Wakatipu High talent takes five national theatre awards
The Wakatipu High School thespians cleaned up at the weekend scooping five top awards including Best Production and Best New Director at Theatre NZ’s national TheatreFest Showcase finals in Christchurch.
The cast of 12, including three technical and two support travellers performed against 53 theatre groups from around the country, just over half of them adult groups.
In a huge coup, Year 13 student Rochelle Tickle took out the Drama Development Trust’s Best New Director Award.
“I’m ecstatic,” an exhausted school performing arts teacher Jake Hansen said speaking from Christchurch Airport on Sunday night. “They are absolutely ecstatic and every single person in the basin should be so proud of what they’ve achieved,” says Hansen. “I’m really humbled that all their hard work has paid off.”
The team won Theatre NZ’s Book of Honour Best Overall Production at the event, after competing with hundreds of entrants to the top award.
Their superb performance of one-act play ‘That Time, That Place’, written by Ken Mizusawa, won the Bryan Aitken Best Youth Production Award and Denise Walsh Best Production of a NZ Play Award.
Not only was Rochelle impressing the country’s best with her directing skill, but Bethany Graf, who delivered a brilliant portrayal of the lead character, also won one of three Distinction in Emerging Talent awards.
It’s believed to be the first time the school has ever won Best Overall Production and Best NZ Play and the first time a Wakatipu school group has made it to the nationals since 2018.
After what was a bit of a stressful but exciting build up to the event for Rochelle, who flew to Wellington the day before the showcase finals for her first audition for Toi Whakaari – NZ’s leading performing arts school, it was all worthwhile. “I had an amazing team to work with and was so supported along the way. I’m feeling very proud of myself and my team,” she says. “It’s always what I’ve wanted to do, but proving I can do it is so cool.”
She says the hardest part throughout the competitions had been having to critique her peers. “I love them all to bits and didn’t want to break their hearts.”
“Not only was it a great team and show, but our director has come into her own, actors, technical, all aspects,” says Hansen. “Rochelle managed it all on her own without my help. She selected the script, did auditions, casting, created the show and characters. She’s essentially done every element to put it on at showcase level and is not only a talented director, but actor,” says Hansen.
“So many students have come together for this as a well-oiled machine, delivering high quality theatre,” he says. “I’m always overwhelmed by the quality of the students coming through the school.”
