Students at Nelson and T.A. Blakelock high schools recently performed at a prestigious provincial drama festival - among the largest in North America - with several students receiving awards in the process.
The schools qualified for, and performed at, the
National Theatre School (NTS) Drama Festival (formerly the Sears Drama Festival) in early May.
Established in 1946, secondary schools across Ontario compete in their local week-long District Festivals, each performing one-act plays. These plays are adjudicated by a theatre professional who hands out awards at the end of the week and selects two or three plays to move on to the Regional Festival. Two plays are then selected from each of six regions across Ontario to perform in the Ontario festival - consisting of 12 one-act plays considered the best across the province. The NTS Provincial Showcase is not competitive as it is the final level of the festival season and is meant to be a celebration of drama excellence.
T.A. Blakelock HS performed ‘Only the Good’ and received an Outstanding Production award. This play is about a group of girls growing up in the foster care system. They based their play on extensive research as well as interviews with social workers and survivors. Grade 12 student Hannah Prisco received one of six Mira awards for her direction in this production.
Teachers Sylvia Goncalves and Fraser Houston say this drama festival was such a challenging and rewarding experience for all students.
“We hope this experience helped our students understand their own potential and that with courage, effort and determination, they can surpass their own perceived limitations to accomplish great things,” Goncalves says.
“We also hope students learned about the power and role of theatre to amplify marginalized voices and stories, advocate for social justice, and to profoundly impact and educate people,” Houston says. “Through this months-long creation process, students honed their craft, both on and off stage, but they also learned about perseverance, teamwork and their own ability to step outside of their comfort zones and fulfill challenging goals.”
“All elements of production came together to create a polished and professional-looking show and delivered powerful performances that resonated with our audiences,” Goncalves adds.
Prisco says being part of the showcase was “one of the most memorable and motivating experiences ever.”
“As writers and as artists, there is no feeling like being surrounded by those who share the same love and passion for creating. This energy of the showcase was unmatched. Everyone was so excited and friendly and thrilled to reach out to other casts and ask questions and congratulate one another. It was truly the best culmination of the past eight months of hard work and it was beautiful to see other schools feeling all the same emotions as our individual NTS journeys came to an end.”
Grade 11 student Kaiha Jaaj performed the role of Quinn Caplewood in their show ‘Only the Good’ and appreciated the audience reaction.
“What I enjoyed most about it was the character work that went into this role and doing her justice as best I could. After all that preparation, it was amazing to see how the audience responded to her and the rest of the cast who also had the same sense of responsibility instilled in them.”
Nelson students performed ‘Sincerely, Sam’, written by Grade 10 student August Frade, which details a transgender teen’s journey about coming out and gaining acceptance. The main character, Sam, experiences a lot of difficulty with telling his close friends and family due to a fear of rejection, but is helped by Super Sage, a fictional superhero he idolizes. Over the course of the show, he starts to become more comfortable with his identity, as do those around him.
Nelson teacher Marisa Cavataio says she is so proud of her students’ performance especially at such a high-level drama festival.
“This festival promotes not only performance but also collaboration, perseverance, critical thinking, leadership and many other transferable skills that students can use no matter what their future goals may be,” she says. “They learn from industry professionals by participating in workshops such as Acting for Film & Television and Stage Combat but they also learn from watching each other’s work. Perhaps most importantly, students develop a sense of self confidence by being able to express themselves authentically in a safe and inclusive environment.”
Other Nelson NTS award recipients were:
- Stage Manager Award: Eryn Carpenter, Grade 12
- Award of Excellence for Costume Design: Maya MacLachlan (Grade 10) and Jasmine Seager (Grade 12)
Grade 12 student Matthew Timotin says the experience was very fulfilling.
“It was great to be part of a performance that was comedic, educational and inspirational to both young and mature audiences. The experience was further elevated by the sense of community that came from working with a team of over 35 cast/crew members.”
Carpenter says: “Working on this show has taken a lot of time and organization from all of our tech teams. From the very beginning, we worked hard to create a cohesiveness throughout the show using colour. Through the costumes, set, props and lighting we were able to achieve this. One of the biggest challenges we face in all levels of the festival is the two-hour tech time. During this time, we enter a new space where we have to adapt to their stage, as well as record all of our lighting cues. It takes time, precision and a focused cast and crew to get everything done. I’m very grateful to have worked on this show with everyone involved and proud of our accomplishments.”
