As the weather starts to cool you know Star Struck is not too far away. With rehearsals in full swing you can feel the excitement building to that infamous weekend in June where public education displays some of its finest performing artists from across Newcastle, the Hunter and Central Coast areas.
2023 will not disappoint with the theme for this year being Ignite! The show is set to wow audiences with a carefully selected mix of music, dance and drama from across the decades and the genres. Ignite is a show that will spark a smile in everyone's heart and get those toes tapping.
Ignite will be held at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Friday 16 June at 11am and 7pm and on Saturday 17 June at 1pm and 7pm. The show has been double cast with Cast A performing Friday 11am and Saturday 7pm and Cast B performing Friday 7pm and Saturday 1pm.
Again Star Struck will provide a unique performing arts opportunity for:
- 3500 dance and drama students
- a combined choir of over 500 students
- 100 featured dancers
- 100 featured music students including vocalists, backing singers, orchestra members and student rock bands.
- Over 30 VET entertainment students gaining first hand professional experience in production and stage management.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased through Ticketek via https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=STARSTRU23
Dance and Drama rehearsals for this year's show began on Thursday 26 April at the Newcastle Basketball Stadium with schools from all over Newcastle, the Hunter and Central Coast regions coming to together to learn their items. Item rehearsals run throughout May most days.
Our first combined rehearsals will take place on Wednesday 24 May (Cast A) and Thursday 25 May (Cast B) at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre. This is where schools come together for the first time at the venue to rehearse items including transitions on and off the floor. For students new to Star Struck this is the first time they will experience running onto the arena floor and feeling what it will be like on show night.
The pandemic saw many school choirs fold, so it is very exciting to see choirs in schools are back with great enthusiasm, and as a result we will have our biggest choir in many years with over 500 students participating. Choir rehearsals are held at the Exhibition Centre at Newcastle entertainment Centre on Friday 5 May and Friday 9 June.
We have a strong team of featured vocalists and musicians in 2023. Rehearsals for vocalists are held at Lambton High School over several weekends throughout May and June culminating in the final rehearsal, known as the Sitzprobe, on Saturday 10 June at Hunter School of the Performing Arts. This is the day the singers and musicians come together for the first full rehearsal of all the musical elements of the show.
Star Struck is a cost recovery program and would not be possible without the continued support of its sponsors. A big thank you to our major sponsor Glencore who continue to support us, including many specific programs such as the Student Direction Team. This is a program that enables students to be mentored by our choreographers and to produce an item in the show themselves. Our media partners are NEWFm 105.3, 2HD, the Newcastle Herald and Graphika. In 2023 we welcome a platinum sponsor, the NSW Teachers Federation. Their support is made up of contributions from the following Teachers Associations: Bulahdelah, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Lake Wallis, Maitland, Newcastle, Port Stephens Raymond Terrace and Singleton, as well as the NSW Teachers Federation as a whole.
Our Gold Sponsors are Newcastle Video Solutions and Kinetic Creations. The Silver Sponsor is Newcastle Stevedores and our Bronze Sponsor is Wests. Our Megastar Sponsors consist of Cabarrus, Mango Shake and Cappuccino Monkey. In 2023 we have secured a grant from the Port of Newcastle. This grant has been used to build a connection with NAISDA (National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association) and to enable our Aboriginal dancers an opportunity to work in a professional space and to see firsthand the possibilities that exist for Aboriginal students beyond the classroom.
We thank everyone involved in making the magic of Star Struck accessible and an experience for so many.
Star Struck Ignite is once again a show not to be missed and can be enjoyed by all.
