The National Theatre School Northern Regional Dramafest (formerly the Sears Drama Festival) returns to North Bay's West Ferris Secondary School and runs from Thursday, April 20 to Saturday, April 22.
Shows begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Saturday. Tickets are available at the door for $15, and children under 12 are admitted free.
“The kids are really excited to be doing this again,” said Chris Mogan, a drama and English teacher at Chippewa Secondary School, and one of the event co-ordinators. The festival “develops students’ voices,” and the young talent will have a chance to participate in various workshops throughout the weekend to hone their skills.
Audiences will see live theatre from high schools from across the region, including West Ferris Secondary School and Chippewa Secondary School in North Bay, Almaguin Highlands Secondary School in South River and O’Gorman High School in Timmins.
On Thursday, Chippewa students are performing “Café Murder,” followed by “From the Inside” by the West Ferris theatre group. The Timmins students are putting on “Overdose” to kick off the Friday lineup, which is followed by “When the Fat Lady Sings” from Almaguin Highlands Secondary. Then the O’Gorman students return to close the show with “Apostrophe’s.”
The matinee on Saturday? Prepare for “Re-Wilding” from Almaguin Highlands and “Beast of Charity” from West Ferris closes the fest.
For more information visit the Nipissing Drama Festival group page on Facebook.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
