Guys and Dolls Wows High School Audiences
The performing arts department at Dulwich International High School Suzhou is always trying to create new and exciting opportunities for the students to show their talents. This year is no exception, as students displayed their immense talent in the school’s first-ever Musical: Guys and Dolls!
With spectacular dancing and excellent acting combined with sublime singing, the students showed what can be created through teamwork. The performance was even more impressive when you consider that from the announcement of auditions to final performance, the entire show was produced by the cast and crew in just five weeks!
Scarlett Jiang in Year 11 was a member of the cast, playing the mobster Big Jule:
“The rehearsal process was short but a lot of fun. Ms Park and Mr Mulliner, as well as being our teachers, have worked professionally in musical theatre on Broadway and in the West End. They helped us to think of ourselves as professional actors and singers. All of the students worked hard with the teachers and everyone invested 100% effort into this performance.”
Ms Stephanie Park, Head of Drama at Dulwich International High School Suzhou and Director of Guys and Dolls, worked closely with the students throughout the rehearsal process:
“We started quite small, spending hours simply reading the text and carefully breaking it down for meaning and pronunciation. We explored the emotions of the characters, why they felt the way they did, their behaviour, how they responded to each other, and the ways in which they changed and grew throughout the play. Students threw themselves into practising singing, choreography and acting. Offstage, students tirelessly practised the set changes, participated in designing the costumes, making the props, creating video trailers, helping with lighting and projections, and running the logistics during rehearsal and backstage during the performance.”
Mr Sam Mulliner, Head of Music, was intensely proud of the students and staff who were involved:
“This was a true team effort; from the principal cast, chorus, backstage crew and technical team and staff members who supported in a multitude of ways, this performance shows what can be achieved when we work together as a team. If one element was missing from the machine, the whole mechanism can crumble, but by working together, the audience had the opportunity to watch a high-quality performance that the students, staff and parents should be proud of!”
Guys and Dolls are based in 1940’s New York City and interweaves multiple storylines of love, gamesmanship and friendship. The story follows gambler Nathan Detroit, as he tries to find the money to set up the biggest dice game in town, while the ever-present police try to stop it, and Nathan simultaneously tries to hide the game from his “well-known fiancée of 14 years”, Miss Adelaide. Nathan turns to fellow gambler, Sky Masterson, for the money to run the game and sees Sky travel from Times Square to Havana with the leader of a local mission, Sarah Brown. Through song, dance and story, the cast were able to introduce fun, joy, drama, romance and their own unique sense of humour to the performance.
The audience left the performances on the 7th and 8th March with a sense of wonder, excitement, and happiness:
“I have seen several Broadway musicals, and this performance reminded me of them; it was truly excellent! I can imagine how much time and effort everyone involved has devoted to it. ...thank you very much for giving us such a wonderful feast of art.”
“To put on a musical in 5 weeks is a testament to the dedicated effort that these students and staff have put in. It was superbly sublime. An hour of song and dance bought the theatre to life.”
Mr Mulliner continues:
“Musical theatre is an excellent way to combine the disciplines of music, dance and drama in an engaging way. The performing students displayed determination, drive, and skill, showing the true character that is developed within students at Dulwich International High School Suzhou; the combination of individual hard work to prepare their own roles and the ability to work as a team to create an exceptional final product.”
With future shows and musical ventures already being planned at the High School, there is plenty of opportunities for both current and future pupils to get involved in performances; whether students have multiple years of experience in performing or just a burgeoning passion for the stage or concert hall, the future looks bright for artistic performance at Dulwich International High School Suzhou!
