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We Will Rock You Musical 2023

Overview

The biennial Musical is a highlight for many students who attend the College. There is a place for all students who wish to be involved including lead performance roles, the choreography team, the band, the ensemble, the backstage crew, stage management, technical theatre, front of house support and many design roles including set design, costume design, hair and makeup design. Students from Years 3 to Year 12 are invited to participate, culminating in a public performance at the Woodville Town Hall.

We Will Rock You

In May of 2023 students performed the Queen jukebox Musical We Will Rock You, which is about freedom of expression, celebrating uniqueness, and standing up for your rights and beliefs. It encourages a healthy questioning of technology and the role it plays in our lives. It also expresses the important role live music and the performing arts has in bringing community together. The Musical includes Queen songs such as Under Pressure, Radio GAGA, We Are the Champions and of course Bohemian Rhapsody.

We Will Rock You takes place in a dystopian future where live music and individual creativity was a “threat to the marketing machine”. Writer, Ben Elton, was prophetic in his predictions of the influence technology would have on our lives. He wrote this show before iPhones, Spotify or YouTube and yet his work is a cutting critique on the way in which we are so easily influenced and completely absorbed by online media via our personal devices. Despite what might be considered a bleak dystopian vision, Elton’s work is uplifting and fun as he, like Freddie Mercury before him, imbues his work with playfulness and joy.

Student Commitment

In preparation for the performance, students attend rehearsals during lunch times and one afternoon per week, afterschool. They work both creatively and collaboratively in developing scenes and characters, rehearsing choreography and learning singing parts. Alongside rehearsals, the backstage crew spends time designing, creating, painting set pieces and props for the show. Our band is made up of both students performers and staff who also spend time rehearsing together.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr2FxI8PmGu/?hl=en

Thank You!

When students begin their Musical journey, the young people who join often don’t know one another, yet by the end they have become a supportive Musical family. Friendships are built and strengthened, and students feel connected to students from a range of year levels. Students enter the project at different experience and ability levels and are mentored in a range of skills and techniques to become cohesive, confident performers and creative collaborators.

Students and staff involved in the 2023 College Musical would like to thank members of the St Michael’s College Community for their support. While staff and students involved were hit with a bad case of ‘post-show blues’ in the days following the production, at the same time we are all still buzzing from the thrill of performing the show and the many happy memories and new friendships formed during the project.

“Musical’s wouldn’t happen without the support and countless hours behind the scenes of the staff in the Musical Team who collaborate to create the world of the play through music, set, costume and theatre tech. Thank you to these staff, and to the many other people in the college community who support the Musical in any way that they can. We are incredibly proud of each and every student who chooses to be part of the Musical, for the energy they bring, the commitment they show and for their choice to take a risk and be part of something truly incredible, a St Michael’s College Musical.” – Emily Burns, Musical Director & Drama Cocurricular & Events Coordinator.

View the official We Will Rock You Program here