Production Goings On (Week 6 Spring Term)

AUDITIONS=

Auditions for the 2016 College Production of 'The Happiest Days of Your Life' will be kicking off next week with Auditions running over the Monday and Friday of Week 7 and the Monday of Week 8. From there, the cast will be selected and officially announced in Week 9.

SENIOR CREW INTERVIEWS

Interviews for Senior Crew roles will be running parallel to auditions this year and we will be seeking responsible Senior School students for the roles of Stage Manager, Lighting Manager, Hair and Make Up Manager, Sound Manager and Costume Manager. These students will work alongside the Director and Assistant Directors in putting the show together and will manage their own small student teams. 

POSTER COMPETITION

Once again, we are holding a competition to see who can design the best poster for next year's production. The winning entry will be selected at the official poster and will have their work displayed around the College and local community as well as featuring on all promotional material, t-shirts and social media. 

PRODUCTION CAMP 2016

This year, the cast and senior crew of the Happiest Day of Your Life will be participating in a weekend production camp to Swanleigh in Middle Swan. The weekend will consist of team building activities, workshopping and character development and will be a great opportunity for students and staff to build relationships and develop as a production team. 

Mr Chris McRae (Production Director)

Facebook Official #HCCHappiestDays16

2016 Production Announcement

It's that time of year again. Preparations for the 2016 Holy Cross College Production are in full swing. We are delighted to announce that the production for 2016 will be 'The Happiest Days of Your Life' by John Dighton. 

Set in post WWII England, ’The Happiest Days of Your Life’ is a uproarious comedic farce which portrays the hilarious events which unfold when all-girls school St Swithan's is billeted with all-boys school Hillary Hall. This causes confusion and utter chaos, especially when it comes to hiding it from the parents. So much so that the male teachers end up in dresses at one point in an effort to cover up the fact that their school now has 'females'. It is a hilarious battle of the sexes.

The production in 2016 will be of a considerably smaller scale than the epic undertaking that was the hugely successful 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' in 2015. We are aiming to undertake a larger scale production every second year. 'Happiest Days' will see a cast of only 13 and a select Senior School crew joining the Core Production Staff Team. We are delighted to welcome Miss Jackie Collender and Miss Edel Maher to the Production Team in 2016.

We are looking forward to what is set to be a fantastic production with a lot of laughs and some great moments for students and staff alike.

Congratulations and Thank You

A huge congratulations and thank you to all the cast and crew of the 2015 Holy Cross College Production of 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe'. It was certainly our biggest production to date and was an amazing success thanks to all the students and staff who put so much time and effort into this show.

Right from the auditions in October last year through to closing night last Saturday, the work put into the show has been immense. From the hours of choreography and singing rehearsals through to the acting workshops, guest speakers, weekend rehearsals, painting sets, heavy lifting, light rigging and planning, line learning, blocking and coffee runs...this has been one massive undertaking. The result however is one of which we are all immensely proud and couldn't have been done without the dedication of a very special group of students and staff.

A massive thanks to the Core Team of Mr Chris McRae, Miss Emilie Reynolds, Miss Laura Kendrick and Miss Emma Pritchard for their dedication to the world of Narnia. Their skills and talents in putting this show together have been amazing and they are to thank for the show being as good as it was.

Thank you must also go to the amazing staff support crew of Mrs Irene Louden, Miss Danielle Hodgson, Mrs Colleen Azzopardi, Mrs Carolyn Jess, Mrs Deborah Boylen, Mrs Susan Wilson, Miss Sara O’Neill, Mr Paul Murphy and Mrs Jacqueline Sanders, Mr Chris Gooch, Mrs Sarah Brown, Mrs Courtney Clark, Miss Katie Reynolds and Miss Giordarna Rigoli for their hard work.

Mr Ryan Lenard for his sensational work in running tech for this show. The kids loved it!!

The live band was an amazing addition this year and it was a privilege to work with such talented musicians. Thanks to Mr Mark Cunniffe, Miss Kate Pass, Miss Claire Kendrick and Mr Chris Marquand for lending your musical talents to our show. 

Congratulations to the cast: Jack Hammon, Zophie Paluszak, Jamie Evans, Angela Gethin, Oscar Mitchell, Laura Evans, Bor Dau, Daniella Jacobs, Max Hughes, Nathan Sweet, Brianna Armstrong, Chardonnay Mitchell,  Chloe Andrews, Ben Sorensen, Yachna Smith, Abbey'Lee Quantock, Josh Gethin, Becca Hughes, Tanika McLeod, Aimee Sorensen, Chloe McLeod, Chloe Ryan, Jade Stewart, Ruby Briggs-Dyer, Isabel Davies, Sebastian Beazley, Eve Longton, Isabella Hughes, Joana Coral, Mia-Mae Vella, Jasmine Okello, Bailey Pearson, Keira Field, Shayla Rademan and Jesse Sokol.

Our student crew: Jodie Murphy, Felicity Holden, Sharni Simmonds, Aran Burke, Isobel Owers

Jarrod Van Der Wiede, Lloyd Matias, Rachel Joubert, Charlene Kunaka, Sally Reyes, Casey Van Der Merwe, Gabriella-Rose Van Der Linde, Darrell Chiu, Renee Azzopardi, Danica Vallelonga, Alex Smilovitis, Alexandra Pether, Ryder Thewlis, Courtney Gray, Grace Beazley, Bianca Scinto, Amy Van Der Wiede, Breannah Rigoli, Nikki Lukanga, Annabelle Sargon and Tegan Morling.

We hope you enjoyed your journey into Narnia! Until next year!!

The Production Team

Opening Matinee and Night a Great Success!!

Holy Cross College's 2015 Production of 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' took to the stage yesterday, kicking off with a matinee performance for 95 Year 4 students from the neighbouring Ellen Stirling Primary School and a group of Mum's, Bubs and Parents. The energy was electric right from the beginning with the cast and band swinging through the jazzy score. The make up jobs were incredible as were our talented vocalists. Following a bit of a post-performance dance party (Mr McRae, Miss Reynolds and Miss Kendrick included) which also saw some impromptu improv and stand up comedy routines, the cast and crew got set for round two with opening night. Approximately 130 people filed through the doors and were transported to Narnia. Feedback so far has been very positive:

Congratulations on two OUTSTANDING production performances so far!! So many parents and friends have relayed to me how impressed they have been by your interpretation of Narnia and by the cast's realistic portrayal. Well done!! (Genevieve Gethin- Parent)

"One word: AMAZING. I was very impressed from the beginning to the end. I almost couldn't believe that the music was LIVE! It's good to see that all the seats were filled. Thumbs up to everyone involved” (Gary Soetano- Crust Pizza Ellenbrook: Platinum Sponsor)

"This is the best production Holy Cross has ever performed" (Ms Mandy Connor- College Principal)

We are looking forward to doing it all over again tonight and finish with a bang with two shows tomorrow!!

Narnia Cast and Crew Receive a Musical Message from the Writer/Composer

Irita Kutchmy, the musical composer and adapter of HCC's version of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe kindly sent our cast and crew this awesome video message all the way from the UK wishing them well for next week's performances. Not only that, but she penned the message to the music and tune of one of the songs from the show. Check out Irita's musical message below!

The Final Countdown!

In just 10 days, the magical world of Narnia will take to the stage at Holy Cross College. Last minute preparations are well under way with a handful of the staff and student crew coming unto school on the weekend for a busy bee. A huge thanks in particular to the core staff team: Mr McRae, Miss Kendrick and Miss Reynolds as well as Mrs Strong, Mrs Jess, Miss Pritchard, Miss Croswell along with all the students who came to help out on this day with a variety of jobs. This week will see the staging delivered along with touch up rehearsals leading up to our Full Dress Rehearsal on Sunday. Next week is crunch time with tech bump in happening on Wednesday. A massive shout out to our technical coordinator Ryan Lenard from Getting Technical for his work with staging and technical organisation. A reminder that tickets are still on sale and selling fast for this show!! We are very excited to be in the final stages and it's the final countdown (cue inspirational music)

The Production Team

Narnia in the Ellenbrook Advocate

Production Tickets On Sale Now!

Tickets for the 2015 College Production of 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' are on sale NOW!! Tickets will be available online at www.trybooking.com/120144 and cash sales will be available in the main admin every Monday morning before school and Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-4:30 in the weeks leading up to the show.

Ticket prices are as follows:

MUM'S AND BUB'S MATINEE
Mum's and Bubs Package (Includes A Reserve Adult Ticket, Stool for Toddler and Space for Pram) : $20.00

A RESERVE (FRONT OF STAGE SEATING)
A Reserve Adult: $20.00
A Reserve Concession: $15.00
A Reserve Child: $12.00
A Reserve Child U5: $7.00

B RESERVE (DIAGONAL SEATING LEFT AND RIGHT OF STAGE)
B Reserve Adult: $15.00
B Reserve Concession: $12.00
B Reserve Child: $7.00
B Reserve Child U5: Free

We look forward to seeing you at the show!

HCC Production Team

Suzie Mathers Adds Wicked Touch to HCC

This week, the students in our Production Cast and Crew as well as our elective Dance, Drama and Music students were lucky enough to have a Q&A session with Perth bred Musical Theatre performer Suzie Mathers. Suzie took time out of her busy schedule, which currently involves 8 shows a week performing as Glinda in the musical 'Wicked' to speak to our Performing Arts students about everything ranging from performance techniques and warm ups to handling nerves. She spoke about options for career pathways in the Arts and spoke highly of the Perth based WAAPA. Students were absolutely thrilled to be in the presence of such a talent and we would like to thank Suzie for her insights into the world of Theatre and Performance. It was truly wicked!!

Behind the Scenes of Narnia (Autumn Term Weeks 2-4)

It's crunch time for the Production. As we approach the six week mark, things are starting to fall into place. With our Seniors returning from their exams, work has begun on making this show a reality. The students got their first taste of a live band with Mr Marquand (Drums), Claire Kendrick (Flute) and Mr McRae (Sax) playing live during our Saturday dress rehearsal. Costumes are looking superb and characterisation became a more relevant with costumes in place. We have now blocked the whole show (with a few tweaks to come due to our stage layout) and every song has had a couple of rehearsals. Now comes the time where we run and run and run until it's as good as it can be and ready for performance in Week 10. The cast and crew were very lucky during Week 5 to have had a visit from Perth bred Musical Theatre performer Suzie Mathers, who is currently performing as Glinda in Wicked. She was able to give our budding theatre performers some excellent advice and tips about performance technique, handling nerves and the performing arts as a career path. As of this Thursday, we are 5 weeks away from opening night. Tickets on sale for HCC's The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe next week. Keep an eye out for those colourful posters!!

Something Wicked Is Coming To Holy Cross

We are very excited to announce that we have a very special guest who will be visiting Holy Cross College in a few short weeks to have a chat to our production cast and crew about Musical Theatre performance technique. Suzie Mathers is a Perth bred Musical Theatre actress who graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2007. She was soon snapped up as part of the company for the smash hit musical 'Wicked' in 2008 and also appeared in the 2009 Australian tour of 'Mamma Mia' as Sophie. However, it was in 2011 that her big break came knocking when she took on the lead role of Glinda in 'Wicked'. She returns to Perth in the role for the first time this month and is taking some time out of her busy schedule to visit our College. We will be very excited to welcome Suzie to HCC in a few weeks time.

What's Happening in Narnia (Week 1 Autumn Term)

We are back and now only 9 weeks away from the show taking to the stage. We are now well into Act 2 and will have blocked the whole show and rehearsed every song by the end of next week. We have reached the pivotal moment in the story when Aslan is first introduced and Edmund's betrayal is revealed. In this week's video blog, we get a sneak peak at the chorus song 'Waiting and Wondering' as well as an interview with Rabble member Becca Hughes (Year 10). We are just about to begin looking at the final two songs 'Here Comes The Cat', a truly wild Witch/Rabble song as well as the beautiful Lucy/Susan duet 'How Could They Do It'.

We are at the stage of costumes being completed and Mrs Louden did her first face paint test for Maugrim the wolf (Brianna Armstrong) this week which looked amazing. We will be without our Senior School students for the next two weeks but we wish them well for their exams and look forward to having the whole cast/crew back in Week 4 as we edge closer and closer to performance week!

The Production Team

Message from Irita Kutchmy (Creator and Composer)

Exciting news! We have been able to make contact with Irita Kutchmy, who adapted and composed our version of 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe'. Below is a message from her to our Cast and Crew:

"It's lovely to have the inside information about the Holy Cross production as it brings the musical alive for me! 

In regards to Narnia in Ellenbrook, I noticed the jazz band straight away and thought it was great. Incidentally, I played in the band myself years ago in a performance and there are mistakes in the bass part as far as I remember. I did the woodwinds myself but someone else did the other instruments.

Some of what I have written is really difficult but I was trained as a concert pianist at the Yehudi Menuhin school from 1965 to 1968 and I only began to work in theatres in 1978. So I didn't know how to construct the music in a way that would make it more user friendly to other performers and it remains in the form that I played it in, all those years ago. Some of the songs are in really difficult keys!

Many thanks for the email and I look forward to hearing more Narnia news soon!

Irita

What's Happening in Narnia (Week 9)

As the first term of rehearsals comes to a close, we reach the end of Act 1 and begin to venture into scenes, songs and choreography sequences for Act 2. Our junior school cast members have now also been introduced to our seniors and are full of energy which is fantastic to see. With costumes and props beginning to trickle in and staging and lighting ideas taking shape, anticipation is at an all time high as Production term draws near. After a well deserved break, we will return with 10 weeks until showtime. We have a very busy term ahead, but Narnia is drawing closer. See you next term!

Production Team

Official Poster Design Reveal

Congratulations goes to Darrell Chiu (Year 9) who's stunning digital design has been selected as the official poster for Holy Cross College's 2015 Production of 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. This poster will start to be displayed around the College and community from next term!

What's Happening in Narnia: Behind the Scenes of Week 8

Behind the Scenes in Week 8! As we near the end of Term 1, we have reached the end of blocking and choreographing Act 1. After an intensive rehearsal on Saturday, the cast now have scripts down and are really focusing on character building. The end of Act 1 sees the disappearance of Edmund as the four Pevensie childen go with Mr and Mrs Beaver to meet Aslan. The Beaver/Animal chorus number 'Cair Paravel' is a beautiful end to the first act and Nathan, Laura and the Animal Chorus have been working particularly hard on this number under the guidance of Miss Reynolds. Miss Kendrick has also been busy with her dance numbers, also working on 'Cair Paravel' whilst polishing Turkish Delight. The students are beginning to bring much more expression into their characters now and we can now begin to see how these characters will interact on stage which is exciting!

Costumes have also made a big leap forward this week with the costume for nearly every character sourced and ready for dress rehearsals next term! Our new D&T workshop is also being turned into a Narnia 'prop shop' with Mrs Wilson working tirelessly with her Senior students creating some awesome set pieces. We also have Ryan from Getting Technical coming in on Friday to work with Mr McRae on creating the look and feel of Narnia with staging and lighting planning. Narnia is starting to take shape!!

Production Team

Guess Who Is Coming To Holy Cross

A very special guest from the world of Music Theatre will be coming to visit our production cast and crew in May. Who could it be?? All will be revealed in the coming weeks!

What's Happening In Narnia: Behind the Scenes of Week 7

This week has seen a lot of work in the areas of Choreography and Singing in particular. We have reached the end of Act 1 and will be running the act as a whole at our first weekend rehearsal this Saturday. The White Witch and Beavers have been a big focus this week with the 'Turkish Delight' and 'Cair Paravel' numbers being rehearsed consistently. Jack, Zoe, Jamie and Angela have also been working solidly on the tricky 'Teasing Song' and in their words 'nailed it' on both Monday and Wednesday. We are looking in good shape as we approach the end of our first term of rehearsals!

In terms of marketing and promotion, we have secured several sponsors and our official production poster is in it's final stages ready to be released! We have also secured a very special guest from the Music Theatre world who will be coming to Holy Cross in May to give our cast some words of wisdom. She is a seasoned performer and we are very excited to have her visit our College...but more on that later on! Keep your eyes on this blog as it will be updated with photos, videos and interviews every week!

The Narnia Production Team

Band parts starting to be put together....

About the Writer/Composer

What's Happening in Narnia: Behind the Scenes of Week 6

Welcome to the first of our behind the scenes updates for this year's Holy Cross College Production of 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe'. We have been particularly busy this week, rehearsing Pevensie, Tumnus, White Witch, Animal and Rabble scenes from Act 1 as well as choreographing and rehearsing singing parts for the funky 'Turkish Delight'. Our junior cast has also been working hard on their singing and dancing for 'Please Come to Tea'. Check out our video blog below created by Alex Smilovitis and Tegan Morling (Year 8) which features rehearsal footage and an interview with Year 11 cast member Max Hughes (Mr Tumnus).

Mr Chris McRae- Production Director