GigCity grant brings Shakespeare to pupils
THE rehearsal of a Shakespearean play in Dunedin was broadcast live to pupils in three classrooms yesterday.
Performing arts pupils from John McGlashan College and Otago Girls’ High School in Dunedin and St Peter’s College in Gore watched a live rehearsal of a Fortune Theatre play.
Nearly 40 pupils in the classrooms watched the rehearsal of parts of two scenes of the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night in the Fortune Theatre rehearsal rooms.
Theatre education liaison Shannon Colbert said the theatre got $20,000 from the GigCity Community Fund to create Backstage Pass, which had its inaugural ‘‘live session’’ yesterday.
The rehearsal was broadcast to the classrooms using the video conferencing technology Zoom.
‘‘It went really well — it was great,’’ Ms Colbert said.
The actors rehearsing yesterday were Frith Horan (Viola), Shaun Swain (Valentine), Joshua Cramond (Duke Orsino) and Jonathan Martin (captain of the wrecked ship).
Director Benjamin Henson, assistant director Zoe Connor and assistant stage manager Beth Waite were at the rehearsal.
The cast and crew answered pupils’ questions after the rehearsal yesterday.
The play is a joint production between the theatre and the University of Otago.
Pupils from different schools across Otago and Southland will use the technology to watch rehearsals of Twelfth Night and upcoming productions Into the Woods in August.
The schools participating include most of the high schools in Dunedin, Gore High School, Blue Mountain College in Tapanui, Dunstan High School in Alexandra and Wakatipu High School in Queenstown would watch rehearsals remotely.
The technology
allowed pupils to get an ‘‘insight’’ into how a play was created before they watched it live at the Fortune Theatre.
shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz