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The cast and crew of Prunella, written and directed by Kate Steadman for the TheatreFest One Act Play Festival.
 

TheatreFest One Act Play Festival

Kate Stedman and Luca Reale —

The TheatreFest One Act Play Festival is an annual festival and competition in which Riccarton High School had the good fortune to take part this year. 

Kate Stedman wrote and directed the melodrama Prunella, based on a play devised by herself and her Year 11 drama group. The play was performed by a group of Year 12 drama students, including Nicole Cochrane, Mikaire Smith, Luca Reale, Rhiannon Greer, Sarah Seeley, Beth Watkins, William Wallace, Kathryn Lee and Alana Hillary as our techie. Preparation began two months before the first performance at the local level, which was held at St Andrew’s College in early August.

The team put in plenty of hard work for the sake of this performance, which paid off. The actors rose to the challenge of developing our characters and learning our lines for the performance, while techie Alana Hillary kept lights running smoothly while making sure Kate didn’t go insane. Thanks to the parents (cheers Ken, Russell, Stephanie and Paul) who helped to transport props and team members, we arrived on time to give fantastic performances at both St Andrew’s College and The Playhouse in Timaru. We earned a Magic Moment award for direction and the title of Best Youth Actor for Nicole Cochrane. At St Andrew’s, we were invited to perform at the regional level in Timaru in late August, after which we unfortunately did not progress to the national level.

The experience was worth it. TheatreFest not only gave us the opportunity to showcase our talent, but also allowed us to develop as actors and thespians. We got the chance to watch other fresh New Zealand talent as well as performances by more experienced and accomplished Christchurch players.

We would not have been able to participate in the festival/competition without the help of Ms Willows, our drama teacher, who ensured that we were able to rehearse and prepare for the competition. Feedback and support from Ms Willows and other wonderful and accommodating teachers including Mr Scott, Mrs Conyers and Mr Grubb also helped us to shape our performance into one we knew we could be proud of. (Congratulations also to Ms Willows who directed a play in this competition for the Elmwood Players and progressed to regionals in Timaru with us.) We are all very grateful for the opportunity we have had to perform and showcase our abilities, and we hope to participate and do well in this festival next year.