Talents ready to shine
Youth theatre stars hitting the local stage in Frozen Jr
Townsville’s next generation of budding theatre superstars Lucinda Reid, Aimee Segal, Amelia Betcher and Katie Rogan are excitedly preparing to perform the popular musical Frozen Jr, for the first time in the city.
The popular 2013 animated feature film Frozen was adapted to a broadway musical in 2018 called Frozen Jr, bringing Elsa, Anna, and the magical land of Arendelle to life onstage, along with the memorable tunes from the animated film, plus five new songs.
A cast of two hundred local performers, aged between 5-18 years, will begin weekly rehearsals at the Heatley Com
munity Center from April 23 before taking the stage at Calvary Christian Church for six performances across two weekends on August 5 and 12.
With over 60 girls auditioning for the two most coveted roles of Anna and Elsa, they will be shared by Lucinda (Elsa), 14, Aimee (Anna), 17, Amelia (Anna) 14, and Katie (Elsa) 17.
A student at Townsville Grammar School, Aimee said she was inspired to get involved after watching last year’s performance of Aladdin Jr. “I loved that all children of all ages were involved and that really drew me in and so I wanted to give it a go this year,’ Aimee said.
“I do a few performances here and there but nothing that has allowed me the opportunity to really perform … (local) community theatres are very limited for children.
“(This) is a chance for people of my age, to have an opportunity to do a big role or to be really involved, so I’m really excited.”
Recently graduated from Pimlico State High School, Katie was eager to return to the stage after having fun playing Rajah in Aladdin Jr.
“I’ve always been very into music. It was only in the last few years. of high school that I decided on singing and performance,” Katie said.
“I’m not Katy on stage, I’m my character Elsa, so I get to go out of my comfort zone and just explore. “Next year, I am hoping to go to uni and to teach singing to kids and to study musical theatre.”
The driving force behind the production was Libretto Studios director Alyssa Kelly said, the upcoming performances were an opportunity for students to gain practical experience before they went away to university.
With over 25 years of experience teaching performing arts across Townsville, Ms Kelly was inspired to launch Libretto Studios after noticing a “real gap in the market” local school-aged students were not getting the same performance opportunities as other regional centres.
Due to Townsville Civic Theatre’s lack of availability, she said they were returning to Calvary Christian Church, following last year’s successful production of Aladdin Jr, which featured a cast of 100 students.
“This year will be manic with 200 (performers), but the whole purpose is to give as many families as possible an opportunity to perform … that’s why we’ve got two Annas and Elsas,” Ms Kelly said.
Ms Kelly said they were donating a percentage of profits to local charity Fuel for Schools.
“They give the breakfast programs to Townsville children and to families in need,” she said.