By Mikayla van Loon
For the first time in three years, students at Mooroolbark East Primary School took to the stage to put on their production of What’s the Crime Mr Wolf?
Presented across two nights on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 August, principal Deborah Keating said it was a marvellous display of community spirit.
“It was just a great celebration of the arts and for me, and the teachers, it was wonderful to see the community come together again after so long,” she said.
Grandparents, past students, staff, family and friends filled out the George Wood Performing Arts Centre in Ringwood to watch all 620 students, from Prep to Grade 6 appear on the stage.
Performing a twist of the traditional fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, Mrs Keating said the show followed the capture of Mr Wolf, his court case for crimes against the citizens of the forest and a few musical numbers in between from Daisy the Cow.
Directed by performing arts teacher Michael Jones, Mrs Keating said he did an incredible job in helping students learn lines and pulling it all together.
With not one student left out of the production, Mrs Keating said it gave every student the opportunity to discover the arts and decide whether it was something they enjoyed.
“One of the great things is it gives children such an opportunity to focus on the arts and to shine in the arts,” she said.
“We often celebrate the academic or the sporting talents but this gives us an opportunity to really source out those children who have talents in the arts and to give them that opportunity.
“We have quite a number of students with disability and the aid staff were fantastic in making sure we could make it an inclusive play so all children could, even with disability, be on stage and be part of it.”
Mrs Keating said for some students who have never had the ability to pursue acting, dancing or singing, primary school productions can ignite a desire to explore that more in high school or as a career.
“[Some] found a love for acting or performing and may want to do that further on into secondary school or as a career.
“It’s a great opportunity for children to experience that and see that as an alternative pathway in learning and career but also discover their talents because not all children have that opportunity to discover those talents outside of school.”
Seeing students develop and come out of their shell over the last 10 to 12 weeks was something Mrs Keating felt privileged to witness.
