Drama at Warwick Academy has gained a growing reputation for excellence in recent years.
Productions have ranged from Blood Brothers to Little Shop of Horrors, to Hairspray and The Crucible.
This fall the school will be presenting Kander and Ebb’s groundbreaking musical Cabaret, which is generating great excitement among the students.
Since I started at the school in September 2010, I have aimed to stage one musical one year and a scripted drama the next.
As a result, students that may not necessarily excel as singers or dancers have the opportunity to gain a leading role if they audition.
The audition process itself is structured so students are not intimidated. They often audition in pairs and present a series of improvised scenes, rather than standing alone and reciting a monologue learnt in advance.
As a result, many students in the upper school that may not have chosen to follow Drama academically are comfortable auditioning and, indeed, are often cast in leading roles.
In recent years, Warwick Academy has also gained a reputation for risk-taking in terms of imaginative choices of staging.
Whilst the original concept and ideas are initiated by the director of each production, the cast are encouraged to suggest their own thoughts and they often contribute the best ideas. For example, The Crucible was set in an indefinite time.
The school has also been involved in the Bermuda Shakespeare Festival since its introduction.
Past performances include Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice and The Comedy of Errors.
The school has gained a growing reputation for originality in the staging of Shakespeare’s work. For example, The Comedy of Errors was set in a tourist-clogged 1970’s Costa del Sol.
Many of the school’s students also take part in productions staged by the Gilbert and Sullivan Society and the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society.