Students at Ashburton College and Mount Hutt College are ready to stage their upcoming school productions; The Addams Family a musical comedy, and Murder She Floats an original work, respectively.
They both have opening nights on Wednesday.
The Addams Family is performed by year 9 to 13 students and runs for four nights at the college’s Holyoake Auditorium, while Murder She Floats runs for three nights at the Mount Hutt College hall.
Ashburton College head of faculty arts Jacqui Hood said the musical was about family, traditions, finding common ground and bonds.
‘‘It has been an absolute joy working with the students who have been accepting of direction and enthusiastic to try out ideas on the stage. I have also had the joy of working closely with our dance/ director of performance Dana Dawson, from her choreography skills and someone to bounce ideas off,’’ she said.
‘‘It has been really pleasing to return after the holidays and students being off book and more confident with the movement and dance within the show, which has definitely elevated the level of performance. …the feeling is very positive.’’
The story is a comical feast embracing the wackiness in every family, features an original story and was every father’s nightmare: Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family – a man her parents have never met.
Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia.
Everything changes for the family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents.
Well-known characters in the story include Gomez Addams – played by year 12 Hal Twiname, Morticia Addams- year 12 Isabel Wang, Wednesday Addams – year 12 Chloe Graham, Pugsley Addams – year 11 Maria Rodriguez, Uncle Fester – year 12 Maddison Davidson and Lurch the butler – year 12 Holly Burrowes.
In Methven, the original script and music for Murder She Floats will come to life from July 30 to August 1.
The show tells the story of a man is murdered onboard a cruise ship, and it is up to Inspector Morone and his assistant Detective Sharpe to determine the identity of the murderer.
There are many hilarious moments.
Musical director, and the college’s head of music, Sam Luddy said after last year’s production, they struggled to find a show they wanted to put on and decided to write one instead.
‘‘I came up with the concept of a murder mystery set on a cruise ship, but after that, it became a wholly collaborative effort,’’ Luddy said.
‘‘In an effort to be inclusive and give as many students a chance to shine as possible, we have deliberately chosen not to have what would be traditionally considered ‘‘main characters’’.
‘‘This has led, much to our delight, to a cast and crew that is exceptionally collaborative and supportive of each other. Our cast consists of students from year 8 right through to year 13,’’ Luddy said.
Writing the show bought absolute joy to Luddy and his fellow creative writers.
There was much laughter had as they worked together to create the show, he said.
‘‘While we certainly hit roadblocks on how to resolve certain plot points and tie each scene together, the fact that we were a team of five meant that someone always had a solution to any issue,’’ Luddy said.
As full dress rehearsals and opening nears the writers are finding it surreal to see their work come to life on the stage.
‘‘Once the script was written, students became a part of the creative process as well – from choreography to mannerisms to costumes, students have taken a large amount of ownership in turning a 40-page script into a full stage production.’’
Lighting, sound and stage manager roles were also student-led.
A lot of work went into writing the script, which started in term 1, and was then written and revised.
Six of the songs in the show are original and were recorded during the school holidays at the end of term one.
The team that wrote the script and music all had previously written for productions.
Both schools were grateful to the Ashburton District Council’s Creative Communities Scheme for funding.
– Mount Hutt College production of Murder She Floats is on from July 30 to August 1 in the school hall from 7pm. Tickets $10 from the school office, or by emailing [email protected]
Ashburton College’s The Addams Family musical on July 30 to August 2 at 7pm in the school’s Holyoake Auditorium. Tickets $15 each from the student office.
