This week AAS hosted what has become a regular annual event, the “No 4th Wall” theatre festival. This is three days of workshops with international guests to create an original piece of theatre based on a theme, which this year was “The Little Things”. As Michael Merrick, our Arts and Theatre Co-ordinator said, “Although we have run this event for seven consecutive years, the technical challenge this year was moving it to the Rila Theatre”.

Although the Rila Theatre has already been the venue for a number of events since its opening in May, including the graduation ceremony and an international teachers conference, this was the first time that it had been used for any theatrical performance. Another first was, the drama students were joined by those from the HS Performance Technology elective. A total of 29 students took part in the festival and were instructed by 4 international theatre experts.

There were two performances on Tuesday; a matinee to the entire secondary school, which packed the house, and then a well attended evening performance to parents, family and friends. Michael Merrick said he was delighted that “there were audible gasps” at certain points because of the clever technical things they were now able to do.     

The festival also served as a mock-style exam for the IB Theatre Juniors and as a Final Assessment by the IB Theatre Seniors.