In a first at Newington, senior students are set to stage the College’s first Year 11 directed musical, Tick Tick…Boom! to showcase their own dramatic and musical ambition. 

Year 11 student Nicholas V is keenly aware of the responsibility of depicting famed Broadway creative Jonathan Larson in Tick, Tick…Boom!, a musical that brings Larson’s almost decade long struggle to get his work to stage. 

‘Playing a character based on a real-life person is demanding because you are aware that this person actually walked around on this Earth and you want to do justice to that person and his life story.’ 

Tick Tick…Boom! tells the story of Larson’s unrelenting dedication and ambition in the face of years of artistic hardship to create, compose and stage his own musical. Known widely today for creating the Broadway hit, Rent, Larson tragically died 25 years ago on the day of Rent’s first off-Broadway preview. Archival materials later revealed Larson frequently posed himself the question, ‘how does one turn one’s own life into a piece of art?’ 

Year 11 student, Nate S makes his directorial debut to bring Larson’s raison d’être to life on Duckmanton Theatre’s stage. Nicholas V stars in the one-act production alongside fellow Year 11 students Tom B and Adelaide A from MLC who play characters, Mike and Susan. The trio recently performed together as Dragon, Donkey and Fiona in Newington’s production of SHREK (see pages 43–44).

Director Nate is also a longtime actor, ensemble, and production crew member. He has appeared in College productions of School of Rock, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Catch Me If You Can and Lord of the Flies. He has also acted in the Belvoir Theatre’s productions of King of Pigs, and Packer and Sons. He was Nicholas’ and Tom’s first choice after they took the idea of staging a Year 11 musical to Newington’s Head of Drama, Mr Paul Eastway. 

‘He told us to find a director and go back to him. So we thought ‘who do we know who has an excellent concept of space and has been on the stage a lot before?’, and we immediately thought of Nate,’ says Nicholas.  

‘Not only is he a dancer, he knows his way around a stage, and backstage with lighting and staging.’ 

Nate was straight on board. 

‘It’s been a big job, and it’s different from not being on stage, but I’ve really enjoyed bringing all the acting and technical details together – the sounds, the movement, the lighting into one show,’ he says. 

‘It’s been a wonderful experience to be able to use all the skills I have enjoyed learning over the years.’ 

The production also includes three Year 11 students in the band; Oliver H on drums, Ashton H on guitar and Edward C on bass, and three crew members from Year 10 in production; Oliver C, stage manager, Harry B, lighting designer and operator and Max W, sound designer.

Head of Drama, Mr Eastway says this production, which was made into a Hollywood film starring Andrew Garfield in 2021, is an exciting addition to Newington’s expansive drama offering. 

‘There was no Year 11 Student Directed Play set down for this year, so when Nicholas and Tom proposed the idea, we thought it would be a great opportunity for students to collaborate across the two performing arts disciplines of theatre and music.’  

Meanwhile, as opening night approaches, Nicholas, who wants to become a professional actor, is enjoying depicting the doggedly focused and determined Larson. 

‘Jonathan was so devoted to becoming a successful creative person and living that dream but sadly he never got to see his success,’ he says. 

‘The title refers to the metaphorical clock he heard ticking in his pursuit to achieve his dream as he continually asked himself… ‘how much time do I have and when do I give up on my dream?’ As with his life, the musical is a mix of comedy, drama and sadness. It warns us that we all really need to be careful with the time we have in this world to achieve our greatest goals.’  

Newington College offers an outstanding Academic and Creative Arts program which in 2025 saw: 

• 33 x Year 12 HSC students receive 33 individual and 3 group nominations for their HSC major works in the prestigious NSW Education Standard Authority (NESA) Showcases 

• 8 x Year 12 HSC students in 2025 receive selections for their HSC major works in the prestigious NESA Showcases  

• 100 per cent of Year 12 Drama students at Newington in 2025 receive an HSC result in the top 2 percentage bands compared to other students in NSW  

• Newington excelled academically in 2025 with three HSC students coming First in State in a Subject (in Physics, Mathematics Standard 2 and VET Construction) plus seven State rankings. Nine students achieved HSC All-round Achievers and 108 Newington Year 12 students in 2025 appeared on the HSC Distinguished Achievers list. Newington’s median ATAR is 89.95 per cent 

• In the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB) which Newington is one of only two GPS schools in NSW to offer, four students received a perfect score of 45/45 (ATAR approximate of 99.95) and another five IB students scored 44/45 (ATAR approximate of 99.70)  

Tick, Tick…Boom! is showing on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 May at 7.00pm in the Duckmanton Drama Centre. 

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