Wick drama teams looking forward to Highland divisional finals
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Community drama teams from Wick are looking forward to competing in the regional stage of the annual festival of one-act plays later this month.
With no representation from Thurso this year, there were just two entries from the county in the district heat of the long-running Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) competition.
Senior and junior teams from Wick Players took to the stage at the Assembly Rooms last weekend.
The senior team, competing in the open section, performed After the Flags and Bands, written by Allan Williams and directed by Jayden Alexander, about the experiences of four women during World War I. Cast members were Clare Sturrock-Center, Gina Alexander, Kirstin Gunn and Carys Miller.
The seniors received the Adam Swanson Memorial Trophy for first place in the open section.
They go through to the Highland divisional final taking place at Plockton High School on March 22/23, with Wick performing on the second night.
The juniors, competing in the youth section, presented A Dog’s Life, written by Pam Valentine and directed by Frances Yellop, and set in an animal shelter. Cast members were Lucy Thain, Anya Hetherington, Frankie Thurling, Jasmine Dunnett, Olivia Sutherland and Lily Sutherland.
They were presented with the Halkirk Drama Club Trophy for first place in the youth section and will be appearing at the Highland divisional youth final at the Spectrum Centre in Inverness on March 16.
Each performance was recorded by Colin Stewart and the recordings will be reviewed by Ben Humphrey, a member of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators. He will provide a written adjudication for each play and a Zoom call will be conducted with each team to give feedback before the next round.
Two further trophies will be awarded once the marking sheets for each play have been received. These are the Calcott Innes Quaich for highest acting mark and the Margaret Sinclair Shield for highest direction mark.
Two other trophies were withdrawn from the district competition due to insufficient entries.
The stage crew comprised David Hornsby (stage manager), Brian Yellop (sound operator), James Steven (lighting technician), Allan Bruce and Duncan Robertson. Allan will be taking over the stage manager role for the senior play in Plockton.
The front-of-house team consisted of Alan Gerrard (chairman of the SCDA Caithness district and host for the evening), Marney Bruce (who also presented the awards on behalf of SCDA), Jeanette Coghill, Mary Thain, Abbie Gunn, Devin Alexander, Lucas Reid and Scott Mackenzie.
Support was provided by John Firth (photographer and SCDA Caithness district committee member), Eswyl Fell and Alan McGee (photographers).
