AIS students gear up for ‘Rock of Ages’
Set in the beautiful Sunset Strip of L.A. – Asian International School (AIS) will take audiences back to the 1980s as they set the stage to perform the jukebox musical ‘Rock of Ages’.
Anushka
Umeshi
Natasha
Bringing back the glam metal bands of the 80’s, the story of Sherrie, Drew, Stacee and the Dupree room will be brought to stage on February 8 and 9 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre.
The play is directed by Anushka Senanyake, Founder of Theatre Junction and also the name behind productions such as ‘The Last Five Years’, ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Next to Normal’ to name a few.
Joining her with musical direction is Natasha Senanyake who is known for winning the inaugural 2014 Commonwealth Music Competition with her original composition of ‘United We Stand’. The choreography for the action-packed show will be undertaken by Umeshi Rajeendra, the Founder and Chief Artistic Director at Mesh Academy of Dance who has worked with artists such as Shen Wei, Jesse Zaritt, Erin Law and Dada Masilo.
This will not be the first play that these talented ladies have collaborated on together having worked on ‘Cinderella’ back in July 2017. ‘Rock of Ages’, which is originally based on the book by Chris D’Arienzo with arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp, will follow a condensed script that is suitable for school audiences due to the mature themes involved in the original storyline.
Natasha was behind selecting ‘Rock of Ages’ and owing to her position as Choir Director at AIS she understood the voices required to pull a play as demanding as this especially in terms of solos.
“Just in general,the overall energy and the power behind the music, the fact that a lot of people would identify with the songs, I thought that the students would be excited to perform. It was because of the music.”
Umeshi looked into the individual strengths of students and the 80s style of dance when she prepared the choreography for the play. It was a lot of extensive research on the rock era to reflect the energy of the classic songs performed. “I just tap into the individual styles of students through their performance. We use and improvise it to what’s best for the piece. We also look into a style that will best suit the space we work with.”
“For a high school type of play, it is highly energetic and it requires all three – acting, singing and dancing. It really pushes them to grow because you have to be a triple threat. It gives them a good understanding of what a musical requires from a performance,” says Anushka of directing a student cast.
Elaborating more on working with children between the ages of 10-17, the team agree that a real challenge they faced has been a time for practice that accommodates the entire cast. However, working with a huge cast of students who each have different personalities and styles does not intimidate the three. They encourage open communication between everyone and trying different teaching methods to suit individual students.
“We focus a lot on whether they have a proper understanding of each other to work as one unit, as an ensemble. We emphasize on that. We collaborate with the students.”
Rock of Ages promises to showcase a variety of rock music that many people in the audience will identify with as it touches on a lot of hits. This includes the faster songs and some of the power ballads that rock musicians always look back on such as “Don’t stop believing”, “The Final Countdown” and “Hit me with your best shot” to name a few.
The team also strives to help students to learn from the play. Including the freedom and the courage to identify themselves the way they want to, their art and talent the way they want to. To pursue their dreams. No matter the obstacles that come their way – and to remain true to who they are or what their art is about.
Tickets for the show are available at Asian International School and at the Lionel Wendt from February 1. Tickets are priced at Rs.2,500, Rs.2,000, Rs.1,500 and Rs.1,000.