ABBOTSFORD TRADITIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOL
MUSICAL THEATRE
The year 2004-05 saw me take on the task of Directing two productions at the same time. I joined the staff of the newly created ATSS to establish a Musical Theatre program as well as still teaching Musical Theatre at Yale Secondary School.
The first production at ATSS was “Annie” Junior. We produced this show, and “Disney’s Aladdin Junior”, on campus with all the challenges of working in a venue not really meant for theatrical productions. It was, indeed, a challenge but the seeds of the Musical Theatre program were planted and we went on to produce four more shows at the Abbey Arts Centre which provided us with the theatrical facilities and equipment we needed. The program grew rapidly...we even had over a hundred students wanting to register one year. Audiences got larger in number and the matinees for schools drew very large attendances. One production, “Once Upon A Pantomime” or “Panto Pandemonium” was done in traditional British pantomime style.... a new experience for many of our performers as well as for many of the audience!! It was a huge success.
The six productions at ATSS were as follows:
2004-05 Annie Junior
2005-06 Disney’s Aladdin Junior
2006-07 Seussical
2007-08 Alice In Wonderland
2008-09 Once Upon A Pantomime or Panto Pandemonium
2009-10 Disney’s Beauty & The Beast Jr.
The photos and other memorabilia used in this section of the website have been provided by Denise Silzer, Michelle Myers, the ATSS Library, or taken from my “scrapbook” collections.
IF YOU HAVE MEMORIES OF ATSS MUSICAL THEATRE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE ON THIS WEBSITE, PLEASE EMAIL ME (rdencer@broken-pencils.ca) -
“Broken-Pencils.ca” is NOT affiliated in any way to the current ATSS Musical Theatre program and should not be construed as representative of that program. For information on the current ATSS Musical Theatre program, please contact the school.
