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Today I received all the scripts, images, Director's notes for Aladdin JR. The students don't know yet that this is their show for the year. My aim is to read through the script in the holidays, watch the movie, listen to the songs ready to begin next term. I will spend this afternoon creating the poster so that I can share with everyone in week 11! I am very excited about this show. I hope the students will be excited when they find out what we are doing.

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The music is fantastic!! Here is a YouTube playlist with all the practice songs.

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I designed the poster and got it approved by Music Theatre Internationals. As a Disney production there were many rules I had to follow in order to promote the show.

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There are some words/expressions in this show that are new. This document will be very useful to help students understand the meaning and the message they are portraying. Understanding the meaning of words will help the actor make the correct acting choices.

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Showcase Promo video shared with students.

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Students had the opportunity to sign up for a lead role using the Google Form. I was amazed to see how many students wanted to apply for lead roles.

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This week we have done a cold read of the script. Each class read through half of the show with different people reading/trying different characters. We only listened to the big songs but we were excited to hear our favourites like 'Friend Like Me', 'Prince Ali'. The next job is to cast the lead roles.

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I have invited some students to audition - I am confident students can act and dance, I am interested to see who can sing solos and carry the songs. This will be a big factor in who gets cast.

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I have selected the cast! It took me a long time to decide because I had so much talent to choose from. I am amazed at how enthusiastic the Stage 4's are. When I first heard the group sing the first part of the Finale song, I was wowed! If this is a taste of what is to come then we are going to have a great show. Sharing with all the Stage 4's who received a lead role was exciting and scary all at once. I was very aware that some students would have found this moment really tough and disappointing. I know this feeling well. It can be so hard to be happy for your successful friends and also deal with your disappointment at the same time. Once each class starts learning their choreography/blocking, students will begin to realize there is a lot to do and each person has a part to play. This show cant come alive without the ensemble and small roles to turn the story into real life. I look forward to seeing the students create their own ensemble moments. This always warms my heart when they bring their ideas to the show. This is not MY show, its THEIRS and I love when they add their own flare and flavour.

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Each class has started their first BIG song. I have decided to teach the choreography first before we go through each lyric and singing part. My hope is that the more we hear it as we dance to it, the quicker the words will sink it. Most of the choreography is story telling, so the words should start to sink in and we should easily be able to pick up the singing parts. I am so proud of the attitude students are coming to class with. They are ready to get into it, which means we will have made a good start before holidays.

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Will Smith - Prince Ali (From "Aladdin")

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On Friday week 6 I went through all the costume cupboards in the school and pulled out everything I think we will be using. My office is very full of costumes already!! I also purchased all the main characters costumes, so they should arrive at school before the holidays :)

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ALADDIN on Broadway: Artist Spotlight - Gregg Barnes

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I have been very fortunate with the stage design. The company I have used have decorated an Aladdin themed party for the broadway cast when they were on tour here in Adelaide!! They still had all the drapes from that, so we will have those decorate our stage. This is going to be the most elaborate (and expensive) stage we've had!! I feel really good about hiring this company, not only because they gave me a discount but also because they will set up and pack down. That makes a HUGE difference to the amount of physical work I have to do. This means I can focus my attention and energy on the kids (the most important part).

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"Friend Like Me" 360° Performance - ALADDIN on Broadway

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Wow, it is here. Term 3. During the holidays I made the market stall and the gold throne. There's just a few more things I need to do to those props and then they are ready for the show. I had a lot of fun organising the props table and sorting all the costumes into bags. This is always a big task, but having everything in place makes it seem real.

I am a bit nervous about how much students remembered after a 3 week holiday. I'm sure once we get back into it, we will start to remember it straight away.

I am starting the mini musical with Stage 3 this week. I choreographed their songs during the holidays. Thank goodness I write everything in my choreography journal, because I have SO many dance moves/lyrics to remember.

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ESPN Sport Science Meets ALADDIN: Audience Reactions

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ESPN Sport Science Meets ALADDIN: The Genie Marathon

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Every Stage 3 class has made a great start on their dance choreography...I think week 3 will be the last week we have to learn the choreography. That means in week 4 we will take it to the 'theatre', which is our school chapel space. I have been really impressed with the optimism students have shown about their class section. I have also noticed how quickly students are picking up the dance moves. I feel very confident in each class putting on a spectacular mini musical!

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Its the end of week 4 and most Stage 4 classes have made it to stage! This is a HuGE effort! In these moments we discover very quickly what we know really well and what we don't know. At the moment I am worried about the singing - the dancing and the acting is strong, but the singing needs a bit of work. We started using just the backing tracks and this was very revealing. From now on we will only use the backing tracks so students have to get used to singing. Each songs really tells the story. Music theatre songs are all about telling a story, so its important that everything is heard and understood. The audience might miss key points if this doesn't happen.

Stage 3 have all finished their choreography and have started singing through the finale. In week 6 they will take their dance onto the stage and start practicing entrances, dancing and exits. I feel REALLY confident in the Stage 3 Mini Musical. I think its going to be really strong.

5 weeks to go!

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Costumes are starting to arrive at school, and so that makes the show feel really close! Stage 3 are ready for the stage. Stage 4 are ready to try the full show. Lead Roles all put their scripts down this week - that is HUGE. I am so proud of how they have memorised their lines. Now they can start using their hands more and become very animated characters. I love it when we start to do things without our scripts in our hands! Things are starting to feel real now, but I think we're right on track to being ready for an audience in week 9.

Mr Silva and I have been experimenting with different sound equipment. The hope is that I can remotely control the music front the front row. I would like to do this myself for a few reasons: 1. I know the show best 2. There is a lot of music and underscoring that occurs 3. I don't have a sound person. Mr Silva is going to be focused on the microphones and overall sound, as well as the cameras.