Te Puke Intermediate production: Alice - the Musical

Central characters from Te Puke Intermediate production Alice - the Musical, Narrator Lewis Carroll (Tinus Nel), White Rabbit (Ally Wells) Alice (Amber Cooper), the Mad Hatter (Lydia Williams-Stewart

Krystal Cooper will be grinning like a Cheshire cat if her students' memories haven't been dulled by a two-week holiday.

Krystal is at the helm for Te Puke Intermediate School's production, Alice - the Musical, to be staged next week.

After an intensive production week during the last week of last term, she decided not to call the cast back into the school for rehearsals during the school holidays.

It doesn't leave much time for them to show they are still up to speed with the first performance next week - but she is confident the show will ''all come together and be amazing''.

For the final week of term 2, the school was in full production mode with students and staff adding the final touches to performance, dance, props, costumes and the backdrop.

''I needed a break and they needed a break - and we'll have two full days before we have our matinee on the Wednesday,'' says Krystal.

The school puts on a production every other year, taking part in Fresh Moves in alternate years, and preparation for this year's production began at the start of March.

''So it will be about four and a half months by the time it starts that we've been working on it.''

Auditions began the process.

''At intermediate it's hard because they've always got so much going on all the time - there are always a lot of clashes.

Clashes with dates of other schools' productions also meant the staging date had to be changed a couple of times.

''But we have a good group of approximately 60 kids, which is a good number, and they've been pretty committed.''

Krystal is a senior teacher in the school's Expressive Learning Centre which, as well as the Eco and Excel Learning Centres, has provided most of the cast.

Krystal and fellow teacher Kayla Webby are largely responsible for the costumes.

Technology teachers with a group of students have created all the props and the teacher aides, led by Maxine Morris, have been busy creating and painting the backdrop.

''I don't think I've ever seen anything like them - they are just insane,'' says Krystal.

The show is described as a timeless classic, wonderfully retold in a creative combination of music, dance and drama.

Based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland the show features including originals songs by Mark and Helen Johnson.

The production gives a large group of students the chance to be involved through being an actor, extra, dancer or part of the back stage crew.

There will be a matinee performance next Wednesday and an evening performance on July 25.

Tickets are on sale from the school office or at the door of the school's Performing Arts Centre on the night. $5 adult, $2 child under 14 and a family pass for two adults and two children $13.