‘Kisses – the musical’ – Where are we at?

This year has been rough for us trying to stage our college musical. With multiple lockdowns, missed rehearsals and restrictions on audience numbers and wearing masks in the performance – it has been rougher than 2020 was when we needed to cancel ‘Wizard of Oz’ outright.

We want to start by acknowledging how wonderful all of the cast are to work with and to celebrate their efforts, talent and commitment throughout the rehearsal season for our production.

As you know with the extended lockdown and the uncertainty of when we will be returning to onsite learning (and rehearsing), and what restrictions will be in place when we do return in Term 4 – we have decided to again reconsider how we move forward. In doing so we have refunded all the tickets purchased for our show. This included a sell-out show for the Saturday night performance.

We are hesitant to try to do it in December as we don’t know what will change and when…will an audience be permitted? Will the orchestra be allowed onsite? Will the techies?

We think it is incredibly important that the standard of the performance is high. We don’t want to rush to put the show on unless it is of high quality. So we have decided that we will not be doing a performance this year. So put down your scripts and pack them away until next year. Focus now on your classes, exams, your wellbeing and self-care.

We don’t want to waste the hours and hours of rehearsals, of line learning, of choreography, costume design, set building and musical rehearsals. We don’t want to deny you all the opportunity to perform on stage in front of your parents, families and friends.

SO – with the support of our College leaders, next year we are doing TWO shows! 

In March (at the end of Term 1), we will stage the 2021 production of ‘Kisses – the musical’, and later in the year (September), we will perform our 2022 College production (the show yet to be decided). 

This is not a decision that we have made lightly or without consideration of all that it means. In fact, the production team has agonised over this decision. Tears have been shed and grey hairs have emerged.

So what does this mean? It means that next year will be HUGE for anyone wanting to be involved in 2 shows.

Most schools in Melbourne have simply cancelled their productions for 2021. We didn’t want to forget about all of your hard work, time, effort and sacrifices.

So to support you we will be doing our 2021 production of ‘Kisses – the musical’ in March. 

We will pick up where we left off this year – as soon as we return to school in 2022. We will be recapping, polishing and tightening our show ready to hit the stage. After all – we have already blocked every scene and learnt every dance.

We have contacted all members of the cast and their families to discuss their interest in moving forward and we have been overwhelmed by the number of students who would like to be a part of the CAST for this production. We will however need to find some new students and staff who would be interested in joining the cast as a dancer, ensemble member or minor character. So if you thought about joining but thought it was too late – then get on board.

So for now – on the surface we are hitting a firm pause on rehearsals, publicity and performances for our show Kisses. BUT behind the scenes the production team of Kat Mizzi, Susan Bergman and myself will continue to prepare for a ripper show for our students, families and members of our college community.

We thank you all for your ongoing support for our production and look forward to picking it all up again in January 2022.

Linda McGloin
Arts & Technology Learning Specialist / College Production