelyn Hughes
Shaelyn Hughes has trained in performing arts for the last 18 years. Shaelyn made her musical theatre debut in the 2012 production of Billy Elliot the musical as Julia Hope, at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. She has also performed at the National Theatre in Masters of Choreography as Wednesday Adams in The Adams Family. Shaelyn’s TV credits include featured dancer in the ICC Cricket World Cup (GEM), Dancing With The Stars promo (Channel 7). Shaelyn played the Lead daughter in the comedic Laminex’s TVC commercial. Shaelyn also has a passion for choreography and teaching.