ON STAGE
What: We Will Rock You
Where: Facebook Live
When: March 3-6, 7 p.m. nightly
Tickets: $20.99 (per household) from
Teachers who run high school musical-theatre programs contend with a lot of moving parts, especially when it comes to staging large-scale annual productions.
But unpredictability amid the COVID-19 pandemic has made life even more complicated for schools this year, including Claremont Secondary, whose version of We Will Rock You, the Broadway musical based on the songs of British rock band Queen, roars to life next week.
Complicated by school schedules and social calendars, student productions are known for remaining in constant flux until opening night. That鈥檚 part of the fun, according to Colin Plant, who teaches drama and musical theatre at Claremont (and also serves as a Saanich councillor). When the house curtains open and the stage lights come up, several months of in-school and extra-curricular work by students and staff feels like a worthwhile investment.
This year, however, it鈥檚 been even harder, because the pandemic has meant ever-changing expectations about whether there would or wouldn鈥檛 be an audience. 鈥淭he kids, they鈥檙e resilient,鈥� said Plant, who is directing We Will Rock You, which will be performed nightly from March 3-6, through Facebook Live. 鈥淪chools around the region, they鈥檙e finding a way to work with their students and I think that鈥檚 a real nice story to tell.鈥�
Plant said 47 students from Grades 9 through 12 have rehearsed twice weekly, for two and a half hours each day, for five and a half months, not knowing entirely what form the production would take.
鈥淲hen we started, we were under the assumption that we would have an audience,鈥� Plant said. 鈥淲e honestly were dreaming back then that maybe things would be better [by now] and we could have a regular year.鈥�
Then there are the masks, which all students must wear while performing from the stage of Claremont鈥檚 Ridge Theatre for the livestream. That makes things tricky for the two actors who are supposed to kiss in one scene. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all wearing masks,鈥� Plant said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 a challenge unto itself.鈥�
Plant, who has a theatre degree from the University of Victoria and is a veteran of the performing arts community in Victoria, definitely feels for the graduating students, as seniors often get the best roles. Their chance to hone their craft in front of a live audience has been taken from them.
The number of We Will Rock You performances has also been reduced 鈥淲e typically do two weeks of shows, eight to 10 shows, and we sell 80 to 100 per cent, depending on the show,鈥� said Plant, who has brought his share of student productions to fruition during 15 years at Claremont. 鈥淲hen the students come back for that second week, the growth is always high. They鈥檝e been away from the show for a couple of nights, they thought about it, they鈥檇 recuperated. A lot of the energy in that second week of shows is just fantastic.鈥�
Plant and Claremont鈥檚 other drama teachers, Chelsea Giordano, Laura-Jane Wallace and Jessica English, have been giving their full attention to We Will Rock You out of respect for the kids who graduate in June.
The students will have learned something about resilience by the end of this experience, Plant said, which will help them if they choose to pursue a career in the tough entertainment business.
鈥淲e are making memories. They鈥檙e just going to be different memories. Every single kid has stuck with us 鈥� nobody鈥檚 quit. And I think they know that they鈥檙e part of something special that they will remember forever. They will be proud of being able to put on a show under these really difficult circumstances.鈥�
Most schools in Greater Victoria have drama and musical theatre programs similar to the one at Claremont, and the majority have faced the same uncertainty since COVID-19 arrived. Last year, some performances were staged with reduced audiences of 50 people 鈥� but audiences nonetheless.
No school is permitted to stage in-person performances at the moment, however. All are being produced online due to public-health protocols. Stelly鈥檚 Secondary streamed The Drowsy Chaperone online Feb. 11, while Reynolds Secondary is scheduled to stream Freaky Friday March 9-12.
Oak Bay high school is still rehearsing for Mamma Mia!, which is planned for April 21-May 2 at the school鈥檚 in-house Dave Dunnet Theatre. But it doesn鈥檛 have streaming rights to the stage production, so if audiences are not back in theatres by April, the show will be cancelled, according to Oak Bay drama teacher Steven Price.
Claremont was in a similar boat over the summer, Plant said, after choosing Footloose well in advance for its year-end production. After discovering the song-and-dance favourite could not be performed online, the school chose We Will Rock You instead.
鈥淲e had to make a choice right then,鈥� Plant said. 鈥淲e had the choice to do it live, but not stream it. We decided we just couldn鈥檛 take the risk. The kids were pretty disappointed because they had spent all summer dreaming about Footloose, but we had to choose a title that would have allowed us to at least stream it.鈥�
