Shakespeare drama competition: Semi-finals draw to a close

The three judges at the 43rd Inter - School Shakespeare Drama competition were certain of what they were looking for and its this criteria which guided their selection of finalists for the competition this year.

“We looked to see if you really understood what you were saying. The actors and schools that did that, were natural and were not over blown. Those schools scored well,” Tracy Holsinger tells the competitors, shortly before pronouncing the finalists for the boys category at the Lionel Wendt theatre recently.

“In terms of acting we were looking for team work and ensemble. There were some great ensemble performances and if there was an award for that two schools were just superb,” she adds. Tracy was joined on the judging panel by Sabreena Niles and Hasitha Pathirana. It was clear that Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar was the popular play, amongst the boy schools and was what led four of them to the finals. Wesley College,Colombo rendered a tight performance. They were followed on by an equally talented St Joseph’s College, St Peter’s College were soon to follow. The three schools were the judges pick for thefinals. Royal College was the standout act from strong contenders, St Benedict’s College and Ananda College to enter the finals. Meanwhile, the competition also saw four talented girls schools being picked for the finals. Those include St Lawrence’s College, Colombo, Visakha Vidyalaya, Devi Balika Vidyalaya and Newstead Girls’ College, Negombo.

The finales will take place on Sept. 30 (Girls’ Schools) starting at 6.30 pm and October 1 for the Boys’ Schools starting at 6.00 pm at the Bishop’s College Auditorium. See more pix online at sundaytimes.lk