The Year 8 Production of SPARK

from 2022 Spring 'Play the Game' magazine

by medburypreparatoryschool

North Canterbury Regional Event

Spark 2022 was everything it was supposed to be; entertaining, funny, colourful, and, as Ms. Fitz warned us, VERY HARD work.

Twelve ‘Time Travellers’ led by Alex Foulds build a TARDIS and head out on a mythical adventure requiring a spark in every place they land. They encounter Prometheus in the Greek fire myth, grab fire off some fire trolls of the Karuk Indian tribe, enter Mafui’e’s volcano in Samoa, and finally get mixed up in the Maori fire myth. I played the role of the Deputy Head leader of the mission and I particularly enjoyed vapourising Louis Sharr. I interviewed five boys to get a picture of what the experience was like for others.

“In the show I played the role of the Coyote. My role was the character that stole the flame from the infamous fire beings; I was wily and crafty and not at all vain. My favourite part of the show was singing and dancing as well as watching the other classes. Preparing for the show was very hard as I had to memorise many lines. Overall I really enjoyed the 2022 Spark production; it was an awesome experience.” Henry Donaldson - 8L

“During Spark I played the roles of Prometheus, a caveman and a god. I even did some Greek dancing too. As the role of Prometheus I had to get fire for the humans. I thoroughly enjoyed the dancing in the Caveman scene; I loved how I got to beat my chest like a gorilla. Memorising all of the lines I had was a really big struggle as I had a very big role. It was a good time to have fun with friends!”

Arlo McCrystal - 8E

“In the show I did not act but instead did the technical parts of the show. I helped with the sound effects and helped with microphones during the practices. I learnt a lot about how to use a mic board and learnt lots about sound effects. My favourite part was doing the sound effects for 8L. I enjoyed 8E’s part about the cavemen the most. SPARK was a great opportunity to learn about productions and tech and I overall really enjoyed the experience.”

Fred Fastier 8L - Techie

“In Spark I had a lot of fun. It was quite a large effort as I was a main character, missing out on Options and other fun stuff just so that we could practise. It was a huge sacrifice but it was eventually all worth it. As the head of Drama I had to do heaps of organising and learning of my lines. This has been one of my favourite experiences I have ever had and I can’t wait for the next show I participate in, whether at high school or anywhere else.” Alex Foulds 8S - Head Of Drama

“During the show I managed the props for the show; I also participated in the show, acting as The Silly Indian, Frog and a Huckleberry Sister. I loved saying “Ewww - you have got snot dripping out of your nose!” My favourite part of the show was my class’s play because it had cool props and our class performed it well. The hardest part was organising the rocks because we had to paper mache them, which took quite some time. Overall, it was very good fun!” William Fridd 8L - Props Manager

It really was a miracle how the show came together, as practising in masks made it very difficult. The SPARK journey into four fire myths turned out to be a trip like no other. Thanks to all of the teachers, parents and the student crew that made this dream come true.

Connor MacKenzie, 8L