Sheena and some High School Mania

South Harting’s Sheena Hulme is the producer for the new touring show High School Mania which hits the Pavilion Theatre, Worthing on Thursday, August 25 on 6pm.

She’s been based in the village for six years now: “My husband is a boat builder. He works at Thornham Marina, and I was working in London. We were looking at Petersfield - but South Harting is such a lovely village.

“I work from home quite a lot. We have got two small children, and fortunately I don’t always have to be at the venue.

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“I have been working in the theatre since 94 and as a producer since 2001. I mainly produce a variety show up in Norfolk at the end of Cromer Pier. It is the last end-of-the-pier show in the country. I also do the Bournemouth Pier show.

“This will be our first touring show. Bournemouth is a younger, more vibrant market and a promoter said to me that we should try to put together a children’s show. That’s how we got thinking about High School Mania.”

The concept was in March; the reality followed a couple of months later: “Luckily because we produced a show already, we have got a director and choreographer and musical director already on our books to work with us.

“We did an audition and more than a hundred people turned up. We got the best ten for the show. And then we got into the phase where you create the set and decide on the music and then work on the costumes and do the marketing, to create the design for the poster.

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“By the time, the cast got into rehearsal, everything was in place for them to learn the routines. They had the music and the script prepared.

“It’s Disney, which means that you can’t replicate the original things, which means that we are doing a high-quality new staging. It’s an original piece but it’s really a song and dance show.”

High School Musical is huge: “It’s basically like Grease was for my generation. It is so upbeat and happy!”

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