SHCTG WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRADITIONAL LAND IN WHICH THIS EVENT IS TAKING PLACE, THE LAND OF THE WURUNDJERI AND PAY RESPECT TO THEIR ELDERS PAST, PRESENT AND EMERGING.
WE RECOGNISE THAT THIS IS A CULTURE RICH IN STORY TELLING AND WE FEEL HONOURED TO TELL ONE OF OUR OWN ON THEIR LAND.
September 1st, 1989. Dear Diary,
Welcome to Westerberg High, where 17 year-old Veronica Sawyer longs to be cool like the clique of it-girls that runs her school: the unkind, unattainable Heathers. Her wish only comes true when she uses her forgery skills to get the Heathers out of detention, impressing their leader, Heather Chandler - so much so that they agree to let her into their exclusive club.
Veronica is ecstatic, at first... that is, until she falls for the school’s mysterious new student, bad-boy Jason “JD“ Dean.
Through listening to JD’s perspective and a little bit of self- realization, Veronica eventually recognizes her newfound popularity as a double-edged sword. Upon watching the Heathers mock and pull pranks on her childhood best friend Martha Dunnstock, she resigns from her place from the top of Westerberg’s pecking order. However, when Heather Chandler responds by threatening to ruin her social life, Veronica joins forces with JD to teach the pretty tyrants a lesson- and it’s all fun and games until someone accidentally ends up dead. But now, there is no turning back- and the duo must make their way out of trouble. Are JD and Veronica headed for the prom... or hell?
September 1, 2022. Dear Diary, this is a real “pinch me“ moment!! Looking back at the start of 2020 when St Hilda’s College announced it was performing “Heathers: The Musical“, we had no idea that it would be cancelled so close into production. Fast forward 2.5 years, and we are here today, bringing Heathers 2.0 to life (literally) - back and better than ever.
I remember the first time I saw Heathers at the Sydney Opera House in 2016 with my mum. With raunchy scenes, bright costumes, dark humour and comedic characters, I instantly fell in love with the show. It is a deliciously dark and wonderfully hilarious 1980’s cult classic, with show-stopping numbers, extravagant campiness, constant twists and gut-wrenching scenes (I won’t spoil too much for you though). When the chance came up to be the Director of St Hilda’s production, I jumped at it! 16-year-old Bella would be pretty darn excited if she knew her dream to be in this show was becoming a reality (finally!).
Thank-you to our wonderful and extremely talented cast, for your talent, energy, and immense dedication throughout this whole process. It has been a pleasure working with such a lively and committed cast over the past 6 months, all the way ww from audition stages to our final shows. You should all be incredibly proud of yourselves!
To our incredible Veronica, Abbey Miller, watching you transform into Veronica with your angelic voice, command and elegance has been a highlight for me. To our J.D., Baxter Kay, your ability to contrast such an emotive and dark interpretation of J.D. in Act 1 against an angry and explosive Act 2 finish, is praiseworthy. The pair of you are powerful on stage together, and your skill and dedi cation throughout has been nothing short of exemplary. And then there were the Heathers - Charlie, Georgie and Jacinta, you definitely float above it all! The sassiness, composure and energy you bring onto the stage is electric. We struck gold with the 3 of you, as well as our Ram and Kurt, Will and Grosser. I cannot imagine anyone else bringing these hilarious roles to life.
To our creative team, band, convenor team and production crew, this show wouldn’t be what it is today without your excellence, expertise and fabulous hard work. A special mention to our musical director Bailey Montgomerie, vocal coach Ruby McAllan, choreographer Alex Hughes, stage manager Mody Yim, and lighting and sound team Theo Viney, India Lewis and Tadhg Schultz. Than kyou for putting in countless hours of your time to help us achieve something truly BEAUTIFUL! And last but not least, thankyou to my ever-ready co-director Eamonn Shorter, we did it! Thankyou for being on the journey alongside me, from when we started back in the cast in 2020, to directing it in 2022. The night has finally come, let’s enjoy this moment and celebrate.
To those in our audience, thankyou for supporting the arts. Isn’t it incredible to be back in the theatre again!! Whether you are a huge Heathers fan (like me!) or have never seen the show before, you are in for a treat with St Hilda’s College’s production of Heathers: the Musical.
As a fan of both musical theatre and black comedy, ’Heathers: The Musical’ has always been a favourite of mine to sit down and watch or listen to. It really is a complex, yet brilliant show - complex character relationships, witty dialogue, incredibly catchy musical numbers and multiple stimulating twists and turns. It is a musical that teenagers and young adults alike can not only enjoy putting together, but also can really engage with and be compelled by each character. When given the opportunity to return to St Hilda’s to direct ’Heathers’, after a year away from living at college, I was more than ready to immerse myself in the collaborative experience. Little did I know that I was in for an experience more rewarding than I could’ve ever imagined. That starts with the lights-out convenor team - working with Pathama, David, Annie and Brady behind the scenes has been an absolute joy. Thank you for putting your faith in me to help make Heathers an incredible reality!
To the cast - I cannot applaud your talent and dedication enough. Whether you were an experienced theatre performer and/or vocalist, or treading the boards for the first time, I can say with certainty that every cast member has given incredible effort towards learning and polishing each scene, song and dance over the past six months.
To Abbey Miller and Baxter Kay - your work as Veronica and JD has been nothing but exemplary. Playing a lead role is always a challenging task, especially while balancing university commitments, but you have done so with absolute skill and aplomb. A special mention must also go out to our Heathers in Charlie, Jacinta and Georgie - I have always looked forward to the sass and elegance you bring to your roles every rehearsal!
To the rest of my creative team - I couldn’t have done my job without the help of your knowledge and expertise. Special thank you’s go out to my always lovely co-director Bella Reynolds, our fantastic choreographer Alex Hughes, our dynamite musical team in Bailey Montgomerie and Ruby McAllan and our always pog stage manager Mody Yim. A huge thank you as well to our accomplished band members and dedicated backstage team, for putting in hours of your time to helping us achieve something truly great.
Finally, to our audience - thank you for taking time to support the college and its theatre program! We are all so keen to perform in this wonderful new theatre - after a three-year absence, I can’t even begin to describe how fulfilling it is to get back to performing live. Seeing it all come together has been ’huge form’ - the friends we’ve made, the skills we’ve learned, and the unbelievable end result we’ve achieved. WE DID IT!!
Maddy has previously only done acting in high school drama class and house drama performances. It is her first proper production experience. Thoroughly enjoying this new process.
Molly is making her theatre debut in this production. Having enjoyed choir and mu sic/drama electives in school an opportunity to participate in a production was a very exciting chance. She would like to thank the cast and crew of heathers for making this first experience an enjoyable one!
Pearl has been in a few community theatre productions before and is well accus tomed with the eyeshadow moustache’. She believes she bring serious entrepreneurial skills to her role as she patented the model for socks as shoulder pads to give Big Bud the biceps he deserves.
Ben Wrobel has never performed on stage before but is really excited to try it. They have always enjoyed singing and are look ing forward to putting on the show.
Jessie has been performing on stages since she was young. She enjoys many aspects of stage performances, singing, dancing, acting as well as props and costumes. They would like to thank all those who have helped in the creation of this show. Jessie is excited for the future shows Hilda’s will run.
Charlie has been performing since she was 5. Throughout school, she was in over 10 productions and was performing arts captain in year 12. Some of her favourite roles was Annie in Annie, Beth March in Little Women and Gomez Addams in the Addams Family. She has adored being in Heathers and loves the cast and crew very much.
’Jason’ has been studying singing, mu sic and drama since 2017, performing in Eisteddfods and events, and completing AMEB exams. This has earned her several awards and nominations including audi tioning for the VCE Seasons of Excellence Top Class of Music in 2021. This is Jason’s first stage production that has gone ahead, due to COVID.
Georgie Macho has been in a few musicals, including the ICAC production of Firebringer in semester one of 2022. She is so excited to be apart of this production of Heathers, and has been delighted to bring the role of Heather McNamara to life.
Ayushi has never had any experience in productions before, but Heathers has been an amazing introduction to the theatre world. She has found the dancing and sing ing to be super intense but also welcoming as a beginner. She would like to thank ev eryone for their dedication.
Baxter
Bachelor of Communications
Baxter has been involved in theatre all throughout school, where he studied dra ma and theatre studies for year 12. He has been in many school productions including Lord of the Flies and Legally Blonde, in which he played Ralph and Warner respec tively. Although untrained in music, Baxter finds much enjoyment in performing for an audience.
James has been performing for several years. He won the Theatre Association of South Australia Best Young Male Performer award in 2018 for his portrayal of Charlie in 1918. His favourite roles include: Thomas in The Book of Everything, Captain Hook in Peter Pan and of course James in James and the Giant Peach.
Victoria Thorp has performed in plays and musicals for a number of years. Some of her favourite roles have been Gomez (The Addams Family), Moana (Moana), Wendy (Peter Pan), Pinocchio (Pinocchio) and Grace Farrell (Annie).
She has particularly enjoyed working on phrasing and musicality in the songs from Heathers The Musical.
Harriet has performed in a few plays/musicals during high school, as well as Hilda’s production of We Will Rock You last year. She can say that Heathers has definitely been the one she’s enjoyed being a part of the most. She can’t wait for people to final ly witness what we’ve all worked so hard on for the past few months.
Harriet did productions throughout high school and always loved the experience and the friendships she made so she jumped at the chance to perform in another at Hilda’s. She has had so much fun sing ing, dancing and acting as well as getting to know people. She can’t wait for everyone to see all the hard work everyone has put in.
After a stunning debut as Grass’ in ’The Lion King’, he is making his return to the theatre this year to support the arts community at St Hilda’s. He has found the production process to be exciting and is keen to see it all brought together, combining the strengths of everyone on the cast.
Hayden Prussner has been acting for audiences in Hobart since 2014. He has performed in such highlights from “Julius Caesar“ to “Too Much Light makes the Baby go Blind“ Hayden has enjoyed the musical despite having two left feet and the singing capabilities of Borat.
Dempsey is an avid enjoyer of the arts. Having first begun singing and perform ing around Year 5, she has secured roles such as Grace in “Annie“, Margot in “Legally Blonde“ and Eponine in “Les Miserables“ in the past. After dabbling in tech, FOH and publicity roles in ICAC’s “Firebringer“ earlier this year, Dempsey is very keen to return to the stage as Ms. Fleming with such a tal ented cast and crew beside her!
Charlotte has been involved in several productions since her debut in her primary school musical. She has been both back stage and on the stage and for this produc tion of Heathers, is excited to be an onstage presence. Charlotte has enjoyed the chal lenge of pursuing university and getting involved in Hilda’s arts program as she has musical experience such as being a pianist and singing in her school choirs.
Alison loves being involved in music and theatre (when she isn’t busy studying). She enjoyed participating in high school productions and was part of the locked down 2021 Hilda’s musical. She can usually be found singing soprano and doing her best attempt at dancing.
Will has been performing for a while but this is his first time performing in a musical. He’s embraced the challenges that comes with musical theatre and is excited to get on stage. He’d like to thank the amazing cast and crew that have helped put this show together.
Allie has loved being in this production.
Even though it has been a large time commitment, she has found it has been so fulfilling and a good way to get to know more people from the hildas community.
Whilst Sophie has probably spent more time in screen acting, she loves the stage and have been involved in lots of productions throughout high school. Stoner Chick is just such an incredible opportunity for her. She feels like she’s been preparing for this role her whole life.
Abbey has been involved in music and performance both on and off stage for many years. Some of her past experience includes singing in international music com petition Summa Cum Laude and her school musicals. She has enjoyed bringing Veronica to life and being apart of publicity and set design. She has loved every moment.
Lara Skerratt has never been in a musical before this one and is loving every second of it! She has previously earned the role of Lady Macbeth in her high school’s produc tion of Macbeth.
Charlotte Campbell (She/Her)
Producing a musical has arguably been one of the most rewarding experiences that I’ve had the opportunity to partake in. When I applied for this role in October of 2021, I couldn’t fathom the experience I’ve had over the past 11 months. After two years of college productions being limited by the coronavirus pandemic, a goal of mine was to ensure a triumphant return to live theatre, and it wouldn’t be possible without the amazing team of over 50 people who put in countless hours of work to get the production to where it is today.
I’m grateful to every single person involved in this production, from the creative team, to the band, and of course the cast. A special mention however, should go to the heads of the creative team, who have been with the production since March of this year, and who’s creative vision has made this production some thing that I would argue everyone involved can be proud of.
While I could easily say something positive about every single person who has contributed to this production, I would like to specifically thank Mody Yim (Stage Manager), for the enormous amount of effort that he has put into the design of the set and the (somewhat) smooth running of things, Pathama Wankhuan (Assistant Producer), for her unwavering support throughout the production, and Dempsey Doyle (Ms Fleming), for her undying support, and willingness to help
I truly hope that you enjoy this production as much as the cast and crew and
Heathers is easily one of Mody’s favourite musical. Having been a part of the stage management team in Mamma Mia (2021) and ICAC’s Firebringer, Heathers brings its own set of challenges. Apart from the technicality, it was also a fairly large cast and crew to manage. Mody has thoroughly en joyed working with the cast, crew and band. Stay slay!
Brady Crack has been an avid performer for the past five years. He’s participated in Launceston Competitions - winning tied-first place for best monologue. He is excited to set a new standard for college productions after the pandemic.
Getting to be involved in the production team of a musical has been an equally new, yet rewarding role for Annie. After extensive experience performing in school musicals, choirs and dance, it brings her so much ex citement to assist in organising this experience of Heathers. She is very proud of everyone involved in the show and hopes audiences en joy this Hilda’s production.
Like some of my peers, this is my first experience putting together a theatre production rather than performing in one and I am completely blown away by the amount of dedication and willingness of the whole cast, creative team, and production team and crew to go above and beyond what was expected of them.
There are so many people who stood out throughout the whole production process but most of all, our producer David has been a mainstay of the 2022 St Hilda’s College production since the very beginning 11 months ago. He personally took it upon himself to learn as much of the inside outs of producing and theatre productions as he could, and I can’t thank him enough for the sheer amount of effort that he has poured into Heathers the Musical.
More special mentions to Mody Yim (stage manager and set designer), Abbey Miller (lead actor and fellow publicity coordinator) and Katie Walker (costume, hair, and make-up designer) for going so much further than just the extra mile. These three are absolute godsends to the production and creative team. From filling in the gaps in the initial team’s capabilities to all the late-night set painting sessions, they’ve been absolute champions and core contributors to the quality of the Heathers the Musical that we are so excited to present to everyone.
While she loves performing onstage, Abbey also majors in Graphic Design and has a pas sion for all things publicity and marketing. Abbey has had an absolute ball running the instagram, working with Pathama and creating all the content for Heathers.
Samara became an SRA at St Hilda’s in 2021 and joined the play team as Equity Officer this year for the first time. Samara hasn’t had any previous experience in the performing arts sector but has enjoyed sit ting in on some of the play rehearsals and is very excited to see the students perform the play in full!
Heathers has been a musical whirlwind of catchy tunes, powerful vocals, and journeys into contrasting genres, from emo rock, to pop, to disco, to country and even gospel. O’Keefe is a brilliant composer who has never failed to surprise throughout the process of putting this show together. The twisted tale of Veronica and JD’s teenage love gone wrong is reflected in heartfelt ballads like Freeze Your Brain and emotional rock anthems like Seventeen that fold into and reference one another seamlessly. What I find so interesting about this musical is its shamelessly camp take on black comedic elements from the original 1988 movie. The upbeat celebrations of the lives of horrible bullies in Me Inside of Me and Dead Gay Son shock us back into the real world in a story that would otherwise allow us to comfortably suspend our disbelief. There are so many nuggets like this that combine into a rich musical tapestry, making this musical both fun and interesting to work on. This project embarked upon by the 2022 play conveners was incredibly ambitious, especially off the back of an ongoing pandemic which has prevented music lovers from putting on productions in years past. I applaud the conveners and the entire creative team for viewing this huge setback as an opportunity to do things differently. The result is outstanding! I’m so proud to have been a part of this new chapter
From the first rehearsal singing with the amazing cast of Heathers, I was so excited to see the final product that would come from such a talented and enthusiastic group. Heathers is a massive undertaking and an iconic musical; the pressure has been on from the start and everyone has handled it like professionals. With the cast making my job so easy with their dedication and talent, I have been able to fully enjoy putting the beautiful, quite challenging vocal parts together, I’ve even given my housemates a private months long performance of every song! You guys are so welcome.
I love theatre and music and have loved performing in productions, in cluding Be More Chill when I was at Hilda’s, so to be on the other side was a fresh experience and a very fun challenge. Thank you especially to the four convenors who have worked so hard to make this musical happen, you guys have put in so much work to give the cast the irreplaceable ex perience that is a college musical. Thank you also to the talented cast for being dedicated and hardworking, particularly those who attended every rehearsal, attentively corrected any of my oversights and broughtyour all every week, you guys know who you are!
Alex has been a dancer in a couple of productions before, including the colleges production last year of We Will Rock You. Due to covid, she found it was an interest ing experience as it didn’t end up being performed on stage. This is the first mu sical (or anything) she has choreographed so she is hoping it’ll turn out well.
Emily Wang has been dancing for over ten years and has participated in 6 high school musical productions. She has never assisted in choreographing before this pro duction but has enjoyed every aspect of it. She has loved being able to work with an incredible cast who are a myriad of talent ed people and looks forward to seeing the culmination of everyone’s hard work.
Bachelor of Arts (She/Her)
Katie has loved musicals, makeup, and clothes for as long as she can remember, and has had so much fun combining these interests in her role as the costume and hair & makeup designer for Heathers. She was a cast member in last years college musical but has really enjoyed the opportunity to learn new skills through her involvement in the creative process this year. She would like to thank everyone that has been a part of this production for making it such an incredible experience.
Bachelor
Theo is a lighting designer and techni cian based in Melbourne and is currently studying at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). He is passionate about creating in ventive designs that integrates light with all technical and creative elements.. Earlier this year he completed lighting design in ternships on Il Trovatore (Opera Australia) and the Melbourne production of Hamilton (Michael Cassel Group). Outside of his de sign work, Theo is employed as a lighting technician at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Bachelor of Biomedicine (He/Him)
Besides being the Stage Manager, Mody has been a part of many areas of back stage - especially set design and construc tion. Spending many hours in the work shop, he has assisted the cast tirelessly backstage, ensuring all set is safe and looks great. Stay Slay he always says!
Bachelor
Val has done drama for multiple years however it’s their first time doing set de sign for a musical. As someone who’s enjoyed painting and drawing they have really enjoyed helping out with the set for this production.
Completed Bachelor of Commerce (He/Him)
Tadgh has previously been involved in two St Hildas musicals, both in 2018 playing “Bobby Pepper“ in Curtains and as a Play Convenor/Sound Designer for 2019s
“Be More Chill“ He is excited to return to a role in sound this year and would like to thank the production team for the opportunity.
India is new to sound design and has enjoyed learning the ropes. She is excited for the audience to experience this produc tion of Heathers.
Angela McStephen has been playing for 18 years, which is about as long as some of the younger cast members have been alive. She narrowly escaped having to study music online, which she considers to be a bullet dodged. These days she splits her time between work and the Apollo Music Society, who are all under the im pression that she’s actually a cellist.
St. Hilda’s musical is Anjana’s third musical on Electric and Double Bass after the brilliant productions of Curtains’ and Be more Chill’. After completing a Diploma of Music at Unimelb, he still jumps at any chance to perform, especially with such a talented band as in Heathers. He would also like to thank his Amma and Thaththi for always supporting his musical passions.
Ellie’s love for music began at the age of 5 when she started learning the Violin. Her earliest mentors and teachers included the renowned Maggie Duncan and Alan Tooke who fostered a strong sense of musical artistry and stylistic individuality in her performance. Currently a resident student at Trinity College, Ellie is pursu ing a Bachelor of Arts combined with a Diploma in Music under the extraordinary direction of Odette Creanga-Kurth.
Jessica Sun is a classically-trained pianist who later discovered that her true passion lies in musical theatre. She has since performed in a variety of different musicals and has found the camaraderie and energy of being involved in a show such as Heathers to be exceptionally ful filling and rewarding.
Lilly left Hilda’s in 2019, and played drums for a couple of college musicals and events, She also played drums throughout highschool, featuring in shows and bands, So she’s excited to be back for this!
Bachelor of Science (She/Her)
Luella has been playing French horn since 2011, both being a part of many ensembles and playing solo works. After performing as a cast member in various musicals before, she makes her debut as a member of a musical theatre pit musician.
Rory Vagg plays and makes music in Melbourne.
He has also studied Interactive Composition at The University Of Melbourne since 2019.
CLARINET
Bachelor of Arts (She/Her)
Rosa has been a part of numerous music en sembles and musicals during her pre-university education. This is the first production Rosa has been a part of since graduating school, and she is excited to return to the clarinet again. She hopes everyone enjoys the show.
Bachelor of Music Composition (He/Him)
Stefan Samos (guitarist) has never played this production before and is performing for the first time from Covid restrictions. He enjoys compos ing film scores and performing to an audience. He would like to thank everyone for the support of live music and is looking forward to future productions.
Bachelor of Commerce (She/Her)
Thi Tran has been playing the violin since she was eleven. She has had a fulfilling and colour ful experience in contributing to the production. She thanks all those involved in the production and audience members for their support. She hopes everyone has Big Fun!
Bachelor of Science
Zoe has never been a part of any musical productions before but has always enjoyed watching them and supporting her friends who ap peared in her high schools various productions. She has loved helping out with the set and getting to see all the amazing things the cast and crew have accomplished.
LIZ COPE
(They/Them)
Bachelor of Biomedicine
Liz has done backstage work on productions of Into The Woods, Wiz ard of Oz, and Pirates of Penzance
(She/They)
Bachelor of Arts
She’s just happy to be here.
Bachelor of Science
Rhea makes her backstage debut in Heathers as a novice spotlight oper ator. She has a great love for this musical and is excited to try something new out.
(She/Her)
Bachelor of Pyschology
This is Jovita’s first time being in volved in a musical, assisting in the creation of the set. She loves arts and crafts and found designing the stage a really enjoyable experience. She would like to thank everyone in the play for giving her this opportunity!
This theatrical production uses the following sounds from Freesound:
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S: Classic Gunshot by ShawnyBoy / License: Creative Commons 0
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S: Cow Moo Sound Effect by wearefreeSFX / License: Attribution 3.0
S: Phone Old Landline Ringing by robotjay / License: Creative Commons 0
S: Splash Pool by Joozz / License: Attribution 4.0
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