W.P. Sandin Public High School is getting ready to welcome students and teachers from across the region as it hosts this year’s Region 7 Drama Festival, an event organizer Jordyn Pillar says is as much about community as it is about performance.
Pillai, who directs the W.P. Sandin drama club, said the school put its name forward to host after attending last year’s regional competition at Prince Albert Collegiate Institute.
“During that (competition) we had a directors’ meeting where all of us gathered, and we decided, ‘You know what, we would love to host,'” Pillar said.
She said the school believed it had the right setting for the event, pointing to its welcoming atmosphere, community theatre, and support for the arts.
For Shellbrook and W.P. Sandin, Pillar said hosting the festival is a chance to show visiting schools what the community has to offer while also celebrating student theatre.
“For W.P. it really allows us to show how welcoming the school is, how welcoming the community is, how amazing our kids are,” she said. “Just being able to host people from all over, I mean, a school from Prince Albert is in the competition this year, Warman High School, and Nipawin is also coming.”
The two-day festival will feature four productions from local schools. W.P. Sandin Public High School in Shellbrook will perform “How to Get Away with a Murder Mystery” on Friday, alongside Warman High School’s “Box.” On Saturday, Prince Albert Collegiate Institute will present “Better Than the Movie,” while L.P. Miller Comprehensive School in Nipawin will stage “Fighting Demons.”
W.P. Sandin has 13 students involved in this year’s festival. The school will also perform its own production, “How to Get Away with a Murder Mystery,” a comedy that plays with familiar detective story tropes. Pillar said audiences can expect a lighthearted take on the genre, with recognizable nods to classic mysteries and a lot of laughs.
Getting ready for the festival has meant months of work. Pillar said preparations started in December, with weekly rehearsals, stage crew work on costumes and sets, and plenty of extra effort behind the scenes.
Hosting has brought another layer of responsibility, from preparing space in the school to advertising the event and making sure visiting schools feel welcome.
Pillar said the experience has already been meaningful for students, not just because of the performance itself, but because of the sense of belonging it creates.
“We are a very sports heavy school, and so this just allows them to have a place where they can be their authentic selves,” she said.
She said drama also helps students build speaking, performance, and organizational skills while creating friendships and connections that can last beyond a single production.
One of the moments that has stood out most to her has been watching older students form Grade 7 to Grade 12, and Pillar said senior students have taken younger cast members under their wing by helping them rehearse lines and settle in.
Support for the festival has also come from across the school and community. Pillar said staff members have helped build sets and find costumes, the school’s baking club is preparing treats for the community performance, and the Shellbrook Arts Council has offered volunteer help.
As opening day approaches, Pillar said she hopes audiences come out not only to support W.P. Sandin, but to experience the full range of performances on offer.
“I do think that there’s something for everybody,” she said. “I just also think it’s important to support these students following their passions and doing something that they love, so that we can continue doing this.”
The Region 7 Drama Festival will take place Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18 at the Shellbrook Theatre, 1011 Avenue West in Shellbrook. Show time is 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday, with doors opening 20 minutes before each session. Tickets will be available at the door for $5 per session, while children 13 and under will be admitted free. Rush seating will be in effect.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
