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VALETE
Matt Jessup PETER JOLLY
Amelia Saer
Matt Jessup OA arrived just before lockdown and this summer completes three years in the Drama Department before leaving to pursue a career in film and theatre. While he has been at the College, Matt has exerted an extraordinary influence. His work in film and video became a hallmark of the Drama Department’s work during lockdown. His video on Epic Theatre has become a staple for all classes, and I expect it will be shown for many years to come, while his ready connections with industry expertise manifested in many special guest Zoom appearances for virtual seminars on screen acting and quizzes, which were lapped up by our students (and colleagues) at home. He is a skilled editor and, with his film company Bigger Pictures, helped create excerpts for the virtual Founder’s Day back in 2020. We look forward to more creative success coming to fruition in the near future. of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town (with Emma Prendergast) was a wonderful success. Notwithstanding absences, late cast changes and understudies, the play brought a large cast from two schools back to the Edward Alleyn Theatre, and was full of imagination, energy and humour. Matt has also led smaller projects, including the Year 9 promenade, which will be remembered for bubbling witches’ potions and beach inflatables. It is a great shame that Matt was not able to direct a full-scale production during his time here, but the semi-staged production Anybody who has taught alongside Matt, who has been directed by him in plays or House Drama, or who has been in his classes, will remember his endless energy, originality and imagination. He has prepared extraordinary stimuli for the boys, and is one of the most inventive teachers I have ever come across; his deft ability to conjure and play has fuelled memorable devised pieces at GCSE and A level. His knowledge of contemporary theatre and of who’s directing what, when and where is a gold mine – along with his secret deals for the hottest ticket in town. We wish Matt well as he develops as a practitioner in his own right. I hope the College will see much more of him in future, whether as a teacher, actor, producer or director.
HARRY DREW
Even though it was her childhood dream to live in the Regency period, Amelia has, over the last two years, brought a refreshing breath of modernity to the Classics Department here at Dulwich, not least in her commitment to abbreviating any word of more than two syllables to the absolute min. no. of ltrs (and the department has taken these lessons to heart, obvs). In fact, this playful approach to language is absolutely at the heart of Amelia’s teaching; she is ferociously bright, but also joyful in her love of the classical world, and in her care for her students. Amelia began her time at the College working in the Learning Support Department, and has continued her excellent work there, while also completing her PGCE at the University of Buckingham. She has also worked as a Visiting Tutor, bringing her love of all things magician-related to the residents of Orchard and Old Blew. Amelia has helped to design the Classics Department’s first outreach programme, leading to the creation of a course designed to help open up access to classical subjects at university to students from St Thomas the Apostle’s School. This work was complemented by her Liberal Studies course, which introduced students from Dulwich and JAGS to classical literature. Both of these courses allowed Amelia to engage in some of the biggest issues facing classical teaching today, such as the decolonisation of museums and the curriculum; watching her navigate such complex and important issues so sensitively and effectively gives hope that this subject can continue to be relevant and important for the next three millennia. Amelia leaves us to take up a full-time position teaching Classics at Whitgift, and our southern neighbours are lucky to have gained such a talented and supportive colleague; the students, in turn, can look forward to hearing the heroic adventures of Purrseus the cat and Fleeceus the sheep in their Latin lessons!
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