Theatre Dept. plans annual trip to the Stratford festival

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The Theatre Dept. enjoying Stratford in years past.

Sophie Monzo, Entertainment Editor

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     Theatre students will head to stratford to see various different play at the festival.

     Theatre teacher Tim Herbert will lead the students in hopes of encouraging students passions for the art.“Inspiration, to perform, to produce, to dance, to sing, to engage with the art,” Herbert says. The festival shows many different plays from musicals to shakespeare shows using the same actors.

     Though ETHS theatre has been going to this festival since the late 80’s, the students going will only be a fraction of overall attendees with can be up to 26 million people each year.

     The festival is runs from April to Oct., putting on a variety of shows, both classic and contemporary during this time. ETHS will leave for Stratford Thursday Sept. 14 and come back on Sunwday the 17 and will be taking around 32 students on the trip.

     This year, students will see the plays, Tartuffe, HMS Pinafore, Twelfth Night, Treasure Island and Guys and Dolls. This, according to Herbert, allows the students to see a variety of plays.

     Stratford is a community based on a repertory theatre, meaning that a actor in classical piece may also play a role in contemporary play that night.  For ETHS students, that makes for a unique and interesting viewing experience.

     “It’s interesting for our students to see the range the people have and the different skills they possess,” Herbert says.

     Students to feel the trip is a valuable educational experience. “You learn new stuff about Canada and Theatre, you are always learning,” junior Triana Callum says.

Although the trip is designed to see plays, the students embarking on the trip build their own community  and their own bonds based on the trip and the plays they see. “Community that we build just by talking about the experiences we have,” Herbert says.

     The students are also encouraged to speak their opinions on each play the see and not always seeing eye to eye is okay.

     The experience is different for every student, but each will leave having seen many different plays and having made many new memories.