The Lion King Jr.
2024 Production
Thornbury High School’s 2024 production of The Lion King Jr has been a fabulous experience for everyone involved, from the moment we first got the script to the final bows on stage.
Across all of the Wednesday rehearsals, the show began to come to life, with the cast beginning to learn choreography and decide on acting choices, embracing all that this production had to offer. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the crew took on the challenges of costume searching, and set design, amongst many others, while the exciting process of mask creation began with cutting out templates.
There was certainly doubt in everyone’s mind regarding the final quality of the production when the week of camp came around, but after 3 long days full of hard work and determination, our confidence skyrocketed, and we returned home more prepared than ever. From the rigorous and repetitive full-show runs, to the persistent rehearsals of the band, to the constant creation of masks, set pieces and props, and the incredibly lucky find of Rafiki’s stick (Thanks Pri!), our efforts did not waver. We can all confidently say that camp was one of the most enjoyable experiences in the production.
Then suddenly we were moving everything into Darebin Arts Centre, and we were 2 days away from the opening night, and if you thought camp was chaotic, then you haven’t experienced filling a stage with about 100 Year 7s. Along with extreme excitement and nerves, show week brought tons of issues in its arrival - the discovery of a miscalculation of masks which left 6 cast members without, the realisation that Rafiki had no tree, mic’s cutting out and going flat, and more.
The endurance of the band to play the same song time after time, as rehearsals went on with small edits, surprisingly didn’t drive them out of the theatre and the amount of respect we all had for that really needs to be said. Darebin Arts Centre provided a professional setting for our crew to learn and develop their skills further, and we were so extremely grateful to have the chance to work with incredible equipment and a larger stage.
From backstage the energy was electric. Everyone was tense and unsure how the first show would pan out. But with the exception of a few mic issues the first show went off without a hitch. However, we didn't let ourselves get cocky and ensured we still worked super hard for the next three shows. The work and effort shown by the year 7s, in their constant endeavour to do the dances and sing the songs, even their huge reactions to big moments in the show as they were watching from the galleries on the second night, was amazing to see. The amount of dedication the band put into the music was spectacular, as everyone massively appreciated their ability to learn even the hardest of songs.
Across the board everyone was thrilled with how the shows went, singing along backstage, listening to the amazing performance from the band and especially in the bio box, and having so much fun we almost forgot how stressful performing for an audience can be!
As the group of Year 12s who had the privilege of having this as our last show, we would all like to give a massive shoutout to everyone who made this show a reality. Our key teachers Emma, Fi, Fionn, Pri, Trent and Sean, and all the students in younger years who made our final THS production as awesome as it was. The friendships this show has fostered are some of the best we’ve made in our time here. We all feel that this group of kids coming through is one of the strongest we’ve seen and can’t wait to see how your future shows turn out. We know, even without us, you’ll be incredible.
- Meija, Jerome, Lauren, Issac, Amelia, Tobias, Lucy
