Brentwoodian 2019

28 the Woods Into the Woods was Brentwood’s 2018 Winter Musical, with our young but outstanding actors, incomparable musicians and our expert technical team making the immensely difficult show one to be remembered. With the students such as Chani Merrell as Baker’s Wife, Max Golledge as Baker, Hannah Walker as Cinderella, Catrina Kadirkamanathan as the Witch, Matz Kiernan and Benjamin O’Riordan as Jack and Rosie Parrish and Bessie Taggert as Little Red Riding Hood putting in long and difficult hours, the show was widely regarded as an outstanding performance. "...all coming together to nail every single intricate challenge and problem that came up." Into the Woods follows the story of four very well-known fairy tales mashed into one, and tells the tale of how they all intertwine and get involved in each other’s stories, before coming together in the end and saving the day against the typical fairy tale foes of the Witch and a Giant. It was a fantastic show that displayed all kinds of vocal performances and some beautiful dance displays. The theatrical took place in the first week of December but began rehearsals in early September, giving the cast roughly 82 days to pull together a two-hour long show with a constant flow of songs and dances throughout. 2018’s Winter Musical also hosted one of the largest casts the School has ever seen, with all year groups given the opportunity to partake in what was a phenomenal show. It was a challenging performance in every single way, with musicians, actors, technical and backstage teams all coming together to nail every single intricate challenge and problem that came up. The musical score of Into The Woods is almost unimaginably hard, but with our fantastically enthusiastic and skilled Musical Director, Mr Cooper, leading the way, the orchestra was at a professional level by the time the opening night rolled around. In addition to this, the tech team excelled when dealing with the intricacies and technicalities of miking, illuminating and adding the sound for the entire six productions faultlessly, which is an extremely large accomplishment for our entirely student-based team, with the exception of the fantastic Mr Pavelka. For the cast, Into the Woods taught us all the importance of working as a team; it highlighted the need for understanding each other’s roles within specific songs and within the entire musical. The Brentwood Performing Arts Faculty constantly uses the word ‘family’ when describing our department and this show did not lack that feeling. New friends were created across the year groups and allowed us all to find unity when working together. At the Head of the Performing Arts department, the incomparable Mr Bulmer sacrificed countless hours to ensure that we could not only put on a legendary show, but also have the most exciting, terrifying and, most of all, fun term leading up to the show of our lives. An unforgettable performance and an incomparable experience. By Rosie Parrish & Matz Kiernan