Schools on Stage

All the World’s a Stage for Amazing Performing Arts Teacher.

ROBERT MOTTON led 40 students from Melbourne’s Ringwood Secondary College on a month long world tour in March. Lucy Graham reports that it was a lap of honour for a teacher any school would treasure.

The Wiz - Perth College WA

Based on the classic Wizard of Oz, The Wiz was first performed in 1975 with Motown legends Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow and Dianna Ross as Dorothy. With Jane Murray (Acting Head of Drama at Perth College) as director, the students of Perth College and herself decided to begin their own journey down the yellow brick road as they began rehearsing The Wiz for their Senior School production in 2010.

Rowville Secondary College, Metro Victoria - Grease

This year Rowville Secondary College staged the well-loved musical GREASE, its first musical in over 6 years.

Over 200 students auditioned for the 70 roles in the show, and 90 students were cast, as it proved very difficult to cut such a fantastic talent that was displayed.

The cast rehearsed for 6 months, bringing fun, frivolity, and an abundance of talent. The cast were dedicated offering great energy and passion for performing to ensure that this production not only lived up to audience standards of GREASE, but also was flavoured with a Rowville twist!

Mount Scopus College 2010 production of The Outsiders.

 

Choosing a play for young actors is never easy. The challenge is to find a text that is powerful, relevant, contemporary and appropriate for young performers to tackle. When I read  the stage adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s famous novel, The Outsiders, I felt I had found a play that ticked all the appropriate boxes. It’s a coming of age story, about young people discovering themselves and their place in a complex world.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Scotch College Melbourne in conjunction with PLC Burwood chose, To Kill A Mockingbird as one of its Year 11 and 12 productions this year. Directed by Stephen Ritchie, the play utilised the resources of the McComas Theatre with its giant proscenium stage and large auditorium. This is an excellent adaptation of the novel by Harper Lee so often studied as a Middle school English text. This show is extremely accessible to audiences of all ages and can occupy a varied cast of about 20 or more.

Peter Pan

Ivanhoe Grammar School Plenty Campus Ivanhoe Grammar School Plenty Campus Primary students shone in two magnificent performances of Peter Pan on the 12 and 13 August at Plenty Ranges Arts & Convention Centre. The classic novel by J.M. Barrie with music and lyrics by Piers Chater-Robinson brought back childhood memories for many in the audience.

Jesus Christ Superstar

Emmaus College, Rockhampton, Queensland - July 17 – 19th 2009

Rent

Christ’s College and St Margaret’s College, Christchurch With their principals’ blessing, Christ’s College and St Margaret’s College, Christchurch rose to the challenge of staging the uplifting yet controversial musical Rent.

Smithy

Rose Bay High School, Hobart - November 12 and 13, 2009.

The Hypochondriac - PLC, Sydney.

Senior Drama students from PLC Sydney tackled Moliere’s biting comedy The Hypochondriac with flair and an acute sense of comic timing. The all female cast of twelve bonded closely over the ten-week rehearsal period.