Theatresports is a fun and challenging form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. 

Theatresports is an ever growing aspect of the Otago Girls’ Drama Department, and in recent weeks we have had great success and our hours of hard work and practice have been rewarded.

Last week, the Otago Girls' Theatresports competition team consisting of Caitlin Penhey, Caitlin Duff, Mia Johnson and Emily Atkinson competed in the semi-finals of the Improsaurus High Schools' tournament. We ended up tying with Kings' High School and had two tough rounds of tie-breakers. Unfortunately, Kings' won the tiebreaker, but Otago Girls' was offered a place in the finals as a "wild card" entry. We took this opportunity by the reins and went into the finals, ready for a challenge, and to fight for a place as the Dunedin representatives in the South Island competition. We competed against Otago Boys’, East Otago and King's High Schools. Following a tight competition, we came out in second place, just two points behind the winning team from Otago Boys’.

In both the semifinals and finals, we had three rounds of improvisation games. The first round, the blind round, involved an approximately two-minute game which was thrown at the team (teams do not know which game they will play until they get on stage). The second round, the game round, is a three minute game of the team’s choice. The third round, the challenge round, is a four minute game of the team’s choice, however, they must incorporate a challenge which another team has set for them such as, “you must incorporate an elephant in your scene”, or “every sentence must begin with the letter A.” Teams are then scored out of five for entertainment and out of five for technique, one being the worst,  five being the absolute best.

One of our team members, Caitlin Penhey, received an award for best team player of the final’s tournament. This meant that Caitlin was the most supportive of her team and ensured that she helped set up scenes that would help her fellow team members shine on stage.

As the Theatresports cultural coordinator, I have been extremely lucky to watch my fellow team members and the other girls involved in Theatresports develop into confident young women who are happy to show their skills on the stage. I was most proud to witness the sportsmanship and encouragement that my team members displayed within our team and towards other schools, a true reflection of our PB4L values.

Thank you to all the staff and students who have supported the growth of Theatresports at Otago Girls’. Myself and the students involved are most grateful for the opportunity to find our calling and have to the pursuit of our passion supported. Theatresports is open to all students and takes place on a Wednesday lunchtime in the Little Theatre in the VPA.

“What's great about collaborating is getting to work with wonderful people. That's what theatre is about: other people getting you to give your best, and getting everyone else's best out of them.” - James Robert Brown