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Posts Tagged ‘Acting’

Spotlight on…Co- Director Faye Willingale

Wednesday, February 5th, 2020

This week we caught up with Faye one of our amazing Co- Directors to find out what originally sparked her interest in the performing arts, what she believes makes Spotlights unique and how excited she is for our upcoming shows!

What sparked your interest in the performing arts?
‘Iโ€™m lucky to have been brought up by my Dad who loved a wide variety of music and who could sing and play several instruments. My mum also loves the theatre and musicals, she started taking me to see shows from a young age and we still go the theatre together’.

What do you think makes Spotlights unique?
‘The environment that we create at Spotlights, which is a family run business, gives both our students and our teachers the feeling of being part of an extended family. We are successful in retaining many students for long periods of time; they start at the age of  4 or 5 and stay for ten years, sometimes even longer!. Spotlights started in April 2006. Since then, weโ€™ve really grown. We run classes 6 days a week in 17 different venues. With our growth, weโ€™ve managed to maintain close relationships with all our families. Weโ€™re still very โ€˜hands onโ€™ and we know our students personally.’

What is your favourite aspect about teaching Little Stars?
‘I love the variety of teaching them drama, dance and singing every week. Our Little Stars are creative and imaginative and so much fun to teach!’

What is your favourite aspect about teaching Main School?
‘I focus on teaching drama to students aged 7-18. I love teaching such a broad age range of children as theyโ€™re all so different. The spring term productions are a highlight for me! Thereโ€™s lots to think about, itโ€™s a busy time of the year but incredibly rewarding. Show weekend is the best! Being in the incredible theatre space that we use and seeing everyoneโ€™s efforts come together is thrilling!’

What do you hope to inspire in the young people who attend your theatre schools?
‘Self-confidence. I want our Spotlights students to believe in themselves, to recognise their strengths and feel proud of their achievements. I want them to look back at their time at Spotlights and remember the fun theyโ€™ve had and the friends theyโ€™ve made’.  

What would your advice be to a young person who is keen to join a drama, dance or singing class but doesnโ€™t know where to start?
‘Come for a trial at Spotlights and give it a go! Weโ€™re very welcoming and youโ€™ll be well looked after’.

Finally, how excited are you for โ€˜We will Rock Youโ€™ and โ€˜Frozen 2โ€™?
‘Beyond excited! Iโ€™m loving both projects! The students are doing brilliantly, theyโ€™re going to be awesome!!’

If you would like to find out more about our classes and how we help students realise their potential please get in touch.

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Top Tips for helping your child learn their lines!

Wednesday, January 29th, 2020

Some children can find learning lines to be a little difficult, with that in mind we have put together a list of our Top Tips. We donโ€™t want our students to feel like learning their lines is a chore or that its more homework to add to the pile. Therefore, we hope our Tips will help make learning lines fun and enjoyable. Remember being part of a production is so exciting and every one of our students has their own chance to shine!

10 Minutes
Helping your child learn their lines doesnโ€™t have to take hours and hours, simply set aside 10 minutes each day. Remember your child can practice wherever, whenever. You could ask your child to read you their lines in the back of the car, or even whilst youโ€™re doing the washing up. Helping your child with becoming familiar with their lines will speed up the process of learning them when they need too.

Record the Lines
Use a device to record your child saying their lines, this can either be done as their character or simply just reading the lines without any expression. This is an easy yet effective way of your child being able to listen to their lines repeatedly. Studies have suggested that our brain absorbs information quicker in the evening before going to bed. You could even listen to them in the evening together before your child goes to sleep.

Learn the cue Lines
We always suggest to our students that as well as learning their own lines they should attempt to learn the cue lines as well- these are the lines that lead into your childโ€™s. From them knowing their cue lines they will be prompter and more confident when delivering their lines on stage.  

Quiz your child
Use a scrap piece of paper to cover up everything but one of your child’s lines. Ask them to keep reading the line to you. Once you think your child feels comfortable enough, ask them if they feel confident enough to try and recite the line without looking at it and if they can move on to one of their next lines and repeat the steps.

It is important to remember that we are a team, who support each other. It is important to us that our students have fun in their rehearsals. We do encourage that our students attend our classes during the rehearsal period, as this will also help them with learning their lines through active learning.

Children who attend Spotlights Theatre School regularly have opportunities to take part in musical theatre shows. Your child is welcome to attend aย FREE trialย class at any of ourย venues.

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It’s Panto time! Oh no it isn’t. Oh yes it is!

Wednesday, December 4th, 2019

Panto season is fast approachingโ€ฆ oh no it isnโ€™t! Oh yes, it is!

Going to a pantomime is often a childโ€™s first exposure to theatre. They are a great family event to enjoy together during the festive season. A Pantomime has many classic traditions. The main male role is often played by a woman. A Pantomime always has a dame, a man dressed as a woman in an often-eccentric dress with very exaggerated make up. Although the story-lines are classic fairy-tales the jokes are always contemporary, bound to make you laugh your socks off! Audience participation is hugely encouraged during a Pantomime. So, youโ€™ll find yourself easily getting involved amongst all the action. From shouting โ€˜Heโ€™s behind youโ€™, โ€˜Oh no youโ€™re notโ€™ and booing loudly at the evil characters.
The end of the year simply wouldnโ€™t be complete without going to see a pantomime.

To help you weโ€™ve put together a list of some of our Pantomime picks for 2019.

London Palladium, 7th December โ€“ 4th January
If you are looking for a premium Pantomime then the London Palladium is for you. Qdos Entertainment is the worldโ€™s biggest pantomime producer. The production this year is Goldilocks and The Three bears starring regular headliners Julian Clary and Paul O Grady. Sophie Issacs stars as the title role who recently starred in โ€˜Heathersโ€™ (Theatre Royal, Haymarket).

Fairfield Halls, Croydon 10th December โ€“ 8th January
After being refurbished the Fairfield Halls has reopened its doors to theatre goers. This year however the story of Cinderella will be held in the brand-new Phoenix Concert Hall. Starring Strictly come Dancing champion Ore Oduba, actor and comedian Tim Vine. It’s one not to be missed.

Churchill Theatre, Bromley 7th December – 5th January
Starring Pantomime royalty, Christopher Biggins as the iconic Widow Twankey. The Churchill theatre presents Aladdin, a classic tale of the โ€˜magic carpet rideโ€™ that sees Aladdin and Jasmine enter a whole new world. This pantomime is guaranteed to bring plenty of festive magic.

Broadway Theatre, Catford 20th -29th December
With a star cast featuring Soul singing legend Mica Paris as the Fairy Godmother. Broadway Theatre present the tale of โ€˜Beauty and the Beast. The production features fun dance routines, plenty of jokes, slapstick comedy and heaps of Christmas magic.

We also appreciate that buying Pantomime tickets can be expensive so why not try some cheaper productions where you can still have lots of fun. The Beckenham Theatre Centre are performing Aladdin with tickets just ยฃ8! Help support your local amateur theatre group and let them put a smile on your face this Christmas.

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5 Top Tips for Auditions

Wednesday, November 27th, 2019

In January 2020 our Main school students aged 7-18 will have the exciting chance to audition for our production of โ€˜We Will Rock Youโ€™. Weโ€™ve put together our top 5 tips of how to do well in an audition whilst still enjoying yourself and having fun!.

  1. Think about doing some research about โ€˜We will Rock Youโ€™ before the audition and familiarise yourself with some key characters within the story-line. Even give some of the songs a listen especially โ€˜We will Rock youโ€™ and โ€˜Bohemian Rhapsodyโ€™.
  2. Have Confidence! During the audition try and stand with a good posture, give us your best smile and make eye contact with our teachers. Be yourself remember all anyone wants you to do is your best. However, if you are feeling a little anxious our teachers are there to support you. Having some nerves is good though it shows that you care!
  3. Come to the audition room with lots of energy and enthusiasm – we are all excited to see you perform. Whatever the part is you are asked to audition for you, you should show you are willing to take and follow direction, showing us your professional attitude.
  4. Listen to each other. Remember we can all learn and help one another.
  5. The most important tip is to have fun! Remember not to put too much pressure on yourself during the audition.

Every student is included in our production. It doesnโ€™t matter if you are 7 or 18 years old everyone will have a speaking part to learn. Everyone can help to make the production as fantastic as we know it will be. If you would like to be a part of our production then book a free trial for January 2020.

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