What a privilege it was on Saturday night to see Broadway and Beyond at the Rockhampton Leagues Club. A sold-out fund raiser, showcasing the region’s current and former musical performers. As many have said in the past, our region continually nurtures fantastic talent in the arts. Broadway and Beyond was a resounding testament to this statement.
Part of this nurturing is due to the region’s schools, some of whom each year set themselves the daunting challenge of producing and performing a musical.
I say daunting, as to put together a performance is months in the making and involves numerous school (and outside) resources; plus, with possibly half the cast members continually turning over each year and the newcomers having no previous production experience, it is physically demanding for all involved. Then to commit to the cost of performing at a suitable public venue, like the Pilbeam Theatre, the annual exercise becomes more financially demanding for the schools as well.
Thankfully they continue to do the productions and commit to performing them at suitable public venues. It makes it easier for students who may never have considered joining a local theatre group to bite the bullet and have a go, perhaps revealing hidden talents that they continue to develop and utilise for the rest of their lives.
This month is the start of the school musical production run at the Pilbeam Theatre. Starting with the Emmaus College production of Wizard of Oz, then Heights College – Disney’s Little Mermaid, Rockhampton Grammar School’s – Strictly Ballroom, then their junior school production of Madagascar. (For performance dates visit seeitlive.com.au).
If you’ve never been to a school musical I certainly encourage you to go. Not just to support a local school, but to be entertained. The talent on display will surprise you, the work gone into the sets amaze you and the excitement on the students faces as they take their final bows enthral you.
Thank you to the teachers and school staff that at the end of each year’s musical production say that this is the last time, come back and do it again for nothing more than to see the personal growth in the students involved.
Could our region’s nurturing of arts talent be extended to nurturing our local youth’s entrepreneurial flair?
Last week I was fortunate to also get a last-minute invitation to attend a budding entrepreneur’s ‘put it out there’ round table. The budding entrepreneur, Kaleb, himself only 25, also invited a high school student to attend.
The high school student had attended the recent Startup Weekend and due to it is now playing an active role with Kaleb in getting a start-up with global ambitions viably operational. The experience this high school student is gaining from attending a Startup Weekend, a round table with seasoned industry professionals analysing the idea and being personally involved in developing a start-up enterprise, will be invaluable in his life no matter what he does. He is doing this through personal initiative, in his own time. Could more students benefit from this type of experience? Could this experience be made easier to access? Can schools play a role in making it more accessible, perhaps like they do with their musical productions?
In saying yes, one must recognise the further demands on school’s resources, human and financial and if they are available. Young Change Agents (YCA) is a program that schools could utilise to make entrepreneurial experience more accessible for students. Local schools are currently being approached to be involved. If you’re a business owner and approached by a school to help enable their students attend a YCA program please consider supporting the request. We need to also play a part in nurturing our youth’s entrepreneurial talents as we do their artistic abilities.