How Mount Rowan Secondary's 'shadow cast' got on stage for Pinocchio

Production coordinator Shae Attrill said the musical production is one of the highlights of the annual school calendar.

"Our students are really excited," she said.

About 65 students from years seven to twelve have collaborated together onstage, in band, and backstage, constructing and painting sets and props under the help of 40 school staff, Ms Attrill said.

"Our hands-on learning students have had a full dedicated semester, where they have been creating about 30 shadow puppets as well as creating some sets."

Ms Attrill said she created a shadow puppet book for students who didn't want to perform on stage but still wanted to be involved with puppets.

"So we've got 30 different shadow puppets that operate in that book. We've also got some puppets that glow in the dark as well in a particular scene," she said.

Ms Attrill said the whole cast have been rehearsing for two hours a week across 10 weeks.

"We have got two students, Hayley Oldaker and Rachel Twyerould, they loved the opportunity to step into that role to be teaching all of the cast dancers."

She said in the last two weeks of the term, students had a couple of full production days where they experienced a full dress rehearsal before they went into performing the schools.

"They are pretty excited now to be able to perform to about 1500 primary school students from all the local feeder schools around Mount Rowan," she said.

Ms Attrill said the musical is an adaptation of Pinocchio.

"We've adapted that for our students and our music coordinator David Allen has written all original music and lyrics for the students to perform in the band and sing on the stage."

"Most of us are pretty familiar with the tale of Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who wishes to be real. And on his way to school, he's led astray by the allure of fame and has to learn to choose between right and wrong," she said.

"For our students, we thought the notion of finding out who you are and what it means to be real is similar to a student's experience of growing up through high school."