Schools on Stage

Betty Blue Eyes

Perth College

Book by Ron Cowan and Daniel Lipman, Music by George Styles, Lyrics by Anthony Drewe. Directed by Tyler Jones. Judith Cottier Theatre, Perth College, My Lawley, WA. Mar 14-16, 2024

Perth College presented the WA Premiere of the very British musical, Betty Blue Eyes. Beautifully presented, with excellent production values, it was enthusiastically received by capacity audiences in this large auditorium.

Mamma Mia!

By Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Catherine Johnson. St Hilda 's Anglican School. Directed by Sharon Kiely. Joy Shepherd Performing Arts Centre, St Hilda 's Anglican School for Girls, Mosman Park, WA. June 16-17, 2023

St Hilda 's Mamma Mia! was a strong, colourful show, that delighted audiences through its short season. Well directed and performed with excellent production values, it was a worthy showcase of the talents of St Hilda 's students.

The Broadway Junior Shows of Stephen Schwartz

The celebrated composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz has created some of the most beloved musicals of recent times, including

Les Misérables - School Edition

By Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. Directed by Tyler Jones. Judith Cottier Theatre, Perth College, Mt Lawley. Mar 22-25, 2023

Perth College’s Les Misérables - School Edition is an epic production, with around 85 on-stage performers, a large orchestra, with excellent sets and costumes, which is performed with polish, precision and passion.

Puffs

By Matt Cox. Willetton Senior High School. Directed by Stefan Brand. Willetton SHS Auditorium, WA. December 8 & 9, 2022

Puffs, the story of “the other kids” at a certain school for witches and wizards, is a fun story of embracing the outcast within, and is presented with great teamwork and excellent enthusiasm by Willetton Senior High School’s Year 10 Drama Students. Playing multiple characters and embracing the art of group storytelling, this is a well-acted production that is fun for both cast and audience.

Beauty and the Beast

By Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Linda Woolverton. Guilford Young College, Tasmania. Allan Jeffrey (Direction). Leiz Moore (Choreography). Andrew Castles (Musical direction). Allan Jeffrey and Leiz Moore (Set design). Helen Cronin (Costume and props Coordinator). Matthew Andrewartha (Lighting design). Don Bosco Creative Arts Centre. 18-20 August 2022

Anticipating who might audition in the year preceding the staging of a school show must be a risky business. Yet somehow, the perfect cast materialised for Guilford Young College.

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

By Bertolt Brecht. Willetton Senior High School, WA. Directed by Blake Davies, Chloe Russell, Dionne Sebastian, Ishika Kharola, Jazlyn Skinner, Jemma Roach, Jemma Walker and Kelsie Downey. Willieton Senior High School, Performing Arts Centre. Aug 11-12, 2022

Willetton Senior High School’s Year 12 production is exciting for many reasons. Not only is the production completely directed and designed by the students (who also selected the production), it is a Dinner Theatre, beautifully catered by Year 12 Certificate II Hospitality Students.

Anastasia

Book by Terrence McNally. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Perth College. Directed by Tyler Jones. Judith Cottier Theatre, Perth College, Mt Lawley, WA. Aug 3-6, 2022

The Western Australian Premiere of Anastasia The Musical was a lavishly presented and beautifully produced by Perth College. Featuring a cast of around 90, a large student and community orchestra and excellent production values - this show was brought to life with enthusiasm and energy.

Bye Bye Birdie

Music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams Book by Michael Stewart. Scotch College. Scotch College Auditorium, Torrens Park SA,  July  28 – Aug 6, 2022

Bye Bye Birdie comes from the golden age of musicals; the 1930s through to the early 1950s. It is loosely based on the drafting of Elvis Presley into the US army. It features a teen dominated cast and so it’s a perfect choice for Scotch College, well known for presenting quality musicals featuring a school aged cast.

Junior Theatre Festival Scholarship

Stage Whispers is teaming up with the Junior Theatre Festival Australia to offer two teachers a free trip to the gala event at the Civic Theatre Newcastle this October.  

This year's star-studded Junior Theatre Festival Australia, which invites students and teachers from schools and educational musical theatre groups representing NSW, Qld, Vic, SA, WA and New Zealand to participate, will now be welcoming teachers, directors and educators from across the country.