Chatsworth High Takes Shakespeare Honors
Chatsworth High School took top honors in an acting competition that drew 50 high schools from throughout Southern California.
More than 1,000 students participated in the 71st annual Shakespeare Festival, which is sponsored by the Drama Teachers Assn. of Southern California. The festival was held at Reseda High School on Saturday.
The drama association presented its Sweepstakes Award for overall excellence to the Chatsworth High team. Chatsworth students Paolo Serrano and Heather Witt also won an individual award for their two-person serious scene.
Among other San Fernando Valley winners, Van Nuys High took a first place for its group presentation of “Hamlet,” El Camino Real High won for a group scene from “Much Ado About Nothing,” and Kennedy High won for best monologue and two-person humorous scene.
Chatsworth drama teacher Dona Hill said she didn’t expect her students to do well at the daylong festival because they had just finished a production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and had only two weeks to prepare.
Two of the students on the team, Eric Kaufman and Alex Lubliner, recently transferred to Chatsworth because their original school, Birmingham High, canceled its stage productions last fall.
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