Last week the Senior School performed a version of the musical "West Side Story". The show had it all with nail-biting action, betrayal and suspense, thrilling rivalry between the “Sharks” and the “Jets” and the winsome love story of Tony and Maria. The audition process started all the way back in December and we began our rehearsals after the Christmas Break. The show was a success all thanks to the tremendous work by the cast, crew and the wonderful orchestra. Joe Davies and Leonie Beswick, worked really hard to bring Tony and Maria to life and we could see it through their outstanding performances last week. Samuel Ayoma (Bernardo), Cait Knight (Anita), Harry Gordon (Riff) and all the other cast members did an amazing job. Through the last few months of working together, we became a family where we all pushed and motivated each other to give it our best. It was an absolute pleasure and an exceptional experience to be part of this beautiful journey.

Zayn as “Consuela”

So much time, effort and a lot of rehearsals went into creating the long-awaited West Side Story! It was amazing acting and dancing amongst the incredible set and singing along with the talented orchestra, recreating Sondheim’s beautiful music. Over this experience the whole cast have become one big family and we are all very eager for our next theatre project! Without the efforts of our director, the lighting team, the orchestra and everyone else involved both on stage and off, this musical would never have been possible. Incredible acting performances from Leonie and Joe’s excellent big-school-filling voice were stand out moments of West Side Story.

Tayla-Daisy as ‘Diesel’

Recently, I participate from a play called west side story and was very nice. Everyone worked really hard and did them best. With the with light and sound that Mr Campbell prepared. He made everything looks so magic. The band also was amazing. And the actors very good. Mr Newell directed with a lot of respect with everyone and worked in all the areas including helping with the construction of the stage. The main characters are not just only good actors and singer but they are also very nice and resilient. The rehearsals could be very stressful sometimes and was a lot of time consuming but in the end it was all worth it. It was a lot of effort involved on all sides but knowing it's over and we gave our best is the best feeling. I'm very happy with the end result and i wish i can do something like this again.

Maria-Clara as Terecita

I loved being a part of ‘West side story’ and the close community it brought along. It was an amazing experience and our school is so lucky to have such amazing actors to play our principal roles, especially with such an extraordinary singing talent. I thought our leads had lots of experience because they were that amazing, but it turns out that the actors who played Tony and Riff (Joe and Harry) had never done a show before. The actress playing Maria was absolutely amazing, she could do everything, singing, dancing and acting and made the show so much better with her involvement. One of the best parts of this production is that everyone was so supportive and lovely to each other and we were able to make friends, no matter what age we were. It truly showed the real meaning of the school experience, which is what is so amazing about doing productions in school. Furthermore, we had the most amazing lighting, sound and set design, which Mr Newell and Mr Campbell did, which was extremely hard work, with Mr Newell making the acting outstanding and actually making the show happen. Also, Miss Silverton and Miss Mullin made the show so much better with their musical talent. I know for sure that I would not have been able to sing my part properly without their help. Finally, Mrs Dixon spiced everything up with the choreography, which I had so much fun doing.

Leona as Rosalia

It goes without saying that to be a part of this production was a great honor, and a pleasure to be working again with the performers from last year's production - Leonie(Maria), Lennon(Shrank), Charlie(Krupke) and James(Glad Hands), to name a few - as well numerous newcomers, such as Joe (Tony), Cait(Anita), Sam(Bernardo) and Harry(Riff). Performers captured the essence of their characters near perfectly.

To me, Drama is like therapy, where you get to be someone you aren't, and with your own control on how to be that someone. Imagine my surprise at the enormous cast we ended up having, almost four times as much as last year's, and from every senior group to boot. That was unexpected.

My character Doc is one of the few 'good' adults who serves as the conscience for the Jets and maybe the Sharks, though not successfully(and not without trying). I had a few angles on how I could portray him: harsh, caring, overbearing, etc. I settled for tough love, though I threw in a bit of the stereotypical 'Asian parent' just for a bit of representation.

My experience was overall exciting. Harry(Action), Sophie(Baby Joan), Ronnie(A-Rab), Tayla-Daisy(Diesel) and Nancy(Anybodys) in particular I would like to give praise, they're the Jet principals who ultimately shaped up who the Jets were as a unit: misguided, loyal, but overall likeable and that at the end of the day, they were just kids.

Overall, as cliché as it sounds, it was a marvel to have been a part of West Side Story. Special credit goes to Mr. Newell could not have done a better job than what was shown and I look forward to the next production. Hope to see you on the stage or in the audience if watching!

Austin as Doc