North Battleford Comprehensive Drama Club won Best Visual Production and Runner Up Best Technical Production awards at the Saskatchewan Drama Association's Provincial Festival held May 7, 8 and 9 in Regina.
The NBCHS club, which has won the regional competition for the last four years, competed among 11 regional winners, performing their Region 9 winning play Thursday, May 7.
Their production was a one-act adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Drama coach Kali Weber says, "Choosing a play for a production can be a difficult process, and there are several criteria that I think about when picking. Does it suit the group of students that we have? What visuals can be created on stage to add to the spectacle of the production? What skills (both in acting, technical and design) will my students learn from this play?"
This year, A Midsummer Night’s Dream fit each of those criteria.
"We have a large group of students in drama club, 32 in total. Twenty-two them are in Grade 8 and 9," says Weber. "The play was written to incorporate an ensemble (the fairies), which suits a bigger group of actors. A perfect way to get beginner students on stage."
Performing work by Shakespeare, in and of itself, is a challenge, she adds.
"Comprehension and rhythm of speaking is something we spent a lot of time on."
The visual possibilities of A Midsummer Night's Dream were also enticing.
"The title alone stirs up particular images – magic, forest, dukes, duchesses – all big, extravagant and spectacular visuals to create on stage. What a challenge to be able to produce this world on the stage," says Weber.
It's very much a hands on experience for students.
"It is a really important part of the philosophy of our drama club that the students create their own costumes, and we design and build our sets collaboratively," says Weber. "We recycle, reuse, create, adapt throughout the process."
The whole group gets involved.
"We start by developing a huge idea board at the back of the drama room – everyone contributes to it. In our club, students rarely contribute to only one part of the process," she says.
This is the last year Weber, who has been teaching at NBCHS for six years, will have coached the drama club to higher levels of competition.
"I have decided to leave the Battlefords to pursue a diploma in arts and cultural management at Grant MacEwan University. The program will train me to run a non-profit arts organization – museum, art gallery, concert venue or, in my case, a theatre company."
When she's finished, she would like to work in the education department for a theatre, and eventually would like to start her own company.
