2018 COLLEGE PRODUCTION CAST AND CREW ANNOUNCEMENT

We are pleased to announce the cast and crew for the 2018 College Production of VILLAIN SCHOOL:

CAST

THE MARVELS: ORDER OF GENIUSES
FRANK STEIN John Botha
HEIDI JEKYLL: Breannah Rigoli
MAL: Maria Bravo-Echevarria
BEATRIX: Chloe Andrews

THE CONVICTS: ORDER OF ANARCHY 
SHARKEY: Ethan Armstrong
PICK: Iestyn Devenport
DAVY BACKSTABBER: Rowan Paluszak
CONVICT: Finn Doust

THE MONSTERS: ORDER OF MAYHEM
SASQUATCH: Jordan Reith
WEREWOLF: Makayla Pugliese
MUMMY: Samantha Evans
MONSTER: Luke Riedel

THE WITCHES: ORDER OF ENCHANTMENT
HETTY: Jordan Bailey
NETTY: Therese Topliss
GRETTY: Ashtyn Ford
BETTY: Madison Reith

THE MISFITS 
QUASIMODO: Sam Pascoe
SANDRA: Eva Ladyman
GARBAGE: Gurleen Dhillon
MISFIT: Bailey Fry

THE ADULTS
HEADMISTRESS: Olivia Feszczur
PROFESSOR SNIDE: Tiara D’Lima
PROFESSOR BLACK: Samantha Cosmas
PROFESSOR MURK: Brinda Jhaya
DRAKE JEKYLL: Alex Smilovitis
MARCELLA JEKYLL: Bianca Scinto

CREW

STUDENT ASST DIRECTOR: Laila Davies
STAGE MANAGERS: Chardonnay Mitchell and Abbey’Lee Quantock
ASST STAGE MANAGER: Alex Smilovitis
STAGE HANDS: Pearse Topliss, Noah Vella and Zac Smilovitis
LIGHTING DESIGNERS: Zoe Paluszak and Tahli Robinson
SOUND DESIGNER: Anthony Menegola
HAIR AND MAKEUP DESIGNERS: Brianna Armstrong and Angela Gethin
HAIR AND MAKEUP ASSISTANTS: Kamilla Kacjsca and Alanah D’Evelynes
COSTUME DESIGNER: Chloe Ryan
COSTUME ASSISTANT: Caitlyn Scinto
SET MANAGER: Lucas Sharpe
PROPS MANAGER: Kerry McDonnell
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Darrell Chiu
MEDIA MANAGER: James Evans
FRONT OF HOUSE MANAGER: Isobella McPherson
FRONT OF HOUSE TEAM: Ashlea Jordan and Kayla Herden

We look forward to presenting the show to the College Community in 2018.

The HCC Production Team

Villain School Auditions

Casting for the 2018 College Production of Villain School is underway with auditions taking place this week and next week. We currently have approximately 40 auditionees for our 25 person cast which goes to show the talent we currently have at Holy Cross College. The staff and senior crew will also audition new Year 7 students to the College in 2018 and we will be announcing the final cast and crew at the final assembly for Spring Term in Week 9. We look forward to an enjoyable couple of weeks and can't wait to see what the up and coming Drama talent at HCC has to offer!!

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

2018 College Production Announcement

We are pleased to announce the 2018 Holy Cross College Production of VILLAIN SCHOOL!

The show is set at The Villains’ Institute for Learning Evil (V.I.L.E.), where all the famous storybook villains go to learn their wicked ways.  Like any school, V.I.L.E. has its own social groups:  The Monsters, who are always hungry and love to scare people; the Witches, who make a mean brew; the Convicts, who are expert thieves and con-artists; and the Misfits, who just don’t fit in.  There are also the Evil Geniuses, who rule the school and are at the top of the food chain.  But everything is turned upside down when the smart and talented new student, Frank Stein, shows up and challenges the status quo.  Things get even worse
when he falls head over heels in love...  because love is strictly forbidden at Villain School.  That’s why Heidi Jekyll, the object of Frank’s desire, wants nothing to do with him.  That is, until the potion she concocts for the science fair goes awry, transforming her into a sugary sweet princess.  Faced with potential expulsion and certain embarrassment, will the forces of evil ultimately tear them apart, or will true love prevail?

Auditions will be taking place later this term for all Year 7-12 students and we look forward to presenting Villain School to the College Community in 2018!

Mr Chris McRae
Drama Teacher

College Production 2018

Off the back of a highly successful Senior Production, preparations and planning for the 2018 Year 7-12 College Production are well underway with the chosen script currently undergoing analysis. The production choice will be announced early next term with auditions for current Year 7-11 students as well as 2018 Year 7 students taking place in Weeks 6 and 7 next term. Until then, wait and see what the Production team has in store for you in 2018!!

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director and Drama Teacher

Independent Theatre Association Hails Senior Production a Triumph!

We were luck enough to have Gordon from the Independent Theatre Association (ITA) join us for the Saturday evening performance of 'An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance'. He clearly liked what he saw with a glowing review which can be found at the link below

http://www.ita.org.au/2017/06/an-unspeakable-triumph-of-supreme-brilliance-reviewed-by-gordon-the-optom/

Congratulations to all and thanks to Gordon and the ITA for the outstanding review!!

An Unspeakable Triumph Proves A Triumph!

The 2017 Senior Production of 'An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance' wrapped up with a triumphant final performance on Saturday evening for a full house. The show was hailed a huge success and very very funny by College Senior Leadership staff and audience members alike.

A huge congratulations must go to the 2017 Student Cast and Crew for their amazing hard work and dedication: John Paul Botha, James Evans, Laila Davies, Chloe Ryan, Brianna Armstrong, Abbey'Lee Quantock, Calvin Thiel, Zoe Paluszak, Chardonnay Mitchell, Breannah Rigoli, Jasmin Horsten, Alex Smilovitis, Austen Staples, Jeighten Finch, Tristan Hall, Maria Bravo-Echevarria, Michelle Karuga, Gabriella Rose Van Der Linde, Aran Burke, Anthony Menegola, Aimee Sorensen, Lexi Pether, Isobella McPherson and Chloe Andrews.

A big thanks to the core production team of Mr Chris McRae, Mrs Jackie Cuff, Mr Guy Jackson, Miss Laura Goodwin and Mr Ben Chapman for their tireless work in putting this production together ready for performance. Special thanks also to our support team of Mrs Colleen Azzopardi, Miss Edel Maher, Mr Roger Newton, Mrs Jacqui Sanders, Mrs Carolyn Jess for their work in various areas of the production process and the Senior Leadership team for their continued support of the College Performing Arts program.

Many audience members were very impressed by the students' accent work and this is in no small part due to the work of WAAPA's Head of Voice in Acting, Julia Moody. We thank her for her expertise over a series of three accent workshops. This gave the students a new and exciting challenge and the results were remarkable!

Thanks must also go to our sponsors and those who donated various bits and pieces to assist with the production! Thanks to Garry Soetano and Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar Ellenbrook. The Cheesecake Shop, Jan Oliver of Masquerade Theatre and Costume and Troy White for their generous donations.

To Susan Sorensen and the Friends of Holy Cross for coordinating the interval and to the numerous College staff who assisted in Ushering and Front of House!

Lastly, special thanks to the playwright Don Zolidis who has kept in touch with our cast and crew throughout the process with helpful tips and words of wisdom. This has been fantastic being able to source ideas from Don which has assisted our students in bringing this show to life.

An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance was an absolute joy for all involved and was a fantastic way to break in our new facilities. We look forward to presenting our first Year 7-12 production in this space next year and many more wonderful performances to come!

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

Opening Night an Unspeakable Triumph!

The 2017 Senior College Production of 'An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance' opened to the public yesterday with two performances. The opening matinee was presented for staff and students from Swan Valley Anglican Community School along with Aegis Aged Care Facilities in Ellenbrook before an evening show for a public audience.

The production has so far been received with overwhelming positivity with Vic Principal Mr Collins labelling the show as 'brilliant'. Swan Valley Drama Teacher Meredith Corr could not speak highly enough about the cast, saying that "all cast members created quirky characters brilliantly". She also said that her students left buzzing, wanting to perform the show themselves.

The cast and crew will perform two more public shows tonight and tomorrow night for sold out audiences! 

We thank all audience members who have supported the production so far and can't wait for the rest of the performance run. 

Mr Chris McRae

Production Director

Good Luck from Minnesota

Mr McRae has been in touch with a personal friend of his who hails from Minnesota. Dan Collar has lived in Perth for two years and was kind enough to send this message of luck to our production cast and crew with some last minute Minnesotan accent tips. Thanks for the support Dan!

PRODUCTION WEEK 2017!

Production week has arrived for 2017! Students and staff spent all day yesterday perfecting the show in preparations for four performances later this week. The highly physical and comedic nature of the show became apparent as students ran the full show close to three times over six hours with some frenetic energy and the comedy building each time. A behind the scenes trailer will be released in the next couple of days in anticipation of this year's performances.

"What I wouldn't give to fly"

Tilly (Chloe Ryan) and Samson (John Botha) 

'An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance' will be performed by the Holy Cross College Senior School Drama students over three days this week in the New Norcia Performing Arts Building. An opening matinee on Thursday will presented for residents from Aegis Aged Care Ellenbrook and students from Swan Valley Anglican Community School before three public evening shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday commencing at 6:30pm.

"I thought I smelled something amateurish" 

Svetlana Gustarfson (Zophia Paluszak) and Samson (John Botha)

Limited tickets for Friday and Saturday are still available as well as good seats for Thursday from www.trybooking.com/260404

"I've been working on my own show"

Bob (Calvin Thiel)

We look forward to presenting this madcap comedy to the College Community in 2017!

"I'm an unstoppable zombie"
Delilah (Brianna Armstrong), Tilly (Chloe Ryan) and Audrey (Laila Davies)

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

Unspeakable Triumph Hits The Advocate!

With just over a week until the Senior Production takes to the stage, the cast has been featured in this week's Ellenbrook Advocate. Tickets available for all shows from www.trybooking.com/260404

Unspeakable Triumph Feature in Swan Magazine

Local actor, director and all round community theatre expert Douglas Sutherland-Bruce was kind enough to feature HCC's Senior Production of 'An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance' in the June issue of The Swan Magazine with a fantastic write up! The show takes to the stage next week at Holy Cross with shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 6:30pm in the New Norcia Performing Arts building. Tickets are still available from www.trybooking.com/260404

Mr Chris McRae

Production Director

A Sneak Peek of 'An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance'

With the Senior Production just over three weeks away, here is a sneak peek of what our cast and crew got up to at Saturday's Dress/Tech rehearsal. Students were full of energy we were lucky enough to have a visit from former student Max Hughes (2016) who is now studying a diploma of Musical Theatre at the Australian Performing Arts Network (APAN). Students were looking great in some slick contemporary costumes and the lighting and sound team started to put together the look and sound of the show. Check out our sneak peek images below.

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

Tickets On Sale Now!

Tickets for the 2017 Holy Cross College Senior Production of the contemporary comedy 'An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance' are on sale now! The show will be performed by the talented Year 10, 11 and 12 Drama students and will be a fantastic showcase of their comedic abilities. The witty script has been written by contemporary American playwright Don Zolidis and students have tackled both the humour and the challenging Minnesotan accent with great enthusiasm.

The show will be performed over three nights on Thursday 22, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 June 2017 in the New Norcia Performing Arts Building at HCC (the first performance in the new facilities)

Tickets are $15 for Adults, $10 for Students/Concessions, $7 for Children and Free for Under 5's. The content of the show is more appropriate for an older audience and is recommended for Secondary students and older.

Tickets can be purchased from www.trybooking.com/260404 and we are looking forward to what should be a fantastic Senior Production!

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

Producing an Unspeakable Triumph!

Rehearsals are well underway for the 2017 Senior Production of 'An Unspekable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance' which will be performed in Week 9 of this term. Students and staff have been working particularly hard with rehearsals running after school, in class and at lunchtimes. The script itself is incredibly witty and complex in nature which has been a big challenge that students have risen to. The added challenge of undergoing accent training to master the General American and specific Minnesotan mannerisms has been an amazing addition and students have blended this into their character development.

The story itself is zany, crazy and very very funny with everything from an imaginary blue tortoise, a botched horror play and an unfortunate incident involving a frying pan being tackled by our talented cast.

Students have also been very lucky this term to have been rehearsing in our brand new New Norcia Drama space which has been a privilege to work in and settle into!

Tickets for 'An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance' will go on sale next Monday 22 May at 9:00am and will be available from https://www.trybooking.com/260404.

Show dates are Thursday 22, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 June and tickets will be $15 for Adults, $10 for Students/Concession, $7 for Children and Free for Under 5's with 100 seats available for each show.

The show is mature in nature and is recommended for Year 7 upwards!

We are looking forward to what should be a fantastic Senior Production!

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

Unspeakable Shenanigans Week 3

This week has been an engaging and productive one for the cast and crew of 'An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance'. Students received their costumes early this week and this has assisted greatly with their character development and has given them a sense of 'realism' in rehearsals. The costumes reflect each characters' quirks and personalities perfectly and big thanks must go to Costume managers Maria Bravo-Echevarria and Michelle Karuga along with Production staff Mrs Cuff and Miss Goodwin for their work in developing and sourcing these awesome outfits

Students were also given two fantastic opportunities to expand their experiences with this show beyond Holy Cross. On Wednesday, our cast and crew got the opportunity to Skype with none other than Don Zolidis, the playwright of the show. This was a huge thrill for students and staff alike as Don skyped from his home in Austin, Texas to HCC on Wednesday morning. He encouraged the students to bring their own personal touch to his characters and expressed his love for theatre and writing which was a big inspiration for the students. This was a memorable experience and we thank Don sincerely for giving us this opportunity.

Tickets for the Senior Production will go on sale on Monday 22 May (Week 5) and as part of the promotion process, cast members John Botha, Jamie Evans, Abbey'Lee Quantock, Brianna Armstrong and Zoe Paluszak along with Mr Chris McRae sat down with College Marketing and Community Relations manager Mrs Carolyn Jess to interview for an upcoming piece in the Ellenbrook Advocate. Students enjoyed the chance to reflect on their experiences so far.

Next week will see a break as students go off on Exams. In Week 5, we will be having two intensive rehearsals on Wednesday and Saturday to begin our attention to detail in the lead up to the shows in Week 9.

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

Skype with Playwright Don Zolidis

It's not often that you get to speak with the playwright of the show you are working on. But for our Senior Production students that is exactly what they got to experience this week. Students got the chance to talk via Skype with the playwright of 'An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance' Don Zolidis, who resides in Austin, Texas. Students were able to speak with Don about their characters, the play itself and his other works as well as discussing more generic topics such as Theatre in the USA and his influences and inspirations. He gave them a very good humoured insight to his approach to the play and it was an invaluable experience for both students and staff alike!

Costumes Galore!

Earlier this week, Assistant Director Mrs Cuff and Production Assistant Miss Goodwin hit the shops to find some funky costumes for our cast under the direction of costume manager and assistant Maria Bravo-Echevarria and Michelle Karuga. What they came back with was absolutely fantastic and below is an early sneak peek into some character costumes for Samson (John Botha), Bob (Calvin Thiel), Audrey (Laila Davies) and Delilah (Brianna Armstrong).

Samson (John Botha)

Bob (Calvin Thiel)

Audrey (Laila Davies) and Delilah (Brianna Armstrong)

Unspeakable Shenanigans Week 2

We are two months away from our very first Senior Production of 'An Unspeakable Triumph Of Supreme Brilliance' taking to the stage at Holy Cross College. It has been a busy week with the intensity level of rehearsals stepping up with all students now off script and character development starting to take place. Students are now discovering the quick wit of the script and really discovering their character quirks and ticks.

SAMSON RE-CAST
At late notice, the role of Samson has had to be re-cast and we are delighted to welcome John Botha (Year 10) to the role. John (or JP as he is know to the production team) was previously performing the role of Donny the Intern (which has now been removed) and is stepping up into the lead role of Samson. JP is a talented actor and a hard worker and we have no doubt he will thrive in this role.

SET
The set pieces will be collected next week and will start to be put together. This will give us the chance to rehearse with our collapsing walls which students are very much looking forward to. The stage has been set up which gives students a solid 8 weeks to rehearse on the stage in the performance space, a timeframe we have never had before.

COSTUMES
Students are particularly excited to see costumes starting to take shape. Mrs Cuff and Miss Goodwin will be taking the list compiled by Maria and Michelle, our costume team and hitting the shops next week to find the final bits and pieces for each character.

TICKETS
Tickets for the production will go on sale at 9am on Monday 22 May (Week 5). The number of tickets available for each performance will be confirmed next week.

SKYPE WITH DON ZOLIDIS (PLAYWRIGHT)
We are very excited for next week, as students will have the opportunity to Skype with Don Zolidis who has written this fantastic script. Don is based in Texas and is generously giving up his time to touch base with our students about their performance of his play.

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

First Rehearsals in New Norcia Drama Studio

Unspeakable Shenanigans Week 1 Autumn

After a well deserved break, the cast and crew of An Unspeakable Triumph of Supreme Brilliance returned to school refreshed and ready to launch into production term. It was with much excitement that we kicked off our first rehearsal in the brand new New Norcia Drama Studio and the students (and staff) energy was at an all time high. We will now begin to work with sets and costumes earlier than ever before as students begin the process of character development and building.

From a technical perspective, our lighting and sound rigs are now in-house and our technical crew will be undergoing orientation next week in the workings of the lighting and sound system. The stage will also be bumped in next week, giving us 8 weeks of rehearsals on stage, something which we have never seen before.

The Senior Drama students will also be undergoing intensive in class rehearsals as part of the Year 10, 11 and 12 courses and will participating in up to 5 rehearsals each week to make this the slickest and most impressive production HCC has produced!

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

Unspeakable Shenanigans Week 9

Coming off the back of another successful vocal workshop last week, the cast went straight into blocking the madness which is Act 2. The unique thing about the second half of 'Unspeakable Triumph' is that it basically flows as one extended scene with no stopping and high levels of energy. The cast have stepped up to the challenge and are starting to develop the frenetic nature of the scenes involved with this and as a result, rehearsals are proving to be a lot of fun for both students and staff.

Next week marks the end of an era for Holy Cross Productions, with our final rehearsal in Victoria Square before moving into the new New Norcia Performing Arts facilities. This space has seen six productions and countless hours of rehearsals. It has been a challenging space to work in at times but has allowed us to perform and build a production culture at the College of which we are particularly proud.

Next term will see the production begin to really take shape as we move to up to 5 rehearsals per week as part of the Senior Drama curriculum. Students in cast and crew roles will be busy preparing for four performances in Week 9 next term.

Until next week!

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

Vocal Workshop #2

VOCAL WORKSHOP #2

Julia Moody from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts worked with our Senior Production students once again yesterday in the second of three vocal workshops in which cast members are learning to master the Minnesotan accent. We were particularly excited to learn that Julia had previously trained James Millar, who is currently performing as Miss Trunchbull in 'Matilda The Musical'. The students are picking it up quickly and learning the importance of the American 'r' and 'l' sounds. They were soon put to work by presenting the opening scenes of the play to Julia and receiving character specific feedback. Julia worked with the idea of speaking with intention and motivation and students were able to bring this into their characterisation. We look forward to Julia returning for the final workshop which will be held in the week prior to the first performance!

PERFORMANCE SPACE

Students, staff and members of the community were lucky enough to get a first look at the nearly completed New Norcia performing Arts spaces as part of Open Day yesterday. Several production students who were running tours were particularly excited to see the performance space and studios for the first time. Mr McRae and Mr Jackson ran the tours in conjunction with Mrs Sanders and we have to thank the builders for giving us this exciting sneak peek. The building is set to be completed in early April and be ready for use in Week 1 next term.

PROPS AND SET

Mr McRae will be visiting WA Polystyrene this week who will be working on designing our collapsing set. Props and other set pieces are now beginning to trickle in with the assistance of staff and students.

VICTORIA SQUARE 

It will soon be the end of an era at HCC with only two rehearsals remaining in Victoria Square. We have performed six productions in this space as well as countless rehearsals and as much as we are excited to move into our new spaces, it will be with a lot of nostalgia as the production culture has been built in this space over the past six years!

Mr Chris McRae
Production Director

Unspeakable Shenanigans Week 6l

We have reached the end of Act 1 with the final, frenetic scene of the first half of the show being the focus for this week. Student Assistant Director Zoe Paluszak took the reigns for this particular scene and enjoyed the opportunity to block the scene and work with the cast regarding their artistic and characterisation choices. This week was particularly energetic with lots of enthusiasm being shown from all and rehearsal having a particularly positive vibe.


Maria Bravo Echevarria and Michelle Karuga were on hand and ran individual cast interviews in order to get a sense of exactly what they wanted for their character's costume, allowing them to develop a sense of ownership around the costume and character.

Next week, we begin Act 2. The unique part of the second half of the show is that it is technically one large scene with no transitions and no breaks. This will be a great challenge for the students as they look to maintain high energy all the way through to the end of the show.