Schools on Stage

Seussical

Helena College (WA). Directed by Kristen Twynam-Perkins. Musical Direction by Helena Jeffrey. Helena College Performing Arts Centre. 14-18 Aug 2014

While Middle School musicals are becoming increasingly common, to mount a full-scale musical in a small (three stream) school, is a major achievement.

I managed to catch a Saturday evening performance of Helena College's Seussical - the previous evening having to be abandoned due to a suburb-wide power outage. The cast had rebounded with joy and a professional attitude.

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Directed by Kathleen Cocks/ Musical Direction by Harry Oliff. Mercedes College Performing Arts Centre, Perth WA. July 30 - Aug 2, 2014

It is peak school production season in Perth. Many schools are using the first few weeks of Semester II because the coincide with the Catholic Schools Performing Arts Festival, but many non-Catholic schools are also staging their productions at this time.

Judith Prior Musicals Popular with Schools

Judith Prior’s What’s New Pussycat World Premiere.

The Blue Mountains College in West Otago New Zealand staged the World Premiere of Judith Prior’s What’s New Pussycat in February.  The jukebox musical based on the story of Puss in Boots was a hit. Director Vicki Crawford chose it because of the large number of parts including acting only roles and the availability of a CD backing track.  Student Shani Hayes who pioneered the lead of Puss reports.

2014 Class Clowns National Winner Announced

At Melbourne’s Capitol Theatre on Thursday, 3 April 2014, 13 of the nation’s sharpest school-aged comic acts went head to head in a battle for the most laughs at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s Class Clowns National Grand Final.

The winner for 2014 was 14 year old Gregor Tarrant from Wodonga Middle Years’ College in Victoria, who blew the judges away with his physical, character style comedy and a Jim Carrey-esque persona, bringing a snake charmer, a t-rex and an emu to life onstage.

SPARK: School Performing Arts Resource Kit

Stage Whispers Magazine is proud to release our inaugural edition of SPARK: School Performing Arts Resource Kit,  which is a free on-line publication found at:

www.stagewhispers.com.au/spark

SPARK includes listings for performances available for schools, both incursions and excursions, around Australia.

SPARK also includes resources for staging your own school production.

Chapters cover sources for plays and musicals, costumes, props, sets, sound, lighting, seating, fireworks and training.

Man of Steel

Man of Steel uses an icon that, even in this day, is recognised by every student, parent and teacher. It’s a simple story and it worked for the new-entrants in our matinees, as much as for the 80-year-olds in the evening shows. It lends itself to simple props and costumes, and the action carries the show.

The original script is easy to ‘update’ for local use and the actors enjoyed doing this themselves.

Canberra Theatre kicks off first behind-the-scenes VET training program

Canberra Theatre Centre is proud to host three year 12 students who will be taking part in the Theatre’s first on-site VET training course from today (Feb 11, 2014).

Students Larissa Caston, Alex Parker and Alex Pilicic from St Francis Xavier College will work behind the scenes with the theatre’s technical staff across the next two school terms, gaining valuable hands-on skills that will be credited directly towards their Certificate 2 in Entertainment.

Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Awards Junior Section Winners 2013

Presentations for the winners of the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria's 27th Annual Bruce Awards were held on December 14, 2013 at Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts, Ballarat.

 

 

 

 

 

Junior Section Winners are: Junior Production of the Year

Sweet Charity - Hart Theatre Company, St Leonard’s College Uper School

Stockholm The Musical

Written by Bronte Forrester and Katherine Reed. Directed by Bronte Forrester. Orana Steiner School Production. Overture Theatre, Weston Creek, ACT. 25 – 28 September 2013.

Annie

Music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and book by Thomas Meehan. St Michael’s Collegiate School, Hobart, Tasmania. Middle School (Years 5 – 8). August 2013

Annie is the perfect paean to optimism and we are thankful to Jane Polley and her creative team for this marvellous production of a much-loved musical.