Over October Half Term we welcomed three visiting professional actors to NW1 St Annes to deliver workshops to over 30 NW1 students and several visiting local students. On Monday, Alan Bradshaw (Children's Director of School of Rock West End & Children's Choreographer/Director of Billy Elliot West End and currently performing in Hello Dolly at the London Palladium) led a Professional Auditioning For Children And Young Actors Masterclass. Each student was able to perform a monologue and/or a song for Alan, gaining valuable insight into professional audition techniques and areas they could work on to develop their audition skills.
Of the session, Millie said, “The most important thing I learned is confidence. If you’re confident it means you believe in yourself and people can see that in you.”
On Day 2, Emma Norman led the morning with an engaging musical theatre class on ‘Alice By Heart’. Having spent the morning showcasing emotions through dramatic movement, the students were well prepared for their afternoon visiting guest.
Jamie Birkett (Les Misérables, Peter Pan Goes Wrong West End, Into the Woods and currently playing Mrs Sowerberry in Oliver West End) led a Les Misérables masterclass in the afternoon. Students worked on the staging and music for ‘At The End of The Day’ from the new West End and touring production of Les Mis, taking on board advice from Jamie to approach every character fearlessly.
A favourite piece of advice from the afternoon was to understand your character and their motivations, and importantly, chase your dreams - Jamie would not be Mrs Sowerby if she hadn’t called her agent to get her into the audition room.
Wednesday didn’t go wholly to plan! Curtis Angus had been scheduled to deliver a Hamilton masterclass but sadly tested positive for Covid-19 and couldn’t attend. Emma Norman quickly got on the phone and contacted everyone she could think of to find us the perfect replacement. So, after a morning dancing with Hannah Almond, Liam Doyle (Wicked, Heathers, Legally Blonde, Ghost the Musical & more) came to the rescue.
Liam delivered an incredible double feature workshop, teaching choreography for ‘What is This Feeling?’ from ‘Wicked’, and rounded off the day with a piece from ‘Heathers’. Everyone had to work incredibly hard to keep up with Liam’s fast-paced style and we imagine all students slept well that night!
Overall, our Performers’ Toolkit workshops were an incredible success and we cannot wait to be able to deliver more of these. Watch this space for information on visiting professionals in February Half Term and the Summer holidays.
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