Christopher Tower Poetry Competition Success!

Congratulations to Caroline McEvoy (L6) whose poem “Bone Dance” was put on the “long list” of the Christopher Tower poetry competition. This annual competition, organised by Christ Church, Oxford is open to young adults nationwide. You will be able to read

Caroline’s poem in the next edition of the Methodist College magazine. The U6 Writers’ Workshop This weekly workshop, taken by a professional writer, followed a structured pattern throughout the year. From September to February, we concentrated on developing skills and starting to build a portfolio of work; from March to May we followed the structure of the university writing workshop, where each participant brings in a piece of work for an in-depth critique from his/her peers as well as the facilitator. This approach is unusual at school level, and daunting at first, but all the writers learned a great deal from the process, growing as both writers and critics, and developing skills which they will take to university and beyond. Dr Sheena Wilkinson – Our Very Own Author!

As well as teaching fulltime, Dr Wilkinson has been pursuing a successful writing career. She graduated in December with a Distinction in the M.A. in Creative Writing from Q.U.B., achieving the highest marks of all the prose candidates. She won the 2009 Writers’ Bureau Short Story Award and was runner-up in the Sean O’Faolain Short Story Award, Her first novel, Taking Flight, will be published in September 2010 by Little Island.

The Woman in Black

In the midst of exam revision, an outing to the Grand Opera House was warmly welcomed among my fellow classmates and me. We had been waiting in anticipation to see the play so greatly praised by our teacher since October; a play that she promised would scare us to death. We scoffed at the thought - the book had no such effect on us.

On entering, we were confronted with a setting of a dishevelled curtain as the back drop, a variety of coats and a wooden chair. We were deceived into thinking the opening was dull and boring and we struggled to hear the lines; until we realised the old man was a first time actor auditioning for a play.

Thus the first half continued in the director’s feeble attempt to try and bring out the charisma in the present Arthur Kipps as he took on the role of the minor characters in the play. In truth, I did not expect the opening the play to be intriguing or engaging; it was indeed a rather dry opening where the majority of the story was narrated rather than acted. We all waited eagerly for the first appearance of The Woman in Black.

However, the second half certainly had us gripping our seats with a variety of chilling sound effects and quick and clever scene and prop changes. However, most captivating of all was the dishevelled curtain. What appeared to be an old grey curtain was in fact hiding a child’s nursery; the room in which the ominous rocking sound was repeatedly heard.

(‘The Woman in Black’ GOH, Belfast)

The coats spotted in the first scene were ingeniously utilised to indicate different characters, different times of day and changing weather. Similarly, a basket was employed as a train seat, a pony and trap as well as a bed and basket of Mrs Drablow’s private papers.

This rationing of resources is not just restricted to inanimate things; the theme is evident in the lack of actors. With only 2 actors (excluding The Woman in Black) a play that could have been a big production presents the development of a relationship. What started out as a strict, professional relationship between a director and co-actor evolves into one of mutual understanding as the director (playing the young Arthur Kipps) experiences the horrors of Mr Kipp’s life. Screams resounded throughout the theatre as Arthur Kipps got braver and braver and the sightings of The Woman in Black got more frequent. Tension was built up effectively; the audience’s emotions callously toyed with. A pathos ending and an unsettling cliff-hanger (which I shall not reveal) dismisses the audience with a sense of ambiguity and unease.

Coupled with a witty stage setting and limited prop use, this two-man play effectively narrates a story in an unconventional, unique way to entertain and mystify the audience. Garima Singhal Form 4 £1000 for Charity - Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children. Congratulations to 3M who raised a massive £1000 through the school ‘Read On’ event run by the English Department. 3M managed to collect more money than any other 3rd Form English class. Thank you very much for this generous contribution! Trip to the Museum May 2010 Mrs Davey took her study support class to the Ulster Museum for research and inspiration for discussion and project work. The class enjoyed the opportunity to work together and appreciated the privilege of learning outside of the classroom, making their school work relevant to them. The trip also took in the Botanical Gardens before coming back to Methody. A great day had by all! Garrett Johnston and Bronagh Sweeny 3W Spelling Bee Success! Congratulations to Alice Fleming, Cait Meredith, David Freeland and Emily Marais who came second in the Times Spelling Bee Competition on 4th May at The Waterfront Hall. This is an excellent achievement and the team worked very hard in preparation for this admirable result! Thank you to Miss Rountree for your support! Poetry in Motion – 3G Poems Published!

Poet Natasha Cuddington visited our school to carry out a series of poetry workshops with pupils from 3G. This programme is part of the New Belfast Community Arts Initiative which uses local writers to help inspire young writers in the community. 10 pupils were selected to perform their poems at The Waterfront Hall. These poems have also been published in the Poetry in Motion Audio

Anthology. A wonderful achievement for our aspiring writers here in Methodist College!