Musical theatre students in Sooke are putting on a show about love and relationships, regardless of the two metres between them. In fact, half the cast and crew never even met the other half.
Two classes filmed their scenes months apart, and musical theatre teacher Lisa McLellan is busy editing the footage together into a cohesive show. The two classes would typically work together, but with the octo-semester system and social distancing requirements, they found a new way to produce a musical with a cast and crew of more than 50 people.
The musical, Scenes from a Wedding was written by McLellanB次元官网网址檚 students 14 years ago. They couldnB次元官网网址檛 afford to buy the licence for a big show, so they wrote their own.
B次元官网网址淭hey liked the awkwardness of relationships and of falling in love, even when youB次元官网网址檙e young. And as you get older, that isnB次元官网网址檛 perfect either. Life is messy, family meddles, itB次元官网网址檚 not a fairy tale. Things spiral out of control, things go wrong,B次元官网网址� McLellan said of the musical and life.
The story follows a couple who fall in love in high school and later decide to get married. ItB次元官网网址檚 structured with a series of flashbacks, which worked perfectly for filming with two classes separately. In February, the junior class played the young versions of the characters, and seniors played the adult versions in their May semester.
The flashbacks also serve as a complicated reminder that B次元官网网址測our past doesnB次元官网网址檛 always stay in your past,B次元官网网址� McLellan said.
It was awkward rehearsing, filming, singing, stage-blocking and all the rest with physical distancing and masks all the time, McLellan said, but the students made it work. In the wedding scene, they wore gloves, for example.
The strangest part three of the Grade 11 and 12 stars said was actually the tight time frame. Normally theyB次元官网网址檇 work on a show over six months, but with the eight-semester schedule, they did it all in five weeks of full-time scene studies, character sketches and final rehearsals. They also missed out on the butterflies of a live performance.
The show goes live on June 18 and will stay posted until June 27 on YouTube. Look for the link here:
Fully half of the drama departmentB次元官网网址檚 budget comes from ticket sales in a typical year, so instead of tickets, the school accepts donations online: . Specify the EMCS Musical Theatre Year-End Performance in the fund destination drop-down menu.
editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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