Westcliffe drama students delight audience

By Joan Janzen

Family, friends and staff thoroughly enjoyed watching students from Westcliffe Composite School perform a play in the school gym Thursday evening, March 30th. They performed “Appropriate Audience Behaviour,” a one-act comedy written by Ian McWethy.

The comedy features two individuals who find themselves distracted by noisy spectators as they try to watch a live performance of ‘Hamlet.’ Suddenly the audience begins to steal the show.

“The stage was set to mimic people sitting in a theatre,” Sandy Cisna explained. Sandy had come to watch her granddaughter perform in the play. “It was made up of vignettes of how people can be disruptive, spoiling the show for others.”

The cast, crew and directors from Westcliffe Composite School enacted “Appropriate Audience Behaviour” for their audience on the evening of March 30th.

The cast included Sandy’s granddaughter Tatsiyana Cisna, Mason Sullivan, Abbygale Radies-Cowie, Blair Sullivan, Sierra Smolinski, Blake Rooke, Zackary Holland, Sierra Ensor, Sophia Winter, Lynae Warrington and Mary Rabbitskin. The backstage crew consisted of: James Loken, Samson Winter, William Loken, Phoebe Rabbitskin, Trudy Wiebe and Johnny Wiebe. Jennifer Loken, Nicole Triffo and Patricia Holden directed the play.

The following day, the young drama students headed off to the regional drama festival at Swift Current Comprehensive High School, accompanied by bus driver Jeanette Winter and chaperone Peter Winter. Westcliffe students performed on Friday, March 31st, along with performances by students from the Swift Current school and Leader Composite School. Additional performances were given on Saturday by students from Swift Current and Warman high schools.

Westcliffe’s play received best performance and technical and was awarded 2nd overall at the regional drama festival!

“All the kids were great, and the show went on without a hitch,” Sandy concluded.