This year Theatre Killarney raised the "performing arts" bar with a pre-show mask piece titled "Her Hero" and a student written and directed theatre piece called "Hurt". 

Her Hero preluded the main stage show and was directed and written by a former alumni of the Killarney theatre program.

Her Hero was a mask piece which captivated all 700 audience members. The play told the story of a young girl trying to fit into her community while surrounded by a group of bullies. While she is tormented, a younger boy struggles to protect her. In the end they realize it is "what's in the heart that matters most of all". The piece was performed with no words, only music. 

Killarney theatre staff members say the power of Her Hero was that their students had the opportunity to work with masks to captivate audiences and send a strong message that everyone must follow their heart and stand up for what they believe in. 

Meanwhile, Hurt was a product of collaboration between Killarney Theatre students and two senior students, Danika Shaw-Peppin and Janelle Yee, who created the play to tackle the issue of discrimination. The powerful theatre piece dealt with the issue of bullying and empowering bystanders to speak up and provided strategies to deal with the issue, no matter what age the bystander is. The piece was directed and written by the two senior Killarney students and was performed for 300 audience members during three evening shows and to over 600 elementary students.  

Killarney teacher Massimo Rocchetta says the play couldn't have happened without the support of a wide-range of important people.

For Her Hero, Rocchetta congratulated the director, Cardi Wong, cast, Alex A, Idalia M, Nico R, Jeremy C, Brian M and Priya L as well as Theatre Program teachers Ms. Byrne and Mr. Thiessen.

For Hurt, Rocchetta thanked the students, the directors and the Killarney theatre program.

"Finally, a BIG thank you to the VSB and Angela Brown for their support and guidance throughout the project," he said.