Photo by Anthony Minott
Scene from St. Catherine High School performing arts group's 2006 production of the life of biblical character, Job, at the school's amphitheatre on Sunday, August 6.

Anthony Minott, Freelance Writer

Young talents were unearthed at the annual St. Catherine High School performing arts department 2006 production at the school's auditorium, in Spanish Town, recently.

This year, the youngsters portrayed the life of biblical character, Job, a wealthy man.

At the peak of Job's existence he had thousands of cattle, livestock, acres of land, a huge house and a beautiful wife and children. But, with the influence of the Devil, everything started to fall apart; his children died, his wife cursed Job's God saying that Job should curse his God, and die, but Job did not have any of it. On the brink of death, Job clung on to God's faith and God answered his prayer renewing Job's life and manifest his riches more than ever, which brought happiness to all.

It was a well-executed production with colourful costumes and intricate moves spanning the genre - reggae, dancehall, gospel, pop and modern contemporary. Background music and special effects add further intrigue to the performances.

Apart from the main character, Job, played by Jermaine Lambert, Aldrea Dennis brought the house down playing the satanic character, the devil. Her performance brought goose pimples to the audience mainly the children who screamed incessantly whenever the dubious character made an appearance. With his howling voice and spontaneous moves, he thrilled the audience.

Oneil Mundle, producer of the show, had high praises for his team, hailing this year's performance as the best in two years.

Incorporating culture in music

"We did mainly dance this time around. The children were exciting ... they incorporated the elements of our culture in music, dance and drama and this was useful for small stage production although it was a large cast," Mundle explained.

The students worked on the project for three weeks with a cast of about 40 performers and a support cast of about 20.

A media personnel who watched the show was pleased with what he saw. "The choreography was good; it was very heavy on the humour side," he said.

Principal of St. Catherine High, Joan Tyser-Mills, gave thanks to all who worked on the production. "I extend congratulations and a special thank you to the committee, which worked very hard during our three weeks summer camp to prepare this year's production. This augurs well as it is a sign that there are people who are willing to pursue and maintain the things in life that bridge generations and give meaning to our continued existence," she said after the show.