Video transcript
Schools Spectacular 2022 - Creating the Magic - behind the scenes - 01. Featured artists

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ALEX BILLETT: A weekend for a featured artist is really hectic. We start off with vocal warm-ups, then into styling, then into music rehearsals, then into vocal rehearsals, then into staging rehearsals, then into dancing rehearsals, and then a mass ensemble rehearsal, until we end up here in Qudos Bank Arena.

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GEORGIE SAMPSON: Not only have I enjoyed obviously singing, but a lot of when we're not singing, we're just having the best time of our lives backstage. Because we know-- we have to be quiet, obviously, but it's really nice to know that you have such encouraging peers.

MADDIE STEAD: The best moment of Spec so far has been going to the auditions and singing and having everyone sing alongside you. And then we all had to sing one by one, and I'm sitting there comparing myself. I'm like, 'Oh, she's amazing. I don't know how I'm going to compare.' But you know, I sang and then I felt like I did the best I could.

And then when I got the email, I was so excited. I was like, 'Yes!' And I'm just so honoured to have been chosen to do this.

BELLA LAGA'AIA: So, I started auditioning as soon as I could in Year 4, and I auditioned every single year until this year and I finally got in this year. And it's super exciting to be a part of.

JESSICA HILL: Me and my family have quite a close and special connection to Spec. For years, since I was probably around 3 years old, my mum would always take me and my sister to go watch Spec when it was at the Entertainment Centre every year. It's like a family tradition.

JESSICA'S MUM: So, getting in as a featured artist this year has been fantastic. She's been in core choir. I just think the whole journey for her from the beginning to end has been spectacular.

BEN GILLARD: I first started really properly playing guitar because I first saw Tommy Emmanuel, and that's what really got me into it. From there, he's been my inspiration and I've been learning all his songs.

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TOMMY EMMANUEL: Yeah!

BEN GILLARD: Thank you.

TOMMY EMMANUEL: Thanks for playing. That was awesome, brother. Awesome.

TAHLIA REDIGER: Well, I've never done anything even close to this before. So, I've learnt so much. I've been introduced to so many new things, like performing with in-ears and just having such a big group of people to perform with on such a large scale is completely new but so exciting.

LILLIANA DAVIS: I absolutely love this one memory during the production process of getting down to practise the opening number and spending hours and hours rehearsing dance that I never knew I could do. It's been absolutely incredible.

JACKSON FITZGERALD: Extra experience of being on the stage and having all the lighting and the microphones and the sounds, I am sure all of us in our schools we have that to a capacity, but nowhere near the extremities that is Qudos Bank Arena, and being on that stage, I think it's really going to kick in and all that experience here we're going to take away and move on to whatever we do after this and hopefully come back next year and do it all again.

ALEX BILLETT: It has been my dream since I was a little kid to be a featured artist, and ever since I was in the top choir watching all the featured artists on stage, I knew that was what I wanted to do.

ALEX'S MUM: It's really busy, but there's such an environment of well-being and caring in this environment, which we've always experienced. Because also, my youngest son is in the primary choir. So, his younger brother is going to be watching his older brother being a featured artist, and I just find the support from Alex's school has been amazing, the support from the Arts Unit. You couldn't fault it, it is very busy, but it's very well organised and it's a very supportive environment.

BONNIE KIRGAN: There's so much that you learn at Spec, and I've even noticed, like, at other performances, I'm taking on so much of the knowledge and information that I've received from the amazing team and you just-- you just take on so much of the work ethic and the-- just commitment from all your peers and everyone else, and you just learn what it means to be a hard-working performer, and it's just incredible.

JOSIE WOODS: Being the first profoundly deaf, signing featured artist, bit of a mouthful, but in my opinion, that is the most honourable thing that I have ever had in the history of Spec and I am so proud to be able to pass on things that I know to everyone in the future and even now.

HARPER JESSOP: My school actually does some fundraisers for me, and my friends who own an estate do little markets and they raise some money for me. So, yeah, we're very grateful to our friends in school and-- yeah.

HARPER'S GRANDFATHER: We're very proud of Harper, of course, and as his whole family and community is.

EMERSON GARCIA: Yeah, all the tutors are really inspiring. They make us work extra hard and they get us to become the best performers we can be.

MICAH JUNE: So, my mentor Gabby has given me a tonne of tips, like, for health. So, all of those tips given me, like, drink tea, just get good sleep and stuff was really good. And she'd give me, like, little singing warm-ups, which is great because that just really helps and gets you started for the day when you're about to do a whole day of singing.

CASEY ALEXANDER: From this experience, I've learnt to just be myself. I have taken a while to come out of my shell. I was a bit more nervous the first time I did it. But now just practising, being around everyone else and performing non-stop, I'm just really coming out of my shell and just really enjoying performing, and it's just-- I really love it.

LUCY MURRAY: So, my brother Jesse Murray was in Schools Spectacular, who's now in Bangarra Dance Company. So, that's really inspired me to go through this as well with the Aboriginal Dance Company.

RILEY LATTUGA: I'd like to thank my family because they drive me here, tolls, and petrol's so expensive. Going out of their day, out of their work times, they work in the car and just to get me here on time with traffic.

RILEY'S DAD: You just get overwhelmed. Just so proud of him just seeing him there, and it's just letting them do what they love to do. That's being a parent.

LACHLAN'S MUM: So, we had a deal. If he got in, I got to make him a t-shirt. So, you will see this at every show at the Qudos Bank Arena on our family's backs because we are so proud.

STUDENTS: See you at Schools Spectacular 2022.

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