THE 2024 annual Young Performers Project (YPP) had the biggest cast yet: 170 children aged from five to 19 years from more than 50 schools throughout KZN participated in the production of the specially created jukebox production of Dream On – a pastiche of fabulous musical theatre numbers, which was showcased at the Playhouse Opera with daytime shows from July 5 until July 14.
From the same people that brought Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat to Durban audiences, the YPP musical director, Des Govender, describes Dream On as a jukebox musical using numbers from Joseph, Prince of Egypt and Les Mis, and tunes by Elvis, the Beatles, the Bangles, Ben Rector and others.
Berea Mail spoke to four learners from Eden College, Bailey Williams, Bukhosi Dlamini, Hannah Norton and Caleb Getkate, who took part in the local production.
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According to the learners, auditions were held in Term One in February, and then rehearsals started during exams every Sunday, and after exams, rehearsals were almost every day for a month for seven hours, except for Mondays.
Bailey says she has always loved performing. “Ever since I was little, I knew that drama and theatre were my passion. I would sing everywhere I went, and my family always said I was ‘a little performer’. When I was in Grade Two, my teachers said that drama is definitely something I should go into. So I started taking part in our school plays, and I was in the theatre showcase, 13, as Patrice, and I began getting on that stage.”
Hannah says she has hopes of going into the performing arts. “I’ve always been loud, eccentric and extroverted. I’ve always loved singing and dancing so theatre really drew me in. I’ve taken part in school shows and performances, and while in rehearsals and on the stage, something clicked for me. It changed my perspective on what I want to do in the future; I now want to go into the performing arts as a career in the future.”
Bukhosi says she loved the cast and team for Dream On. “I’ve been performing as a musician since the age of six, so I knew what it felt like to be on the stage before starting to take part in plays. I was in the play, 13, last year, and this year, taking part in Dream On has been such an amazing experience. We have a fantastic cast, and it’s been such a pleasure working with everyone.”
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The Grade 11 girls, Bailey, Hannah and Bukhosi, all form part of a dance ensemble, and Caleb Getkate in Grade Two landed the role of Minnie Brother. “I have been in a play before. I was Winnie the Pooh in Winnie the Pooh! Now I’m Minnie Brother in Dream On. After my first play, I started to like being on stage. Before being in a play, I used to dance for my family – from when I was four years old. They would say, ‘Wow, Caleb, you can dance!’ and then, I knew I was good.”
Hannah said she’s proud of her cast and the play’s team because the cast only had one full run-through, and that was on opening night. “When the play started out, the crowd wasn’t as large as we’d expected. There were a lot of quirky characters in the story, which is essentially the Joseph story, but we have characters like Mary Poppins and Elvis. But once people saw the play, the crowds got larger and larger as word of mouth spread, and the audiences started reacting to our jokes and interacting – it was people of all ages just having a good time watching the play!”
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