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The Adamson Theatre Companypresents

Junior School Musical27 28 29 October 2004 at 7.30pm

Wesley College Melbourne

Thank you for attending this year’s Junior School Musical, “The Sign of the Seahorse”. Like the Reef folk in this magical underwater tale, the junior school community have been led on an incredible adventure into the dark and murky unknown, hoping to reach the sparkling, beautiful goal at the end of their journey. Tonight this journey ends. Well done guys, we finally made it!

This year’s production has involved more students than any production in recent Wesley history, with one hundred and sixty students being involved on and off stage. It has been my absolute privilege to work with this incredible group of enthusiastic students. I have no doubt that you will leave tonight’s performance impressed by their commitment and talent. It has always been my firm belief that a person’s age and height is no indication of talent and professionalism. This production reinforces this belief, and is comparable in quality and entertainment to any that the school produces. Few people can appreciate the time and effort required to stage a musical. The number of hours of dancing, acting, singing and creative energy gone into tonight’s performance at times makes my head spin! Fortunately, the many dedicated staff involved in this production have made this journey not only a whole lot of fun, but have used their creative talents to make this performance look and sound spectacular. Among others, the talented and unflappable David Mowat, the creative and professional Kellie Woodward, the dedicated and passionate Gillian Baldwin, the wonderfully enthusiastic Rachel “Bubbles” Baker, the overwhelmingly hard working Stephanie Des Barres and Jill Welch, the committed and reliable Sabino Delbalso and the wise Tony Scanlon, have all gone above and beyond expectations to make this show something really special. Thank you guys – it has been a privilege to work with you. Finally, mention must be made of the humble genius of Graeme Base. Thank you Graeme, for giving Wesley this incredible gift – I hope we can bring the magic of your score, story and book to life.

“The Sign of the Seahorse” is a show that I believe will be performed for many years to come, for many reasons. Besides the beautiful music, unique characters and wonderful story, this is a show that everyone can relate to and learn from. Like the main players in this underwater tale, we not only have to trust others to help us through hard times, we also have to look deep within ourselves to be proud of who we are, to find our inner strengths, and be prepared to share them with those around us. As this show’s finale tells us:

There’s nothing you can’t do if you believe you canThere’s nowhere you can’t go - the world is in your handYou’ve got to make a start – you’ve got to set the pace

You’ve got to trust your heart and make that leap of faith!

Enjoy the show.

Director’s Notes

Tim Burch

SynopsisWhen twelve poison barrels fall to the seabed near Reeftown, the Reef’s seahorses disappear, greatly concerning Pearl Trout. Certain that disaster is about to strike, she tries to explain her fears to her true love, Bert the Soldiercrab, who has no time for her tales. Pearl’s attempts to convince Bert are interrupted by the arrival of Pearl’s brother Finny and his cool Catfish mates. When Finny and his gang have had their fun, Bert tells of a spreading poison that has affected the coral gardens. This upsets Pearl greatly, and an angry standoff ensues.

A little later at the Seahorse Café, Gropmund G Groper pays Reeftown a threatening visit accompanied by his school of ditzy sharks. Suspecting the worst, Finny and the Catfish gang decide to pay him a visit. They sneak up on Groper’s Lair, learning of his grand scheme to create a poison scare. The Catfish gang are discovered and captured, but Finny escapes, rushing off to sound the alarm.

Meanwhile, back in Reeftown, Pearl tries to warn the Reef folk of the impending doom, but to no avail. A black tide sweeps floods into Reeftown, leaving Pearl to take charge. Torn between leaving behind Bert and Finny and helping the Reef folk, she hurriedly scrawls a seahorse sign, and leads her friends into the unknown guided by the Red Seahorse.

Continuing to leave seahorse signs, Pearl and her friends travel through a spooky deep-sea trench, encountering the Queen of the Deep and her grotesque Hatchetfish, who want her to remain with them as a slave. Pearl convinces the Queen to let her go, and is sent off with directions to the New Reef she has been dreaming of.

Far away, Bert, having headed off to find the source of the poison, has camped out with his squad on a grim Withered Plain – the source of the poison is clearly close at hand. Bert hears a cry for help, scrambles up a ridge and finds the poison barrels spread out before him – with Finny lying among them! Bert saves Finny, who tells of Groper’s treachery. The Soldiercrabs head back to Reeftown and arrest the villains. With the Reef destroyed, they follow Pearl’s seahorse signs towards the promise of a new tomorrow.

Pearl and the Reef folk continue to struggle through the unknown, and are caught up in a swirling plankton blizzard. Lost and alone, Pearl despairs, but finding new strength, leaps into the void. The New Reef appears spread out before her, filled with her friends the seahorses that had guided them all to their new home.

Musical NumbersACT ONE

Scene One................................. The Underwater Realm

Scene Two................................. The Seahorse Café

Scene Three............................... The Groper’s Lair

Scene Four................................. The Underwater Realm (Gloom and Despair)

ACT TWO

Scene One................................. The Deep

Scene Two................................. The Withered Plain

Scene Three............................... The Groper’s Lair

Scene Four................................. The Underwater Realm (Gloom and Despair)

Scene Five................................. The Blizzard

Scene Six................................... The New Reef

Scene Seven............................... The New Seahorse Café

OrchestraViolin .................................... Alice Donnan

and Amelia Fahie

Cello ............................ Marcel Delaney

Flute ..................................... Kate Foord

Oboe .................................... Josh Ch’ng

Clarinet ............... Brinley Hosking and AnnaHatsokovas

Tenor Sax .............................. Jess Turnbull

Trumpet .............. Samantha Farthing andMardie Langvogt

Trombone / Tuba .................... Will McEniry

Bass ..................................... Nick Abbey

Guitar .......................... Miles deCarteret

Keyboard ...................... Dom Langvogt

Piano ........................... Ms Gillian Baldwin

Melodic Percussion .................. Marty Clark

Percussion .................... Michael Zippel

Drum Kit ............................... James Base

CastPearl .................................................................................................... Grace Maddern

Bert ..................................................................................................... Luke Newman

Finny ................................................................................................... Matt Bagnara

Groper ................................................................................................. Chris Borzillo

Queen ................................................................................................. Darcie Foley

Narrators / PuppeteersAvnish Jain Zebedee Nicholls Bryce Sheperd

Nina Stephens Britt Stephenson Annabelle TudorEllie Watts

DancersAnnamika Aswani Carla Alderuccio Steph Angelucci

Chloe Bonwick Lucy Bulling Elizabeth GoldsmithBritt Lucas Claudia Mancuso Rebecca Sarros

Soldier CrabsDavid Browne Nick Beerens Oliver CocksNick Defteros Alex Donnan Max GettlerAlex Hendrie Sam King James KusMalcolm Lui Dom Macnamee Elliot Majid

James Saunders Jai Shakleton Gustaf SjodinetJoel Skurrie

Lead Crabs

Commander ................................................................................. Pincer James Allen

Corporal Claw ....................................................................................... Alex Bourjau

Petty Officer Hermit ............................................................................... Matt Donnan

Sergeant Scuttle .......................................................................... Darcey Holdsworth

Lead Reef Folk

Coral ................................................................................................... Ellie Coker

Shelly .................................................................................................. Demi Pradolin

Bubbles ................................................................................................ Aurora Sands

Flo ...................................................................................................... Beth Wilson

Reef FolkOlivia Abbey Kate Base Rachel FindlayKrizia Fiora Isabella Godinho Madeline HuntJo Kehoe Izzy Knight Nina Kramer

Nicole Lambropolous Nicola Lamell Gemma LuscomeSophie Maloney Emma Mason Lexie McEncroe

Lauren Myer-O’Brien Alcehemy Oliver Eleanor ParryMikaela Peel Jane Purdue Maddie Simos

Lilly Vonk

The “Hope Werrin-Tuna School for Gifted Fish”Krystine Abaya Sophie Ambrose Michael AngelucciSarah Bacon Jake Burns Kristy DiamantisKate Doery Maia Hester Claire Jardin

Melinda Keys Dylan Myer OBrien Michael KusTiffany Lands Kristy Macnamee Talia Meltzer

Sophie Moshakis Rebecca Naylor Stephanie PerrinHugo Ross Maria Sjordin-Endstrom Tijas Vanderpolen

SharksSammy Beer Sammy Bourjau Anna Dalling

Louise Donagan Isabelle Horne Karina McKenziePhoebe Neave Asha Niall Lizzy Prest

Sophia Russo Bott Amanda Yau

Lead Sharks

Flake .......................................................................................... Jessica Oberklaid

Mini ............................................................................................ Mimi Diamond-King

Hammer ............................................................................................... Max Simon

Lead CatfishSandy .................................................................................................. Adam Friedman

Rocky .................................................................................................. Felix Kramer

Barney ................................................................................................. Peter Lioufas

Weedy ................................................................................................. Rory Loader

Shrimp ................................................................................................. Julian Newman

Squirt ................................................................................................ Daniel Smorgan

Catfish GangTom Allen Andrew Beleya-T Hugh Coleman

Nick Denton Anders Floaden Emile FrankelPhil Kossman John Gilbertson Ben Sasse

Poster DesignsBryan Tan (Grade 6I) Britt Stephenson (Grade 6I)

Andrew Belyea-Tate (Grade 5A) Alec Stevenson (Grade 5A)Lauren Meyer-O’Brien (Grade 5A) Phoebe Chapman (Grade 5A)

Philip Kossmann (Grade 5A) Felix Kramer (Grade 5F)Bianca Horsley(Grade 5F) Anna Schneider (Grade 5F)Lea Kerkhof (Grade 5F) Kristy McNamee (Grade 5F)Claire Jardin (Grade 5F)

Production CreditsDirected and Produced by ....................................................................... Tim Burch

Story and Music by ................................................................................ Graeme Base

Choreography by .................................................................................. Kellie Woodward

Musical Direction and Arrangement by ...................................................... David Mowat

Original Orchestrations by ...................................................................... Graeme Brown

Set Design by ............................................................ Rachel Baker and Tony Scanlon

Technical Direction by ................................................................... Sabino Del Balso

Costume Design by ................................................... Stephanie Des Barres and Jill Welch

Vocal Direction by .................................................................................. Gillian Baldwin

Stage Manager .................................................. Charles Webster and Jacob Berah (OW)

Set Construction / Backstage Crew ........................................ Jess Basser, Matt Benjamin Sam Cook (OW), Simone Fleming, Edith Gilfedder

Benny Handelsman-Woolfe, Sam KielEmily Levinge, Jack Loder, Denise Lubenfeld Matt Oberklaid, Gillian Rogers, Gen Salmon

Emily Siddons, James SmorgonCharles Webster and Sally Williams

Technical Crew .................................................................... Hugh Day, Robyn EvelySam Futagawa-Richmond, Duncan Jaroslow

Joshua Needle, Alicia Olcorn, Adam OusalkasRoxanne Tan, Sam Whitney

Properties .................................................................. Robyn Marshall and Rachel Baker

Make-Up ................................................................. Stephanie Des Barres and Jill Welch

Rehearsal Assistants ................................................... Michelle Samuel and Jen Lynch

Box Office, Publicity & Marketing ............................................................. Brett Fairbank

Box Office Assistant ............................................................................... Lisa Osborn

Front of House ........................................................... Lynette Gerson and Brett Fairbank

Program Design .................................................................................... Brett Fairbank

Program Printing ........................................................ Marie Arsenin and Peter Norton

Business Manager ......................................................................................... Val Crees

Autographs