Sarah Watene (Ngāi Te Rangi, Tainui)

Sarah has been studying Drama since the age of 10 and has continued to develop her craft at Morrinsville College. This year she was given a chance to work towards the school’s Shakespearean production of Henry VI Part II playing Jack Cade and entering for the regional festival run by the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand. At this festival Sarah’s outstanding talent was recognised and she received the Best Actress Award for the region. This meant that she was chosen to attend the National Shakespeare in Schools Production held in Dunedin in October playing Emelia in Othello.

During this week-long course and performance, the assessors were looking for students who not only had outstanding talent but for team players and those with great potential. Sarah was successful once again and was one of the students to be chosen to perform at the Globe UK next year in June 2023 as part of the Young Shakespeare Company. She will work with professional directors and perform at the Globe Theatre in London and also undertake further drama activities at Stratford-Upon-Avon. Of course, Sarah will also have the fantastic opportunity to watch professional Shakespearean shows on stage. We are all very proud of her achievements.

In order to attend Sarah must fundraise $10,000. At our Cultural Prize-Giving ceremony on Wednesday evening, our guest speaker Annah Stretton announced that she was going to start Sarah’s fundraising efforts with a $5000 contribution. This amazing gesture will go a long way to help Sarah with her trip. Talent like Sarah’s should be nurtured and encouraged. It is something Sarah will never forget and the school and her family are very grateful. This promised donation certainly gives Sarah a stepping stone to achieve her ambitions. Thank you very much, Annah.

Annah has also generously offered to mentor Sarah as a young and upcoming star. We want to thank Annah Stretton for her generous contribution through her foundation Hope Fish.

SGCNZ YSC 2023 report – Sarah Watene

Being a member of the SGCNZ Young Shakespeare Company (YSC) allowed me to take part in a trip of a lifetime, full of priceless knowledge and memories. With an amazing staff from the Globe and 23 incredible actors, I was surrounded by talent. Every day I was breathing the love and mana found within the arts community reigniting a passion which was slowly fading.

I performed on the globe stage in London. A sentence I could only dream of saying which is now my reality. Two intense weeks of 12 – 17-hour days, consisting of both workshops and rehearsals. These included movement, vocal, stage-combat, dance and acting workshops along with lectures and seminars from professionals in London. We had an extensive tour of the globe even accessing under the stage and a Q&A session with the well-respected Mariah Gale.  I was mentored and beautifully directed by Emma Manton, a true highlight of the trip. Passionate, engaging and experienced with working on the globe.

Being in a new cultural environment where the dream to pursue acting seems attainable was life altering. The furthest I had travelled, like most young kiwis was to Australia. This meant this trip allowed me to get a taste of other cultures and to embrace the diversity seen in London. I was able to see the historic places of the city, some holding a lot of pouri for the Māori people. To move forward as a culture, we must acknowledge our history and being in the presence of these places which affected my people drastically was emotional but important for my cultural journey.

The first time I stood on the globe stage was at 1am, I had a moment to both say a karakia and a moteatea, to ground myself on this historical piece of wood.  We performed the Comedy of errors where I played Antipholus of Ephesus, straight into a group choreographed jig, a traditional globe round and finished with a haka.

Overall, the trip provided me with skills and memories that money cannot buy. Providing me with more perspective on life and reinstalling the fact that dreams can come true.