Students Krystine Horfiniak, Sarah Green, Briana Fitzgerald, Georgina Martin, Claire McGarry and Amy McLennan were among a Year 11 drama class fortunate enough to meet with actor Pete Postlethwaite at Loreto Mandeville Hall.
When Pete Postlethwaite walked through the corridors of Loreto, many students mistook him for a priest. His unnassuming exterior did not match the image of an international star labelled by Steven Spielberg as ‘probably the best actor in the world’.
Once he walked into the Year 11 drama class, however, the students knew they were in the presence of a master. His enthusiasm for the thrill of acting on the stage—where there is only one chance to get it right—was infectious.
‘He made me want to go out and tackle something big, like play Lady Macbeth, to really throw myself into it and really look at the character’, said Sarah.
Pete Postlethwaite’s career has been a diverse one. Some of his better known films include The Last of the Mohicans, In the Name of the Father, Amistad, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, The Usual Suspects, and Romeo + Juliet.
Drama teacher Robyn Kay was grateful that her students were given the
opportunity to make a connection between the skills they develop in class
and the application of those skills in a meaningful and inspiring way.
She was impressed by Pete’s integrity, passion and the respect he
had for the process of acting.
‘He is a highly principled actor’, she said. ‘He encouraged
the girls to make brave and insightful choices about crafting their work.’
The students quickly understood what Pete was telling them—that true acting requires courage and a lot of hard work—and one does it to the best of one’s ability out of love and respect.
‘He said that acting had always been inside him, that he loved it, and that he was doing it for himself and not for everyone. So it is the pursuit of excellence for himself’, Clare recalled.
Pete’s insight into characters and scripts left a particularly strong mark on the students. Most of all they were struck by his ability to immerse himself into the heart and mind of a character—Pete becomes the character, he doesn’t just pretend to be the character.
‘It was his way of thinking that inspired me’, Amy explained. ‘I’d never thought to go to that depth, the way he really analysed the whole background of the character, and how he put it into his acting.’
Pete visited the school during the Australian tour of Scaramouche Jones, a one-man, 90-minute show that explores the life of a fictitious clown. The students were impressed with Pete’s ability to hold his audience’s attention for such an extended length of time without any other actors to assist him.
‘Pete was saying that once he gets up on stage he feels like he is Scaramouche … he really becomes the character. On stage he wasn’t the same person we’d met the week before, he was someone totally different’, Briana said.
While the girls analysed elements of the performance as only drama students could—the symbolism, use of props, sound effects and lighting—they have also become aware of the deeper, more intimate elements of acting.
‘I think the reason you take drama so seriously is that it’s a part of you, and because of that you want to do it well’, Krys explained.
‘It’s not like maths where you’re doing a sum—it’s you exposing a part of yourself’, Sarah agreed. ‘When you get up on stage and perform, it’s letting people in on a little side of you that they might not have seen before, so you want to do it well because if you stuff it up you feel as though people are ridiculing you personally.’
Pete’s easy and open manner with the students was no act—he was a drama teacher at Loreto in Manchester, England. He said his time at Loreto Melbourne felt like a visit to his past.
‘He didn’t just answer the girls’ questions, he gave them a story, he was a real wordsmith’, Robyn says. ‘He loved coming here and spending that time with the students.’
The students loved his visit too. They were so inspired that they came to school on the first day of their mid-semester break in uniform to share the experience.
‘People might be in the industry for years and years and never have the opportunity to meet such a talented person—we are extremely lucky’, Georgie said.
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