Students chosen for Shakespeare production (+ video)

Two local high school students have been chosen to take part in the National Shakespeare Schools Production.

Isobella Cook, 16, from Rotorua Girls' High School and Gus Dube, 16, from John Paul College will travel to Dunedin at the end of September.

Isobella said she was selected from the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand's (SGCNZ) University of Otago regional Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival as a "wild card" to go straight to the production.

She said next month's event involved students being split into three groups and doing a 40-minute performance from a Shakespeare play.

There would also be acting workshops, she said.

She said she had been "really surprised" to be selected and was looking forward to working with kids her age who had different experiences in acting, from all over New Zealand with different backgrounds.

She was also looking forward to working with the director and bringing something back to Rotorua Girls' High School, she said.

Isobella said although Shakespeare could be boring when you had to analyse it, acting it out was much different.

"It's very diverse and it's a lot more energising than you think it would be."

She said she was a shy person, but enjoyed acting because she could get on stage and be someone else. She enjoyed performing to a group of people, she said.

"Also, the whole dynamics of working with others to bring together one end product is cool."

Gus said he was ecstatic when he was told he too had been chosen.

"I just couldn't sit down, I couldn't believe what was happening."

He said the fact Shakespeare's plays were written more than 400 years ago and were still being performed, having an influence and still being enjoyed was "really cool".

"I'm just going to be looking forward to getting all the tips and pointers from the directors."

At the end of the week 24 of the 48 students taking part will be selected as members of the SGCNZ Young Shakespeare Company 2017 and continue their journey to The Globe in London next July.