We are delighted to welcome Tanya McCall to Glenaeon as our new Head of Drama. Tanya will join us from the start of Term 4 after finishing up at Noosa Pengari Steiner School. Tanya impressed us with her obvious passion for theatre, the creative process and Drama teaching, and of course, her understanding of Steiner Education.

Here are some words from Tanya:

Drama and education have been the building blocks of my life. My passion for drama began at an early age in primary school, I took extracurricular lessons in Speech and Drama where I developed an appreciation for poetry, plays and performance. Through my high school years, I was involved in community theatre productions around the Sunshine Coast where I sought experiences that evoked the creative, imaginative, and intuitive impulses that are enlivened in the theatre making process.

Following high school, I completed a three-year performance-based Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Acting at the University of Southern Queensland. This intensive course provided opportunities for me to develop my knowledge and understanding of theatre styles and forms whilst honing my craft as an Actor. After living, working, and travelling abroad in a variety of settings, I resettled in Australia to undertake further studies in drama education at the Queensland University of Technology.

Thus far, my career as a teacher and artist has been richly rewarding and fulfilling. For the past five years, I have been employed at Noosa Pengari Steiner School where I am the Coordinator of Senior Drama and English. In my time at Noosa Pengari Steiner School, I have essentially worked in a Head of Drama and English role designing work programs and engaging with all aspects of student assessment processes including endorsement, confirmation, and moderation for the Queensland Certificate in Education.

Over the years, I have directed several small scale/studio productions and worked collaboratively with colleagues on whole school musical theatre productions for students from years 7 to year 12. I have organised opportunities for passionate drama students to experience live theatre and engage in drama workshops and extracurricular performances. I am most in my ‘element’ when I am fully absorbed in the creative process of theatre making.

This is where I feel I can do my best and most meaningful work; providing a space where students can tap into their own imaginative and creative capacities; building confidence, exploring the human condition or at the very least, having fun!

Throughout my years of teaching, I have maintained a strong connection to my own creative practices and been involved in many theatre and film productions. Most recently, I worked for D.I.V.E Collective, a small company of artists based on the Sunshine Coast where I was involved in devising and performing two productions as part of the Anywhere Theatre Festival.

It has been a wonderful experience to be a member of staff at Noosa Pengari Steiner School where Rudolf Steiner’s philosophies are living through a vibrant curriculum. Working with students in a setting where creativity and the Performing Arts are respected and valued across all year levels has been the perfect springboard to the next step in my career and I am so excited to work with the staff and students at Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School in Term 4.