We are Lizzie and Olivia, both in Year 10, and for the past two weeks we have been doing work experience at Step on Stage. On our first day, we were nearly late- as the train didn't take Oyster cards and we walked in the complete wrong direction but still managed to make it on time! When we arrived, we did different jobs- Olivia stayed with Caroline and sorted uniform, and Lizzie went to the costume store with Emma and organised and labelled the hundreds of costumes to get them all organised for the forthcoming productions, summer schools and events.

For the next two admin days, and Monday and Tuesday of the second week, we started work on the Portfolios for the Trinity Musical Theatre Exams- Cats, Oliver and Little Shop of Horrors. For these we had to put together cast lists, lyrics, script, costumes, projection images, plot, rehearsal images and set design.

After 3 o'clock everyday we helped with drama and dance classes. In drama, on Mondays and Tuesdays, we helped prepare students in the Act 1 and 2 classes for their upcoming LAMDA exams and their poems for the Richmond Festival. In the ballet, tap, modern and mini jazz classes on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays we watched and went through the steps with anyone who wasn't sure of them or needed to practise.

Another side of the company we explored was social media and marketing. Everyday we tweeted, using photos, hashtags, quotes - popular methods to get people interested in the classes and workshops we were advertising. We also prepared letters to go to every primary and secondary school in the area with flyers and information about the Summer Schools and Easter workshops.

One thing we really enjoyed was helping with the classes because we got to work with all the little children who were really enjoying their lessons. We also enjoyed the themed drama classes because we did things like pretending to be crocodiles in a special pirate themed lesson which they really enjoyed, and it was something fun and different. 

On the second week of mini drama classes it was National Poetry Day, so Maria and Olivia's group did Easter bunny themed poems, and Emma and Lizzie's group did poems based on the five senses which the children wrote and then performed to the rest of the class.

Another thing we enjoyed was designing bags, notepads, pens, hats etc which may be coming soon to Step on Stage!
Overall we enjoyed our work experience and learned a lot about how Step on Stage runs and we didn't realise how much work they have to do and how much they have to organise!

Ballet Associate Auditions - My experiences this year by Taryn

Hi I’m Taryn and I’m 11 years old.  Last year I attended Cecchetti Associates.  It was every month and each class there was a forty-five minute ballet class and another class of something new each time such as character, Irish dancing, hip-hop and lots of others. You do Associates classes in addition to your normal dance classes. This year I auditioned for two more prestigious Associate schemes including Central School of Ballet, Tring Park School of the Performing Arts as well as Cecchetti again.

To prepare for the auditions you just need to work hard and stretch as much as possible. Sometimes you have to take photos of yourself in different positions such as arabesque, plié, and just standing straight to send in with the application (this is one of the photos I had to send to Central).

The auditions aren’t that hard because there are a range of ages and abilities. In each class at the audition there are about thirty children. You normally have a chance to warm up and stretch before you go in.  The audition itself normally contains barre work, centre work and a flexibility test.  I was quite surprised that none of the auditions I went to asked for the splits (thankfully). At first the auditions are quite scary but the more you do the better you will get.  Even if you don’t get in just think of it as a great class with an amazing teacher. If you make a mistake don’t stop smiling, smile even more, if you do they might not know you made a mistake!   
 
This worked for me, I hope it will work for you.

 

 

  

 

Being Part of Edelweiss Pirates by Sean Warren (Juergan)
My name is Sean Warren, and I am a keen Actor and would like this to become my profession. In late October 2014, at the age of 14, I was cast to play the role of 17 year old Juergan Bauer, a member of the Edelweiss Pirates. This was my biggest acting break in a lead role, and I was surrounded by amazing acting talents including Hani Hussein (Rutger and Oberkamerashaftsfuere/Oberman), Fayed Mahmoud (Benjamin/Benji Dressler), Mo Samuels (Dieter Ackerman), Anna English (Klaus Becker), Anastaisa Drew (Petra Gleissner) and Dominique (Dom) Thomas (Narrator). We spent around 5 months in weekend rehearsals pulling the show together, sharing experiences, techniques and having many laughs along the way.

I was very nervous entering into the auditions, especially as I only knew Charlie Pepperell form my local church. I really liked the script and the concept of the play – the more I got into the audition, the more I wanted to be a part of this show and experience. I worked with Hani, Mo and Dominque for the audition scene, where I read the role of Juergan. It was here we nicknamed one of the characters ‘Oberman’ as none of us could say the full name at this point. Two weeks later, I was shocked to receive a call back, where again I read the role of Juergan and met up with some familiar faces.

Then early one Friday morning I received the email I had been dreaming about – I had been cast as one of the lead roles for the production, playing the gritty character I had through the auditions of Juergan – the ‘angry teenager’. It was great to see so many familiar names on the cast list as well.

And so the hard work began. Initial rehearsals were set for October half term. Despite being away my time was well spent reading books and internet stories on the real Edelweiss Pirates group and understanding what they went through and why. This was time well spent for me on a sun lounger….

From then onwards we spent every Thursday and Sunday up to Christmas rehearsing scenes, and building bonds, both on and off stage. I had to miss a weekend as I was due to Auschwitz on a school trip, but Emma and Charlie were ok with that as it got treated as ‘research’ for the whole group as none of us had ever been and it formed a critical part of the show emotionally.  By the time we broke for Christmas, all the scenes had been set, the plot understood the only issue was everyone learning their lines – I think everyone was a little concerned by this point as we only had the first 6 weeks of the New Year before showtime!

As they say in show business – it will be alright on the night – and so it was. We opened on Monday afternoon to a theatre half full which really helped with the nerves. The performance ran like clockwork and gave us all confidence that we could nail this in the evening when the National Theatre rep was in the house. However, we were not so lucky in the evening performance in front of a sold out audience– the supporting PowerPoint show refused to work, and despite Dom and the rest of us carrying on as nothing was wrong, Emma eventually conceded and informed the audience we would re-start the show. For those of us who had performed already, we all agreed to give the audience a fresh show so said our lines in a different way and Mo even found a new dance.

In front of lots of friends and family, I and the rest of the cast put on the performance of our lives, one that will live with me forever as my first major acting achievement. The audience and most importantly the National Theatre rep loved it and the feedback we got was very positive and complimentary, especially to Emma and the team for all their hard work. 

After a few weeks break, we restarted rehearsals ready for our one night in London. It was amazing getting together with the cast again, almost like a big family reunion. The night in the Bush Theatre was huge for all of us. No one had ever performed on a London stage before and I get goose bumps just thinking about it. 

The Bush theatre is a converted library so there is no raised stage and the audience is in the round. This meant we needed to completely restage the stage, weaving in the elements that had worked so well at Hampton into a new environment.  This was good practice for us as actors because it showed us the skills we would need to adapt a show to the circumstances that the theatre that was holding it was in. this was good for me because it showed me different elements that I would have to perform in because I had only been use to front of stage audiences before and it gave me an opportunity to change and try out.

Reviews we got from the show at the Bush theatre was that it was the best time we had ever performed the show and that it should be worthy of the National Theatre. The main thing I remember from the Bush theatre was how the men actors had to us a little green space as our changing room whilst the girls got the long and massive changing room which had all the stuff and actor would need such as mirrors and stage lighting around them. It was so unfair but we all laughed and joked about it.

Unfortunately we didn’t win the competition but I don’t think anyone of us feels we could have done anymore with that show. Emma and the team should be very proud of the amazing show they directed with a group of people who didn’t know each other 5 months earlier. It was an emotional story that was brilliantly bought to life by young people. I congratulate the group that got to the National Theatre with this show and I thank all the people I have worked with for the past 6 months in creating this show and making it become a huge spectacular that it is now for the actors and the audience that have seen the performances.