The school year may be winding down with exams and grad rehearsals, but for many students, the play’s the thing.
Across the Archdiocese of Vancouver, students have been taking to the stage and working behind the scenes on productions that capture the range of talent, energy, and imagination in Catholic high schools.
St. John Brebeuf in Abbotsford presented Peter and the Starcatcher, a wildly inventive prequel to Peter Pan that explains how the boy who would not grow up first took flight. The Tony Award-winning play features pirates, orphans, mermaids, heroes, and marching mollusks, all brought to life by the performers and crew of the SJB Players.
At Saint John Paul II Academy, the Royal Players performed an adaptation of the acclaimed novel Little Women. Students from Grades 8 to 12 were involved both on stage and behind the scenes and faced the additional challenge of creating a theatre space in the school gymnasium while the new school building’s auditorium remains under construction.
Vancouver College and Little Flower Academy teamed up to present Shrek the Musical featuring the beloved ogre, Princess Fiona, Donkey, and a cast of fairy-tale characters. The production brought together students not only as performers, but also in lighting, sound, costume design, set building, and other backstage roles.
The Holy Cross Theatre Company staged Bringing Down the House by Todd Wallinger at the Surrey Arts Centre. The madcap comedy follows a theatre company forced to squeeze six weeks of rehearsal into two hours before its theatre is demolished. Students from Grade 8 through Grade 12 shared the stage in the fast-paced ensemble comedy.
