Year 12 Mount Aspiring College (MAC) student Ollie Blyth has been selected for the experience of a lifetime: representing New Zealand in the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand (SGCNZ) Young Shakespeare Company in England in 2021. 

Ollie and the 23 other Kiwi members will travel to London and have 12 rehearsals with a Shakespeare’s Globe director in scenes from one of Shakespeare’s plays, which they will perform for the public on the Globe stage. 

During their time in London, members will also take part in workshops, talks, have Q&A sessions with Globe actors and directors, have behind the scenes tours of London theatres. 

Emily McRae, Ollie’s drama teacher and head of drama at MAC, said she was incredibly proud of Ollie’s prestigious and highly competitive selection. 

“As an educator there is nothing better than seeing your students excel in their work beyond the classroom,” Emily said. “This is a stunning achievement and thoroughly deserved after an incredible amount of focused hard work.”

Ollie (who uses the gender pronouns they/them/theirs) said they were stunned by the news of their selection. 

“The group of people I'm going with to London are incredibly skilled performers, and great friends. The idea of spending three weeks with them in London, working with high level directors and tutors, and putting on a show in the Globe Theatre still feels unreal.”

Ollie entered the regional University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival (as both a student actor and director), where they won Best Student Directed Scene and were selected for the competitive SGCNZ’s National Shakespeare Schools Production 2020 alongside young actors from all over New Zealand. 

“This was a nine day long intensive programme in Dunedin late last month with 48 other young performers which culminated in two public performances,” they said. 

Following the programme, 24 students were selected to represent the country in London.

While there is a chance that COVID-19 will affect the feasibility of the trip, Ollie is keeping an “optimistic outlook”.

“If COVID eases its grip by July, the trip to London is going to be an incredible next step in my journey as a performer.”

Ollie has always loved the performing arts and hopes to work in the industry when they leave school. 

Since moving to Wanaka in 2018 Ollie has been a part of a variety of productions, including Box Theatre productions (the MAC drama department senior theatre company) and school musicals. 

In 2019 they were also one in a group of MAC students who acted in the devised piece Permission to Speak with Goya Theatre Company as part of the Festival of Colour. 

“Art has an immense power when it comes to reflecting and influencing society. It's a very life giving experience to be a part of a performance process, and the life skills I've learned as a result have been highly beneficial,” Ollie said. 

Ollie thanked MAC for its support.

“I'm deeply grateful to the school – particularly the drama department – for its support of me throughout this process, as well as the wider community. I wouldn't have been offered this position if I had not been encouraged and supported by my teachers and wider whānau.”

PHOTO: Memory of Light Photography