{"id":4948,"date":"2024-11-20T15:43:51","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T23:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/?p=4948"},"modified":"2024-11-20T15:43:51","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T23:43:51","slug":"a-community-and-a-family-sd42-interdisciplinary-arts-academy-goes-beyond-musical-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/a-community-and-a-family-sd42-interdisciplinary-arts-academy-goes-beyond-musical-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A community and a family\u2019: SD42 Interdisciplinary Arts Academy goes beyond musical theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OqMBkkquUSM?si=UOjTHi8o4Jc22Mc3\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Inside Garibaldi Secondary\u2019s theatre, three students stand at the front of the stage.<\/p>\n<p>The curtains open behind them and the audience is transported to a small Greek island, as the first notes of a musical number ring out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are rehearsing for this year\u2019s show, <em>Mamma Mia!<\/em>\u201d said Sharmila Miller, director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/interdisciplinary-arts-academy-ia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SD42 Interdisciplinary Arts (IA) Academy<\/a>. \u201cThe production started last February with auditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the last three months, students in the IA Academy have been rehearsing nonstop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do musical theatre productions that are full-scale Broadway musicals,\u201d Miller said. \u201cWe are a professional training academy; we try to give students as close to a professional experience as possible so that they are prepared when they go out into the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The cast and crew learn how to manage their time, work together as a team, and improve their organization and communication skills, she explained.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s production has about 45 cast and 18 crew that take on choreography, costuming, props, acting, sound, lighting, stage management and marketing.<\/p>\n<p>There are two casts, meaning two students will play the same role on different show days. Grade 12 students Angelika Alincastre and Mackenzie Powell both play the role of Sophie Sheridan, the main character.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI lean on Mackenzie a lot with helping me memorize my lines and figuring out my blocking and spacing,\u201d Alincastre said. \u201cShe\u2019s got it all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The pair have been part of the IA Academy since Grade 9, just like Grade 12 crew members Gillian Booth and Mya Patterson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst I was in cast and then I made the spectacular decision to switch to crew, which I think better fit me,\u201d said Patterson, and that\u2019s what she has stuck with since.<\/p>\n<p>Patterson is the sound operator, while Booth takes care of the lighting. Although they both enjoy the work involved, that\u2019s not the reason they join academy every year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI kept coming back because it was more like a community and a family,\u201d Booth explained. \u201cEspecially in high school, I feel like it\u2019s hard for a lot of people to sort of find their own family.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-17873\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sd42.ca\/assets\/media\/IA-Mamma-Mia-5.jpg\" alt=\"Students in the Interdisciplinary Arts Academy rehearse for their show, Mamma Mia!\" width=\"412\" height=\"274\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, this was a place where I met most of my best friends and most of the people who I hope that I can stay in touch with for the rest of my life, especially this one right here,\u201d Booth said, taking Patterson\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n<p>Other cast and crew members feel the same way, including Alincastre and Powell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve known Angelika for four years now since we joined,\u201d explained Powell, \u201cbut even people that have joined just this year, they become like family to you in the span of a month.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alincastre agreed, adding that theatre is a safe space to be yourself in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou just have a family here and it\u2019s just another community where it\u2019s kind of like a little getaway,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Assistant director and cast member Jaelyn Frend is an IA Academy alumna. She graduated in 2021 but has returned to the academy twice since then to help with assistant directing, choreography, costuming and acting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy time in the academy was such an amazing experience because of the bonds and relationships you make with other cast members as well as crew,\u201d Frend said. \u201cYou\u2019ve honestly made friends for life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The academy takes place at Garibaldi Secondary off the regular timetable and outside of school hours. The program is open to all Maple Ridge \u2013 Pitt Meadows School District students. A successful audition\/interview is required to register.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re a big fan of theatre, I think this is a wonderful place to start,\u201d said Patterson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if you\u2019re not,\u201d added Booth. \u201cWe\u2019ve had people come in here who are like, \u2018I don\u2019t like musical theatre, I don\u2019t like musicals, yada, yada, yada,\u2019 and then by the end, they\u2019re all singing along to every single song and they keep coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Mamma Mia!<\/em> runs at the Garibaldi Secondary theatre from November 20 to November 30, 2024, at 7 p.m. Saturday matinee shows are at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtixonline.com\/?search=mamma+mia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about the Interdisciplinary Arts Academy <a href=\"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/interdisciplinary-arts-academy-ia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17872\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sd42.ca\/assets\/media\/IA-Mamma-Mia-2.jpg\" alt=\"Students in the Interdisciplinary Arts Academy rehearse for their show, Mamma Mia!\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inside Garibaldi Secondary\u2019s theatre, three students stand at the front of the stage. The curtains open behind them and the audience is transported to a small Greek island, as the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4948"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4950,"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948\/revisions\/4950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/secondary.sd42.ca\/gss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}