Meet five of New Zealand's most outstanding Shakespearean comic actors!
Our Avondale College Drama students - Sajal Taneja, Leo Taylor (Year 11), Kate Perfect, (Year 12), Hunter Easterbrook and Grace Elijas (Year 13) - received the Outstanding Presentation from a Comedy Award at the Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ's (SGCNZ) University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival which was held in Wellington during Queen's Birthday Weekend; with Grace also receiving the festival's Outstanding Individual Comic Role Award!
Around 50 school groups, who had been selected from regional heats, gathered at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington for the festival, where they participated in acting workshops, performed their five and 15 minute scenes, and enjoyed presentations from SGCNZ alumni before the final awards ceremony on Sunday evening.
Our students performed their very funny Married at First Sight-themed 15 minute scene from A Mid-Summer Night's Dream, which saw the confused lovers stage-managed by a headset-wearing Puck... The comedy was very physical, with mock fight scenes, lots of chasing, and even a quick ad break before the final MAFS 'red couch' scene where all four elected to... 'STAY'!
In addition to being inspired by the creativity of the other performances, our students also enjoyed an evening at the theatre where they saw Indian Ink's production of Paradise, or the Impermanence of Ice Cream. They also managed a quick trip to Te Papa and explored some of the iconic sites of central Wellington, such as Parliament and the waterfront.
Next up on the SGCNZ calendar will be the National Shakespeare Schools Production in Wellington in September, for which Abigail Meads in Year 13, has been selected.