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Drama

We offer the opportunity for students to be involved in the following extra curricular activities:
 
Theatresports (improvisation)
 
Both juniors and seniors have the chance to compete with other Waikato Secondary Schools in the Theatresports Competition during Terms 1, 2 and 3. Theatresports offers students the chance to develop their improvisation skills and confidence.
 
Sheilah Winn Festival
 
The Sheilah Winn festival offers students the chance to rehearse a 15 minute Shakespearean scene and compete at regionals, for the opportunity to perform at Nationals in Wellington during June. Sheilah Winn is unique in that students are also able to direct their own 5 minute scene for the competition. At St John's, we are also proud that two of our old boys have been a part of the Youth Shakespeare Company (NZ) which toured London and performed at the Globe Theatre. This was a result of their hard work and ability, which was recognised while competing in this festival at a National level.
 
June 2011 - National Honours
 
After winning at Regionals for the University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival, the young men from St John’s College travelled their way down to Wellington to perform at Nationals.  Preparation for this festival involved more hours in the rehearsal room and was also helped along with a performance at Hamilton’s Fraser High School after a personal invitation from the principal.
With the crowd cheering and acknowledging the lines of the actors, these six young men won the praise of the adjudicators, taking home two awards – Best Elizabethan Production and a special award from one of the NSSP Selectors, Ralph Upton, for “Having the Courage to do it with the lights on” (referring to the casts decision to bring up the house lights during their performance in order to heighten the involvement of the audience during the performance). 
But the wait wasn’t over yet for all…..this past weekend brought with it some tension as their Drama Teacher, Miss Wheeler, waited nervously for a possible phone call from Dawn Sanders (CEO of Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ) to acknowledge whether or not any of the cast had been successful in being selected for the 2011 NSSP – National Shakespeare Schools Production.  And the phone call arrived early Saturday evening, bringing with it the news that not one, but three young men had been chosen to continue the journey one step further.  Oliver Barrett, Matthew Staijen and Conor Gyde were 3 of 24 to be picked by the selectors from an estimated 250 students who performed in 47 different scenes over the weekend.  They join 24 other students on a weeklong intensive workshop in September, which culminates with a public performance as a finishing touch.  With this selection, these three students are now in with a shot to travel to London next year with the Youth Shakespeare Company NZ.  24 of the 48 are selected based on their “compatibility, willingness to learn and suitability” to form YSC and will spend approx 3 weeks learning more about their craft, while being based at the Globe Theatre.
According to the SGCNZ website, 5500 students involve themselves in this event at a Regional level, in the hope of being able to perform at the National Festival.  Held over Queen’s Birthday Weekend, students were able to attend workshops run by experts in the field, attend local professional theatre performances, make new friends, sing during a fire evacuation after an exploding speaker laid claim to the social hour and of course, support their peers on the stage and perform themselves.   

April 2011 - Shakespeare with a twist

Combine tights, togas, brick walls and a lot of talent and you get the winning combination from St John’s College in the recent annual University of Otago Waikato Region Sheilah Winn Festival of Shakespeare in Schools.  Held at Hillcrest High School, eight schools took to the stage in an attempt to represent the Waikato Region at the National Festival in June down in Wellington.  Weeks of rehearsing and focussing on learning the ins and outs of the Shakespearean language, meant our young men captured the hilarity of the Mechanicals Scene in the comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and managed to keep the audience and judges laughing right throughout their 15 minute performance. 

The talented cast were directed by the equally talented Calvin Petersen, a St John’s old boy, a member of the National Secondary Shakespeare Production (NSSP) and Youth Shakespeare Company (YSC NZ) Alumni and Hillary Scholar studying Theatre at The University of Waikato.  The challenge for the boys was for them to take the famous words of Shakespeare and create a new, fresh performance.  Calvin’s decision to set the laugh inducing scenes in a modern school classroom, where the cast are rehearsing for a production under the close watch of their teacher, proved to be unbeatable.  Oliver Barrett, Conor Maxwell, Zac Leet-Guinan, Matthew Staijen, Conor Gyde and Caleb Coffey have made history at St John’s – this is the first time our school has won this competition.  Oliver Barrett was also identified by the adjudicators, along with a short list of others, as a strong actor and one to watch in the future for his leading role as Nick Bottom and Pyramus. 

As a teacher who, some years ago, competed in this same event when it was in its infancy, I am delighted to be able to take these young men on a trip which may very well open many more doors for them. The festival is celebrating its 20 year anniversary and our young men are proud to represent St John’s College and show the rest of the country what we’ve got.  Set over Queen’s Birthday Weekend, the festival allows students the opportunity to participate in workshops lead by talented experts from around the country as well as performing for the chance to make NSSP and YSC, where they will get to visit England and spend time studying at the famous Globe Theatre in London. 

 Jacqui Wheeler 

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