Ethel Gardiner Public School students will hit the big stage this week, performing Book Reports of Destiny at the John Elliott Theatre.
The students will have three performances on June 18, 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. Grade 6 teacher Laurie Thibaudeau will produce and direct the play, but on the night of the performances, it will be fully run by the students.
The play is about the students of Ms. Kim’s class presenting their book reports. For example, in one book report about fairy tales, the fairy tale characters take over to protest their unflattering depictions in the stories. In another, the school principal is hypnotized to become the world’s soggiest superhero, Bathmat Man, the Damp Knight.
This will be the school’s eighth production at the John Elliott Theatre.
Work on the play began with auditions in January, choosing the 37 cast members from the Grade 6, 7 and 8 students. Students have been rehearsing twice a week, before and after school, in preparation for the performances.
There are also 20 student crew members. On the night of the shows, there will be seven working backstage as well as nine in the booth, running lights, sound and stage management.
Christ the King student Lucy Bolton, who specializes in musical theatre, has helped transform the play into a musical, writing lyrics and incorporating a choir and some soloists into the performance.
The Ethel Gardiner Grade 4 and 5 choir will be performing prior to the Thursday, June 20 performance.
Tickets are on sale at the John Elliott Theatre box office, $12 for students and $17 for adults.
