Tauranga Girls' College is showing top Shakespearean talent in achieving both national and international recognition and opportunity. Year 13 student Emily Wilson won Outstanding Performance at the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival, earning her the chance to represent the Bay of Plenty in October at the National Shakespeare School Production in Wellington.

Emily's drama teacher Jodie Moore has also been recognised for her Shakespeare skills. She is one of 20 teachers selected to advance her Shakespeare skills for secondary school teaching at the Globe Theatre in London. Photo by Bruce Barnard.

Shakespeare may prove to be a difficult task to perform, but it is a challenge Tauranga Girls' College Year 13 student Emily Wilson takes in her stride.
'The language is challenging. I still find it challenging. You just need to read it over and over to get used to it.”
Emily impressed judges at the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival, receiving Outstanding Performance for her three pieces. She performed as Leonato in ‘Much Ado About Nothing', Falstaff in ‘King Henry the Fourth' and Iago in ‘Othello', which she also directed.
Shakespeare runs in her family. Emily first got a taste when she performed with her brother in ‘Taming of the Shrew'.
'I think it is a family thing. All my family is into Shakespeare. My sister has dropped it, but my brother is trying to become an actor and he is always working with Shakespeare.”
Emily says Shakespeare has a real appeal for her.
'It's fun to look at different characters, capture the character and portray it to the audience in a way they understand. That's the main challenge.”
Her win has earned Emily the opportunity to perform with 47 other drama students from around New Zealand in an 'intense week” workshop in Wellington.
'We put together a 40 minute piece then we perform on stage and at Parliament as well.”
Twenty four students are then selected to go to the Globe Theatre in London in 2012 to perform on stage.
'I would love to be chosen to go to the Globe and perform on the stage that Shakespeare was made for.”