By Emily Stonehouse

A group of local high school students were recently dazzled by the bright lights in the big city. 

As a part of the drama initiatives at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School (HHSS), a group of 26 students through Grades 9 to 12 ventured to Toronto and Oakville to explore the world of theatre outside the community.

“There were no problems the whole time,” shared HHSS drama teacher Meghan Mardus. “The students were so amazing, and it’s so great as a teacher to see teenagers light up like that.” 

Many of the students played a part in the recent HHSS production of Circus Olympus, which assisted with their fundraising costs for the adventure. Mardus was adamant that she wanted all students who were interested to be able to go on the trip. “It was such a rich learning experience for them,” she said. “For some students, this was just an entirely new experience.” 

One of the first stops on the two-day December trip was to Sheridan College in Oakville, where students had the opportunity to participate in workshops at the school. The focus of the workshops were dance, musical theatre vocal, or auditions skills. “It was really cool,” reflected Mardus. “They were able to recognize the transferability of the skills they learned in these workshops. Even if they didn’t plan on pursuing musical theatre, they saw how the auditions practice could help with job interviews and things like that.” 

The well-respected college also offers one of the only full comprehensive theatre tech programs in the country, and the local students were invited to explore the many behind-the-scenes facets of the school before preparing for their own performance. 

One of the driving forces behind getting the students to Sheridan was for the chance to participate in Star Fest, a regional theatre festival where students from across the province perform pieces they have developed. 

During the trip, four other schools were represented, with Hal High students traveling the farthest to participate. They had selected a scene from Circus Olympus to perform in front of the crowd, and left the audience dazzled. “My heart was just bursting,” shared Mardus. “I was so, so proud of them. If they were nervous, you never could have known.” 

After their performance, the students were shuttled to downtown Toronto, and had the opportunity to explore the city; seeing a new movie, shopping in the malls, and wandering around the busy streets.. 

All of these students had a portion of their formative years occur during lockdowns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, making this adventure into the city that much more impactful. “They were curious, they asked so many questions,” said Mardus. “We live in a wonderful, beautiful place, but there’s so much value in exploring outside the community, and seeing what else is out there.” 

The trip ended with a viewing of Come From Away at the Royal Alexander Theatre in downtown Toronto. While Mardus shared that the show itself was incredible, the real magic came from watching the students’ faces light up as they took it all in. “It was pretty magical,” she shared. 

Following the performance, the students had the chance to meet a handful of the performers for a meet and greet to ask questions and get to know the industry. 

The students took time to research the storyline of Come From Away prior to the performance. The show is set in Gander, Newfoundland, and follows the true story of planes being rerouted to the tiny town following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. All the students were born in the years following the catastrophic event, but took the time to reflect and understand the stories that came from it. 

And that’s what Mardus says is the magic of theatre; the opportunity to open your eyes to worlds unknown; to connect with characters, and to create a story for audiences of all ages to appreciate and understand. 

“I really hope this is something we can offer our students every year,” she said. “I just really enjoyed it from start to finish.”