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Grade 8 Musical: School of Rock!
“I can’t believe they’re only in Grade 8!”
That phrase could be heard uttered again and again following the performances of this year’s Grade 8 musical, School of Rock. The performers and stage crew – many of whom had never been involved in a musical or any other kind of stage production before – blew the audience away in back-to-back standing-room-only shows in the Wilkinson Theatre last Friday.
“The vast majority of them had never done any performing before, and all of a sudden we’re telling them they’ve got to perform two sold-out shows in front of the whole School and their parents and siblings,” director Mr. Vince Hale pointed out. “At the end of the first show, they went crazy and they needed a pep talk reminding them that they had one more show to do – they brought it even more the second time.”
School of Rock is based on the 2003 movie starring Jack Black as Dewey Finn, a wannabe rock star who poses as a substitute teacher and turns his students into a rock group that enters a Battle of the Bands. Full of Jack Black’s manic energy and the spirit of rock and roll, the show asks a lot of the cast and crew, and the Grade 8s delivered.
“Part of the magic is that it’s high stakes and they know it,” Mr. Hale commented. “They knew this was a big deal and they took it seriously. I held them to a really high standard. I told them, ‘I’m treating you like young adults; not like kids. I think you are capable,’ and they proved it.”
Last year’s Grade 8 show, High School Musical, was Mr. Hale’s first time directing a musical and his first time working with choreographer Mrs. Annie Gronsdahl. After their success last year, they took it up a notch with a show that was twice as long, involved actors playing live instruments in one scene, and required a bigger set.
Mr. Hale’s own experience with the musical sort of mirrored what happened onstage as the students went from mostly inexperienced performers to capable actors, dancers, singers and stage technicians – and found hidden talents.
“It’s the reason I’m a teacher,” he said. “To see where they started and where they ended up was amazing. Hopefully they’re inspired to do performing arts in the future.
“Part of the magic of Shawnigan is that these things are mandatory. Kids have to get out of their comfort zone. Some of these kids would never have been in a musical and now they’ve done two sold-out shows. I know they’re proud of it.”
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Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 12 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
