The Junior Musical Theatre program at the Weyburn Comprehensive School is finishing production on Beauty and the Beast Junior.
The musical will be unlike any other musical production that the Weyburn Comprehensive School has completed, according to Tanya Cameron, director and music theatre teacher at the WCS.
“Last November, South East Cornerstone decided that any extracurricular activities that could be done virtually were allowed to start up again. So, I decided to try rehearsing virtually on Teams with the WCS Junior Musical Theatre group,” explained Cameron. “We met twice a week on Teams to learn songs and run lines for Beauty and the Beast Jr.”
“My hope was that we would eventually get to be together in person and hopefully video tape it to share with our audiences. By January, we knew that would not be possible, so I had the students record themselves at home singing their songs and saying their lines, which I then had them e-mail to me at school,” said Cameron.
“All of January I spent putting together their audio tracks. Over the February break, I videotaped each student individually in front of a green screen wearing a clear mask. Then all of March has been spent taking out the green screens using Adobe Premier Pro as well as turning each video into a clear Movie file.”
“I am now finished putting all of the students into each scene and song together and am just adding their audio tracks and some finishing touches. It is incredible how good they sound and how they appear to look as though they were actually filmed together,” exclaimed Cameron.
The following is the cast list for Beauty and the Beast Junior.
Belle – Brittany Barber
Beast/Prince – Jayren Schulz
Mrs. Potts – Natalie Butz
Chip – Peyton Lokken
Gaston – Sawyer Leko
Le Fou – Jonas Burdan
Cogsworth – Calla Hrynewich
Lumiere – Marcus Isaak
Babette – Kailyn McFadden
Madame La Grande Bouche – Carlee Wade
Maurice – Brody Walter
Monsieur D’Arque – Travis Benning
Old Beggar Woman/Enchantress – Selah Johnston
Statue – Calla Hrynewich
Narrators (to be divided up) – Carys Moffatt, Shelby Olweny, Brinlee Klapak, Hayden Pulfer, Brie Hallberg
Silly Girls – Keira Mahnke/Cara Johnson; Zoe Kerr/Mya Periard; Vonnie Schira/Cali Blunt
Aristocratic Lady – Ella Leko
Fishman – Travis Benning
Eggman – Tace Odima
Sausage Curl Girl – Lilith Moffat
Baker – Camden Husband
Butcher – Brody Walter
Lady with Cane – Beth Hamel
Lady with Baby – Kalyna Fodchuk
Candle Seller – Hayden Pulfer
Hat Seller – Cassidy Pretty
Milkmaid – Brie Hallberg
Shepherd boy – Tace Odima
Bookseller – Shantal Copley
“Be Our Guest” Flatwear – Jordynn Bell, Beth Hamel, Lilith Moffat, Layla Crone, Cassidy Pretty, Laura Woodard, Eliza Kohane, Mickenzie Whitford, Kalyna Fodchuk, Ella Leko, Selah Johnston, Shantal Copley, Camden Husband
Wolves – Travis Benning, Tace Odima, Camden Husband, Jonas Burdan, Marcus Isaak
Villagers – Selah Johnston, Kalyna Fodchuk
Male Villager – Camden Husband
Female Villager – Jordynn Bell
During the recording for Beauty and Beast Junior, there are many places of interest around Weyburn that will be featured.
“Things you will see in our virtual production are the Court House, the Tower on the hill, the new Weyburn signs, the T.C. Douglas Statue, the T.C. Douglas Centre, Souris Valley, the Souris River, the Weyburn Legion, The Rolling Pin, the Weyburn Public Library, the Little Staveley Library and Heather Haupstein's house on the hill as Belle's cottage,” said Cameron.
“Another cool feature of our virtual musical is that we have drone video footage of Weyburn as well so it really is like a movie musical.”
Tickets for Beauty and Beast Junior will be available in about two weeks and will be sold on ShowTix4U.com. They will be $20 for the link (no matter how many people in your house) and residents can watch on your Smart TV, computer or iPad. Please watch for a future story, once the link is available.
