PLAMONDON - Students from Plamondon’s École Beauséjour came away with top honours at provincial Francophone drama and music festivals recently held in Gull Lake, near Lacombe.
A group of students in the school’s Grade 7 to 9 classes won in the music category while several schoolmates in the Grade 10 to 12 group took first place for best theatre production.
The group of 31 Beauséjour students displayed their musical and theatrical abilities and represented their community very well, said school teacher Sara Doody.
The Festival Théâtre Jeunesse d’Alberta (FTJA) and La Chicane Music Festival and long-standing events that draw Francophone students from across Alberta. This year’s festivals took place at the Gull Lake Centre from April 18-21.
The FTJA has been an annual event for the past 35 years while La Chicane has been going on for over two decades.
According to Doody, the FTJA is a theatre competition hosted by L’Unithéâtre in Edmonton to promote French theatre across the province. Any immersion or francophone school can enter a play.
“The plays are written and created by the students,” Doody told Lakeland This Week, adding that the Grade 7-9 students put on a play called Bataille au Centre d’achats, which in English translates to ‘Shopping Mall Battle.’ Although the theatre group didn’t win, their efforts earned them two nominations, one for best costume and another for best set design.
“The students did really well, but competition was tough,” Doody said.
Historic hat-trick
The school’s Grade 10-12 drama group’s production of Docteur au Paradis (Doctor of Paradise) not only received nominations for best costumes, but also won best set design, the public vote, judges’ pick, as well as the festival’s best overall production.
“This is the third year in a row that we have won Best Production for Grade 10 to 12, the first school in the history of the FTJA to win three in a row,” she stated.
On the music side, La Chicane, which Doody describes as a “battle of music groups, who also compose their own songs” took place on Friday or Saturday nights after the drama productions had concluded for the day. This year, École Beauséjour had two soloists and two bands compete.
The two local bands who competed against other musical groups from Francophone schools across Alberta were Les mouettes faches (The Angry Seagulls) and the Famous 5.
Soloist Zayden Bourassa, who is in Grade 12, won the distinguished musician award while Grade 10 student Matteo Giammarioli received an award for best team spirit.
Doody said the musical and drama events made for a very successful weekend for the school and the community. The students, she said, once again did very well considering the relatively small size of École Beauséjour in comparison to other Francophone schools in the province.
“Beauséjour in the last couple years has become a powerhouse at the festival, which is surprising being one of the smallest schools by population who attend the festivals” she said.
