Recruitment Team
Typically replies in a few hours
Recruitment Team
Hi there
How can I help you today?
November 13, 2017
Creative Times

Creative Times Newsletter Issue12

CREATIVE TIMES NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2017

The good, the great and the extraordinary moments of 2017

Oakfest!

On Saturday 16 September the sun rose to a glorious day, marking our inaugural Oakfest Music Festival. Students sprawled on the grass listening to great music with a cold drink and a delicious snack from one of our food vendors. The sound of laughter and rock music filled the air as our second year sound students from the Johannesburg and Pretoria campuses seamlessly managed the stage set-up between bands. This was a full-day event and formed our sound students’ final practical exam for the year. It was held at the German Club in Edenvale.

Our sound students from both our East Rand and Pretoria campuses were responsible for all the technical elements of the day from setting up the sound and lighting to ensuring each of the seven bands’ technical riders were met before their set. Working in teams they were required to ensure that the sound for the band they were responsible for had the best possible sound; the culmination of their hard work during their studies at Oakfields College and the ultimate test for a professional sound engineer!

Our PR and event students ran all the administration and organisational duties for the day including ticket sales at the door and selling raffle tickets for some very awesome prizes. We had great feedback from everyone at the event and we look forward to a bigger and better Oakfest in 2018.

See and be seen with Falco Milano And Oakfields college

The photography and make-up and SFX students at our Somerset West campus took part in a collaboration with one of South Africa’s top sunglasses and optical glasses brands, Falco Milano. The faculties were divided into pairs, with a photographer and make-up artist joining forces to come up with their concepts for a photo shoot. Each team was given a jaw-dropping selection of frames to use and headed out to capture the frames with the iconic scenery of the Helderberg basin as a backdrop. The winning pair, Liam Kirby (Photography) and Alexia Kondonis (Make-up & SFX) walked away with a free pair of sunglasses and the rest each received 60% off vouchers for their effort. Not only that, but the photos will be used on the polishing cloths, which come with each pair of Falco Milano sunglasses!

48 Hour FIlm Festival

Imagine working non-stop for 48 hours, running on very little sleep, to produce a film that could potentially be featured at Cannes? That is exactly what our film faculties did at all three of our campuses. And they did it well! Each year there are different genres and once they have received their specific genres the students then have to write, produce, film, edit and do audio post for the short film and hand deliver it to a specific location within 48 hours.Despite the local geese causing chaos with the sound at our Somerset West campus, the weekend was an experience to remember for each of our film students. A special thanks to the staff involved behind the scenes, helping shoot the films, giving input, as well as some even helping feed our students! The films were screened and great reviews were given from the panels, and Miracle Matches won Audience Favourite in its allotted group and was nominated for best student film, best use of line and best acting. Well done film students!

Wedding cake workshop

A most enjoyable wedding cake workshop was held for our PR Students. Students were given first-hand knowledge of what it entails to make cakes for weddings and they even had the pleasure of tasting some of the cake…. YUMMY!

Musical Theatre And dance lecturers

The Oakfields College Faculty of Dance and Musical Theatre lecturers are all practicing professionals in their specialised fields with hands-on experience and are familiar with the current trends and demands of the performing arts industry. These lecturers are not only active in their various sectors but excel within their fields. Dance lecturer, Ignatius van Heerden recently competed in the World Lyrical Dance Federation - World Championships and scooped first place in the Pro-Am Solo Section, as well as Pro-Am Duet section at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in the UK. He also won a Standard Bank Ovation award at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival for his production of NJINSKY’S WAR. Acing lecturer, Princess Mhlongo was also honoured with an ovation award at the festival for her production SAMTHING SOWETO which she produced. Theatre studies and acting lecturer, Weslee Swain Lauder was nominated for TWO Naledi Theatre Awards this year for best original choreography for Saturday Night Fever at the State Theatre as well as best director of a musical for his work on the Afrikaans pantomime Sneeuwitjie which ran at Emperors Palace.

Pro-shooter

East Rand campus sound student Dylan Henstock came third in the National IPSC Sports Shooting Championships 2017. He came third in B class, first in team category, three stage wins and made the South African team for future international events. Well done Dylan!

Pretoria Campus Fashion Show

Our fashion students were hard at work for months preparing for the annual Oakfields College fashion show. The sweat shop…… I mean fashion studio was abuzz as the day arrived! The public relations and event management students worked tirelessly for two solid days to prepare the on-campus venue for the event. Beautifully decorated, the venue was adorned with Chinese lanterns to create the effect of colour and to tie in with the theme of ‘A splash of Colour’. The second-year sound engineering students from Pretoria and East Rand worked together to construct the ramp, lighting and sound for the event.

On the evening, the Oakfields College make-up students were busy doing the make-up for the models while the fashion students made sure that their models were dressed and ready for the catwalk. The photography and film students were in their element taking photos and recording the event. The garments on display were beautifully conceptualised, designed and constructed by the first and second year students. The first years had to make three different projects the first being ‘All Tied Up’ - a new take on the classic pants and T-shirt; the ‘Garden Party Dress’, a retake on the classic dress focusing on silhouette and shape and making the garment interchangeable between day and evening wear and last but not least was the ‘Avant Garde’ garment constructed from recyclable material. Think eco-friendly, recycled chic. The second year students designed an open range and bridal gown around a theme of their choosing. Aamir Jolly chose the theme ‘Modern Indian’, Palesa Maretlane chose ‘Black China’ as her theme, Comfort Morolong chose ‘Cyclones’ as her theme and Elana Beukes chose ‘The Ocean’ as her theme.

Congratulations to Bridget Marishane, Celene Robson, Palesa Maretlane and Elana Beukes for being our final award winners for the evening. Thank you to Jeanette Botha from Bernina and Mecah Smith from Mik-a-Pic Photography for sponsoring the prizes for the winners and runners up..

Kopanong

The University of Pretoria’s Kopanong Student Arts Festival is a refreshing meeting place to celebrate student arts, culture and South African heritage.

Our Pretoria and East Rand campuses drama classes both performed once again at the Kopanong festival with their shows Dominion and The Mask of Thespis. First and second year students had the opportunity to be on stage as well as behind the scenes. Dominion is about society fighting to reach the top of the pyramid. But what the society doesn’t realise is when someone reaches the top there is always someone above you. Even if you are the most dominant person, there will always be someone above you.

The Mask of Thespis is a show about an actor being at the mercy of their character. The character can easily take control and leave the actor in limbo, a state of non-existence. Our Pretoria campus students performed so well that Dominion received a nomination for the Follow Spot Critic award Kopanong Festival 2017.

Jonathan Roxmouth

As part of their Work Integrated Learning credits our Oakfields College musical theatre students had the enormous privilege of sharing the Teatro stage with one of South Africa`s most versatile musical theatre stars - Jonathan Roxmouth. Presented by Pieter Toerien Productions, directed by the acclaimed Weslee Lauder (who is also a lecturer at Oakfields College) with musical direction by award winning conductor and arranger, Bryan Schimmel and featuring the cream of South Africa`s musicians and performers, a full 45-piece orchestra and an ensemble of Oakfields College students , JONATHAN ROXMOUTH THE MUSICALS IN CONCERT was sold out for all five performances. What an unbelievable experience that our students will cherish forever!

Ford and Oakfields College - Go Further

Our photography students had the opportunity to capture true American engineering at the local Ford dealership in Somerset West. Kelfords Ford were only too happy to collaborate with Oakfields College and offered some of the best car models for their photo shoot including a Ford Mustang. The photos were shared on Kelfords’ social media pages and Tristan Kelly, the dealer principal, said he was extremely pleased with the final content.

Golden Oak Awards Ceremony

All three of our campuses held their Golden Oak Awards Ceremonies in October this year. Much like our American and British counterparts' awards ceremonies, we celebrate the hard work and dedication of our students. The Golden Oak Awards are an annual event used to showcase the work of students from our various faculties. Parents, staff and students filled the halls and had the opportunity to celebrate the hard work and creativity of our students during the evening.

‘A Night Under The Stars’ was the theme for the Somerset West Golden Oak Awards Ceremony and that it certainly was! We had people choice awards at our East Rand and Pretoria campuses where the public were asked to vote for their favourite photograph displayed. Our Pretoria campus also included the make-up students' body painting work in the people choice awards. Congratulations to all the students who won awards on the evening and we look forward to seeing what you will produce in 2018.

A Whoop Whoop for our alumni!

A number of our graduates have had the wonderful privilege of landing contracts as part of the cruise ship entertainment as singers/dancers. This has allowed them to travel the world while earning an excellent income doing what they love and living their passion.

One such musical theatre graduate is Venolia Manale who has spent a large part of this year as a singer for TUI Cruises visiting places such as Germany, Italy, Malta, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Croatia to name but a few. Upon her return she will join the musical THE COLOR PURPLE which will have its South African premier at the Joburg Theatre in 2018.

The people have spoken!

Everyone is crushing on "dishy" musical theatre graduate Sean John Louw who was featured in an issue of People Magazine South Africa!!! Upon launching his career, Sean was involved in a number of productions for the National Children’s Theatre following which he did numerous corporate gigs for Frog Productions, Owen Lonzar Entertainmenrt and Verb Media dancing, singing, hosting and MCing. Sean completed his local contract in Janice Honeyman’s pantomime SLEEPING BEAUTY at the Joburg Theatre before relocating to the UK where he signed with an agent and spent some time working as an actor/model in London.

Upon his return, Sean joined the cast of WILD COAST ON BROADWAY for Frog Productions as singer before starting Kickstart Productions’ PUSS IN BOOTS playing Tom Marzipan at the Lyric Theatre. He recently made an appearance on the local TV series SKEEM SAAM on SABC1. Sean is also a part-time model and is signed with Boss Models JHB and has just completed a shoot for Risk Magazine with Rich Mnisi.

Applied Theatre

The Oakfields College drama faculty prides itself on being involved with the community. For their applied theatre module, the drama students from our Pretoria campus and East Rand campus each created an educational show about something they believed in. The name of our Pretoria campus show was ‘Camp Fit In’ and the aim of the show was to educate youth about the dangers of getting into a life of drug abuse and trying to fit in. It discovers the path of decision making and it also gives insight into how ones choices, made in the present for whatever reason, also affect one’s life in the future.

They performed at Star College and Hoërskool Silverton, targeting grades 8-12. Our students performed with great energy, leaving the audience with some food for thought. Our East Rand campus drama students took the message of recycling and saving our planet to nursery and primary schools in the area. The show was called Rico the Eco Boy. Global Village was being filled with litter by Evilina, Humpty and Dumpty and they were making Father Earth very sick. Rico and his friends saved the day by explaining how important it is to reduce, recycle and reuse! The children absolutely loved the show and we are sure they all went home to tell their parents how important it is to reduce, reuse and recycle!

Night of 1000 drawings charity

Our East Rand and Pretoria campuses took part in a Doodle Week. During this week our students and staff drew one or more doodles on A5 pieces of paper which were dropped off at Night of 1000 drawings. This is an art-for-charity initiative that we are proud to be supporting.

SABC TOUR

Our drama, film and sound students from our Pretoria and East Rand campuses were lucky enough to go on a tour of the SABC earlier this year. They saw what happens behind the scenes, from the sound to filming, to acting in front of the camera. A most educational and insightful tour - thank you SABC for hosting us.

Work Hard and Play Hard

Just as we love our students working hard and producing amazing work - we also love to have some down time. Campus social events, dress up days and give-away days are where students, lecturers and staff can relax and show us their fun side.

Contact us for more information on our various courses on our contacts page.

You might also be interested in these articles