When Sloane Griffith of St. George checks her school supplies list, it might look a little different than some: Private school plaid skirt, plenty of caffeine, bass guitar, oh, and a spot on center stage at Tuacahn Amphitheatre.

While her peers are gearing up for back to school, Griffith and her on-stage classmates have been in session for a few weeks, rocking the red rocks of Tuacahn with the high energy tunes that make “School of Rock: The Musical” a must see this season.

“It is so awesome,” the 15-year-old student from St. George says. “Playing with a live band is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced.”

Griffith is one of 17 teenagers taking over Tuacahn in this professional production — four of who play their instruments live on stage. The unbelievably energetic Jonathan Wagner leads the group as the substitute teacher, Dewey Finn, a role made popular by Jack Black in the film version.

“It’s by far the most difficult role I’ve ever had to do in theater,” Wagner says. “All of your lines are screamed. There are no soft scenes for him.”

Describing the experience as something akin to boarding a two-and-a-half hour rollercoaster ride, Wagner spent his time prepping for the role by literally singing at full volume while hiking the hills near his New York City home.

“It’s basically ‘The Sound of Music’ but louder,” Wagner says of his training regimen as well as “School of Rock: The Musical” itself. “Every one of Dewey’s songs is sung while sprinting.”

Keeping up with all that energy in a professional musical takes a special cast of kids, like Adrienne Morrow, a 14-year-old from Los Angeles who plays the role of Freddy, the drummer.

“Freddy is usually cast as a boy, but they changed it to a girl for me to play the role,” Morrow says. “I think it’s really cool to be unique like that — to have people see someone in the role that they didn’t expect.”

Knowing that the four instrument-playing members of the youth cast carry a lot of the show’s weight on their shoulders is “nerve wracking” for Morrow, but she says it has also pushed her to be even better.

“I’ve done a lot of musical theater before, but this is really perfect for someone like me who loves musical theater and also plays an instrument,” Morrow says.

Brady Davis, 15-year-old guitarist from Las Vegas, agrees. He’s been playing classical guitar since age 5, but also loves the work he’s done on stage as an actor in Tuacahn’s production of “Matilda” and “Prince of Egypt” in the past.

“I think I just have endless energy,” Davis says. “I’ve spent so much time going over my lines, singing and practicing how the show goes… There are also great dancers near me in some of the scenes and that really helps with the energy.”

Wagner says that in his experience on the Broadway cast for “School of Rock: The Musical”, as well as his time at Tuacahn, the youth cast always rises to the occasion.

One of the major themes in the musical, from Wagner’s perspective, is that the youth of today have something to say, and their opinions really do matter.

“I’ve been an actor and a music teacher,” Wagner says. “Now I’m in a play where I’m acting as a music teacher. I use a lot of that same energy to go in and connect with every kid.”

Wagner says he knows he’s likely to be upstaged by his younger cast mates and he’s fine with that.

“No one is there to see me. They’re all there to see the kids. My job is to set them up to shine as much as possible,” he says.

Now that sounds like the role of every teacher heading back to school this fall.

Here’s the deal:

It wouldn’t be back-to-school if there weren’t some kind of sale — and this one is guaranteed to be more exciting than pencil boxes and school clothes.

Get up to 60 percent off performances of “School of Rock: The Musical”, “The Count of Monte Cristo,” and Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” taking place Aug. 16 to Sept. 13. For show dates and more ticket information, log onto www.tuacahn.org Use code BTS21 to receive the discount.