Students spoken with by ERO were unanimous in their appreciation of the range of opportunities on offer. ERO Oct 2009
Drama
DRAMA AT HARGEST offers scope for everyone - juniors, seniors, actors, soloists, chorus members, dancers, musicians, production personnel; and of course the classroom students of drama at year 9, 11, 12 and 13.
Major Production : Pirates of Penzance 2010
Major Production : Oklahoma 2009
Welcome to our third staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein's first collaboration Oklahoma. Having directed the previous productions in 1982 and 1993 respectively, I make no apologies for the repetition as the wonderful music, comedy and dramatic tension are well worth an encore. Besides these excellent qualities, there has been over the intervening years, the advanced enhancement of lighting and sound - both in the hands of the technological wizards of the first decade of the 21st century - namely teenagers. Tonight's technical support is entirely in the hands of Year 11 Daniel Wilson and Year 12 Stephen Smith. Gentlemen, I take off my hat to you.
Oklahoma (1993) was the first production of Principal Paul O'Connor's tenure as the leader of this educational community. He has fostered this aspect of the school with a continuous enthusiastic encouragement - and smiled warmly when the occasional production had gone over budget. Thank you Paul.
This will be a much "dancier" staging than the previous productions. Last year's choreography in Grease was unprecedented in the school. There are no "Going to the High School Hop" or "Summer Lovin's" or "You're the one that I want" in Oklahoma but there are three big company scenes which our brilliant choreographer Maria Alcock and her two assistants have created that you will equally delight in. They have turned the "two left footers" into near elegant "hoofers".
To Sue French, Carol Ruddenklau, Elizabeth Andrews Trish Chapman and Kerry Rodger, thank you so much for your continuously unstinting loyalty in the wardrobe arena. You have operated as a team now for six years, a highly laudable state of affairs considering that for most of you, your offspring have passed through these portals some time ago.
To Lesley Horner, Sandra Tyree and your helpers, thank you for your vital contribution over the past decade. To Alan Pannett, many thanks for your brilliant stage creations and backdrops since 1996.
And to Barbara Jones, who has been involved in every major production since 1986 in virtually every capacity, wardrobe for many years and now programme and publicity, thank you. She was production secretary for Oklahoma in 1993, as she is in this version, and the near professional programme design she developed for Les Misérables have continued since.
Finally, to Warren McKenzie who, as a 'rookie' actor in 1984's Brigadoon, suggested that his father's company Windsor New World might help the Brigadier production in some way. Now, a quarter of a century later, that sponsorship continues. It has been a very happy relationship. Thank you McKenzie family - we look forward to another twenty five years of "happy marriage"!
Jonathan Tucker
Major Production : Grease 2008
Welcome to James Hargest College's (nee High School) first production ever of the musical Grease. Every high school in Southland has staged it at least once and Invercargill Musical Theatre twice to date - 1983 and 1996. So why have we, with our Musical Theatre tradition, not 'done' this hugely popular piece of theatre? To answer that we need to go back quarter of a century to 1983, the year of our Silver Jubilee, when 'Grease' was going to be our mid year Major Production - a first staging ever for Southland (Invercargill Operatic did it in the late spring of that same year).
For various reasons the show was shelved and now with its fairly recent release by its American agents, we can at least present it to you, performed by teenagers which constitutes virtually all its characters. West End Broadway and our own metropolitan Musical Theatre companies invariable have actors / singers who in many cases defied credibility. Marvelous though he was in the 1978 movie, John Travolta was no teenager.
Our production tonight is the non sanitized original script and mirrors American working class morals and moves of sixty years ago. None of these kids has academic expectations: school's a drag; everybody, including friends, is a target for a put down and the boys look on the girls as sexual chattels. The Jim Jacobs / Warren Casey script was written before awful political correctness raised its abound (mostly) head. Grease is a microcosm of its times, albeit American times when the dream was a reality and petrol cost 5c (US) a gallon.
Despite its theme where the decent girl self transmogrifies into a decadent dolly, in some eyes at least see it as abysmally shallow, the wonderful music, the dancing and the ultimate pairing of the Greasers with their Pink Lady partners leaves us all with a feeling that humanity of the teenage variety isn't so bad after all. They are on the way into turning into adults.
This has been a wonderful company to work with - talented, enthusiastic and prepared to listen to their chorographic abilities have been honed over intense rehearsal by the brilliantly passionate Mrs Maria Alcock who has, as usual, continued to raise the standard of her ensemble work. How fortunate are we to have her at Hargest. It is also a pleasure to welcome back Ms Juliet Boniface from the UK who continues her personal high choral standards already seen in Les Miserables and Jesus Christ Superstar. Special thanks also to James Ballantyne, our 'teenage' master of the pianoforte. Again thanks go to those faithful staff members who continue to support our Major Productions and without whom they simply could not be staged.
Finally a massive debt of gratitude must go to the Wardrobe (the least palatable of the support areas in a musical production) girls - Mrs Tricia Chapman, Mrs Sue French, Mrs Elizabeth Andrews and Mrs Kerry Rogers who have done this job with patient good humour for the last five years with scarcely a scowl or sarcastic rejoinder. It is sadly, likely to be Tricia and Sue's last occasion here as neither has had an offspring at Hargest for some time and there is a life beyond the Major Production wardrobe. What a shining example of heroism - facing the teenage hordes.
Happy watching
Jonathan Tucker
Major Production : Jesus Christ Superstar 2007
When I first came to this school in the early 1960's there would have been few people to whom Pontius Pilate, Gethsemene, The Last Supper, The Hill of Calvary meant nothing. Today, the story of Christ's last week on earth is little known to most in modern secular New Zealand society. Perhaps in the late 1960's Andrew Lloyd Webber and partner Tim Rice, both with Anglican backgrounds, with their hippie hair draped fashionably over their shoulders, recognized - and here I surmise - the societal slip into secularism and penned their piece in the musical idiom of the times. It was immensely successful, though not without its critics, who considered it tantamount to blasphemy especially in America. Blasphemy it certainly is not, and for most of its structure it is arrow straight, in the retelling of that tragic week through its rock music format.
As Jesus, Kurt Murphy crowns a career of musical performance excellence on this stage, having played lead roles since the 5th form or Year 11 in today's parlance.
We will miss his balance, brilliant sense of fun and most of all, a shining stage presence and beautiful singing voice.
Missing next year will also be several others who have given, as the saying goes, yeoman service to our theatrical scene at school. One of whom, has never even appeared on stage but has been, nevertheless, a vital part of the machinery. I refer to John Calder whose technical expertise (in both lighting and sound) coupled with a calm, courteous and willing persona, has been a godsend to the last three major productions.
Finally, to the huge and ever loyal staff members encumbered more and more annually with the demands of the job, I bow my head in amazed and grateful thanks.
Jonathan Tucker
Major Production : Les Misérables 2006
The magic of Les Misérables lives on! We have just seen a production of this great musical performed by our students and on our stage that has enthralled and delighted record audience numbers. And rightly so! Our huge company (do you ever watch the credit lists at the end of a movie naming every single individual that had an input into its production?) of committed and talented people were determined from the outset that the staging of this masterpiece of musical theatre would succeed in every possible fact from day one of Term Two (a short nine weeker) until opening night - the Sunday of the last week. Every department was aware of their contribution - set design, publicity, props, sound, lighting, wardrobe, make-up, stage management. James Hargest College has a proven record in this but we surpassed ourselves this time. "Such is the allure of Les Misérables. Its preparation demands loving attention in all its aspects and it got it unalloyed and absolute despite the terrible inconvenience of modern reportage."
The ultimate accolade must go to the performers themselves, especially the principals - each and every one producing performances that will be fixed firmly as "special and even great" in the long theatrical history of this school.
Welcome here tonight to a production of Jesus Christ Superstar which I know will be a worthy successor to last year's highly successful "Les Miserables". Both in the broadest sense of the phrase have similar themes - man's inhumanity to man and ultimately forgiveness. Both feature a hero who was always prepared to turn the other cheek and never resort to violence.
Jonathan Tucker
1999 "The Sound of Music"
2000 "The Pirates of Penzance
2001 "South Pacific"
2002 "Me and My Girl"
2003 "Brigadoon"
2004 "Annie Get Your Gun"
2005 "Big River"
2006 "Les Misérables"
2007 "Jesus Christ Superstar"
2008 "Grease"
2009 "Oklahoma"
2010 "Pirates of Penzance"
Year 9 & 10 Productions
2005's Year 9 & 10 Production was Murder Game, written and directed by former student Phillie Holmes and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for both cast members and audiences. The Year 9 and 10 students involved were enthusiastic and hugely talented.
1999 "Bugsy Malone"
2000 "Zombied"
2001 "Starstruck"
2002 "Stagestruck"
2003 "Oliver!"
2004 "Love Potion No 9"
2005 "Murder Game"
2006 "Skulduggery at Smugglers' Cove"
2007 "How Many Roads?"
2008 "Straight Old Line"
2009 "Footloose"
2010 "Smike"
Music
Chamber Music
For the last 17 years, Chamber groups from Hargest have been winners of the Regional Chamber Music Competition. In 1999, the Adablasa Trio was one of the eight groups out of 473 nationwide to compete at the National Finals in Wellington. In 2009, James Hargest groups won all the regional placings.
Individual musicians have won National titles in Brass Banding, and have been selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools' Symphony Orchestra, the New Zealand Seconday Schools' Brass Band and the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestral Summer School.
Rockquest
Each year, Hargest has had winning bands in the Regional finals also winning multiple individual awards such as Best Lyrics, Best Musician and Best Song.
Jazz Bands
Regional competitions are held to determine who will be awarded first place in this discipline, and Hargest bands have won three times.
Ancora
Our specialist choir, ANCORA, has competed in the New Zealand Choral Federation regional competitions winning individual cups most years.
Past students have also been selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools' Choir.
Many of our students are now professional musicians, working both in New Zealand and internationally.
Barbershop
This is a growing aspect of the department with student led quartets winning local competitions. |
