Providing suitable pathways for students to pursue their interest in the arts has always been a challenge for schools in rural and regional areas. On the back of their recent success at the Dubbo Eisteddfod, St Mary’s Primary School, Warren, are putting on a musical, The Lion King Junior, complete with choreography, costumes, and professional sound and lighting.   

The students announced their upcoming show via a flash mob performance at the local IGA Supermarket, delighting the members of the public browsing the fruit and vegetable aisle, unaware that they were about to be entertained by the enthusiastic group of youngsters. Leading proceedings was the school’s music teacher, Frances Evans. 

Producing a full-scale school musical is not for the faint hearted, particularly when both the school and the town are on the small side, however Frances, who is also MD of the Warren Chamber Musical Festival, is confident that the effort involved will be worth it. 

“A whole school musical involves every family in the school,” said Frances. “Each child gets to experience creativity and use their imagination, and to learn how to dance, act and sing.”   

Frances says that there is something incredibly powerful about shared experience, especially in the performing arts. 

“Our production draws on student's innate desire to move and play. Parents get to have fun making costumes with their children and helping them to learn spoken lines and songs. The beauty of a whole school production is that everyone then gets to experience the huge reward of performance, and so does the wider community!” 

It has been a long-held dream of hers to direct a school production of the Lion King.  

“The Lion King lends itself perfectly to be set as a musical because of the incredible song writing and storytelling,” she said. “Disney's The Lion King Junior, released by Hal Leonard, doesn't just send you the script and CD. The package includes curriculum materials, instruments, set and costume design suggestions, as well as multiple other resources for students and teachers.” 

The first step towards putting on the musical is of course the audition process, a new experience that was nerve wracking for the youngsters. 

“All students were given the opportunity to audition for the lead roles and although the process was scary for most, it allowed the students to shine and strive for something special.” Auditions ran over two days and included workshops on singing, acting, expression and movement.    

PHOTO: Flash mob promotion amongst the fruit and veg 

The students are taking on the challenge of singing live, utilising the experience they have gained in the recently established school choir. 

In addition to solo performances from the lead characters, each class has its own special item or song to perform.  

Hakuna Matata is being performed by Year 1 and Kindergarten and the Stampede of Wildebeest is being performed by Years 4 and 5, who have made their own large wildebeest masks in class. “Every single student gets to perform in an animal costume of their choice in the opening song ‘The Circle of Life’ as well as in the final two songs.” 

All the sets, props and costumes are being brought to life by an enormous team of parents, along with the dedicated school staff. A local builder, who is also a school dad, has constructed Pride Rock and local families have been busy gathering real bones from their paddocks to supply the Elephant Graveyard, as well as making the dash to Spotlight to prepare dazzling home-made costumes. 

Frances is keen for the public in not only Warren, but also the surrounding towns, to come along and see the show. 

“I believe that the audience will be inspired and amazed by what young people can achieve with the right support, encouragement and skills,” she said. “The Lion King Junior is truly a story of resilience, love, faithfulness, friendship, and hope. There are powerful messages for all of us in the show. I expect the audience to be completely uplifted!” 

She also says that she has found the experience of producing the musical to be inspiring.  “I’ve loved seeing how unified our staff have been as we move towards presenting the musical in August. There's an excited vibe in the school community; everyone is helping each other and working way beyond normal expectations, going above and beyond to put together an amazing show!” 

The St Mary’s P&F obtained an Australian Grain Technologies grant to help cover the cost of the professional sound and lighting engineer and equipment, as well as the services of a professional choreographer. “Our visionary school Principal Taz Stephens also applied for a Targeted Early Intervention grant through NSW Community and Family Services, via Warren Shire Council, so that we could make our musical the most amazing production for the public to enjoy! 

 “Hopefully our efforts inspire more schools across rural and regional NSW to take on the challenge of producing a musical with their students,” she finished. 

 There will be a free matinee performance on Thursday 24 August.   

 The main performance will take place at Warren Sporting and Cultural Centre at 6pm on Friday 25 August. Tickets have sold out with no further performances planned at this stage.