“Artista Academy’s the Lion King an ‘absolutely incredible’ performance”

Written by Daisy Woelk for Steinbachonline.com

Broadway-style costumes bursting with colour and detail, six sold-out shows, and more than 100 performers—that’s just a peek into Artista Academy’s performance of the Lion King this weekend.

“It was absolutely incredible,” says Gabriela Gallo, the show’s director. “We had the best production team I’ve ever worked with.”

She says the costumes were handmade, with headpieces made of white foam, hand-painted and glued together.

“It was the most insane thing I’ve ever worked on, honestly, because they followed all the Broadway tutorials and created these things from scratch…I mean, they are masterpieces. We had a 12-foot walking giraffe, we had a nine-foot walking elephant and a little baby elephant,” she says.

“They looked like real, walking animals. It was just beautiful.”

With six shows completed over just two days, she says the 112 eight to 14-year-olds involved, their parents, and volunteers made the event seamless.

She is particularly proud of the commitment, growth, and work cast members put into the show.

“It’s just so beautiful to see everyone working together to just make it happen and let these kids have this unforgettable experience,” Gallo says.

This particular performance seems to be unforgettable for many, she notes.

“The biggest thing I heard was that this was something Steinbach had not seen before,” she says. “The level we were able to get these kids to was just a standard they haven’t seen.”

It was such a popular performance, she believes a bigger theatre will be needed in the future—though she is grateful to have been able to use the theatre at Steinbach Regional Secondary School.

“The interest is there, the arts are alive and well,” Gallo says.

While there are future shows to be performed, she says right now everyone is just celebrating the success of this one.

“I’m going to be riding on that high for a long time.”

Written with files from Kenton Dyck

Want to be a part of Artista Academy’s next production?

Artista Academy is an intensive musical theatre experience. Our casts rehearse every other Saturday, with only 15 rehearsals until show week. Attendance at all rehearsals is of extreme importance.

• All students interested in auditioning can sign up for our FREE audition prep day.
• Your child does not need to know ahead of time if they want to audition for a main role or to be in the chorus.
• Audition time slots will be signed up for after audition prep via an email link.
• Audition prep videos and vocal tracks will be available for all students to rehearse with at home in preparation for their audition.
• There will be 3 or 4 performances for each cast (your child will only belong to one) in Spring of 2026. All students, new or returning, must audition. 

If you’d like to be notified when our next production opens for audition registration, please send your name, phone number, email, and child’s name and grade to accounts@artistaacademy.ca and we will add you to our email list.