Eli Morin, left, Hailey Campbell, centre, and Cierra Nelson, right, perform during North Battleford Comprehensive High School’s production at the 2024 regional drama festival. Brooklyn Russell is on the ground, while Hannah Nordell, who has since graduated, is at the back. (submitted/Edward Edmonds)

By Kenneth Cheung

EDUCATION

From backstage to belonging: Inside NBCHS’s rising drama program

Jan 2, 2026 | 12:52 PM

This story is part of a four-part series highlighting the visual arts, drama, music and cosmetology programs at North Battleford Comprehensive High School (NBCHS).

Read more: ‘The sky is the limit’: How NBCHS’s visual arts program is shaping creativity and confidence

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On rehearsal nights at North Battleford Comprehensive High School, students move between the stage and the wings, adjusting props, checking cues and slipping in and out of character.

Some are performers. Others are builders, technicians and organizers. All of them have a role.

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For Edward Edmonds, a teacher and coordinator with the school’s drama program, those moments reflect something larger that has been quietly building within arts education over the past few years.

“The club itself, we do performances both in fall and April every year,” Edmonds said.

“And in April there is a competition element of it as well, where we meet other schools, and we put on a theater festival… and it’s a really positive experience for the students.”

The drama department, music, cosmetology and visual arts programs have all expanded in both scope and ambition.

From a club to a community

The growth of the drama program has unfolded steadily over the past three years, Edmonds said, beginning when he was first hired at the school.

Today, the club operates with five adult directors — a structure Edmonds noted is unusual among high school drama programs — supported by a defined student leadership hierarchy.

“That’d be another interesting thing about the club as well,” he said.

Students take on roles such as stage manager and heads of props and costumes, positions that place them in charge of specific areas of production and responsibility.

Layla Kigozi, left, and Keira Klassen perform as mimes during a drama class at North Battleford Comprehensive High School. Both are enrolled in Drama 10, where theatrical makeup is part of the curriculum. (submitted/Edward Edmonds)

Learning across disciplines

The program draws on expertise from across the school, creating what Edmonds described as a multidisciplinary learning environment.

Students working on hair and makeup benefit from staff with professional experience in esthetics, while set construction has involved collaboration with shop teachers.

“We have such a wealth of experience within this building,” Edmonds said.

That collaboration has extended to the school’s facilities as well. Over the past few years, the drama program has worked to modernize its technical equipment. New LED lighting has replaced older incandescent fixtures, and a sound system upgrade is underway.

“That is thanks in part with [Living Sky School Division] , also in part with… a very generous grant coming from the town of Battleford as well, who lent us some money to upgrade that sound equipment,” he said.

The City of Battleford has also supported the program, including through a partnership earlier this year with local emergency services.

“We did an airplane crash simulation with the emergency services,” Edmonds said.

Students portrayed people in shock or injured as part of a training drill for first responders, an experience Edmonds described as a real-world performance opportunity that also strengthened community connections.

North Battleford Comprehensive High School drama students take part in an emergency-services training simulation in October 2025, portraying an injured passenger during a mock airplane crash scenario involving local first responders.(submitted/Edward Edmonds)

On stage and beyond it

This fall, the drama club staged Container of Sharks by Don Zolidis, a comedic parody of the television show Shark Tank, as part of a dinner theatre production.

“It was absolutely a ton of fun, and the kids had a ton of fun with it,” Edmonds said.

The production included a mix of small and larger roles, allowing younger students in Grades 7 and 8 to step on stage alongside more experienced performers. Students also built a full-body puppet shark as part of the show.

A North Battleford Comprehensive High School student wears a student-built shark puppet created for the drama club’s recent dinner theatre production of Container of Sharks.(submitted/Edward Edmonds)

The club typically stages two productions each year, with students committing between 50 and 70 hours of rehearsal time per show, not including individual practice.

In the spring, the group will travel to Edam to compete at a regional theatre festival, where schools perform for adjudicators and participate in workshops.

“Even though it’s competitive, it’s much more of a friendly competition,” Edmonds said. “They meet people who are very much like themselves.”

Last year, while hosting the regional festival, the school’s drama students were recognized by their peers with an award for most courteous cast and crew.

“That is one of the awards we got… one of the ones I’m the most proud of,” he said.

Edward Edmonds, left, and Koraley Anderson pose for a photo at North Battleford Comprehensive High School. Edmonds is a teacher and coordinator with the school’s drama program, while Anderson teaches Grades 9 to 12, including Native studies, English, and hair and esthetics. (file photo/battlefordsNOW)

While acting and public speaking are among the most visible skills students develop, Edmonds said the impact of drama education reaches further.

“There’s quite a lot of things,” he said, pointing to problem-solving, cooperation and leadership.

“Drama is never a one-person show,” he said. “We have 32 kids in the fall being part of a club.”

He said students learn to work with people from different backgrounds and interests, often gaining confidence and a sense of belonging in the process.

“There have been some students where they go, they get recognized for something, and seeing how happy they are… and seeing that they feel like they have a place,” Edmonds said.

The program also introduces students to post-secondary pathways through curriculum discussions and visits from university representatives, helping them explore potential careers in theatre and the arts.

Members of the North Battleford Comprehensive High School drama club pose for a group photo. (submitted/Edward Edmonds)

Looking ahead

The drama program currently offers Drama 10, 20 and 30 as credited courses, and Edmonds said the school is exploring the possibility of adding IB Theatre Arts in the future.

The club is preparing a fantasy-style production for regional competition in April, with plans to rely heavily on student-led work in technical and design areas.

“Not just to be a place that just puts on a show every year,” Edmonds said, describing the long-term vision, “but to kind of be a hub, in many ways, a starting point for people along their journey in the arts.”

As the program continues to grow, that momentum – built through collaboration, trust and community support – is shaping an arts space where students are learning to find their voice, both on stage and beyond it.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com