Diversity and inclusion, finding community and building resilience are the take-home themes from Medowie Christian School’s 2024 Finding Nemo Jr production, on stage this week.

With a cast of 352 students, aged from three-to-17, acting and singing across 13 scene changes for an hour-long production, this is a musical as large as the ocean.

Based on the 2016 Pixar film Finding Nemo, the school’s musical producer, director and primary school teacher Lyndal Blatch says the production offers a fresh look at the themes that lie beneath.

“It’s a beautiful storyline,” she says.

“It’s essentially about family, and finding home, and like Dory, finding community as well. 

“It has lots of sub-storylines.”

Finding Nemo is a story about a young clownfish named Nemo that gets separated from its over-protective family while exploring the boundaries of the Great Barrier Reef.

While Nemo ends up trapped in an aquarium in a dentist’s office, his father Marlin joins a forgetful blue reef fish named Dory, sharing encounters with sharks, jellyfish, and a host of ocean dangers while trying to find Nemo.

The line that is most remembered from the film is one that Lyndal hints just may make an appearance in the stage production, too.

“Just keep swimming, yes, it’s probably my favourite line.”

Aside from positive themes and sets that include reef, an aquarium and open ocean, Ms Blatch says Finding Nemo offers another opportunity for students to engage in their education.

“We chose this production because there are a lot more main characters and that offers a lot more students a chance to really shine on stage,” she explained.

“It’s always hard work, but it’s exciting to see the students really transform on stage, and it’s students that don’t necessarily take centre stage in their day-to-day lives.

“This gives them confidence and offer an opportunity to shine.”

Backstage production is the handiwork of the school’s students, too, with a Year 11 student coordinating the digital backgrounds.

A large number of costumes that feature in the show are made by parents.

After five months of rehearsing Finding Nemo JR will be performed before audiences this week when its launches on Wednesday 10 April.

It will run for three nights at 6.30pm, with a matinee event on Thursday at noon.

Tickets are available at Eventbrite or at the door.

Coincidently, members of this same group of students won the Outstanding Vocals Award at the Junior Theatre Festival last year, the event that marked the start of the journey to this week’s much-anticipated production.

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