SGCNZ National Shakespeare Schools Production 2017
Written by
Exit Pursued by a Performance
Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand (SGCNZ) is thrilled to present its annual National Shakespeare Schools Production (NSSP) for 2017 in Wellington from the 1st to the 9th of October. 48 Students from all over NZ will be attending, having been selected at the SGCNZ National and Regional University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festivals (UOSWSF), which were held earlier this year.
SGCNZ NSSP is a week-long theatre intensive especially devised for Shakespearean devotees which enables students from all the 24 regions to learn more about the Bard and his works; familiarise themselves with the ins and outs of the theatre; hone their theatre and film, composing and designing skills, and to gain valuable, life-long lessons. Among these skills are public speaking, teamwork, self-confidence, time-management and independence. Not only will they socialise with people from all across the country, but the friendships that they develop in this week will prove invaluable, as many NSSP students have gone on to attend University or Drama School with their production-mates.
Each year 48 students attend, 46 of which are actors selected from the SGCNZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival, held regionally in mid-March to April, and nationally over the Queen’s Birthday Weekend. Each student is selected based on their performance in these festivals, with their development in their selected workshops, which are held over that National Festival weekend, being a contributing factor. This year there were workshops and seminars dedicated to exploring Shakespeare in different cultures and voices, one of which was organised by the Black Friars Theatre Company of South Auckland. All 46 acting students are joined by two others, who are the winners of the annual SGCNZ/Tony Catford Shakespeare Costume Design Competition and the SGCNZ/Morrison Music Trust Shakespeare Music Composition Competition. This year’s winners are Tui Taiaroa-Smithies, from Otago Girls’ High School and Emily Clifford from Nelson College for Girls respectively.
Audiences can expect to see plays that may be new to them as well as one of the classics as this year two of the three directors opted for some of the lesser known Shakespeare plays. Peter Hambleton will be directing The Comedy of Errors, Robin Payne, The Winter’s Tale, and Eleanor Bishop, The Taming of the Shrew.
This will be SGCNZ’s 22nd NSSP, which was established in 1996, five years after the organisation itself. The week is designed to widen the students’ knowledge of theatre, as well as encourage a more personal understanding and interpretation of the world in which they live. From this group of 48 students 24 will be picked to travel to Shakespeare’s Globe in London, an opportunity that has been available through SGCNZ since Sam Wanamaker reconstructed the theatre near its original 17th Century site on the River Thames in 1997.
Flynn Mehlhopt from ACG Parnell College, Auckland, who has been selected for SGCNZ NSSP 2017, stated “I am so excited about the opportunity and can’t wait to get down there and work. I had a blast performing in Wellington and met so many awesome people. It has been an absolute highlight [of] my last year at school.”
SGCNZ NSSP 2017 will be held at Scots College in Strathmore Park and the performances will take place in Wellington in early October of this year. These are open to the public on both Saturday 7 October 2017 at 7.30pm at Mac's Function Centre (Te Aro Room) and Sunday 8 October 2017 at 2.00pm at the Wild Theatre, Wellington Zoo. Further information is below.
Performances: Saturday 7th October 2017 at 7.30pm/Sunday 8 October 2017 at 2.00pm
Venue: Saturday Performance: Te Aro Room, Mac’s Function Centre, Taranaki Street Wharf, Wellington
Sunday Performance: Wild Theatre, Wellington Zoo,
Bookings: For Mac’s: via www.iTICKET.org.nz , door sales available (cash only)
For the Zoo: via the SGCNZ office, E: Shakespeare.et.al@gmail.com, P: 04 384 1300
Find the booking form online under www.sgcnz.org.nz, pre-booking is essential, NO door sales
Tickets: For Mac’s: $25-$12
For the Zoo: $10-$2.50 + $15 p.p. for Zoo entry
Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ, iTICKET