When the first movie came out, and seeing how my girls reacted to it, I knew this Harry Potter world was something that was to become part of our family.
From Casey having a crush on Draco and talking about how we needed to go to England right away, to Caitlin wanting to go to the midnight releases of each book and each film, mixed in with all of the Slytherin Halloween costumes, gifts, and home decor - we became a Harry Potter home (mixed in with a good dose of Star Wars).
Then COVID hit, and with it my discovery of Harry Potter props from Noble Collection. (It was very very bad for my wallet). Next thing I knew I had a Harry Potter Christmas tree, shelves I had to add to my office for my HP prop collection and let's not even talk about the amount of wands I collected.
Oh, and did I mention that I had Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) do a cameo shout out to my students during lockdown to send them a little uplifting message when they were missing being on the stage?
Fast forward to last year.
The contest from Broadway Licensing came out. Be the first school in your state to produce the new Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - High School Edition!
Picture me, sitting in the hall doing hall duty (it's a thing) looking at the announcement - and next thing I know I am joined by a very excited Chance McGill running up to me to tell me about it. (Yes, I have Tiktok and my videos are all of my collection, so he knew I was a Harry-Potter-Adult)
Then more and more students brought it up to me. "Are we going to enter?" "Gilligan, did you see?"
So, Chance and I created a plan. Yes, let's enter. Chance will film the video submission, and I would get some additional videos from Admin etc.
Every group of students we asked jumped at the chance to be in the competition video submission and the catch phrase "We are Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" was created!
And shout out to our Admin and everyone in the front office who said yes when I asked them if could film them for the video - and Mr. Anderson sealing the deal with saying that Riverside was a magical school - perfection!
So, we submitted it - and waited. And waited. We knew we would be going up against every single high school in Virginia, public and private, who also submitted the chance to do the show first in the state!
Then the email came.
We won!
And after months of planning, a summer of building (thank you to Ian and our Parent Volunteers who came and worked like crazy on it - and a big round of applause to Art Cantrell and Chris Canales!!) Our Boosters who have worked non-stop to raise funds for the show, and our Admin supporting my insane amount of stage time needed for this show!
But the most amazing part of this show has been the students of course. Dedicated, hardworking, incredibly talented - they are the reason we do all of this. To see them shine on stage, behind the scenes, in the booth, building, sewing, creating, leading, promoting - they are truly amazing!
So now, here we are, representing Riverside HS, Loudoun County, and the State, with the State Premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child- High School Edition!
So on behalf of every incredible person who helped us put together this magical show - we invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the State Wide Premiere of HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD - HIGH SCHOOL EDITION!
