Porridge
At the beginning of April, 82 children from our 5th and 6th classes put on a show-stopping performance of ‘Porridge- the Musical' in the CWMS hall. Performing 3 matinee and 3 night shows in total, directors Ms. Egan, Mr. O' Neill and Ms. Daly began the process by holding auditions for interested children in November. The staff and students worked very enthusiastically and committedly during lunchtimes and on Thursdays and Fridays after school every week since the return in January, and also rehearsing on 3 Saturdays too. Once the difficult job of casting had been completed among an extremely talented group of children, there was an initial focus on learning the dances and songs; such as ‘Once Upon a Crime' and ‘Boys in Blue.’ The children later learned about stage presence, articulation and dialogue delivery, singing in round/harmony and dancing a variety of routines. Perhaps the greatest achievement of all however, was the confidence and friendships gained from the experience.
It was a delight to see proud family members and the wider community come together in crowds to support our talented students, enjoying the witty script and overall professionalism of the show. This comes with large thanks to Conor Wilkins for the professional sound, Aidan Cooney from Apollo Lighting for the spectacular lighting and of course Abe Scheele who transformed the hall into a real theatre with black out drapes. Enormous credit also goes to the talented staff of our school overseeing stage management, costume creation, set design, props etc. which really brought the show to life. We also had a keen group of artists from 6th class who designed the fantastic flats for our stage and added more than a pop of colour! Many thanks to the sponsors from around the town also for your generous support.
‘Porridge’ is a memory which will be held in high regard by all of the students, staff and spectators for many years to come. Congratulations to all involved on a very successful show which displayed talent, commitment and hard work in abundance!
