The pandemic is forcing innovation and ingenuity amongst practitioners of the performing arts, and the troupe at Mt. Baker Secondary School is no exception.
This spring, the Musical Theatre class at MBSS is preparing something altogether different from its usual format.
Following the film/theatre hybrid production of A Christmas Carol, which streamed to a ticketed audience for a limited time, and the cancellation of last year’s musical, Oklahoma!, it was decided to create a project of a smaller scale and with more control over the outcome.
What has followed has been a study of songs from several stage musicals, such as Oklahoma!, Urinetown, Jagged Little Pill, Funny Girl, Fiddler On The Roof, A Little Night Music and Moulin Rouge.
A script has woven together scenes from Oklahoma! and the other musical numbers, and in June, the theatre program will launch a film on Youtube, free of charge to viewers, with a running time of approximately one hour.
The film is titled “You In Mid-Air,” and is made possible by the efforts of many allies to the Mount Baker Theatre Department. Vice-Principal Kaley Wasylowich serves as music director and performs piano, and Jacqueline Morrow has provided choreography. Former Mount Baker students Justice Jones and Justin Casimer are performing the majority of the instrumental music and are mastering the students’ vocals.
The film will utilize costumes from last year’s production of Oklahoma!, built by Vicki Bjersted, Ann Rice, Lesley Kupritz, Cheryl Bethune, Lynne Caldwell and Sylvia Reid.
The theatre program is also indebted to the City of Cranbrook, the Province of British Columbia Ministry of Lands and Forests, the Key City Theatre, the Cranbrook Community Forest Society and Fort Steele Heritage Town for their generosity in providing filming locations. Follow Wild Theatre on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and Wild Studios on YouTube for more information.
