Pupils at ACG Tauranga will be taking a journey down the rabbit hole, having tea with the Mad Hatter and avoiding the wrath of the Red Queen this Friday, as they bring to life the weird and wonderful world of Alice in Wonderland.

Adapted from the film script of Tim Burton's award-winning Hollywood feature, Year 3-6 pupils from the Bay of Plenty school will be performing their first-ever primary production.

Due to the quirky nature of the script, which has been edited to suit the school's purpose, production coordinator Dee Ellwood says pupils have both 'enjoyed and been challenged” by the material.

'They quickly learnt that it's not just about performing on the day, but the preparation that counts – the whole process of creating a play. This is their first experience of the theatre and of dramatic performance, and while it's certainly a tricky one to start with, they've all picked it up incredibly well.”

Dee, who has a professional background in speech and drama, has been involved in pulling the production together and coordinating the 26 students involved.

While there are no elaborate sets, there are fantastic costumes, thanks to Rebecca Goldstein, who has an extensive background in production and costume design, and has been creating guidelines for the parents to help pull together unique outfits for each character.

Dee says a lack of set pieces has been one of the most challenging aspects, with the students needing to rely heavily on their characterisation of the script.

'With big sets it's easy to let these do the talking, but for us we've looked at voice and movement as the main ways students will be portraying their character.

'It's unique for a school production at this age level, but I believe it's teaching our performers really valuable skills – not just for theatre, but all aspects of their lives.”

Principal Shawn Hutchinson, who is an advocate for the arts in all forms, says he's looking forward to seeing the finished production and credits Rebecca and Dee for helping bring it all together.

'Taking on a character, be they ‘good' or ‘bad', can teach students huge values in empathy and understanding of others – seeing the world from a different point of view, even if it is in a fantasy land.

'Dee and Rebecca have brought huge experience to the co-ordination of this production and I thank them for the time and effort they have put in to create this performance. I'm sure our parents will be impressed with the results!”