Western Heights High School Stage Challenge leaders (clockwise from front) Sasha Douglas, 17, Ashleigh Whitmore, 17, Katarina Mau-Thompson, 17, and Sarah Wharekura, 17. Photo/Ben Fraser
Western Heights High School Stage Challenge leaders (clockwise from front) Sasha Douglas, 17, Ashleigh Whitmore, 17, Katarina Mau-Thompson, 17, and Sarah Wharekura, 17. Photo/Ben Fraser
AFTER months of meticulous planning, mountains of tossed-aside brainstorming and endless sleepless nights, Rotorua secondary school students are ready to take centre stage.
The city's regional Stage Challenge competition takes place on Monday and Tuesday night at the Civic Theatre.
For countless students past and present, Stage Challenge is a staple annual event and a rite of passage for the Year 13s who painstakingly bring the performance together.
All the major Rotorua high schools get involved, giving up lunchtimes, study periods and weekends to create choreography, build sets and sew costumes.
Last year's regional competition saw a high calibre of performers across the board, but ultimately Western Heights High School reigned supreme for the second year running with their performance, titled Art is Life!
Their vibrant, fast-paced show explored how creativity and inspiration struggled to shine through in a world overrun by technology.
Western Heights High School Stage Challenge leaders (clockwise from front) Sasha Douglas, 17, Ashleigh Whitmore, 17, Katarina Mau-Thompson, 17, and Sarah Wharekura, 17. Photo/Ben Fraser
The winners were closely followed by John Paul College in second place and Rotorua Girls' High School in third place.
This year 17-year-olds Sasha Douglas, Ashleigh Whitmore, Katarina Mau-Thompson and Sarah Wharekura have been the driving force behind the champion school's Stage Challenge performance.
For Sasha, this moment is one she has been looking forward to since Year 7.
"I've been a part of Stage Challenge since intermediate and to know that this year is my year to bring it together has been so exciting for me.
"I remember as a Year 9, looking up to the Year 13 leaders thinking 'wow, I can't wait until it's my turn' and now that it is, I can't believe it."
Sasha says Western Heights High School has always bred strong performers in the competition and she is feeling the pressure this year.
"I'd be lying if I said there hadn't been a few sleepless nights over the last few months but we are lucky because we have been able to lean on each other and go to each other for support.
"As cheesy as it sounds, the journey of Stage Challenge brings the team together and you become like a family. The four of us were already friends before this year but now we are like sisters."
Sarah says she feels the group has come a long way since their days as "little, unknowing Year 9s".
"I love it when last year's leaders come in to see what we're doing because we can say 'look, this is our little baby, this is the thing we've created'.
"What I would love is for the leaders from five years ago to come back so we can show them how we've tried to carry on traditions and create a performance everyone can be proud of."
There are some surprises too that we hope will wow the audience and highlight how much
thought has gone into creating this show. Not wanting to give too much away, the girls say audiences can expect fun, colour and some big surprises from this year's performance.
Stage Challenge leaders (bottom to top) Sasha Douglas, 17, Ashleigh Whitmore, 17, Katarina Mau-Thompson, 17, and Sarah Wharekura, 17. Photo/Ben Fraser
"The production embodies fun," Ashleigh says. "There are some surprises too that we hope will wow the audience and highlight how much thought has gone into creating this show.
"We've centred most of the performance around the quote 'the great man is he who does not lose his child's heart'.
"There were some pretty weak ideas in the brainstorming stage but after a while we had it nailed down to three ideas that we each liked aspects from. At that stage we decided the best thing to do was to combine all three and that's how we ended up with the theme we have now," Sasha says.
All four girls agree they are not taking anything for granted.
"From what we've heard of other schools' performances, there will be some stiff competition on the night," Ashleigh says.
"The standard at Stage Challenge is always really high so we haven't taken anything for granted and have worked just as hard as previous years. I think us four have been at school every Sunday since the beginning of the year, making sure everything is perfect," Sasha says.
Win or lose, they will be proud of their efforts.
"Winning is great and it would be cool if we could say we won in our Year 13 year, but if we don't it won't diminish the sense of personal achievement we feel.
"Stage Challenge, for me at least, is more about the journey than the final result. Whatever happens on the night will happen but at the end of the day we will know how much love and effort we put into the show."
