Helena (Sophie Wallace-Jenner) watches while Demetrius (Ben Dodd) and Lysander (Sophie Hampson) fight for her affection, while Hermia (Liv Williams) tries to stop them. by Memory of Light Photography

Drama students take on national Shakespeare Festival

“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt” - William Shakespeare.

The four of us certainly doubted we could even get a placing, let alone win, when we arrived at the Nelson regional Sheila Winn Shakespeare Competition in April, yet we did not let that doubt control us. We left that very long, exciting, nerve-wracking and exhausting day with the “Best 15 Minute Piece” trophy, along with four others, and smiles on our faces.

Six weeks later, we found ourselves with plane tickets clutched in our hands as we boarded a plane before the sun had even said hello. Three other students - Mia Faulkner, Ruby Lucas and Eden Lawless - joined us in support of our venture, as we left for Wellington on Queen’s Birthday weekend to compete in the SGCNZ University of Otago National Sheila Winn Shakespeare Festival 2019 (it’s a mouthful, I know).

We arrived that day at Wellington East Girls High, just in time for us to split off for a variety of different workshops. These ranged  from Singing for Shakespeare, where we sang an acapella composition of one of the bard’s pieces, to an accent workshop where new friends were made while talking like a Scotsman.

 The rest of the day was spent exploring Wellington city and spending time at our accommodation, before heading off to the Michael Fowler Centre that evening for a 10-minute practice on the stage we would be performing on over the next two days.

Our weekend was spent watching numerous 5 or 15-minute Shakespeare performances, some thoughtful and inspiring, others comedic and light-hearted. We saw a Harry Potter themed Macbeth and a piece where a young lad just kept chowing down on lemons; a bit odd indeed. 

Between the traditional and the highly original interpretations, a stand-out for me was a 15-minute scene from Titus and Andronicus by Western Springs College.  It provoked an emotional reaction throughout the audience, due to the raw emotion and use of simple costuming, as it depicted the horrifying abuse of a young girl, with a context very applicable to today’s society.

Finally, it came our time to perform. We were ushered into our dressing room and got ready with a shared nervousness that had been building up all trip. We filled up our cup of cranberry juice that served as the love potion Demetrius and Lysander fall under the spell of and set off, ready for the 15-minute performance we’d been building up to for weeks. 

 The actual performance was incredibly fun, yet also super strange. “It didn’t feel real after seeing all the talent that had performed on the stage before us,” actor Sophie Wallace-Jenner said. 

It was an amazing privilege to be able to perform and share a piece you and three of your buddies crafted and put so much effort into, on the amazing stage that is the Michael Fowler Centre. The performance wasn’t perfect, but we were all so proud of how far we’d come, and if it wasn’t worth it already, the audience's reactions to our jokes and comedic blocking put it over the top.

We arrived back at our accommodation exhausted, yet still had to pack for our departure the next day that none of us were looking forward to. The next morning, we found ourselves at Te Papa, before heading home with new memories, closer friendships and a whole lot of photos and videos to remind of us of the time we’d spent together. 

The trip showed me more Shakespeare than ever before, inspiring me in ways to develop my drama, and not just in the area of the Elizabethan playwright.  It also showed me things to avoid, such as speaking too quickly or too slowly. It was a highly educational and enjoyable experience, which I’m glad I was able to share with my friends and the amazing teachers Mr Bentley and Ms Gundry.  Bring on next year!