Diesel

Aladdin and Ensemble

1. Why did you want to be involved in this production?

I have been interested in drama ever since the first time I entered the drama room in grade seven! When I saw the ‘Wizard of Oz’ production in 2019, I knew I really wanted to be a part of a large-scale production with Prospect High School.

2. Who is your favourite character and why?

Other than Aladdin ?! my favourite characters are the Genie and my ‘thick as thieves’ pals Babkak, Omar, & Kassim. The Genie is a really fun, bubbly character and they know they are powerful. My pals are also fun characters because through smart witty comments, they help Aladdin set wrong to right.

3. What is your role in this production and what are you enjoying about it?

In this production I am playing ‘Aladdin.’ This role is incredibly fun to play, having many conflicts, touching scenes with his love interest Jasmine, many great songs, and so much more. Aladdin is close to his ma, even though she is in heaven, he still tries to please her at every chance he gets.

4. What has been the biggest challenge for you so far?

Production rehearsals have been relatively cruisy, however with double casting it can get confusing who is on stage and who isn’t. If we fall behind schedule it also becomes hard, not that this is a bad thing, but it slows down the pace of production. Other than this, production is pretty relaxed (for now!).

5. What are you most excited for?

I am exhilarated to see the pieces of our production come together. This will be brilliant as our cast is doing such an excellent job getting there!

6. What has been the most enjoyable thing about production?

THE CAST!! The production cast has been an absolute dream to work with. Regardless of the role size, everyone performs their roles so well! I have loved every moment working with this cast.

7. What would you say to people who want to be involved in production in future years?

Go for it!! Production is so much fun! Grasp all opportunities it faces you with and do them with pride. If you do not feel confident enough to act on stage, a production needs so much more than just that. It needs people to make props, be stagehands, a stage manager, costume makers, a band, and more. So many great opportunities!

In addition to Millie and Jamisen who we celebrated last issue for their amazing performances in The Lion King Jr, produced by Stage Right Youth Theatre Ensemble, we would like to take this opportunity to celebrate other Prospect High Students who have taken to the stage in the past two weeks.

On Friday 19th August, the 9/10 Production, Dance and 8 Drama classes travelled to Newstead College to view the stage adaptation of Freaky Friday. The show was a lot of fun featuring song, movement, comedy and drama, all supported by effective technical elements. It was wonderful to see past students Tiana and Charles on stage, both in significant roles, and to know that another past student, Seth, was working on the technical elements. A big well done to all three!

On the weekend following, our current Grade 10 student Charlotte, was also taking to the stage. She performed as part of the Launceston Youth Theatre Ensemble in a parody of Shakespeare's Macbeth: Scotch on the Rocks, which was a comedic and high energy take on the original. Fantastic work Charlotte!

Finally, well done to Grade 9 student Taylah who has been involved in many theatrical pursuits this year, including the Launceston Competitions, Miss B's Showing Off, and most recently, the Saint Cecilia Performance Challenge. Well done Taylah!

Participation in events such as these requires a great deal of commitment and time. Students must be creative, motivated, and resilient. They must be able to manage their time well, work collaboratively and seek and take on feedback - all learning dispositions which we value here at Prospect High School.

There are many more events coming up involving PHS students including the Rock Challenge and Schools Spectacular. If you are involved in an event outside of school, we would love to hear about it and to help to celebrate your success!

In Week 9 (Tuesday 20^th September), Prospect High School will be hosting our major whole school arts celebration event… The Prospect High School Arts Bazaar! In this evening event, we will celebrate the work of students in the creative arts across grades 7-12 in Visual Art, Dance, Drama and our Tier 2 creative classes.

Visitors will enter via The Eagles Nest Café and the evening will begin with a visual arts gallery and live musical performances. As visitors make their way towards the Drama/Dance Studio, they will then enter a ‘Bazaar’ market style event, where students who have engaged in Tier 2 classes will have the opportunity to display and sell their ‘wares’ and to hold stalls and activities (we will advertise these closer to the event!). For a bit of fun, this year’s Arts Evening will be themed around ‘Aladdin and Arabian Nights’ – so bring the family and bring your ‘gold’! (Cash only sales.)

For the first time, this event will include the drawing of our BIG Arts Raffle, with a Prize Pool of just under $500 donated by local businesses! The prizes include: Two VIP tickets to Encore Theatre Company’s Jersey Boys in October at the Princess Theatre, a voucher to Paint the Town Red, a ukulele, kindly donated by Barrett’s Music, an art pack featuring over $130 worth of art products from Pearts Variety Store, artwork by a local artist inspired by Aladdin, and a Hamper of Middle-Eastern themed goodies put together by the Catering and Hands-On Hospitality Classes. A BIG thank you to the businesses who have supported us.

Raffle tickets are now on sale. These will be available from the school office to purchase separately, or you can elect to take home a book of 10 to sell. We will be inviting all families of students involved in the Production and Arts Evening to take home a book of 10 raffle tickets to sell ($2 each, or 3 for $5), with a reminder that those purchasing tickets should be 18 years or older. Books will need to be returned to the office by Monday 19^th September. There will also be sales at the Arts Evening before the draw at 5:50pm. If you do not wish to sell tickets, please return the book to the school office. Funds will be going towards the costs of mounting the production including costumes, venue, equipment and personnel hire and licencing fees. As this is a school show, ticket prices to see the actual production have been kept low and the production is a non-profit event.

The Arts Bazaar will culminate in formal performances of Dance, Drama and Musical Items in the Drama/Dance Studio from approximately 6pm-7:30pm. These performances will include items for the Launceston Competitions, Rock Challenge, in-class projects and out of school endeavours. Most excitingly, it will also include some sneak-previews of Aladdin characters and a dance item from our show in November! Due to safety precautions, seating will be limited for the formal performances in the studio. All performers in the studio will be given 2 tickets for their families. If you require more, please contact the office when the tickets are released (we will give good notice before we release them). The tickets will be free to this event, as their only purpose is to enable us to adhere to COVID-19 safety guidelines. The room will have cooling and be well-ventilated.

So… get on your flying carpet and join us at the Prospect High School Arts Bazaar! We look forward to seeing many of our families there to celebrate the students in this informal event!

Production Tickets NOW ON SALE!

The Performing Arts Team are excited to announce that tickets to the Prospect High School Production are available to purchase! We have three evening shows Tuesday 22^nd, Wednesday 23^rd and Thursday 24^th November at 7pm and limited Matinee tickets for Wednesday and Thursday commencing at 11am. We warmly invite the Prospect High School Community to attend. It is going to be an amazing show featuring some fantastic Prospect talent (PLUS some of our favourite Disney songs).

As we have double cast the lead roles, be sure to select the night where your child/friend is starring (see lists below). When these students are not in the lead roles, they will still be performing as part of the ensemble – so come any night (or all of them) for an amazing evening of song, dance and comedy and discover ‘A whole new world’!

Students: $4, Adults $12 and Families of 4: $28. Tickets from the PHS Main Office.

‘Red Team’:

• Tuesday (opening night) and Wednesday (night)
• Thursday (Matinee)

Aladdin: Diesel

Jasmine: Summer

Genie: Mackenzie

Jafar: Imogen

Iago: Ella

 ‘Blue Team’:

• Thursday (closing night)
• Wednesday and Friday (Matinee)

Aladdin: Newen

Jasmine: Jamisen

Genie: Taylah

Jafar: Charlotte

Iago: Millie