On March 8, 54 students full of talent from W.L. McLeod hit the stage and did four public shows.
Two weeks later, on March 20, they got together again and did three more shows, performing for schools from Fort St. James, Fort Fraser, Fraser Lake and Vanderhoof.
Michelle Roberge, a highly involved parent and PAC president, had this to say, “This was my first year involved, as my daughter Kate was in the play. I think the shows went very well and everyone worked together. I work as a graphic designer, so I was the one who took all the pictures, made the posters, the tickets, and the program.”
Judith Derksen, the props coordinator for the last four “Proud to be McLeod” Productions, said, “Being props coordinator means I have to get a group of people together to organize sets and props for the play. Our creative ideas come from us, the group of people brainstorming and going to rehearsals - getting ideas of what will work”.
Director of the “Proud to be McLeod” Productions is also the principal of W.L. McLeod, Ms. Libby Hart. Ms. Hart said, “We’ve been practicing since mid-October. I chose this play because we needed a play with lots and lots of characters, but not too many male parts because at the time we didn’t know how many boys would audition. To become part of the play, the students just come and sing a song for their audition.Then there are call backs to figure out who fits each part the best.
“I do these plays because I love musical theatre. The thing I love the most is the whole process of getting to the show: seeing the students work through their nervousness, learning to cooperate with each other, and watching them grow. This year I learned how to best highlight our little kids. Dancing was hard for them, but they loved being on stage. I also learned that elementary students can do very complicated songs.
“I’d never heard of this play before, but I thought we’d try it and it turned out to be an extreme success.”