Disney’s Winnie the Pooh - Kids

Fantasia Showstoppers, formed in 2020, is a theatre company for young people based in Richmond NSW. Nestled at the foot of the Blue Mountains, Richmond is home to a thriving community who support the many arts-based organisations in the area. One of these is Fantasia Showstoppers. Overseen by talented directors David Catterall and Jake Elston, the company provides training, performance opportunities and directing experiences for young people from ages 8 to 18.

Weekday lessons in drama and musical theatre during the year, as well as holiday workshops, culminate in carefully directed and choreographed productions of Disney junior shows like Shrek and Aladdin. No detail is spared to make these productions real theatrical experiences for the young casts. Costumes, lighting, set, music, publicity – all are as meticulous as they would be for an adult production.

Through these productions the young actors also learn about theatre etiquette, backstage and dressing room protocol, make up, care of costumes – and the importance of collaboration and compassion when working as an ensemble.

The most recent production, Winnie the Pooh -Kids, gave the youngest members of the company a chance to strut their stuff! Performed in a small school hall in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, 25 young people from ages 5 to 14 brought A.A. Milne’s characters to life in five colouful performances over a very busy weekend. From final rehearsals early in the week, including a publicity ‘gig’ in a local hardware warehouse, the cast moved to a ‘red carpet’ photo op before their Friday opening night performance, followed by two performances on both Saturday and Sunday.

They played to excited, supportive, full houses on each of those performances. They sang clearly, including some nice harmonies, and danced with energy and control.  Their characters were also clear. A frustrated Pooh Bear (Talia-Jayne Lawler) and his hungry Tummy (Teegan Reece) were joined in their search for “hunny”, by his wide-eyed, innocent friend Piglet (Henry Cassim) and their exuberant, bouncy mate Tigger (Kirra Shelton). When they found a strange note from Christopher Robin (Jack Darlington) which neither Rabbit (Charli Terry), Kanga (Indi Robinson) or Roo (Isabella Stoddart) could decipher, they went with the long suffering Eyeore (Cierra Gonzalez)  to ask the advice of their wise friend Owl (Xavier Billett).

In his ‘wisdom’, Owl interpreted Christopher’s misspelt “back soon” to be a monster called a “Backson” who had captured Christopher Robin. This resulted in a challenging song and dance routine where Owl described the dreadful “Backson” and the things it might do. Pooh and Piglet dug a hole to catch the “Backson” but managed to catch all the creatures of the Hundred Acre Wood! All ended happily however. They found Christopher Robin and celebrated with a picnic – and plenty of “hunny”.

It was the culmination of bi-weekly rehearsals over only six weeks where they learnt the songs, the choreography and developed their characters, all of which, except for Christopher Robin and the show’s narrators, were animals! So characterisation, costumes and specialised make up added to the theatre experience.

Whilst these performances are short, they demand a lot from the young cast. As well as energy, focus, timing and pace, there are the responsibilities of working as an ensemble, being supportive of each other – and caring for costumes and dressing room areas.

All of this is central to the creative aims of this young, very professionally run company – and the parents who are called in to assist with fundraising gigs, making costumes, working backstage, front-of-house and as chaperones in dressing room areas. Naturally, the company requires that everyone in volved follows all the protocol required for working with children.

Fantasia Showstoppers offers artistic opportunities for young people to develop their talent and social skills – and as they mature, gives those who are interested opportunities to direct and choreograph, stage manage and operate sound and lighting. Its aims are wide and all-embracing and are obviously inspiring a strong local following. The production team of sixteen creatives and volunteers behind this production is an indication of the talent, commitment, enthusiasm – and professionalism – of this relatively new but lively youth theatre company.

Carol Wimmer

Photography: David Catterall