Secondary Drama Students deliver classic ‘My Fair Lady’ I
n January of this year BHS presented the musical My Fair Lady, the classic story of Henry Higgins, who takes a bet that he can transform the unrefined Cockney Eliza Doolittle into a lady.
For Jane (Hammond) Thorpe '87, the show’s Director and Secondary Drama Teacher, it was the 13th show she has directed for the school since the 2000 production of “Annie”. My Fair Lady, like all
productions, came with its own particular challenges and she says the students, once again, rose to the challenge. “I had a great cast again with two leading ladies who took on huge roles with an immense amount of lines and songs. They worked extremely hard to make a success of their characters and the show,” she says. “One of the main challenges was to have our actors speak Cockney and formal British English in a believable and understandable way. “Added is the difficulty of singing quite complex songs in a dialect which is not native to our actors.”
Those two leading ladies were IB2 student Katie Ewles, playing Eliza Doolittle in her last year at BHS before heading off to study Music Composition at University, and IB1 student Catriona Tait, starring as Henry Higgins. Year 10 student Caroline Skinner played Colonel Pickering. “Auditions were held in late September with rehearsals beginning in October,” explains Mrs Thorpe. “We rehearsed for approximately three months with the principals rehearsing most lunch times, three times-a-week after school and two and a half hours on Wednesday evenings. “Supporting cast members attended the Wednesday rehearsal plus two to three other rehearsals during the week. The commitment the students make is huge, they give up much of their free time.”
And, of course, it takes more than just the actors to present
10 Torchbearer Spring 2013
“The
commitment the students make is huge, they give up much of their free time.”
the play. Students independently managed all lighting, sound and set changes and all staging was created at BHS by dedicated parent and student volunteers. In addition, there was a live orchestra made up of volunteers from the local musical community. “The production was a whole school activity,” says Mrs Thorpe. “The set was principally built by four mothers (Stephanie Procter, Mary Ellen Ewles, Jennie Lee O’Donnell and Lynne Sussman) with assistance from a few students, friends, sons and a father. “Frances Cook stepped up to help with the costumes along with other members of staff who helped in a variety of areas of the production.
“The lights, sound, stage
Katie Ewles ‘13
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