Star in the making: Shepparton East Primary School student Riley Wooster took part in this year’s Victorian State Schools Spectacular as a puppeteer.
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Shepparton East Primary School student Riley Wooster and teacher Leah Sanders performed in the Victorian State Schools Spectacular in front of 10,000 fans at John Cain Arena in a moment to savour.
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Riley Wooster, 11, appeared in the spectacular on Saturday, September 10 as a puppeteer for an elephant, which brought much joy to his mother, Deanne Nobbs.
“To see a dream come true for him was pretty amazing,” she said.
"He had an elephant head with four legs made out of yoga mats, and he performed to several songs and was in the centre act.“
Singers: Shepparton East teacher Leah Sanders took part in the choir group with daughter Isabella.
Ms Nobbs said Riley passed his audition in 2021, but COVID-19 halted his chance to perform under the bright lights.
"When it was cancelled last year, Riley was in tears, and to have the chance in 2022, he was thrilled," she said.
Getting ready: Teacher Leah Sanders taught the children during lunch times.
Ms Nobbs said it was great for the young star in the making to know how much effort is involved in the performance.
"It is a huge undertaking, considering the five-hour (round) trips from Shepparton. It is a major task, but he manages it well and it is a great learning curve for him in the future,“ she said.
"He misses things as it comes to family events but pulls off the hard work to achieve something that his peers and family appreciated, and he was so proud of that.“
Speaking before his performance, Riley couldn’t contain his excitement.
“I love all aspects of performing arts (comedy, acting, singing, dancing, playing piano and puppetry), and I am influenced by the other performers and staff, who are incredibly talented, to be part of something wonderful,” he said
Shepparton East teacher Leah Sanders, who took part in the choir with her daughter Isabella, described it as a unique opportunity.
The choir sang Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles, and You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban.
The performance arts teacher said she was proud of the students’ efforts.
"With all the efforts by our students, you know, taking time out of their lunch break to practise singing and the likes was just great to be pull off in the end,’’ she said.
"I had to co-ordinate everything with the parents, which is quite hard, but the resilience by all of us on display was great and kept us in good stead for future performances.
"(For) Riley, (to) go through all the effort with over 40 trips back and forth to Melbourne and Shepparton. This shows his character as a young boy has matured.”
In the spotlight: The performance was in front of 10,000 people.
Ms Sanders said Shepparton East Primary School was enthusiastic about the Victorian State Schools Spectacular, and after Riley's performance, the school was more excited than ever for students to audition for future events.
"After the event, I had many kids coming towards to me asking for audition start dates but did tell them it does take a toll but is an opportunity for students to be themselves up on stage and shine like stars,’’ she said.
