Carlsbad High School students to present virtual production of ‘Falling Star: A New Musical’

Carlsbad High School students recently announced that Falling Star: A New Musical, the city’s first completely student-written musical, will be held May 13-15 from 7 p.m. - 8:15 p.m., streamed virtually on ShowTix4U.com, at the cost of $12 per audience member. There will be no intermission, and attendees must join the live stream during the allotted time, as the streamed performance will not be released after. One may purchase tickets at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/47127

About the musical: Growing more and more obsessed with falling stars, a grieving playwright chooses to pick up the pen to start writing again, but when the stars, her relationships, and a playwriting contest begin to overwhelm her, she must learn how to accept grief before she grows too distant from those who care about her.

This production was written and composed collaboratively by the Student Production Club Writing, Editing, and Music Committees, comprising 11 students from three different grade levels and two different schools. Students spent five months pitching ideas, brainstorming, character-building, outlining, writing, editing, and composing Falling Star, all on a virtual platform. Their work culminated in a total of 21 scenes and 11 songs. In this time, students also had the opportunity to collaborate with New York composer James Kennedy. Falling Star is produced by the Carlsbad High School (CHS) Theatre Department, directed by theatre teacher Matthew Fauls-Rivas, and performed by 10 CHS students.

Falling Star cast members: Top: Lilly Evans (“Estella”), Grayce Britton (“Winifred”); Row 2: Sachi Stewart (“Marie”), Eli White (“Sol”), Addie Rowells (“Carina’s Mom”); Row 3: Laurel Bering (“Ensemble”), Kobe Cowell (“Carina”), TJ Rodiguez (“Luca”); Bottom: Cinjun Chiniquy (“Alfonso”), Ava Falk (“Hera”)

(Courtesy)

Carlsbad High School’s award-winning Student Production Club, headed by Aiko Lozar and Fiona Fabiano, empowers students to write, direct and act in their own theatrical and cinematic productions. After creating “Love is Blind: A Spoken Word Play” (play, 2018); “Oneirataxia” (play, 2019); “Bravo!” (feature film script, 2020), and a virtual film festival (2020), Student Production Club students collaborated with the Carlsbad Theatre Department to produce this student-written Spring Musical.

Falling Star collaborators: Top: Matthew Fauls-Rivas (Director), Ava Falk (Editor, Actress), James Kennedy (Composer); Row 2: Kobe Cowell (Composer, Actress), Sachi Stewart (Head of Writing Committee, Writer, Actress), Aiko Lozar (Student Prod. Club Co-President, Editor, Writer, Stage Manager); Row 3: Charlie Larson (Writer, Assistant Directing Intern), Fiona Fabiano (Assistant Director), Grayce Britton (Writer, Actress); Bottom: Grace Lu (Composer), Nathan Lu (Composer), Cassie Nesbit (Composer), Ian Feldman (Composer)

(Courtesy)

The CHS theatre program, headed by Matthew Fauls-Rivas, is an award-winning department, garnering recognition from National Youth Arts, San Diego Shakespeare Festival, and California Ed. Theatre Association. The CHS Musical Production, initiated over 40 years ago by former choral music teacher James Shepard, gives high school students the chance to expand their talents through the experience of performing a full-length musical for the public. Recently, the department has produced “9 to 5” (2018), “Little Women” (2019), “Almost, Maine” (2019), “Amélie” (2020), and “Badger” (2020).