The Aurora Stone

Audiences were transported to the magical of world of Norina during the Preparatory School production, The Aurora Stone, with its compelling characters, stunning costumes and set, captivating song and dance numbers, and exciting quest for the mythical aurora stone.

What made the show even more special, was that it was conceived and brought to life by the Year 7–8 students themselves, with around 200 students in these year groups taking to the stage.

Director, Ginnie Thorner. says The Aurora Stone was an exciting collaborative project, that began last year, when around 20 students from Years 6–7 were invited to write the show using a practical playmaking process under Ginnie’s guidance. “The students did such a great job creating the world of the story, the characters, plot, and song lyrics for the show, which had several iterations throughout the creative process.”

Once the show was written, the Year 13 Music students were invited to compose the music for the show as their first composition task for the year, says Ginnie. “Head of Music, Duncan Ferguson, saw this as a valuable task, as writing for a brief is such a different skill set. This process had its challenges but also a freedom, as the lyrics were already written by the Preparatory School students and the style was indicated by the place in the story. Year 13 student, Sea-am Thompson, also contributed three orchestral pieces for the show.”

One of the benefits of creating their own show was the ability to accommodate 200 performers. There were two casts, with a core group of lead actors playing their roles in both casts. “Another practical benefit of creating our own show was making use of resources which already exist, like costumes. Creatively it is a better experience too, as it places students at the centre of the process and exposes them to aspects of theatre making, they might not otherwise see.”

Ginnie says 75 students auditioned for the 25 roles, with some never having sung solos before. All the soloists sang live during the show, with the music and songs sung by the various large groups, being pre-recorded to ensure well-balanced sound given the large cast.

The Aurora Stone was the first full Preparatory School production since 2017 and is the ninth Ginnie has co-created with students. Her wish is to give as many students as possible the opportunity to experience theatre and maybe ignite a love for it. “The new Gough Family Theatre has allowed a whole new generation of students to experience the excitement of performing live, which is particularly important in a world that is often lived online. For some, this will be the only show they do in their lives so making it fun was also very important.”

A quest for the ages

The ultimate quest story, The Aurora Stone, was packed full of adventure, conflict, problem-solving, and humour, as a small group of characters overcame their differences to restore order to the world.

The show opened with a high-spirited number, The Aurora Stone, as people from the realm of Norina celebrated the arrival of the ruler’s Callabus’ son, Gallaboo, with the mystical crystal, which after falling from the sky, had been safely nestled in its hollow, bringing peace between the two fighting realms of Norina and Comodo.

It became apparent Gallaboo had not been completely honest about how he acquired the stone, then it was stolen again by some thieves from Comodo. One of the thieves, Shakel, was left behind, and on the instructions of Callabus, played in a strong performance by Hayden Brown (Year 8), his daughter Veronica, and the thief, Shakel, are sent on a mission to find the stone and return it to its rightful place.

As Veronica, Charlotte Currie’s (Year 8) performance of Not in the Shadows was a highlight. She has a beautiful singing voice and was a compelling presence throughout the show. As her unlikely sidekick Shakel, Edward Garbutt (Year 8) was another of the lead actors to impress, with his magic tricks adding some lighthearted moments.

Joining them on the quest were three children, Briar, Maria, and Joel, played brilliantly by Sofia Buckley (Year 8), Isla Marshall (Year 8) and Oliver Hodgson (Year 7), who found themselves reluctantly involved after meeting the mysterious and suitably creepy Ancestors of the Castle. They had great energy as they set out to fulfil the prophecy as the chosen ones to return the stone. The upbeat song, The Prophecy, detailing their mission was sung with lots of enthusiasm by Good News (James Laurenson – Year 7) and Bad News (Ben McKendry – Year 7).

On their journey, the young truth- seekers met some other interesting characters, including the Lake Lurkers, who guarded the entrance to Florinville Forest and were the keepers of the map to the hollow. Their song Lake Lurkers was another great number. Next up, they met the tricky Tremins of the forest, who don’t always tell the truth. Max Scouten (Year 7) as Grover, delivered a fantastic performance of This Way That Way, which had great rap lyrics and choreography.

The group finally made it to their destination, converging with the Guardians of the Hollow, Gallaboo, and the thieves from Comodo, with Aaron Yu (Year 7) putting in a high energy and hilarious performance as the thieves’ leader, Frank. A scuffle ensued, the stone was rightfully returned to the hollow, and peace and unity reigned once again.

The entire cast did a fantastic job, with the reprise of The Aurora Stone at the end the perfect way to end a wonderful show.