2025, Term 2, Edition 7 - Performing Arts

Addams Family Reflection

As I reflect on the conclusion of our Senior School Production for 2025, I feel a great sense of achievement and pride, but also a touch of sadness. Happy, sad, happy, sad! (An in-joke from the show for those that weren't able to come along to see it).

This show has been in my head since July of last year when the Production Team first came together to discuss what our production would be. I've seen it grow from a name on a page into a fabulous, three-night performance featuring our wonderful Casey Grammar students on stage, backstage, under stage, and front of house.

The journey for our students has been no less short nor involved. Since our show announcement in October of last year, students have leapt into auditions then into the first rehearsals during November.

After the summer break, they were back to rehearsals from Term 1 until opening night. They attended two rehearsals per week, plus an additional three full days of rehearsal held over the school holidays and even a Sunday leading up to the show.

That's a sum total of eighty-two hours, plus a similar amount of time spent by our students individually practising lines, dance routines, choreography, blocking, singing, and learning lyrics. That's before we even get to the shows themselves!

Show week was a sixty-two-hour working week that included two after-school rehearsals, some lunchtime catch ups, and the three shows. I'm sure that you can all imagine the amount of time spent in makeup!

So, why should my child be in a show? It's so much work!

It is a lot of work and a lot of effort and energy. It's physically, mentally and emotionally taxing. But a hugely rewarding experience and one that teaches our students about growth, perseverance, practice, teamwork and leadership.

It has been my pleasure to watch our students begin the production in those first awkward auditions, then evolve during each rehearsal, and right up until opening night. They've grown in confidence, ability, and self-belief. Our orchestra have worked in challenging and new contexts, risen to meet new demands and stretched themselves. They also had the opportunity to work alongside and learn from professional musicians.

Our Tech Crew had the opportunity to work in industry-standard roles and learn valuable skills and principles. Every student in the show has grown as a consequence of their involvement and participation.

I also witnessed them grow as a team. They learnt to rely on and collaborate with each other, while committing to the show, their role and their leadership skills.

Perhaps the most important lesson students have learnt from being involved is that hard work yields results, and they definitely put in the hard work.

There have been so many positive words shared about our school production. I've spoken with staff, students, parents, members of the community and all were effusive in their praise of the three shows and the student performances.

Thank you to everyone involved for being brave enough to stay on the journey through to its end. For committing to your role or part, and the hard work involved in preparing it.

Now it's time to pack away the sets, props and costumes, return the instruments to their spaces, and set aside the scripts and scores. Soon it will be time for us to consider what our next production will be, and we'll begin the journey again.

I look forward to seeing which Casey Grammar School students will join us in the next production. As Mr Peake is often heard saying on show night, "have you got Show Spirit?"