Brooklynne Roman '23
Every year, our school honors Anne de Xainctonge, founder of the Sisters of Saint Ursula and establisher of our school’s values. To honor Anne every year, the juniors and Ms. Wakabayashi, more affectionately known as Ms. Waka, put on a musical about the story of Anne’s life by performing song parodies for the entire school right before we leave for Mid-Winter break.
Unfortunately, the last time a live performance was put on for the celebration was in 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. Like other activities these last two years, Notre Dame had to quickly adapt the celebration of our founding. As everyone adapted to Zoom last year, Ms. Wakabayashi and the current seniors decided it was best to pre-record the show's songs and give a live performance of their lines over Zoom. As we tackle another year of Covid, it was decided that, for the school’s safety, it would be best to keep the performance online, but this year Ms. Waka and the juniors recorded the entire musical and turned it into a short movie.
This year’s production of Anne’s life features parodies of “Fergalicious”, “Kiss Me Through”, “Hotel Room Service”, “Unwritten”, “More than a Woman”, “Elemental”, and “ 9 to 5” that were all hand-picked and rewritten by juniors. Not only are there musical performances, but many juniors made their great acting debuts. The video showcases the talent of the performers, songwriters, editors, and particularly our two Annes, Maya Perez, and Natalie Nguyen. The entire production was filmed at school on an iPad, and all the songs were recorded right in Ms. Waka’s office. For two weeks, the cast, but specifically Ms. Waka, had to juggle classes, recording, and editing. As a way of delegating, Ms. Waka tasked two juniors, Alana Liem and Bronwyn Kickasola, with the job of putting this masterpiece together. This meant that the juniors were involved in every step of the production and poured their hearts into it. Although the show has gotten more comedic over the years, it's important to remember that the Our Lady Lourdes celebration honors Anne de Xainctonge, who helped pave the way for women’s education, especially ours.
All Photos Courtesy of Ms. Wakabayashi
Edited by: Natalia Cseh '23 and Ms. Brilliant
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