Taranaki school students perform at regional Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival

Ciara Staines-Hurley, centre, 17, won judges' choice at the Taranaki Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival. Photo / Alyssa Smith

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

As said by Malvolio in Act II Scene 5 of Twelfth Night. If he had been in Stratford-upon-Pātea last Tuesday, he would have seen greatness on the Kings Theatre TET stage as students from around the region competed in the annual University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival - Taranaki.

Students from Stratford High School, Taranaki Diocesan, New Plymouth Girls’ High School, Sacred Heart Girls’ College, Francis Douglas Memorial College, Spotswood College, Ōpunake High School and Highlands Intermediate performed at the event.

As well as Malvolio witnessing the performances, he would have also seen Stratford High School student Ciara Staines-Hurley, 17, deliver those same words about greatness during her performance of Twelfth Night.

Image 1 of 12: Sacred Heart Girls' College students Czeska Cottam, Sophie Fowler and Evie McKinnon performed at the Taranaki Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival. Photo / Alyssa Smith

Ciara, who directed and acted in the excerpt from the play, won judges’ choice.

She said when she first got on stage she was nervous, but after hearing the laughter and cheers from the audience, she felt right at home.

“Hearing that positively relaxed me and I had so much fun. I think when you have fun, it translates well on stage.”

When she heard her name called as the winner of judges’ choice, Ciara said she was shocked.

“I didn’t expect it at all. There were so many great performances on the night.”

She said she enjoyed bringing Malvolio to life on stage, and he is her favourite Shakespearean character.

“Last year I was Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and the year before I was Iago in Othello. I’ve found that I enjoy Shakespeare’s humorous plays and the excerpt from Twelfth Night is something I really like.”

Being named judges’ choice means Ciara will be heading to the week-long Wellington Shakespeare Global Centre New Zealand University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival later this year.

“I’m so excited. I’ve always wanted to go and earning my spot is like a dream come true. I’ve had friends that have gone to it and from hearing their experiences, I knew it was something I wanted to do myself. I’m so happy that I get to go.”

There she will complete workshops and then present their piece to the judges, in an attempt to win their chance to go to the Globe in London.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

New Plymouth Girls' High School students Sydney Becker and Laura Pickels performed a re-imagined scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream, winning the five-minute student directed section at the Taranaki Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival. Photo / Alyssa Smith

Judges of the regional Sheilah Winn festival were Alexander Sparrow and Katie Boyle of Sparrow and Boyle. Both Sparrow and Boyle competed in their regional Sheilah Winn competition when they were in high school.

Sparrow said it was good to see a large number of schools participating.

“They all performed a variety of plays which was great to see. Some of them are the lesser known plays so for the students to take the risk with less familiar plays and have a blast, that’s exciting. The thing is, this festival opens up a lot of opportunities for students and if they want to go far, I’d recommend staying involved with Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand Theatre company.”

He said each group can be proud of how they performed.

“It was so good to see the use of settings, styles and props. Each group did well in performing and knew how to work a crowd. They had perfect comedic timing and to get the laughs from the audience was great.”

Boyle said the students had a great understanding of the text.

“It showed how much care and passion they applied which was exciting. It’s always great to come and see performances and how the community focuses on art and passion.”

She said Stratford is a great town to visit.

“Whenever we leave, we always tell people about the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and how awesome the Stratford Shakespeare Trust is for putting it on. Stratford is a great town to visit and the festival is a must-see.”

Francis Douglas Memorial College's performance of a reimagined scene from Julius Cesar won the 15-minute category at the Taranaki Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival. Photo / Alyssa Smith

Sheilah Winn regional representative Suzanne Blackwell said each winning group received $250.

“It’s great to be able to offer the groups this money and also for Ciara to have this to help fund her trip to the national event later this year.”

Blackwell said she was impressed by the performances.

“All of the students worked very hard and did themselves proud. Of the 16 performances, 11 of them were student-led. It’s so great to see students have an idea and roll with it.”

She said Sheilah Winn is a great opportunity for students.

“Last year Pātea Area School performed and that group gained the confidence to audition for Sweeney Todd in Whanganui. They were selected for roles. It shows that this event produces a wealth of talent and gives the kids the confidence to go out and do other things. Long may Sheilah Winn continue.”

The other winners on the night were Francis Douglas Memorial College for the 15-minute piece and New Plymouth Girls’ High School students Hana Barton and Meg Newland for the five-minute student-directed performance.