A new TV show launching tomorrow on TV 1 follows the journey of four local schools who supercharge their school productions with a little help from local entertainment heroes, including Keisha Castle-Hughes, Temuera Morrison and Jennifer Ward-Lealand.
The show, which is called Class Act, is the brainchild of actor Cliff Curtis.
Cliff Curtis Photo: Supplied.
Curtis is currently in New Orleans shooting a film but found time to join Jesse Mulligan for a chat.
He says the idea came from his wife who he describes as a bit of a helicopter mum.
“We’d go and watch the [school] shows and, generally speaking, school productions are pretty terrible. But I love them, the kids are adorable. They’re so pure and innocent. And you see the amount of care and attention and hard work the teachers put into the kids for their development… but yeah, usually the productions are pretty rough.”
Curtis says his wife suggested they help out and put on the best ever show the school’s ever seen. He took the idea from there and it spawned into a large project. The idea is that they let the kids tell their own stories and develop an original production.
“It’s a huge undertaking, very challenging, and I’m really proud of what everybody did. They did an amazing job, I think we’ve got a great little series there.
“These kids, these rangitahi, have got real stories to tell as people, and they’re interesting people. Even though they’re teenagers, they’ve lived life, they’ve been through things. And it’s giving an opportunity for them to tell their story and express themselves. I’m very impressed with it. I’m very happy.”
Curtis says working with teenagers is rewarding but also comes with responsibilities.
“When you go in and work with kids in a school you fall in love with them and you get emotional. You feel very responsible. You’re asking them to stand up and talk about themselves, tell their story.”
“It’s a big emotional journey for them, but the result is impressive that they can put these shows together in a matter of weeks.”
Class Act premiers on TVONE Saturday night at 9pm.
