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Asquith Girls High School

Asquith Girls High School

Excellence. Commitment. Effort. Leadership.

Telephone02 9477 6411

Emailasquithgir-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Much Ado About EVERYTHING!

After a year of preparation and rehearsals, Much Ado About Everything! took to the stage at The Concourse, Chatswood. 250 students across Asquith Girls High School and Asquith Boys High School, came together to present the first ever combined schools original musical. With only two shows for an outside audience, and a special matinee for Year 7 and 8 students, the stakes were high for all cast and crew to put their best foot forward and show off their hard work and talent.

Those of you who attended our production, would be aware of what an amazing show it was. What you may not be aware is that it was an original show that was written and directed by our extremely talented Drama teacher, Mrs Jessica Piccin. The staff and students of Asquith Girls and Asquith Boys would like to thank her for this incredible contribution to the school community.

“What was really special is that I just modernised a Shakespeare play (Much Ado About Nothing), intertwined it with references to other Shakespeare plays and adaptations (such as Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story) and then gave the students reign of the production. Each scene from a class or ensemble has been devised by the students. For Drama, it forms part of their assessment tasks...talk about authentic learning!” - Mrs Piccin

The curtain came down on what was a fantastic effort of so many individuals. We had a special matinee performance for Year 7 and 8 students to attend, the feedback we received from students was mind blowing:

“I actually want to study Shakespeare now!”

“I am going to pick a CAPA subject, I want that to be me in a few years!”

“When is the next musical? Is it too early to sign up?!”

Students frequently commented on how they have found a new appreciation and understanding of Shakespeare plays, especially when they recall Asquith Boys Year 12 student Jackson Salloch as Mr Shakespeare, who brought humour and wit to the role.

The collaborative nature of this production highlighted the inclusivity, the cross-school friendships and bonds that were created, and the creativity of our talented students and teachers, formed the foundation and ethos of our musical. It was truly an original production which all cast and crew were extremely proud of.        

“We could have just done a musical like Annie, or Beauty and The Beast...but then the cast would only have allowed for 30-40 students. This way, we are able to have close to 300 students involved.” - Mrs Piccin

The theatre critics were wild with excitement and the positive reviews came flying in:

“Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant! Such initiatives require hard work, commitment but most of all show love for what one does. The CAPA faculty and the students demonstrated this beyond expectations.” - Asquith Girls High School Principal, Elizabeth Amvrazis

“As an industry professional I know how much energy, talent and time needed to be invested, so I sincerely congratulate all staff involved on such a fantastic production.” - Parent and Theatre Professional, Inga Romantsova

“I think that all of our boys made huge personal gains but also some new and very valuable and important friendships.”  - Asquith Boys High School Deputy Principal, Catherine Holder

Special thanks to Jennifer Minogue, Head Teacher CAPA at Asquith Girls, for coordinating everything, as well as the core production team:

Jessica Piccin - Writer and Director

Carly Rosser - Choreographer extraordinaire

Alison Gowthorp - Asquith Boys High School Drama Teacher and Assistant Director

Alex Manton - Music Director, Combined Band Program Coordinator

Tracey Sekula - Costume Coordinator and Drama Teacher Asquith Girls High School

Lastly, thank you to all the students that were involved and the parents for supporting the creative and performing arts at Asquith Girls High School and Asquith Boys High School