Welland Centennial’s ‘We are the Water’ heading to regional drama festival
Marina Grmusa and Xavier Ross are more aware of their water use since Welland Centennial Secondary School’s original production of “We are the Water” in February.
The 45-minute one-act play created by students, with original music by Zachary Johnston and Kalan Bridgeman, focuses on the idea that water, a precious life source, connects us all.
With a song from Juno-nominated artists Logan Staats and Rob Lamothe, it addresses pollution, contamination, reckless consumption and waste and overextraction.
It was one of 12 high school plays entered into National Theatre School’s Niagara District Drama Festival.
The Grade 10 students had a hand in the production — Grmusa was a lighting tech, and Ross on stage — and said they think more about what people are doing to the world and water.
“I have been much more aware of how we use water,” said Grmusa. “People can come and watch it, and when they leave, they will be so much more aware of how they use water because it is a very impactful show.”
Ross said after listening to stories by Staats and his sister, Layla Black, a storyteller and film producer, has made him think about water use. He’s more conscious of how he uses water, not taking it for granted. Grmusa is also more aware.
“It can be as simple as turning off the water when brushing your teeth or taking shorter showers. I talk about it with my family,” she said.
The two students said the show was fun to put together and perform in front of peers, friends, family and the community.
“It has been a big experience because it is a travelling show, so it is different, and I’ve gotten more experience with lighting,” said Grmusa.
She said her mother is into the arts and loved the story of the show, the story behind it and how it was created.
“The way there were no words made it very impactful. When we did the show for our local elementary schools, it was amazing how loud the rain section was with all the kids participating,” said Grmusa.
Ross said he had a lot of fun.
“It was my first time with a show like this. Some of the cast were not experienced dancers, and we spent time figuring out how we could use our strengths to add to the play and make it work.”
He said fellow students had great things to say about the performance.
The pair are excited the play is moving on to the southern Ontario regional festival, taking place April 22 through 26 in Hamilton.
“It’s a big and rare opportunity. I’m really proud because it is our original thing, and unique, especially with the technical aspects,” said Grmusa.
She’s also proud the lighting setup made and used for the show is portable.
Ross said the performance was a lot different than last year’s musical production, “Newsies.”
“We made this play from start to finish. I find it crazy that we made it all the way here with something that is ours. We were able to take our cast, some who didn’t know how to dance and didn’t have a lot of drama experience and take it all the way to making a show that won. The tech, the band and the acting are all synchronized, and they work together perfectly,” he said.
Drama teacher Max Ingrao said it’s an honour to move on to the regionals and for the students to continue telling the story.
“We have had shows move on to the regionals in the past. Most recently, our plays “Sisters in Spirit” (in 2017) and “Escape From Syria” (in 2019) competed at the regional level, and they both went on to the provincial showcase,” Ingrao said.
If successful in Hamilton, the show will move on to the provincial showcase in May in North Bay.
Ingrao said Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey invited the students to perform in Ottawa for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Day on Parliament Hill in May.
He said Centennial’s drama department is hoping for donations and sponsorships to help with costs for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students.
Donations can be made through a link at wcssarts.com or by contacting teacher Kim Wylde at kim.wylde@dsbn.org or 905-7350700.