Twelve local schools will be performing in the Tauranga Region Stage Challenge on June 14-15.
The event is a high-energy dance, drama and music show that aims to motivate and inspire high school students to lead positive pro-active lives without the temptations of drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
It is a New Zealand-wide event, with 13 venues, 200 schools and 17,000 participants.
The local event is part of the 20th national tour of Stage Challenge in which schools compete in two sections; the open division and the RAW division.
This year, there is no national final as there was no funding for television filming.
Schools performing include 2011 winners Katikati College and Otumoetai College.
For this year's competition, Katikati College will perform I Want! in the open division on Friday, June 15.
The 65 students from Year 7 to 13 have spent three months practising for their big performance.
Stage Challenge teacher liaison for the college Jill Jack says the event is an opportunity for students of all ages to work together and is disappointed the event will not be televised this year.
"Our leaders have taken up the challenge of organising rehearsals, costumes, sets, choreography and keeping the whole crew motivated."
Mrs Jack says the Katikati College performance is a contrast between the paradise theme in the Garden of Eden to modern day consumerism.
"It is an important idea to draw attention to with regard to materialism and consumers spending more than they can afford."
Otumoetai College have two teams competing in Stage Challenge this year with 120 students spread between these two performances.
The students have been preparing for this event for eight weeks.
Head of drama at Otumoetai College Mandy Rowe said even though taking part was more important than winning, it was sad there was no funding for a national final.
Their open performance is called The Games. This performance is the students' adaptation of the popular movie and books The Hunger Games.
Much like the books, in this performance only one person can win. There will be representatives from different districts challenging each other.
Their RAW performance is a journey of self-discovery titled Where's Wolly?
Wolly travels to different countries learning about the different cultures and taking pieces of each country with him. In the end, Wolly decides that what is most important is that he is himself.
The open division of the challenge is the main division of the competition and puts equal weight on dance, drama and design.
Performances in this category are five to eight minutes. The students do everything from production and choreography of the performance to costume, set design, and function.
The RAW division is a simpler category where the main focus is on the performance rather than on large-scale sets and props.
RAW performances are four to six minutes and only props that the performers can carry are to be used.
Otumoetai College and Tauranga Girls' College are the only schools in the Bay of Plenty region that are entering a team in the open and RAW divisions.
Stephanie Harford, performing arts teacher and mentor to one group of the Tauranga girls performing, said it was up to the students themselves to make this work.
"It's the girls who direct and choreograph the shows, brought to the stage by about 60 students in each group.
"It is an eight-minute show, that they have put together themselves with a lot of passion and dedication."