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St. Theresa's 'monumental' music program returns with a flourish

'This is a moment for these kids that they've been waiting for for a long time,' teacher says of school again staging musical revue after two pandemic-filled years

Socially, mentally and emotionally, the pandemic has hit everyone hard. But, arguably, students have suffered the most.

With extracurricular activities cancelled and classes conducted virtually on and off for some time, once flourishing programs are now experiencing a type of rebirth as students again seek out that essential social, mental and emotional outlet.

That effect has been felt at St. Theresa’s Catholic High School where the school’s exceptionally strong theatrical/musical troupe is now going through a bit of a rebuilding process after once being a tour de force.

But two years away from the spotlight hasn’t stopped those in charge of the school’s extremely popular spring musical revues from jumping back into the spotlight.

Once restrictions were lifted, teachers Shauna Sguigna, Andrew Irvine and Shawn Mei decided that they wanted to recover what was lost after two years of a pandemic. The powerhouse directing/producing trio are currently in the midst of rehearsals with students on Bringin’ It Back, which hits the school’s stage in June.

“The idea behind Bringin’ It Back is that we want to bring the people back, bring the music back,” Mei explains during a recent visit to the Midland school.

Irvine says that while school teams and sports returned to schools earlier, performing arts took longer to be reinstated and that’s something that has hurt school music programs across the province.

"To bring performing arts back means a lot to us,” Irvine says. “Some of them have been waiting since Grade 9 so being able to get back to what they love, playing music, is really important.

“This is a moment for these kids that they’ve been waiting for for a long time. We left (prior to the pandemic) thinking we had this monumental program so trying to bring back the program was a challenge for us.”

Over the past 20 years, Irvine, Mei and Sguigna have worked together as co-directors, co-writers and co-producers to stage numerous musical revues dedicated to a specific time period, which have proven popular with not only students and staff at the Midland high school, but also with area residents.

Adds Sguigna: “We don’t have a script for any of these shows. It’s just the three of us sitting down and figuring out what we want to do as a show."

The latest offering, which started coming together in late Feburary/early March when the three long-time collaborators decided they had to get back to it, offers a retrospective of the many productions they’ve collectively staged over the last two decades.

“After March break, there was a mood in the air that we were going to open up,” Mei says, adding they felt they owed it to the students to help get their creative juices flowing again after two long angst-filled years.

“Some of the kids were really looking forward to doing something,” explains Mei, who points out that they didn’t think it’d be fair to the core group to wait until next year since a number of students involved with the previous Let’s Get Loud show will be graduating this spring.

“We thought we should do it this year, even if it’s on a smaller scale. We’re really glad we’re doing it.”

And while previous productions have featured a cast and crew totalling 100 or more, this latest revue features about 50 students, split between vocalists, dancers, musicians and a technical crew.

“We have other teachers helping out as well,” says Mei, who has high praise for fellow teacher Heather Spence and her work on the costume design, hair and makeup side of things.

Mei also recognizes the hard work and dedication of all students involved in the show, including Ava Melchiorre and Lily Rankin, who serve as student producer/show host and dance choreographer, respectively.

The excitement of what seems like a type of rebirth is palpable as one watches the teachers and students work tirelessly rehearsing their parts.

“I feel incredibly blessed to work with these students,” says Sguigna as she leads a vocal group through their singing and choreography routines.

“It’s very exciting to get back to it. The school needed it and we wanted to do it.”

While past efforts like Let’s Get Loud paid homage to the music of the 1990s, Bringin’ It Back incorporates many different musical stylings.

Vocalist Andrew Jones is one of the students excited to be returning to some semblance of normality.

“There’s a real creative appeal to being involved and I like being able to collaborate with others,” explains the Grade 11 student, who’s been taking vocal lessons for the past six years.

“This is definitely a passion for me. This show gives you a little bit of everything and covers a lot of different varieties of music.”

Adds Anthony Mei, who is graduating this year and plans to pursue further university studies in music: “It means a lot to finally be back because we still have a large group of students who will be graduating. It means a lot to have one last show.”

While the previous incarnation travelled to other locales for performances, it might take a bit of time to get back to that level. But the three partners are working hard to make it happen as they look to the younger students as well those in Grades 7 and 8 who will see the show and say, ‘I want to be there doing that.’

“The kids are involved and we’re building our program again,” Mei says. “It’s nice to see them back together laughing and joking and enjoying each other’s company.”

Bringin' It Back comes to the St. Theresa's stage June 9 to 11 with the curtain rising at 7 p.m. There is also a matinee on June 11 at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. For more details, call (705) 526-1311.


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Andrew Philips

About the Author: Andrew Philips

Editor Andrew Philips is a multiple award-winning journalist whose writing has appeared in some of the country’s most respected news outlets. Originally from Midland, Philips returned to the area from Québec City a decade ago.
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