“Practically perfect in every way?” We’d like to think so! Our Elementary school’s production of Mary Poppins featured four, packed, graceful, chimney-sweep-style shows that will go down as a highlight for the arts programs at LCS this year.
An Open Door for Every Kid
This show started with a promise: every single one of the 60 students who auditioned would get a part to sing, dance, and fly (well, almost) across our stage. And the magic didn’t stop there. Our Grade 4 and 5 classes jumped in with singing and dancing. By the time the curtain fell on the final show, we had over 1,240 people in attendance across all performances. The actors’ and actresses’ parents beamed with pride, with special guests from Avalon Gardens, and a crowd of Grade 6 students who showed up just to cheer their classmates on.
The Long Road from January to Opening Night
Every great show has stories of perseverance behind-the-scenes, and this one was no exception. Since January, our cast showed up, week after week for 75-minute after-school rehearsals, and then kept showing up as we traded recesses for run-throughs to ensure the choreography and harmonies were just right. That’s the kind of dedication we could not script.
It Takes a Village (With Some Seriously Talented Grandparents)
A production this size takes a whole team of amazing school staff who poured time and energy into this from day one, but the real secret ingredient was our community: parents and grandparents who showed up to build props, design decor, apply makeup, and stitch together costumes like it was their full-time job.
A special thanks to Mr. Smit who teamed up with three of our Grade 6 students to run tech for the show, lights, sound, cues, and the works. That’s the kind of mentorship that turns a school musical into a real learning experience.
The Stars of the Show
At the end of the day, this was always about the kids. Mary Poppins is not an easy show to pull off, but our students tackled it with a level of energy and joy that left the whole school in awe. They brought professionalism to every rehearsal and pure delight to every performance and somehow kept their costumes mostly intact, with only the occasional rogue sock disappearing into the void backstage.
A Spoonful of Thanks
To every volunteer, every parent, every staff member, and every audience member who showed up and cheered loud, thank you. You helped make this an unforgettable, wonderfully chaotic, completely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious experience for everyone involved.
