When a global pandemic
causes all singing to be banned, a high school diva - in - waiting creates her own underground show choir.
... you know...
High School Musical Meets the Plague
Who is it for?
Like it's genre mates "High School Musical", "Z.O.M.B.I.E.S", and "Julie and the Phantoms" Plan Bea is family viewing, 10 and up.
Or for anyone that has ever been a theatre kid, in a school musical, or choir.
Editor and VFX Hamish Boyd has been a director/editor for over 20 years in broadcast, advertising and corporate films.
His credits across ABC for Kids and ABCMe are both numerous and varied
Choreographers, Brittany Byrnes, Sally Dashwood, and Gezelle Barham share a multitude of skills, gigs and awards across Hip Hop, Tap, Cheer and Acro. Their credits include, SYTYCD, Happy Feet, H2O, Australian National Cheer and Hip Hop coaches and many many more.
THE TEAM
Plan Bea's director, composer, and creator Sean Peter is a multi award winning writer and composer for theatre, film and television. Amongst others, he has worked for ABC for Kids, ABCMe, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, Disney Online, and countless theatre and music theatre productions.
Borce Damcevski ACS is our Director of Photography, with hundreds of commercials, promos, music videos and short films under his belt, plus several awards to go with them.
KEY Characters
Penny
New to Victory High after a troubled experience at her last school, Penny is desparate for acceptance while also trying her best to be there for her younger sister Maggie. Penny wants Eric as her boyfriend, but through finding a new group of friends, learns to stand on her own two feet.
Bea
"Singing - Girl" Bea has been practicing Idina Menzel and Mariah Carey riffs since the age of 10, waiting for her big chance to show everyone her incredible talents. Self centred to the point of blindness, but determined, brave and loyal, Bea comes to learn that music is about a selfless shared experience.
Izzy
Always the "good girl", School Dux Izzy has been unsuccessfully trying to stop Bea's crazy schemes since primary school. But when breaking the rules gives her a new confidence, she is prepared to stand up to Bea, even if it jeopardises their friendship.
Lou
Lou, is idealistic, determined and doesn't take shit from anyone. They will do anything for their friends, and are quick to call out injustice when they see it. Their step brother Jake is the big thorn in their side - and the unfair opportunities for sports kids drives them crazy.
Best Year Ever
Bea, Lou, Jake, Izzy, Mikayla and the Plan Bea Cast
If I Had a Voice
Bea
Bit By Bit
Bea and Jake
Crush You
Mikayla, the Ms, Lou, Izzy, Penny and Bea
Don't It Feel Good
The Plan Bea Cast
We Belong
Lou and the Plan Bea Cast
Can't Shut Me Down
Bea, Izzy, Lou, Eric and the Plan Bea Cast
All The Things We've Lost
Izzy and the Plan Bea Cast
The Long Day Closes
The Plan Bea Cast
Unprecedented
Mikayla and the Ms
There Will Be A Way
The Plan Bea Cast
mUSIC
Written and produced by multi award winner Sean Peter, the music is a world class selection of original songs right in the wheelhouse of the Pop Tween musicals.
The songs, entirely sung by the exceptionally talented teenage cast move through a myriad of styles - Pop, EDM, Punk Rock, as well as the gorgeous "If I Had a Voice" , the haunting "All The Things We've Lost" and the uplifting "There Will Be a Way"
Always entertaining and accessible, the dance set pieces of the movie are joyous, uplifiting and high energy while always staying true to our characters, world and genre.
The soundtrack album, and standalone songs make an ideal cross publicity and social media tool to drive audiences to the film.
COVID
Plan Bea is a response to how performing arts were treated in the pandemic. The first thing banned, the last thing restored.
While sports kept on sporting.
Whatever your opinion is of theatre kids and the school musical, they are the reason many kids turn up to school at all. Not every kid wants to be a Matilda - some want to be IN Matilda. Music and Theatre is where they find their tribe and identity. Where many find that spark that turns into a career in music, theatre, TV or film.
And when you ban those activities, as we did in 2020 and 21, those kids have nowhere to go, lose the opportunities to create, and have no one to form community with.
You have to change to fight for the things that are important. And we did.
We made this movie.
We don’t really know what the long term outcome will be for our kids from covid – we know mental health has declined, and more and more kids face all kinds of challenges. Part of Plan Bea - “All The Things We’ve Lost” - acknowledges it was lonely, scary, hard and dare I say it, unprecedented.
But it was a shared experience. And one we should acknowledge. And celebrate and share as something that we came through.
Changed, and stronger for it.
Music and Music theatre is a space where so many young people find their identity.
While it is never the main focus of the story, our characters are straight, gay, cis, nb, trans and still figuring it out. But in our aspirational Plan Bea world there is a normalised and assumed acceptance, and only a drop kick neanderthal like Gordie is yet to catchup.
The cast includes actors of African, Arabian, Indian, Sri Lankan, East Asian background as well as European and Australian. In this case an actual representation of this public school. We liased with our Hearing unit. We had kids with a wide spectrum of neurodiversity. No one was excluded. Everyone was welcome.
The project was made as a way of providing equal opportunities to Public Education. And still nothing compares to the opportunities, infrastructure and money of the private system – particularly in a pandemic.
At its essence, Bea’s journey is to learn the joys of selflessly supporting others in their expression, is perhaps even more fulfilling than expressing your own.
The arts has always been about refuge and community. Plan Bea is community – not only in the choir created on screen, but also in the creation of the movie itself.
INCLUSION
sean@seanpeter.com
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+61 413 381147
Mailing Address
22 Bundanoon Place,
Hornsby Heights, NSW, 2077
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