Creative Arts students at Matthew Flinders Anglican College have staged another successful musical production with You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown showing to full houses over three nights from 5 to 7 October, 2021.
In well staged, short sequences, the 28-student cast and crew across Years 7 to 9 in the Flinders Middle School brought the comedic piece to life.
The cast confidently inhabited the quirky characters of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang to ponder various aspects of the world around them, often in song.
The production was the first for the College’s new Experimental Theatre - an intimate space with just 90 seats arranged on three sides of the stage floor, enabling the audience to be in the thick of the action.
This year, the Flinders Creative Arts Program has also produced The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in June and Legally Blonde in February.
Director and Head of Creative Arts Mr Danny Parker said it had been wonderful to see the students grow and take on the characters with enthusiasm and great energy.
“In planning our Creative Arts Program at Flinders, we hope to give a voice to all those students interested in building their confidence and performance skills,” Danny said.
“In Charlie Brown, we adopted a multi-role approach to the performance which gave the audience a chance to enjoy each of our actors individually and to also see them come together in a range of ensemble moments.”
Mr Parker explained the rationale for the new Experimental Theatre, which complements the 600-seat Performance Centre and the 120-seat Drama Theatre.
“Our Flinders students and wider community will use the new Experimental Theatre in a great many ways in future years,” Danny said.
“It’s a room that challenges our students to find the best way to perform, to work closely with an audience, and to develop those skills that will allow us to work in much bigger venues.
“The cast and crew of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown explored this space in a variety of different configurations, and the production’s success was testament to their creativity and versatility.”
Principal Stuart Meade congratulated all involved - performers, directors and crew - for providing the audiences with an opportunity to sit back and laugh, enjoy, relate to, and applaud the characters and relationships that unfolded on stage.
“It is wonderful to see so many students come forward to be part of the growing Creative Arts at Flinders,” Mr Meade said.
“And to note, that students are working as stage managers, technicians and back stage crew with the same commitment as the actors, says a great deal about the culture and opportunities that are evolving in this area of the College.”
Thanks goes to Mr Danny Parker and Ms Caroline McHugh as the Musical Director for their work through rehearsals inspiring and challenging the young performers and crew to grow and explore their passion for theatre.
Credit also goes to the rest of the Creative Team - including Miss Sarah Sullivan, Mr Brendon West, and Ms Charlene McMenamin - for mentoring and supporting the students through all aspects of the production: lighting, technical direction, stage design and management, costumes, props, rehearsal scheduling and more.
The College community and wider community are invited to get ready for the next creative arts event at Flinders: The Addams Family - A New Musical showing from 24-26 February at Flinders.
It will keep many of our Creative Arts students and staff busy and inspired through the summer holidays!
To learn more about the Creative Arts Program at Flinders, please visit the Co-curricular Program pages of our website.
