Actors on the case in Prep plays 

Enthusiastic audiences enjoyed both Rogues’ Gallery, the Year 7 play, and Good Cop, Bad Cop, performed by students from Years 4, 5 and 6, during each play’s two performances. They were staged in the round in Weston Hall, the first time the Prep has used this approach to theatre.

Rogues’ Gallery unravelled the mystery of who destroyed Godfrey Nameless’ latest art installation, Cardboard Boxes. Beginning in September, the nine actors and the stage crew worked with faculty up to three times a week to perfect their performances, design and build the sets, and become familiar with the play’s lighting and sound requirements.

Good Cop, Bad Cop was a tale of mixed-up street signs and the chaos that unfolded as two detectives tried to determine the culprit. The large cast and stage crew — 35 actors and 15 crew members — rehearsed twice a week after school. 

Anyone who wanted a role in a theatre production was given one. Those who were part of the crew were busy making sets, taking headshots of the actors and creating swag, thanks to the creative thinking of Kathy Tran, the Prep’s design technician. The sale of stickers and keychains raised funds for the Churches on-the-Hill Food Bank.

“The students did a phenomenal job and they’ve gotten so much praise,” says Jennifer Harper, the Prep’s theatre coordinator. “We’re all still elated from it.”

Harper also thanks Mr. Labancz, Ms. Preston, Ms. Chambers, Ms. Crippin, Ms. Carter and Ms. Crawford “for guiding the students and bringing these productions to life.”