Theatresports

Theatresports is a fast-growing club which has gone from strength to strength this year. We had a whopping 41 students join the club this year, and it was lovely to see so many juniors take up the call of improv. Theatresports is competitive improvised theatre, with students working in teams of four to produce short, comic scenes. Each team is judged by a panel who assess their abilities in techniques, storyline and entertainment and gives each scene a score out of ten for each area. In order to succeed, you need a fundamental understanding of performance, a big imagination, a great sense of humour, and bravery in order to pull it all together. This year we moved our sessions from lunch time to after school, giving students more time to grow their skills. We have also hosted more in-house competitions and competed in matches against other schools. Early in the year we hosted the Theatresports Youth Programme’s New Leaders Workshop, which saw students from all over Auckland come together to learn leadership skills. Our first competition against Onehunga High School, Westlake Girls High School, and Orewa College was a good opportunity for newcomers JJ and Sam Davies to perform with leaders Joshua Trotter and Bryn Etherton. They did incredibly well, creating unique and funny stories and characters. Lots of fun was had and we came a not-too-shabby second to Orewa College. Our next match against Orewa College, Westlake Girls, and Northcote College pulled in a large crowd of supporters. Our team consisted of Joshua Trotter, Bryn Etherton, Jayden Cross and Frano Holloway. Dressed in our new Theatresports tees, the students really looked the part. Their performances were incredibly funny and well-crafted, and the the judges commented, “You showed excellent teamwork in this game, sharing responsibilities of advancing and detailing the story, listening to each other, constructing a wacky story piece by piece… you played like a good ensemble – everyone working together.” The judges were impressed with the Rangitoto College students who were on stage, but also those in the audience who supported the team and helped to create a fun evening. All the hard work and practice they have put in this year paid off and they won the evening, beating out the competition with a comfortable lead. Further festival matches were postponed by another lockdown but students in this group should be proud of the efforts they have put in this year and the progress they have made. A big thank you to Dannielle Savage and Sophie Catterall, for their support and judging skills at our in-house matches, and to parents and students for supporting our teams. A great year everyone, well done! Teacher in Charge – Sara Hunt