Shakespeare success for Kāpiti schools in Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival

Nadi Figur-Ambler with her award winning static image based on Romeo and Juliet. Photo / Rosalie Willis

Kāpiti students are no strangers to the stage of the SGCNZ National University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival, with students from both Kāpiti College and Paraparaumu College coming away with awards from the national festival.

Winning an outstanding talent award was George Hosking who played the spirit Ariel in The Tempest directed by drama teacher Rachel Clarke and student director Caitlin Proctor.

George was awarded one of five KAM Talent Actor Contracts for his performance.

Kāpiti College also won an award for outstanding makeup, for Year 13 student Madi Henderson's work in helping create Caliban and Ariel from The Tempest.

"We're really proud of the work they've done and students are inspired by the work they saw from other schools," Kāpiti College co-head of arts and languages and drama teacher Siobhan Malley said.

George Hosking from Kāpiti College in his award winning makeup by Madi Henderson.

With many awards given out at the festival each year, the last few years have included a static image competition.

"Each year they open up smaller competitions to do with SGCNZ and Shakespeare," Nadi Figur-Ambler from Paraparaumu College said.

"We had to take a quote from a Shakespeare play and create an image relating to it."

Winning the nationwide SGCNZ/Adam Foundation Static Image Competition for the second year in a row, this year Nadi was able to be presented with her award on stage after last year's competition was held online.

"I used three quotes from Romeo and Juliet, "O'happy dagger; Here's to my love; … I will lie with thee tonight."

The image depicts Romeo and Juliet drawn in a way that makes them look like they're dancing, but they're actually lying on the floor dead.

"This is right after they've died.

"You can see the light is shining which is showing the people where to come to find them."

Nadi, along with Connor Norris, also won an assessor's award from Lizzie Tollemache for their five minute performance of The Taming of the Shrew.

Self-directed and performed by the couple, the award was announced at the end of the prizegiving ceremony, awarded for a 'moment of transformation'.

"I was ecstatic when we got the award," said Connor who was attending his fourth national finals.

"It was all the way at the end of the prizegiving and as soon as they said Paraparaumu College we knew it was us because there was no other group from our school.

"We were awarded it because throughout the course of the five minutes, we changed as not only characters but as performers connecting on stage.

"It really hit the audience in the chest."

Nadi said, "It's absolutely great that we were able to get the award.

"To just get any recognition was so much fun, we were jumping up and down."

Nadi was also selected to be part of the SGCNZ National Shakespeare Schools Production (NSSP), joining Nicholas Harman who gained entry from the Wellington regional competition, the first time Paraparaumu College has had two students selected in the same year.

NSSP is a residential week-long intensive course, studying aspects of Shakespeare's works culminating in public performances of scenes from the play each cast has studied.