All the students, at St Edmund Arrowsmith, work relentlessly each year to perform a masterpiece of a show to the parents, carers and staff. They are so good and have created such a legacy that past pupils and members of the community come together to support their work.
This year’s musical was ‘Mary Poppins’! The cast lived up to their reputation and went beyond, leaving the audience astonished by the talent they had seen.
Keen to learn how such a production is able to come together, I spoke to the Assistant Director/Choreographer/Technician about the play to gather her thoughts and opinions. I was dying to find out all about it!
What were the challenges they faced?
They said, “One of the biggest problems they faced was creating magic, one of the most prevalent parts of Disney’s Mary Poppins. We wanted to make sure that the audience could believe in ‘stage trickery’ as best as possible.”
The production team did this by strategically placing props in the right places, cleverly using fishing wire and placing the lights in the best positions to direct the audience’s attention.
The Assistant Director also commented on another challenge they had to face, which was creating the magic to happen for Mary Poppins to fly.
“We were initially going to have Mary Poppins in a harness and a rope but unfortunately this did not pan out as hoped. Luckily, we found a solution and decided to build a seesaw, paint it black and have two hands working it backstage. This would be disguised by yet again strategic lighting and a smoke machine to create the effect that she was flying in and flying out. However, it was quite difficult to find the balance of being able to hold Mary Poppins up and be small enough to hide in the wings, as she had multiple entrances.”
What was your vision?
When I asked the Assistant Director what her vision was, she said, “We wanted to create something that was bright, colourful and joyful - something that stood out in front of a dark background.”
Mary Poppins is set in Edwardian London, which is always depicted as quite a dull, dreary and grey time. They said the main sources of colour only came from the costume that the children and Mary Poppins wear.
Another element they wanted to make sure they displayed was the colour, joy and fun story line, which they did through clever set designs. They painted pieces of old set to give them a fresher outlook. Every time the characters were performing in big numbers, they wanted to make sure there was colour and happiness, which they did by using blue lighting.
What we must remember is that, this is a school play which unites three different years together to produce a spectacular performance! this helps people to create friends and most of all amazing memories.
Finally, as being a member of St Edmund Arrowsmith’s school musical production this year, it gives me great pride for me to say, that I have taken part in such a wonderful show!
