I speak for the trees! - Westmount School's production of the Lorax

Westmount Elementary School put on a production of the Lorax last night and Grade 5 teacher and Co-Director Amanda Ball is thrilled with the outcome.

"We had a great turnout for both shows! We had great feedback from everyone and the kids were glowing. Such a wonderful experience for the students and staff. It really felt like a celebration that could be felt all over the school."

It took the entire school of students and staff to bring this production to life explained Ball saying the grade fives and sixes are the ones that acted in the production but the whole school took part in putting on the play. 

“There is the theatre design department, there's advertising, there is a makeup crew and there are actually little kids that are doing this, with adult supervision of course, but they are actually doing the makeup.”  

Ball continues to explain there was a costume department and that a lot of little hands have built them. There were a total of 13 departments created including one for the choreography department, set design, marketing, and the list goes on. Ball felt this truly was something that united the school as a whole.  

The fun wasn't just for the students, Ball noted besides teaching, she said this is her passion and that she is living out her childhood dream by being a part of this production. 

“I love feeling, the energy, from the show and the kids. It's been a lot of work; I am not going to lie. We have put a lot of love into this and not just me but by every student, every teacher, and every EA.” 

The other productions that Westmount has put on in the past include Vasilisa and Bony Legs, which was four years ago due to the pandemic, the one before that was Rumpelstiltskin. This was only the third time that the whole school has been involved in the production due to the pandemic.  

“We had this all ready to go pre-Covid (Lorax Production), we were a month away from the show and then everything got shut down. We picked up the show again with new actors and actresses and a lot of the same pieces have been integrated.”   

Ball says this was a way to get every kid out of their shell and that hopefully in the seven years that a child is enrolled at Westmount they will try the makeup department one year and then maybe costume design the next year. They will find that spark in themselves.  

“Peter Gamwell did a whole series. He teaches teachers and he said that every child has their seed of brilliance. This is the way that we will get it out of the students,” she says. 

Another way that the creativity in these students is brought out is with a senior tea that they do every year. One group of students is in charge of making the invitation and going out to Sagewood and the Wheatland Lodge. The other group is in charge of serving the tea and the snacks. 

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