Troupe members include:
Patrick Bowering, Keisha Kelly, Brianna Green, Gregory Hoskins, Ethan Blundell, Jennifer Hart, Devin Kelly, Sheridan Parrott, Abby Blundell, Sabrina Martin, Keisha Parrott, Cody March, Laci Fitzpatrick, Adrianna Martin, Ms. Kia Power, & Mr. Matthew Cook
Congratulations to the Random Island Academy Drama Troupe who traveled to Gander this past weekend to participate in the 40th annual Provincial Drama Festival. It was four days of workshops and productions from the top ten schools across the province. Students were treated to workshops including character development, blood, gore, & guts, mortal combat, puppetry, shimmy shake, and animation. Every evening was a night of theater as our troupe had the opportunity to sit back and enjoy the best dramatic student talent in the province.
On Saturday it was RIA’s turn to entertain the crowd and they did not disappoint. ‘Welcome To The Show’, written and directed by our own Matthew Cook, had once again received a few tweaks, so even the many parents and friends who traveled to Gander to see the show were treated to a few new unexpected laughs. Our troupe delivered a fantastic performance with great poise and projection that saw several ovations throughout the play and created a buzz in the J.R. Smallwood Arts and Culture Center afterwards. Our veteran actors were OUTSTANDING as they took every change Mr. Cook could through at them and they ran with it. Our new actors showed their abilities and learned quickly delivering more polished performances throughout the year. The development in all our actors this year has been amazing! We also showcased our great musical talent through Brianna Green, Kiesha Parrott, Sheridan Parrott (and Sabrina Martin and Laci Fitzpatrick haha) and were the only show with live music and sound effects thank to the talents of Ethan Blundell. We are extremely proud of our students as they all did a great job!
The Festival was adjudicated by Newfoundlander Robert Chafe, an internationally known writer, Playwright, and Artistic Director. During the awards ceremony RIA received a number of awards including Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Patrick Bowering, Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy – Jennifer Hart, Best Original Script – Mr. Matthew Cook, Outstanding Excellence in Acting – Jennifer Hart. Our Troupe also received much praise in our adjudication for our performance!
The Provincial Festival was extremely well put together as they had a host committee that was dedicated and supportive. The Joseph R. Smallwood Arts and Culture Center staff and crew were second to none. The technicians and stage managers were extremely helpful, supportive and kind to the students. A festival like this doesn’t happen without these hard working people!
‘Welcome To The Show’ has received much Praise these past few weeks and a big thank you has to go out to our cast and crew for your hard work and dedication! Thank you to Mr. Cook for your writing and direction and to Ms. Power for lending us your musical knowledge and abilities and working with the students. Thank you both for your many hours and for travelling with the group this past weekend! Thank you to all the parents for your support…we know that many of you have seen the show multiple times now and even traveled to Gander. Thank you to Donna Butt and Rising Tide theater for all your help in preparation for Provincials, and thank you to all the staff and students of RIA for being so supportive, especially Mr. Blackmore and Sandy!
