Students from Quirk’s Players, the accomplished theater troupe of Fulton’s G. Ray Bodley High School, recently attended Dramafest, a day-long festival of performances, creative workshops, and friendly competitions hosted at SUNY Oswego.

On Friday, April 21, Fulton’s young thespians travelled to SUNY Oswego’s Tyler Hall, joining students from six other regional schools. The event included a robust agenda, incorporating everything from student performances to games and activities. Afternoon sessions involved a variety of workshops encompassing film and television audition tips, stage combat, playwrighting, tapdancing and more. The day concluded with a viewing of the university’s rendition of Romeo and Juliet in the evening.

Fulton was the first of only three schools to perform at the event and chose to enact scenes from their fall comedy production, Bad Auditions by Bad Actors.

“Dramafest is a wonderful opportunity for our students,” said Tom Briggs, FCSD teacher and the troupe’s director. “It’s something they look forward to each year.  The faculty and staff in the theatre department at SUNY Oswego work very hard to put together a fun-filled day of learning for high school actors.”

For Fulton students, participation at Dramafest has been an annual occurrence, interrupted only by cancellations due to the covid pandemic. This year marks both the post-pandemic return of the event and its 60^th anniversary.

“As a director, it’s rewarding to watch our students collaborate with peers from around Central New York,” said Briggs. “It’s great when they can apply things that they have learned at Dramafest in our school productions, too.”  

The event was also attended by students from Waterville High School, Oswego High School, Mynderse Academy, Lowville Academy and Central School, LaFargeville Central School, and Camden Central School.