On Saturday, September 13th, thirteen Seisen high schoolers joined other students from international schools across the Kanto region for the 2025 KPASS High School Drama Festival, hosted this year by Yokohama International School in Yokohama.

Seisen’s Theatre Teacher, Dr. Reimer, escorted a majority of the Theatre 9/10 class to the event, which hosted 58 students from Grades 9-12 from seven schools: Seisen, Saint Maur International School, Yokohama International School, Zama American Middle-High School, K. International School Tokyo, Aoba-Japan International School, and Christian Academy in Japan.  

At the festival, students were split into six groups, each combining people from different schools and led by a professional performance practitioner in the Kanto region. This year’s workshop facilitators were Joan Chen, Charlotte Hammond, David Lien, Alexander O'Malley, Gregory Wolf, and Andrew Kottler. YIS’s High School Theatre Teacher, Lisa Swiercinsky, was the host of the festival.

These workshop leaders guided the students through a process of devising original 5-minute performances of their creation centered around a theme, which this year was “Baggage”. 

At the end of the day, the six groups showcased devised pieces that their members created over the day on the stage in YIS’s beautiful new auditorium. Each piece utilized simple yet thoughtful lighting and sound tech, but otherwise focused on the use of their bodies and voices in space to tell a story. Each group interpreted the theme of “Baggage” very differently; some groups took a comedic approach with airport frustrations,  and other groups made their shows serious reflections on regret and disappointment. All of the groups effectively communicated a unified message in their shared vision of their presentations. 

“This was our best year yet of participation in the festival"

"The fact that over a dozen Seisen students got to meet other young people interested in Theatre from different high schools and experience working with professional theatre-makers from around the Kanto region to create original short-form plays is incredible. It really speaks to the amount that Theatre has grown and thrived at Seisen.”

Dr. Reimer, Seisen Theater Teacher

Such a strong turnout demonstrates the desire amongst high schoolers in the KPASS school system for opportunities to create theatre and meet other like-minded artists. With any luck, the High School Drama Festival will continue to grow and thrive for years to come.

Congratulations to all of the students who participated! Hopefully, all of their fun experiences at the festival this year will inspire the next generation of participants to sign up for future KPASS High School Drama festivals.

Want to support Theatre at Seisen? Mark your calendars to come see this year's Fall Plays 2025, a modern adaptation of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town," featuring the talents of Theatre students from Seisen and Saint Mary's, November 7th and 8th, 2025, at 7:00 pm in SMIS's Multi-Purpose Hall.