Students find beauty in beast

Bunbury Catholic College students left audiences spellbound with four showings of their production Beauty and the Beast at the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre at the weekend.

Drama teacher Gerard Robertson said the students received invaluable experience by putting on a professional show in a proper theatre.

“Everything about it is run as a professional show – from the stage managing, to the costuming, to light and sound – it is exactly the same as the professionals do,” he said.“We wanted to create a whole theatre experience for the kids which is what this was all about.

“It’s amazing how much BREC adds to it, if we didn’t do it there, it would be nothing like what the audience would have seen at the weekend.”

Students had worked alongside BREC’s back stage professionals as part of a technical course throughout the year, learning the ropes in lighting and sound.

The ambitious project also saw lead actor Tim Robinson, who played The Beast, suspended metres above the stage in the climax of the story, with help from some rigging – despite his fear of heights.

Mr Robertson said the production was a “big team effort”, with school seamstress Karen Walker designing and creating the costumes, students volunteering their time as stage hands and a blend of student musicians and music teachers making up the orchestra which performed the score live.

He said participating in the arts taught students valuable skills which could be transferred to the real world and a range of careers.