New musical coming to Newstead College in August next year

Musical theatre teacher at Newstead College Alarna Hingston said she's excited about opening up the difficult conversations the show involves.

"Triple J released a story the other week saying Tasmanians are the most common young people in the whole of Australia to be in abusive relationships, and I thought that was the right time for us to open up that conversation and get our young people involved," Ms Hingston said.

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"I want to challenge the kids and really give them something to sink their teeth into while providing the right tools to do so."

She said she wants students to allow themselves to talk about these issues and feel safe doing so.

"We've got a well-being team involved, so we're going to incorporate relationships with mental health support services to ensure the kids are feeling positive about the conversations," she said.

"The students are so excited because the songs are so catchy. It's described as an edgy rock musical."

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She said the students who missed out on Heather's might still be involved next year.

"My year-12's that finish this year are so mad at me because I'm doing it for next year, but we like to keep our students involved and connected to the school in case they haven't quite found a pathway yet," Ms Hingston said.

She said Heathers can best be described as a cross between Mean Girls and Carrie.

"It's about a girl named Veronica who wants to join this cliquey group of girls all called Heather, but she finds the grass isn't as green on the other side."

She said the show will stick to the traditional script, but because it's a teen edition they can pull some things back.

"We tread carefully but the kids love to push the boundaries all the time so they're really excited."

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Ms Hingston praised the success of two of her recent graduates who were accepted into prestigious theatre schools.

Former student Marina Lee graduated Newstead in 2021 and received an offer to study Musical Theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts.

Fellow student Niamh Nolland who was the stage manager for Newstead's musical productions Legally Blonde and Freaky Friday, was accepted into the National Institute of Dramatic Arts.

"It's amazing considering they're both only 18. It's great to see their hard work paying off," Ms Hingston said.

"Enrollment is still open if anyone wants to swing over here and study musical theatre with us, we have plenty of room left."

Heathers: The Musical premiers August 16 to 19 next year.

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