On March 30 the Year 11 and 12 Drama classes travelled to Rotorua to perform in the regional rounds of SGCNZ’s University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival.

 After numerous after school and lunchtime rehearsals, the students had proven how committed they were to doing well at the competition.

The Year 11 class did a 15-minute piece from "A Midsummers Night's Dream". It was directed by Year 13 student, Phoebe Robertson, interpreting the play in a more modern setting with the players becoming rugby players and the lovers becoming high school students. This resulted in the Year 11s being placed runner up in the 15-minute division. Beating other teams that had been directed by teachers, they put on a great show and anamazing ensemble effort.

Connor Wilmshurst not only took out Best Actor, Best Under 18 Actor and Best Supporting Actor, but was also fast-tracked to NSSP  which is a week-long course designed to push actors and match them with the best from all regions. Only one from each region is selected. NSSP leads to the opportunity to perform at the Globe Theatre in London.

Connor, when asked about his achievement said, “I’m excited to develop my acting skills more and to have the opportunity to go down to Wellington at the end of the year. It's pretty amazing. To be selected one of 24 people to go to Wellington is an honour. I could not have done it without my class, their support and all the fundraisers they have been doing.”

However, his performance should not overshadow the others. It was an exceptional team effort that led the students to their position, indeed the best one achieved at the festival in the last two years, with the students gaining great enjoyment from the experience and ultimately going home with smiles on their faces.

Rumah Harvey, one of the actresses, says, “It felt unbelievable because I knew we were going to do good but not that good. I was really nervous to go on but when I was on I just didn’t care and I just went for it.” All of the students said similar things about being on stage and the enjoyment of being able to pretend to be someone else for a moment.

The students all performed exceptionally. They are all excited to continue the tradition of Sheila Winn into next year and are hoping to take out the competition now that they have seen what is out there and have gained a confidence unique to their experience.

The Year 12 group also performed a piece from "A Midsummers Nights Dream", competing in the 5-minute section of the competition. Taking it in a more contemporary direction as well, they set it  inside a classroom. It was student-directed by Reef Ainsley, who also acted in the piece. 

It was captivating from start to finish. Taking a more serious tone, they were able to clearly convey the mood of their piece as a whole, as well as portraying their characters with a new twist, which made the old play really come to life.

Isobel Carver, one of the actresses taking part says, “It was an amazing experience and it helped me learn a lot about technique and performance.”  This gives an impression of how much this competition means to our young actors and the opportunities that it provides.

Ultimately, they should be extremely proud of what they were able to accomplish. Committing fully to their piece, they worked extremely hard and it showed through the performance they gave.