The musical follows the story of four New Yorkers navigating life in the “city that never sleeps”. Conveniently, it’s a cast of four, accompanied by a piano, exploring the theme of “finding beauty in the everyday”.

The cast is made up of Andrew Howes, Jett Chudleigh, Jess Osvald, and Mark Zatschler. Chudleigh and Osvald direct, while Lucinda Antcliff is musical director and keyboardist.

The idea is to extend themselves outside school in the field of performing arts. “We are independent, resourceful young people who have taken the initiative to collaborate and create this community project,” says Collective Theatre company spokesperson Antcliff.

“Ordinary Days” takes place in New York City, in apartments, a balcony, The Metropolitan Museum, a coffee shop, a train, a taxi, and the streets, so in this tightly-budgeted production, they’re using cardboard boxes to create a cityscape. Other boxes will be manipulated to form beds or seats as the script demands.

“We were drawn to this musical as we feel it reflects where we are in life. The characters are searching for their place in the world, as are we,” they say.

This, as well as the “light score and intimate setting”, made “Ordinary Days” the perfect choice for the fledgling company like “Collective Theatre”.

With 22 numbers bearing title like titles like “Don’t Wanna Be Here”, “Favourite Places” and “Sort-Of Fairy Tale”, it’s bound to be a crowd-pleaser.

“We’re the first completely public school/youth run theatre company in Canberra and we’d love people to learn about us and come see the show,” Antcliff says.

 “Ordinary Days”, Belconnen Community Theatre, Swanson Court, 7pm, December 7-9 and 2pm, December 9. Bookings to collectivetheatre.org