Julia Juteau is teaching herself how to play the electric guitar so she can perform the music for when she has to sing in her high school play.

Juteau portrays Jules, the brash friend of the lead, in "Between the Lines", being staged by Walnut Grove Secondary's Theatre in the Grove, and as if having to sing in front of an audience wasn't intimidating enough, she's learning guitar.

"A little bit difficult, but yeah, it's been cool," she said.

After playing the guitar for the first half of the song, Juteau must then add dance to the mix.

It's a good thing the Grade 12 student is into the arts. She's taking classes in digital art and film.

"I do drawing and some painting, a lot of wire work and jewelry making, and also some sewing," she said. "I've been sewing my grad outfit. I designed that. I'd say art is a really big part of my life."

Juteau enjoys singing and is able to use the work she's putting in learning to play guitar as her Capstone project.

Oh, and she's making a documentary about the musical, wanting to show how much work goes into making a show.

"There's so many different aspects that go into it that no one really sees, like making the set, with the tech stuff, going behind the scenes," Juteau said.

The 17-year-old hopes to have the doc done about the same time as the production wraps May 10.

"There's so many interesting things that you can make and try doing," Juteau said.

"Between the Lines" is about Delilah, a 17-year-old in a new school trying to find her place in the world, but the plot incorporates magical elements as she walks in two worlds. Her escape is in books which brings fantasy elements into the show, and even a love interest.

She becomes a social pariah after injuring the most popular girl in school. Delilah is encouraged to join the school writing club, where she meets Jules, another social outcast who is non-binary.

"I like to say that Jules is kind of like me with less of a filter," Juteau explained. "I think they're such a fun character."

Delilah doesn't give Jules the time of day at first, but Jules is determined to be her friend.

Juteau auditioned for the role of Jules, and is enjoying what goes into understanding a character and deciding how to play that person. The students were shown a video trailer for the show so they could get an idea of the different characters and the story arc. Jules was the part Juteau wanted to audition for.

"They were loud, they were chaotic. I thought that would be super fun [to play]," she said.

This isn't Juteau's first foray into theatre. That came in Grade 2, playing an orphan in "Oliver Twist" while in a French Immersion school.

Jump ahead to high school and her friends, already in the WGSS production "Momma Mia", encouraged her to get involved .

"It wasn't until high school that you sort of realized 'I'm enjoying this," she said, adding "In high school, I saw the production of Mamma Mia! And then I was like, 'Oh, I really want to do this. It's a lot of fun.'"

She did "Legally Blonde" in Grade 10.

"It was just so fun to be a part of that larger scale performance," Juteau said.

"Addams Family" was performed last year, and Juteau appeared on stage as a ghost.

Playing Jules will be her biggest role to date.

WGSS students can take courses to learn about theatrical arts. Musical Theatre is a credited course with 50 students in Grades 10 to 12, and led this year by teachers Janelle Castro and Chad Hendricks. 
 
"We also have a Theatre Production course with 29 students who are learning the behind the scenes aspects of the production and are responsible for helping build the set, run the audio and lighting, and stage manage during the show itself," Castro added.

"Between the Lines" show dates are May 1, 2, 3, and 8, 9, 10 at 7 p.m. A matinee on May 10 is at 2 p.m with evening show at the regular 7 p.m. slot. Tickets can be purchased at .

The show also helps some other students learn about cooking and running a restaurant. As with past productions, the drama department has teamed up with the school's Youth Train in Trades Professional Cook 1 course to offer dinner theatre. Audience members can enjoy a full three-course meal and the show for $40 on Thursdays, May 1 and 8. Tickets for the show alone are $18. 

The school is partnered with Vancouver Community College which provides the high school students college with level courses in food and restaurant management. Each spring the school operates its restaurant One Season, currently open to the public until May 16, with dine in and take home options.