While only three high schools will survive the Halton District level of this year‘s Sears Drama Festival and continue on to the Regionals, it‘s safe to say that everyone involved will benefit from the experience. By HOWARD MOZEL The event, after all, is a competiâ€" tion with more than 300 students in Halton alone trying to reach the Allâ€" Ontario finals. But with the breakâ€"aâ€" leg comeraderie of the theatre and a full day of special workshops planned, the week will also be a rewarding learning experience. "Competition is still there but it‘s under our breaths," says Jeff Morrison, an actor, playwright and recent Blakelock High School grad who is handling publicity for the fest. "When we say good luck, we really mean it. We‘re happy whoever wins." Oakville Beaver Staff Morrison‘s former teacher Jan Barrett agrees, explaining how stuâ€" dents â€" who love theatre in relative isolation â€" can come together through the festival and appreciate it together. Sears Drama Fest a rewarding experience Queen Elizabeth Park‘s "Love Mouse" is a comedy in which a marâ€" ried couple‘s dining room turns into a major body of water. The workshops take place on the Monday (Feb. 22) of festival week before any students see their counterâ€" parts from other schools perform. Having gone through the sessions together, potential rivals are seen as friends and fellow performers. Helping promote this empathy will be instructors from Theatre Humber, Dance Alive, Blakelock dance teacher Alison Roberts and others. In Blakelock‘s "A New Day Dawning" â€" an original script written and directed by Jeff Morrison â€" humanity is put on trial to decide whether it should end or start all over. Adding his expertise will be adjuâ€" dicator Dennis Johnson, a theatre instructor at both the high school and university levels and a supporter of the Drama Festival since 1970. Of the 12 high schools taking part in the Halton Districts, five are from Oakville. St. Ignatius of Loyola‘s "Subway KVILLE BEAVER | Breakdown," a studentâ€"written play, is about the need "to leave the world better than we found it ... a play of hope." In Oakvilleâ€"Trafalgar High School‘s "In Leads No Step Had Trodden Black" â€" another original stuâ€" dent effort â€" "a man confronts alternaâ€" tive possibilities of what might have White Oaks Secondary School‘s "Who Are You," penned by the cast and a teacher, represents "the search for a truthful identity in a world of falsehoods." Among the competition from outâ€" side Oakville is "Columbine," a script adapted for sign language by E.C. Drury School for the Deaf. At the Feb. 27 Awards Night adjuâ€" dicator Johnson will select three proâ€" ductions to represent Halton in the Regionals March 29 to April 3 in Guelph. (In 1992 Blakelock, Elgin and Burlington Central were so honâ€" ored. Central went on to the Allâ€" Ontario Finals.) This year‘s final round takes place the second week of May in North Bay. Sometimes the little things make a big difference. We think a funeral service should be a very special tribute to the life of a close friend or relative. L We encourage our # families to share their . ideas with us on 22 personal ag touches that might f have significance for them. And we will arrange for them to become part of a most meaningful service. Meeting the needs of those we serve by being receptive, flexible and responsive. We encourage our families to share their ideas with us on personal touches that might have significance for Oakville Chapel 109 Reynolds Street 844â€"3221 Since 1914 Blakelock‘s A New Day Dawning features from left Catherine Arcand, Michael Inglehart and Jeff Morrison. Figures portraying "unborn souls" are at top. For more on the fest see Page 13. (Photo by Peter McCusker) FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1993 PAGE 12 The Bellven Investments Limited ad that appeared in the Oakville Beaver Wednesday, February 10th on page 27 had an incorrect address. The correct address should have been 447 Speers Road, Suite 203, Oakuville. \We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused Beliven Investments or their clients.