29 Apr 2019
Finally Caringbah High School is putting on a musical, and so we thought the best
way to start is to perform Disney's High School Musical On Stage!
Book by
David Simpatico
Original Songs by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil; Ray Cham, Greg Cham and Andrew Seeley; Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn; Andy Dodd and Adam Watts; Bryan Louiselle; David N. Lawrence and Faye Greenberg; Jamie Houston
Music Adapted, Arranged and Produced by
Bryan Louiselle
Based on a Disney Channel Original Movie Written by
Peter Barsocchini
Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia). All performance materials supplied by Hal Leonard Australia.
Director & Musical Director – Peter Sampson
Choreographer – Emily Stephens
Vocal Coach – Charmaine Gibbs
Producer – Chris Turner
Important dates
Rehearsals
Mondays & Thursdays at lunch (1:10 – 1:50pm) with the occasional Friday rehearsal
Shows
Friday 30th August, 7pm
Saturday 31st August, 7pm
Sunday 1st September, 3pm
Auditions
Friday May 3rd (details to come)
Callbacks
TBA
Audition requirements
Auditions will be in 10 minute slots, with a 30 minute dance call. Each auditionee will be required to perform a musical theatre song of their own choosing. Please bring a backing track (a speaker will be provided), or you can accompany yourself if you play guitar/keyboard/ukulele etc. Unaccompanied auditions will not be accepted. There will be a cold read of a short scene for each audition.
Come dressed to move. Please wear appropriate footwear. If you can perform any trick such as tumbling, flips, juggling, etc., please let us know as we may look to incorporate some of your talents into the show.
Auditions will be conducted in a ‘closed’ panel format consisting of Director/Musical Director, Choreographer, Producer and staff member (TBA).
Character Breakdown The Jocks
Troy Bolton - Captain of the Basketball team, met Gabriella over winter break. Lead male. 16-19 Chad Danforth - Basketball team member, Troy's best friend. 16-19 Zeke Baylor - Basketball team member with a passion for baking. Solo in "Status Quo". 16-19
The Brainiacs
Gabriella Montez - The "New Girl" to East High School, met Troy over winter break. Lead female. 16-19 Taylor McKessie - Head of the Brainiacs. She convinces Gabriella to try out for the Mathelites. 16-19 Martha Cox - Brainiac, who has a passion for hip-hop. Solo in "Status Quo." 16-19
Kratnoff- Brainiac, a complete know-it-all.
The Thespians
Sharpay Evans - Lead in every school musical since kindergarten. President of the drama club. And most popular student. Shows interest in Troy and hates Gabriella. 16-19 Ryan Evans - Sharpay's brother. Performs with Sharpay in musicals. Vice president of the drama club. 16-19
Kelsi Neilsen - Pianist for the drama club. Composer of the winter musical. 15-19
The Skater Dudes
Ripper - Head of the skater dudes. Passion for the cello. Solo in "Status Quo." 15-19 Mongo - Skater dude. Rippers's "sidekick." 15-19
Other Students
Jack Scott - News announcer at East High. Also known as "The Velvet Fog of East High". 15-19
Ensemble
Cheerleaders, Jocks, Braniacs, Skater dudes, Goths, Hipsters, Sevvies, etc – all ages
The Adults
Ms. Darbus - Drama Teacher. Dislikes the Jocks and Coach Bolton. Coach Bolton - Gym Teacher, Troy's father and coach of the basketball team. Ms Tenny- The Chemistry Teacher.
Synopsis
Act One - It's the first day after winter break where we meet Troy and Gabrielle. Troy and Gabriella each describe their winter adventures to their friend groups, not realizing that the other is nearby. They met doing karaoke at a ski lodge. Their excitement leads the other kids to start talking about their own New Year's resolutions ("Start of Something New").
In Ms. Darbus' class, Troy sees Gabriella and when tries to get her attention, the eccentric drama teacher quickly confiscates all cell phones and assigns detention. Between classes, Gabriella and Troy look at the audition sign-up for the school musical. The drama diva, Sharpay, drops by and discourages Gabriella from auditioning. This has made Troy late for basketball practice. He is also distracted by thoughts of Gabriella and the musical. The coach and team are not pleased. They tell Troy that he has to focus on the upcoming championship game ("Get'cha Head in the Game").
In math class, Gabriella gets a question right that the teacher had wrong. Taylor, the science club president, encourages Gabriella to join the science decathlon team. Gabriella is uncertain because she wants to get used to her new school before joining activities. Sharpay, however, has other plans – she plants information in Taylor's locker that proves Gabriella is a genius.
The next day, hopefuls strut their stuff for Ms. Darbus ("Auditions"). The other auditioners are no match for Sharpay and twin brother, Ryan, but despite their obvious talent, this team lacks soul ("What I've Been Looking For"). Troy and Gabriella arrive too late to audition, but Kelsi, the show's composer, plays the song the way she had intended for it to be sung. She encourages Troy and Gabriella to sing it ("What I've Been Looking For – Reprise"). Ms. Darbus overhears and gives them a call back. News of Troy and Gabriella's audition spreads fast ("Cellular Fusion"). Sharpay is furious... and she's not the only one.
In the lunchroom, the Jocks and Braniacs try to explain to Troy and Gabriella, respectively, why they should not venture outside of what they know and what they are good at. They disagree, encouraging other students in other cliques to reveal their secret interests. ("Stick to the Status Quo").
Act Two - Troy and Gabriella escape to the rooftop garden and share a little bit about their real selves ("I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You"). Meanwhile, the Jocks and Brainiacs devise a plan to trick Troy and Gabriella into forgetting about the musical and committing to their respective competitions. Sharpay plans to lie to Ms. Darbus and say that Troy is only auditioning to sabotage the musical. Citing examples of famous athletes and brainiacs, their respective teammates tell them they need to focus on what's important: basketball and science decathlon, not singing ("Counting on You"). Then, the Jocks and Braniacs
enact their plan, which involves a secret phone call that makes it seem as if Troy is dismissing Gabriella and the call back. She dismisses him in return. Both Troy and Gabriella are crushed. Their teammates immediately regret having caused them so much pain ("When There Was Me and You").
Later, Ryan tells Sharpay that she needs to calm down and stop sabotaging Troy and Gabriella; it's not the end of the world if they don't get the leads. Sharpay disagrees. Meanwhile, Gabriella and Troy make up and practice with Kelsi to get ready for the call back ("Something New – Reprise"). However, believing Sharpay's lie that Troy is trying to sabotage the audition, Ms. Darbus decides that he will need to prove he really wants it. She schedules the call back at the same time as the championship game and the decathlon. Chad and Taylor come up with a plan that will allow Troy and Gabriella to do both the competitions and the call back ("We're All in This Together").
While the Jocks and Brainiacs compete, Sharpay and Ryan pull off a polished call back performance ("Bop to the Top"). When Taylor's laptop shuts down the electricity, Troy and Gabriella rush to the theatre... but they arrive too late. Still, when the East High students from all of the different cliques show up to rally behind them, Ms. Darbus is moved and pleased by the attention the theatre department is getting. Ryan tells her that Sharpay lied about Troy trying to sabotage auditions. Kelsi stands up to Sharpay, as well, and demands to play for their audition. They deliver on the call back, and Ms. Darbus gives them the lead roles ("Breaking Free").
Back at the gym, the Wildcats win the game and the Braniacs win the science decathlon. Coach Bolton is impressed by Troy's singing and encourages him to do whatever he wants. He and Ms. Darbus make up; Sharpay and Gabriella also reconcile when Sharpay realizes that Zeke likes her for her, not because she's a star. The whole school comes together as winners, and Troy points out to Gabriella that it is just like kindergarten – everyone is getting along based on who they are, not because of what they do ("We're All in This Together – Reprise").
Cast Commitment
Full commitment to this show is extremely important. All cast MUST be available for rehearsals, and also must be available for Bump-in, Bump-out and dress rehearsals throughout show week.