On the Console

Year 10 Carramar student Brendon Makanda and Year 11 Duncraig student Ethan D’Souza took their technical skills beyond the School theatre during the recent holidays, joining industry professionals for an open lighting workshop led by Claire Springett from LSC.

The pair were invited to attend by our Theatre Manager Mr Graham Piper following their significant involvement behind the scenes for School productions and large-scale events, including our annual Presentation Nights and Thanksgiving Worship Service. Surrounded by participants with a range of industry experience, Brendon and Ethan had the opportunity to work across an extensive selection of professional lighting consoles, experimenting with different approaches and building their technical skills.

Claire was impressed by how actively the students embraced the opportunity, particularly their existing technical knowledge and enthusiasm. Brendon rebuilt one of his shows from scratch several times as he experimented with different consoles and techniques. Mr Piper said the experience gave the students an opportunity to begin developing valuable “muscle memory” across different consoles while working independently on their own shows.

For Ethan, the chance to learn alongside experienced industry professionals was particularly valuable. “I was lucky to meet experienced people within the industry and do something I wouldn’t get to do at home, using consoles I would never normally get to try,” he said. Brendon agreed: “I don’t normally get to experiment with lighting outside of school, and this was a great opportunity for it.”

The School would like to thank Ethan and Brendon for all the times they have volunteered over the years to assist with productions, it is their genuine enthusiasm and work ethic that resulted in this brilliant opportunity being presented to them by Mr Piper.