St Matthew’s Primary students go big for production

St Matthew’s School held their bi-annual production last week, with performances on Thursday and Friday afternoon before a finale on Friday night.

This year’s production was Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Junior, licensed by Music Theatre International, which tells the story of the ever-curious Alice’s journey down the rabbit hole told through songs and vibrant costumes.

All 148 St Matthew’s students from kindergarten to Year 6 were in the performance, after working on the production all year.

Director and producer Fiona Hastie said she was chuffed with how well her students did.

“It’s a big script, and there’s a lot of lines and songs to learn,” she said.

“They were just fantastic. For a little country town, what the kids from just one primary school can pull off is amazing.”

Ms Hastie said the students prepared for the production in three stages, looking at the script and auditioning in term one and then learning their lines and putting it all together in term two.

“By the time term three rolls around it’s on to the choreography, and the costumes and set design,” she said. “The kids have a hand in everything, and the school just buzzes all year in the lead up.

“After the matinee show on Friday, all the Year 5s and 6s burst into spontaneous song and were singing at the top of their lungs all the way back to school. They were just so excited.

“To me that was the highlight, just the joy you bring to the kids.”