BSB Young Talent on Display - “The Addams Family Musical”

The yearly secondary school production at BSB Shunyi is a long tradition and enables our students to show off their performing arts talents in singing, dancing, and acting. The effort also builds teamwork and resilience, by the students coming together and building something huge and creating a lot of joy in the BSB community!

This year’s production of “The Addams Family Musical” at BSB was truly a learning experience for our students. They not only learned their lines, songs, and stage movement, but also had to persevere through going back to online teaching a week before the original performance date in December; and then bounce back and reprepare everything for the new performance date.

Our students took the adversity in stride and reaffirmed their commitment to following through and completing the show to a high level!

Mr Daren Burns, Director of Expressive Arts said “I was completely astounded by the work ethic and talent of our students. In the final weeks, I saw each of them reach inside of themselves and pull more and more detail and refinement to their characters. Committing to and completing a project like this gives them lifelong memories to cherish.”

Well done to everyone involved in the three fabulous performances of “The Addams Family Musical”!

Let’s hear from some of our Main Cast, Chorus and Backstage Crew members what they like about their character and what’s their most unforgettable moment in the show!

Cast Members

Gomez - Max Y11 student

What I like about Gomez is that he can be flamboyant and noble at the same time, has a weird accent, along with his sort of comic relief role. My most unforgettable moment was during the first few weeks of the rehearsal, we had this staring activity where we were all in the Drama room, and we have one person came in the front and stared at everyone. That was funny but awkward at the same time, and it was unforgettable.

Morticia - Taylor Y10 student

Morticia is a very cool character. She’s very independent but at the same time she’s also very supportive of her family. I really like how independent she is. She’s very inspiring. My favourite scene is the Tango de Amor which is one of the final dances that me and Gomez have together. It’s unforgettable because we practiced it a lot and the effort we put into it really shows. It demonstrates the bond they have at the end which is really important for them both.

Wednesday - Ayisa Y10 student

My favourite part about Wednesday is when she’s alone or only with very few people, she lets out her inner self and that’s the crazy and loving part of her. However when she’s with a lot of people she often shows her dark and indifferent side. The contrast in her character is my favourite part.

My most unforgettable moment is after opening night, when the curtains closed, everyone on stage is just crazy and screaming and having fun. It’s our first show and ended on a really good note. Even though there were some mistakes but everyone was really enjoying the show and happy, we are just feeling relived that it ended. The next 2 shows are just going to get better and better.

Fester - Arihant Y10 student

My favourite part about Fester is he’s really comedic, he has lots of liveliness to it and he has a very interesting story behind it. My most unforgettable moment is when Fester falls in love with the moon. That’s a very interesting thing.

But if we’re talking about the entire Addams Family show, our first night is the most unforgettable. When the curtains closed and everything blacked out, we were all screaming and cheering. When the pressure comes in, there’re 200 people right in front of you, you have to be good.

Pugsley – William Y9 student

What I like about Pugsley is that he's a very funny character and during the whole play, I made many people laugh! My most unforgettable moment is during my solo at Scene 10 and 11, I was giving jokes then singing a solo part and many people in the audience gave applause. I didn't expect that the audience really like it and it felt really good.

Pugsley Understudy - Austin Y8 student

Really hard to pick out one moment… My most favourite moments are definitely working with the cast and kind of building the show from the ground up, one step to the next. It’s really cool to see new friends and old friends, cast members from last year too.

Yesterday in the first show, I was really nervous at first, but throughout the show, I realised that there’s nothing to be nervous about, that this is a really fun thing we made for everyone to enjoy.

Grandma - Anastasia Y7 student

I like Grandma’s personality. She’s funny and always makes people happy. I like it when our cast make funny jokes and made the audience laugh. The most difficult scene for me is the Full Disclosure. To help myself learn the lines, I have to go backstage, revise and go over it many times.

Lurch - Stanley Y10 student

My favourite part about Lurch is when I’m on stage I’m using a lot of body language and I can present myself easily. He’s a zombie, he does everything very slowly. My most unforgettable scene is at the end of the show, when Lurch starts seeing his soul. I think that’s really cool.

Mal - James Y12 student

I’m Mal, Lucas’ father. The cool part about Mal is that he learns to let go, he learns to enjoy life at the end the end of the show. Yeah, everyone likes to do that. It’s my 5^th production at BSB. What’s special about this play? It’s about dead people, a completely different theme, pretty interesting, really fun to be in.

Alice - Alicia Y9 student

My character Alice is someone who really develops in her personality, she is a more controlled and happier person at first. Then at the end, she’s the crazier one. I really like that about her.  My most unforgettable moment is probably dancing on the table, it’s really fun to step up there and be crazy. I don’t get do that on my own!

Lucas - Ryan Y9 student

I like that Lucas changed his personality as the play goes on. Like at the start he was kind of shy and laid back. As he interacts with Wednesday, he gets crazier, more open-minded. My favourite scene is “Crazier than You” because it’s when Lucas and Wednesday get back together and we rejoice.

Chorus

Jeina Y7 student

As part of the Ancestors Chorus, we got to stay on stage a lot of times and help bring more atmosphere to the show. My favourite scene is the Tango because it’s very dramatic and really cool.

Emilia Y10 student

My most unforgettable moment is on the first night, when we bring it all together, the final part is a lot better when it’s all creamed and perfected. Each of us practice in bits and pieces and when we see all the parts all come together, it looks very nice.

Backstage Crew

Angie Y12 student

Why is backstage important in a production? Without backstage we can’t really get different sets on stage. We try to make it as seamless as possible so that the audience can’t’ see us so it’s like it appears out of nowhere. My most unforgettable moment is when we can see everything come together in the end and the audience is happy.

Harshit Y12 student

I’m one of the backstage guys.  My part is important because we bring in the flavour and texture into of the play, and make sure the cast members and audience are satisfied. We’re happy that the audience loving it.

Let’s hear from the Audience too!

Ricana, parent of Y7 student - Firstly, I would like to say what a fantastic show and Kuddos to all the casts for doing a marvelous job!

In my opinion, drama and stage performances have a special impact on students' lives. These events help students to be more confident, learn to face their fears, and work as a team of different ages. The drama show teaches student real life skills of hard work, dedication, resilience, and enjoying everything that you do.

I worked with every character in the backstage, and I am confident in saying every student were putting their best efforts with utmost respect for each other and a calming smile. It's amazing to witness how they have come together to help, cheer and motivate each other despite of coming from different year group, gender or ethnicity. 

I am glad to be part of this team, as this was also a very good platform for Parents to know each other and work together towards a common goal. Similar to students, even parents got a stage to perform their skills. I would like to thank BSB for arranging such a great event. The teachers were fully supportive of parents, which made us feel a part of the BSB family.

Ella, parent of Y11 student – It’s very exciting to be back in school and I’m happy to be here helping with the students’ makeup and watching the show.

Nicole, parent of Y9 & Y13 students –We’re happy to be back in school. I used to help with Chatter Box Café so it’s exciting to finally join other school activities again.

Amelie, GK4 student - Me for being a fan of The Addams Family movie, I like everything!! Congratulations to all for the efforts… I really liked the zombies wearing beautiful clothes.

Maria, Y7 student - The play was absolutely fantastic. It was a gift to enjoy my talented classmates and teachers.  And a wonder to see them display their talents in such a unique way not witnessed in my usual school setting.

Leni, Y7 student - All was fantastic efforts...but I love the Gomez role because he definitely has a perfect accent and didactic!

Leticia, Y7 student - I loved the interpretation of Gomez and Grandma because the two characters were in perfect harmony and synchrony!

Xiyi Y10 student - What impressed me most about this show was the students’ amazing acting ability. There was a great contrast between the actors in the show and the real person, which shocked me a lot.  They are really no different from professional actors. I love the show very much because I saw their good cooperation and team spirit, which made me see a different side of my friends. I had no idea that they could do so well, I’m so happy and proud of them.

Please click here to read more about our BSB Performing Arts curriculum in collaborations with The Juilliard School.