Well, we made it to the North Island champs! This was exciting as last year we had plays selected, and then we entered a lockdown, and we didn’t get to go on any further. This year the celebrations were real.

The struggle though was indeed improving the 2 plays that were selected in a short time period – just 2 weeks between the regionals and this competition.

However, the kids did really well. Jasmine added in more creepy extras- expanding the universe of the story on stage, rather than just having the crew move the set, they became part of the machine. Very creepy.

James also improved his, with a new movement piece surrounding his swimming sequence, expanding on the use of sound and silence, and adding in a pop-up narrative. It worked well. The lead actor, Ngakau Aporo was selected for “Excellence in Acting” for his portrayal of Kyle Whyte.

We were not selected to perform at the National Showcase – which is sad, but we are fine with it. We still have 3 scripts in amongst the script writing competition, which while we are not confident of a placing, we are always hopeful, as it would mean we could attend the finals weekend in a different capacity.

And now the preparations for the one act competition 2023 start… as already I am seeing scripts and ideas appear in my inbox from people wanting to be more involved. I’ll provide links to the performances when I get a copy of them.