13 -The Musical

MEDIA RELEASE

Greater Shepparton College (int. name) proudly presents

13 -The Musical

A grown up musical about growing up!

Performances: Thursday 31 October, 7.30pm Friday 1 November, 7.30pm

From the Director:

13’s central character, ‘Evan Goldman’, is a young Jewish boy living in New York City. He is “just about to turn 13” and preparing for his Bar Mitzvah. Enormous and unforeseeable changes suddenly occur in his life which impact his family, home, school and friends. These changes call upon Evan to think creatively in order to navigate his way through, to wrestle with his conscience, define his personal values and discover what it is he stands for. The changes in Evan’s life are overwhelmingly challenging, as all change is when it confronts at such a personal level. With central themes such as these, it is a fitting and timely choice for local students to explore the underlying messages in 13 – The Musical.

Our senior students have a history of travelling between McGuire College, Mooroopna Secondary College, Shepparton High School and Wanganui Park Secondary College, to study their desired subjects. When I observed how well the mixture of students from different schools worked within my VCE Theatre Studies class, it became apparent younger students may relish the opportunity to join our performance. Our central goal with this production was to foster collaboration of our youngest students across the four state schools, with our experienced senior students leading the way.

Since ’13 – The Musical’ is all about being thirteen years old, we called specifically for a chorus of Year 7s and opened auditions up across the four schools. When the enthusiastic students from each school answered that call, our cast was complete! I have been thrilled with the energy and enthusiasm each school has brought to our rehearsals. We’ve also celebrated a good deal of thirteenth birthdays throughout the rehearsal stages, which has added to the fun!

From the first rehearsals, the Year 7s have proved they needed no coaching on how to work as a united team. As predicted, our cast of sixty performers, mostly from Year 7, 10 and 11, have embraced the opportunity to show their combined talent. Our students are kind, sensitive, mature and resilient. They have been utterly delightful to work with so far and they continue to impress. I couldn’t be more proud of their dedication to this production and am looking forward to seeing them step on to the stage, some for the very first time, at Westside this month.

Jason Robert Brown’s hilarious and heart-warming work tells us to keep positive in the face of change. As ‘Even Goldman’ discovers, we need determination as well as sensitivity when faced with a new situation. When we meet challenges head-on, and with integrity, we often find the best parts of ourselves shine through. With this show, we celebrate the work of our current students and acknowledge the histories of our four schools; which have given us the strong foundations needed to face the changes ahead.

Lenore Davison - Production Director

13 – The Musical

Two shows only! Be sure not to miss out.

All tickets through Riverlinks box office or online

Ph.: 03 5832 9511

http://riverlinksvenues.com.au/

http://riverlinksvenues.com.au/whats-on/event-details/!/calendar/event/13-the-musical

Riverlinks summary:

Some very enthusiastic year 7's from McGuire, Mooroopna, Shepparton and Wanganui secondary schools, have teamed with the experienced VCE Theatre Studies students, to interpret Jason Robert Brown’s touching and hilarious rock musical, 13.

A tale told entirely by characters in the midst of puberty and dealing with relationships, school pressures, parent expectations as well as the timeless struggle of achieving peer acceptance; 13 is for everyone who remembers those awkward years ... or is still finding their way through.

Theatre Studies students and cast Members of the Greater Shepparton College (int. name) rehearse for their production ’13- The Musical’.

(L-R) Hamish Nelson, Madi Mastin-Lundberg, Asad Qasimi, Emma Kirschner, Jessica Eldred, Dion Steigenberger, Harry Watson, Liana Connors, Abbigail Makin, Thomas Miller

Cast of 13 – The Musical watching ‘The Bloodmaster’!

L-R Madi Mastin-Lundberg, Bree Harrison, Lomaine Manu, Mimi Mohd Sazali, Hamish Nelson, Sylvester Desacada, Matthew Hanns, Asad Qasimi, Emma Kirschner, Jessica Eldred, Harry Watson, Dion Steigenberger, Abbigail Makin, Liana Connors, Thomas Miller

Year 10 student, Hamish Nelson performs ‘Evan Goldman’, a.k.a ‘The Brain’ in Great Shepparton College (int. name)’s production ‘13- The Musical’

(L-R) Madi Mastin-Lundberg, Asad Qasimi, Emma Kirschner, Jessica Eldred, Thomas Miller, Hamish Nelson, Bree Harrison, Abbigail Makin, Mimi Mohd Sazali, Liana Connors, Dion Steigenberger, Harry Watson, Lomaine Manu