By Ewa Chwojko-Srawley
There was pride in the audience — and a little déjà vu — as Nancy Glover watched her granddaughter, Zoe Hewitt, take the stage at this year’s York District National Theatre School DramaFest (NTS), which took place on February 24 at Keswick High School.
“I am so excited and incredibly proud of Zoe — she’s amazing!” Glover says. “This festival is wonderful. I was involved in DramaFest when I was in high school, so it means so much to see the tradition continuing and thriving.”
Founded in 1946, NTS DramaFest is Canada’s longest-running youth theatre festival. This year it celebrates its 80-year milestone, connecting generations of young performers, including Nancy and her granddaughter, Zoe.
For Zoe, the stage feels like home.
“I just love it! I love being on stage, entertaining people,” she says. Zoe began exploring drama in 2020 and joined the Keswick High School drama program in 2023. This year, she’s not only acting but also directing, and already planning her next act: studying theatre education so she can inspire future high school performers.
The festival brings together 8 York Region schools performing 10 plays, with approximately 150 students involved — not only on stage, but behind the scenes writing scripts, designing sets, creating costumes and managing technical elements.
Ryan Vickers, York District Coordinator for DramaFest, says hosting the festival locally is significant.
“We want every corner of York Region represented,” he says. “When we host locally, the whole community gets to be part of it. They get to hear the stories.”
Vickers knows the impact firsthand. He stood on a DramaFest stage himself as a student in the 1990s. Now, decades later, he’s watching a new generation step into the spotlight.
“I’ve seen how much it’s grown,” he says. “80 years in, and we’re still making sure students have a platform. Their voices matter.”
The shared energy is what makes the festival buzz. Theatre isn’t a solo sport; it’s a team effort, powered by actors, tech crews, writers, directors and the audience cheering them on.
Eighty years after its founding, DramaFest is still doing what it does best: transforming school auditoriums into spaces of bold ideas and brave performances.
And for students like Zoe, it’s more than a festival — it’s the beginning of a lifelong love of theatre, carried forward from one generation to the next.
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