More than 100 students from six schools in the region will take the stage at Wairarapa College on Tuesday for the annual Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival.
Regional co-ordinator Marilyn Bouzaid said the festival starts at 7pm on Tuesday at the Wairarapa College hall, where about 130 pupils are to treadthe boards in the name of the bard.
She said five of the schools will perform scenes from Shakespeare plays of both 15-minute and five-minute duration, with the former usually directed by teachers and the latter by students only.
The regional festivals will be held in 23 centres throughout New Zealand and must be completed before April 20.
From each of the festivals, one 15-minute and one five-minute scene is selected for performance at the national festival over Queen's Birthday Weekend in Wellington.
More than 500 students will perform their scenes to colleagues and the public and also get to participate in workshops taken by leading theatre exponents and practitioners, and attend lectures. Assessors will provide oral feedback and written reports, and will make awards, assisted by some of the award donors.
At the four-day national festival, the students will be assessed for compatibility, willingness to learn and suitability for selection for the National Shakespeare Schools Production and the Young Shakespeare Company.
