THTSPTS:

What a ride it has been with hundreds of laughs over the years and even the odd good scene throughout. Theatresports is ideal for anyone who is like me and tends to forget to prepare for something or is at his best when the pressure is on in the heat of the moment. St Thomas' has a proud history of success in Theatresports and I know that it is one of the most underrated areas of the school. Cormac Gallagher (Cultural Leader) and I have been enjoying Theatresports at STC since 2014 when we were only tiny Year 7's and have been competing since Year 9 in the Court Theatre run South Island Competition.

On the last Sunday of August, we had our heat at Rangi Ruru. As is tradition the first game we play in the competition is the blind round where we are given a game and then we play it. The Year 11 team were in the same heat as us, so it was quite a battle especially considering we had pride at stake. The Year 11’s came out of the block well and set the early pace, but we picked up momentum. As the competition went on, each team consistently scored 4’s and 5’s from the judges and at the end of the three rounds I thought we had lost to our younger competitors but we had actually tied!

As there can only be one winner, in a dramatic turn, we had to battle each other in a Story Story Die tie-breaker where the first team to muck up the story by errors of grammar or hesitation would be eliminated. The pressure was on and the heart was pumping but as the older men we felt more pressure to win. In the end neither teams made any mistakes so it was decided to stop the game and form one super STC team for the semi-finals.

Cormac very graciously stood aside so that the team could continue as a new unit. As much as it was a great moment of unity it left us with only 2 hours to prepare ourselves and sort out what our strengths were as a newly-formed team.

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Gaffaney who has seen every awful scene we've done at every lunch time and been there to mentor us to victories in the past. Thanks to our loyal supporters who have always come and supported us whether it's Mr Gaffaney with the camera, Mrs Guerin, our parents, siblings, grandparents and even the old boys who have never lost interest in Theatresports and continue to help it grow and help us become better improvisers. Finally to Cormac who has been there with me since Year 7 a huge thank you for all your time and effort over the years. It's been a hell of a laugh and I look forward to seeing our Year 11’s become the leaders next year and I assure you they’re already on track to be greater than I could ever wish to be. You never know where you'll go if you take a step outside your comfort zone!

Daniel Fogarty