Shrek – The Musical Jr was on stage last week, being the 2018 annual dramatic production of the Georgetown International Academy. The play was directed by Ellenelle Gilliam and Subraj Singh, both teachers at the school whose considerable talents elevated the production. Gilliam was also the Musical Director with choreography by Andre Lewis and the Technical Director was Christian Sobers.
The Georgetown International Academy (GIA), popularly known as the American School, is the only secondary school in Guyana that has annual full-length public theatre. Such full public productions have been very sporadic over a long period of time and are now truly very rare among schools in this country.
There has been an increase in drama in schools over the past few years because of a combination of factors. An increasing number of schools are now studying Theatre Arts or Performing Arts for the Caribbean Examinations Council exams. The National School of Theatre Arts and Drama (NSTAD) has contributed to this increase as well as to a number of teachers in schools who have introduced the subject there. The National Drama Festival has been another stimulus. Yet, these have not resulted in schools doing full-length plays for public viewing. St Joseph High School has been the most visible, led by the work of teacher and NSTAD graduate Lloyd Thomas.
