Peter Pan …the show will go on. This term, as we know, has been unlike any other in Upton history and it has brought about many challenges that we have all had to navigate through. One such challenge for me was wondering how I could deliver an entire musical whilst teaching behind a screen! Drama is such a practical lesson that it seemed almost impossible, however, I love a challenge. As we began rehearsals it became apparent that my ‘ambitious’ idea was going to be the most complex task I have ever undertaken as a drama teacher. I taught the children the music and choreography using Teams and often had to take their word for it that they knew the tune as I couldn’t have them all unmuted. For the first time ever, we also wanted to include Transition and Form 1, which was such a lovely addition to our cast. I then had to look logistically at how I was going to achieve consistency across the board with the videos that were being recorded so spent two weeks putting together the parent information pack, which hopefully held all the answers to most of the questions that arose. Mrs Lewin and I worked together to come up with backdrop ideas and she worked tirelessly to create individual background resource packs for the entire cast. Mrs Webb joined me to work on ideas for costumes and after three hours online shopping helped me put the packs together for collection. In total we sent home 340 backgrounds for the whole school and just under 80 costumes for the Form 6 girls. The children then made their wonderful backgrounds at home and began filming - we have seen some incredible costumes and make-up in the videos you have submitted, so thank you parents. The Form 6 girls filmed their scenes complete with clapper boards and green screens, and they recorded their vocals professionally, so I have a good mix of sound when it comes to editing. The children’s talent has shone through in their videos and just goes to show what we can achieve, even in the face of adversity when we all work together.
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So, what’s the next step? I will now begin editing our full-length musical together over the summer break. I will be teaching myself how to use Adobe Premiere Pro, software used by most professional filmmakers (eek!) and will hopefully have it ready for our return in September. It will be difficult, I will certainly go slightly insane listening to the same songs over and over again, but I can assure you the end product will be magical. It will be such a joyous occasion when we are all able to watch our amazing children shine like the stars they are. I would like to personally thank you for your co-operation and support in this endeavour and I look forward to bringing you into the world of Peter Pan! Jessica Duncan Head of Drama
