A Midsummer?s Night Dream with passion: Museum Hotel Scholarship winner Chelsea Bognuda beat off 12 actors to be decorated with the award
Passionate complexity shapes the performing heart of young acting talent Chelsea Bognuda. Originally from Bulls, Miss Bognuda and her mother moved to Johnsonville three years-ago after she was accepted to the prestigious Toi Whakaari Drama School. ?In my first play at school I played Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, he was a pretty fiery guy,? Miss Bognuda says. Last week she was awarded the Museum Hotel Scholarship for 2010, fought for by 12 second year students, who have been a participant in one of Shakespeare Globe, and bestowed on an up-and-coming actor of note. ?It?s really exciting, it?s going to make life a lot easier for me next year.? The scholarship covers the recipient?s fees for their third year (worth over $5,000) plus $500 a month for 10 months living expenses. A fixation with passionate, spellbinding characters lends to Miss Bognuda idolising the performances of Anthony Hopkins and Toi Whakaari graduate Brooke Williams. ?I love the Silence of the Lambs, I enjoy the complexity of the characters and how they are played rather than the context. ?Brooke is quite little and I?m little, and she is very fiery and energetic,? she says. The auditions to be accepted into drama school were ?very tough? and the competition class. Although no longer a dream, she grew up with Coronation Street and always wanted to act on the show. Miss Bognuda was chosen to attend National Shakespeare Schools Production in 2006 and then travelled to London to perform at Shakespeare?s Globe. ?It really opens your eyes to the history of theatre, they have more knowledge about the context of Shakespeare and just how much it means to the country,? she says. The rationale behind the scholarship is to enable the winner to focus on their training instead of having to spend hours working in a caf? to cover their tuition costs.
