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Shining at Star Fest
Shawnigan’s rising stars of theatre took their talents to a big stage on April 26-28 at the National Star Festival West hosted by Douglas College in Vancouver.
“The festival is an opportunity for theatre students to perform in front of their peers, test their skills against an adjudication board with the opportunity to receive recognition, and take workshops in many performing arts fields from instructors across BC,” theatre teacher Mr. Sal Interlandi explained. “It also allows them to meet and see what other performing arts students are doing in other schools.”
Four teams of Theatre Company students qualified for nationals through the provincial Star Fest at the University of Victoria last December, where they each performed a single scene from a play: DJ B., Bailey S. and Pascal G. in The Philadelphia by David Ives; Gabe B. and Charlie G. in Lone Star; Reo T. and Aava N. in Fight Over Fuchsia by Lindsay Price; and Talia S. and Sora R. in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard.
For nationals, the School was given the opportunity to add wildcard performances, so several of the students who were acting also performed numbers from musicals. Bailey sang “So Much Better” from Legally Blonde: The Musical by Nell Benjamin and Laurence O’Keefe; Reo and Gabe sang “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul; and Talia and Sora sang “Pulled” from The Addams Family by Andrew Lippa. Musical Theatre captains Josef J. and Ariel M. also joined the trip and performed. Josef sang “Out There” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Alan Mencken, Ariel sang “Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)” from Grease by Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs, and the two captains joined up to sing “Let's Live Before We Die” from The Addams Family by Andrew Lippa.
“During nationals, Shawnigan showed that not only did we deliver some dramatic scenes, but also flexed our musical theatre prowess,” Mr. Interlandi said. “All of our students delivered passionate performances and some really blew the judges and audience away.”
The judges awarded advanced placement, the highest possible accreditation, to five of the Shawnigan performances: Gabe and Charlie in Lone Star, Talia and Sora’s “Pulled,” Josef’s “Out There,” Ariel’s “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee (Reprise),” and Josef and Ariel’s “Let’s Live Before We Die.” Another four received proficient placement: DJ, Bailey and Pascal in The Philadelphia, Reo and Aava in Fight Over Fuchsia, Talia and Sora in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and Reo and Gabe’s “A Million Dreams.” Canadian playwright John Lazarus also sought out DJ and Pascal to tell them how much he enjoyed The Philadelphia.
In addition to the performances, Star Fest also featured a wide range of workshops, with something for everyone, from playwriting to monster makeup to breaking into the industry. The final day included a series of one-act plays from other schools, inspiring the Shawnigan students, who begged Mr. Interlandi to participate next year.
“Overall, this was an experiment for us, but it definitely paid off,” Mr. Interlandi said. “The students had a blast and are all itching to return next year for more. I was looking for something performing arts students at Shawnigan could do beyond the gates. Star Festival for sure checks many of the boxes.”
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Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
