Who’s behind Jericho Road?

Meet the students directing, producing and promoting Avondale’s new musical event

Talk about trust: an Avondale academic has empowered a team of students to stage the premiere of her musical event about love, loss and faithfulness. Not once but three times.

Dr Lindsay Morton’s Jericho Road will premiere over three nights in three locations next week (March 23-25). The musical event has three different endings and will challenge members of the audience to ask questions such as “What does it mean to be faithful when someone else has broken their vow?” and “How is it possible to be faithful to God when He appears to be silent?”.

The performances will be the culmination of months of scriptwriting, scoring and planning by students who have accepted roles as directors, producers and promoters.

Five of the students share their Jericho Road highlights and prepare you for what to expect from the experience.

So, who are you and how are you involved in Jericho Road?
Sharna Kosmeier: I’m a third-year student studying a Bachelor of Arts specialising in communication. I’m the Communication Coordinator, so I organise advertising, public relations, social media, the website and church previews. Most of my job involves sending a lot of emails and making a lot of phone calls, so it’s always exciting when I get to meet with the rest of the cast and crew.

Laura Mitchell: I’m the Stage Director. I help people learn lines, build their characters and have confidence on stage, as well as looking after blocking, props and stagehands. I graduated from Avondale last year with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business degrees.

Oliver Doyle: As Musical Director, I spent the summer orchestrating and recruiting members for our musical ensemble. I conduct the orchestra and chorus in our rehearsals and performances. I’m a second-year Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching student.

Emily Dorrough: I’m in my final year as a Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Teaching student specialising in music. I’m the Producer of Jericho Road, but I’ve also worked with the chorus and orchestrated and scored a lot of the music.

Your biggest Jericho Road highlight?
Emily: When we printed out the final copy of the script. It all seemed so real. My favourite song is called “Faithful,” and it reflects the main theme of faithfulness to God and to each other. The words are so beautiful; they move me every time I hear them.

Laura: Definitely the songs for me, too. Some of them give me goosebumps. We’ve done a few sneak previews for the people helping us coordinate and promote the performances, which I’ve loved.

Oliver: For me, it was sitting in on one particular rehearsal—the vision casting was inspiring and our leads gave the roles such spark and depth. That was the moment I knew this production was going to be something very moving.

What can we expect from the premiere next week?
Oliver: Expect to see parts of yourself in the characters. A raw honesty weaves through the lyrics, the music and the script. I recommend bringing tissues if you’re the crying type and maybe even if you’re not.

Sharna: Expect to see, hear and be moved by a message that is heart-warming, challenging and relevant. And expect God to be present through performances we’ve dedicated to Him.

Laura: Expect the unexpected. You’ll be talking about this for weeks after it’s over. The theme of faithfulness and maintaining a Godly relationship often seems taboo even in church communities. Jericho Road will change that.