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Surrey theatre students get into the act at two district-wide festivals

Young thespians to gather at Bell theatre in January and Salish Secondary in February
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At Johnston Heights Secondary, Kaylee Chan (left) played Sheriff Griffin and Michaella Prefontaine was Deputy Dot in a production of “Closed for the Holidays,” staged in December. (submitted photo)

Teen actors from schools across Surrey will be in the spotlight during a pair of district theatre events.

First up is the Act 1 Individual Events Festival, an evening showcase of monologues, musicals, student-written pieces and more, at Bell Performing Arts Centre on Wednesday, Jan. 23.

A month later, on Friday, Feb. 22, the day-long Surrey One-Act Play Festival will be held at the new Salish Secondary, in North Clayton.

The festivals give Surrey school students and staff an opportunity “to come together to showcase their work in a friendly environment, where they are able to learn from each other and through our adjudicators,” according to Dana Ebtekar, communications director for Surrey Drama Teachers Association (sdta.weebly.com).

“The festivals also give students the opportunity to meet other students in the district, form new friendships and share ideas.”

On Jan. 23, the Act 1 fest runs from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Bell, at Sullivan Heights Secondary, and is free for anyone to attend. Students from 12 schools will participate in the event.

• RELATED STORY: A look back at Surrey’s large in-school theatre, which turns 15 this spring, from March 2017.

The One-Act festival at Salish Secondary, meanwhile, will showcase nine one-act plays from six schools in the Surrey district. One of them will also be selected for a provincial festival at Douglas College in New Westminster.

This school year, 14 theatre productions will be staged at secondary schools in the Surrey district, according to a list posted on the SDTA website.

Upcoming shows include Peter and the Starcatcher (at Earl Marriott Secondary from March 5-8), Into the Woods (Fleetwood Park, May 6-10), Get Smart (North Surrey, May 14-17), The Crucible (Panorama Ridge, Feb. 8-14), A Midwinter Night’s Dream (Sullivan Heights, Jan. 15-16) and Beauty and the Beast (also Sullivan Heights, May 8-10).

Past productions this school year include Changing Channels: A Night of Scenes, Monologues & Songs (at Fraser Heights in December, also on June 14), Closed for the Holidays (Johnston Heights) and Alice, the Panto (Queen Elizabeth).



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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