By Mikayla van Loon
Billanook College’s primary school was proud to present its production of Shrek over two nights last week.
The students in Years 1 to 6 took to the stage in the much loved children’s story after months of rehearsals and preparations on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 September.
Performing arts teacher Jacinta Shannon said after a year of planning, a term of auditions and then rehearsals, as well as everything in between, it was great to see the children getting to perform something they were so passionate about.
“We are very proud of our students, staff and parents in our three performances last week,” she said.
“We have an incredible Performing Arts Department at Billanook College, led by an amazing team with a long history of providing great theatre experiences for our students and families.”
With senior school students helping behind the scenes in the lighting and staging of the show, it really was a whole school effort, something the students really valued.
“We don’t count the extra hours; we count the benefits for our kids and our community. Community is the key – I would say that’s what the kids enjoy the most,” Ms Shannon said.
After the show, Ms Shannon compiled feedback from students, many who said it was a push outside their comfort zone but allowed them to believe in themselves and their capabilities.
Other students also said it allowed them to discover new skills and talents they didn’t know they had.
The words most commonly used to describe the students’ experience with the performance included resilience, strength, independence, opportunity, connection, growth and joy.
Shrek was the school’s fourth stage show for the year, just three weeks after completing the senior school production of Xanadu.
