Hillcrest School has found a unique way to have its annual Hurricane performance this spring.
The annual musical was supposed to happen at the end of May, but had to be cancelled after classes were suspended in March. A short time later, the company that created the show they were working on, Sally Sells Sea Shells, sent an email to Sarah Posehn, who was directing the Hurricane production.
“They were working frantically on creating this show that could be performed and rehearsed and created entirely online, specifically because of all of the musicals that had been cancelled due to the coronavirus and everything shutting down,” Posehn told the Mercury.
The new production is fittingly named The Show Must go Online, with a different set of characters than Sally Sells Sea Shells. It’s the story of kids trying to perform a show named Brushes with Greatness through the Internet.
Posehn promptly messaged principal Kristy Johnson and community education liaison Sara Pippus, and they voiced their support. Then she messaged the 12 kids who were in the original musical to get this new production going. Many of the students have more than one role.
“It’s broken up that each character gets about a minute-long monologue, or a monologue mixed with a song, and they’re supposed to record themselves at home, so it’s using things they would have.”
One character has to make a toothbrush with googly eyes, and then make the toothbrush perform, and others have siblings who are supposed to participate by yelling and banging on doors in the background.
“The kids record themselves doing their part, and then they send it to me, and what I’m going to do is link all of the videos in order, and then polish it up a little bit to help create the musical.”
When you play all of the individual pieces in a row, it creates the production.
It was a bit of a slow start, but now they’re moving forward.
“It’s been a challenge to get them to have the confidence to say that ‘Yes, they are going to be willing to record themselves, and they are going to sing all by themselves and record it.”
Cast members have been meeting two or three times a week on Microsoft Teams to plan and talk about their parts.
“I uploaded the vocal accompaniment tracks and the background music for them, and the script and everything, so I also had their scripts delivered thorugh our courier service with the school division,” said Posehn.
Now they’re ready to start practising with her so she can give them feedback online, and then they’ll be asked to submit the first draft of the performance at the end of May.
“It’s supposed to look a little bit thrown together and a little bit rough.”
But they’re also learning about proper lighting and camera position.
Posehn hopes it can be finished by the end of the school year in June, but the most important element is to see the students connected and being creative in these tough times.
“We just wanted them to still sing and dance and have a project, and something that will connect them to their peers, because we were just getting to the fun part of the musical in school.”
