Festival of the Arts Returns to Rothesay Netherwood School

Rothesay, NB (October 19, 2022) – Rothesay Netherwood School (RNS) is excited to host once again its annual Festival of the Arts this Friday, October 21, 2022, on the RNS campus. The Festival brings artists and performers from across New Brunswick together to teach workshops in art, dance, music, and drama to interested middle and high school students in New Brunswick. 

“This is our fourth annual festival, and we’re thrilled to have it back after missing two years because of the pandemic,” says Dayna Ellis, RNS faculty member and Director of Musical Theatre. “We have more than 30 workshops that incredibly talented New Brunswick artists will lead. This festival is important for nurturing creativity, artistic expression, and self-confidence in our province’s youth. Especially after the last two years, having an outlet for learning, growth, and discovery in the many different avenues of the arts is extremely beneficial.”

Students will take part in six workshops of their choice throughout the day. Some of the 30 workshops include costume design, soft pastel techniques, music improvisation, comic creation, hip-hop, and more. The complete list of workshops is here. 

Dayna Ellis is also the New Brunswick Chapter Director of the Educational Theatre Association of Canada (EdTA). The EdTA is holding its National Drama Teachers’ Conference Atlantic Hub in person at RNS on October 21, followed by a cross-country Zoom conference the following day. Title sponsors of the conference include Broadway Licensing and Disney Theatrical Productions.

“This two-day professional development event for teachers is being held simultaneously with the Festival of the Arts, allowing participating students and their teachers to experience immersive learning at the same time. Students will be in the Festival while their teacher is taking advantage of the PD at the Drama Teachers’ Conference on the same day – which means more learning in the arts for everyone involved. We expect drama teachers from around the Maritimes to be here this weekend, and on Saturday, we’ll join more of our colleagues from across Canada virtually.”  

The Festival of the Arts will have more than 120 students and teachers participating in the two events, representing 10 different schools from across New Brunswick.

The keynote presenter at the EdTA weekend conference is Tetsuro Shigematsu, a former writer on This Hour Has 22 Minutes and national radio host of CBC’s The Roundup.   

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MEDIA CONTACT
Heather MacLean
Director of Marketing and Communications
Rothesay Netherwood School
heather.maclean@rns.cc
506-848-0879

Founded in 1877, Rothesay Netherwood School (RNS) is a co-ed boarding and day school for Grades 6 to 12 located in the beautiful, safe community of Rothesay, New Brunswick. RNS offers rigorous academics supported by low student-teacher ratios, a unique daily Advisor Program, and a world-class IB curriculum. Its mission is to provide a nurturing environment where students are empowered to embrace their individuality while pursuing the greater good. For more information, please visit rns.cc.