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ROS STAGEWORKS SUMMER SCHOOL 2007
A year on from the inaugural ROS StageWorks Summer School,
an excited group of students gathered in the Winston Churchill Hall, ready to
tread the boards again. Led by Summer School Director Annie Hertler-Smith and
Musical Director Gill Barrett, a small army of teachers, chaperones and
backstage staff – many nearly as excited as their young charges
– made sure the environment was secure and the atmosphere supportive,
giving the youngsters every opportunity to learn, have fun and thrive.
Some students had taken part in the 2006 school, while others were new to the
whole concept of performing in musical theatre but, as before, experienced or
not, they worked well together from the start and threw themselves into every
preparation – from auditions through to dress rehearsal – for the
performance on Saturday 4th August.
This year’s production was an abridged version of The Ragged Child, a
musical drama written with young performers in mind. Set in the 1850s, the
story told of the early years of the Ragged Schools in London, as seen through the eyes of some of
the capital’s most needy children. The altruistic Lord Shaftesbury
fought for their cause in the House of Lords but for some, of course,
intervention would come too late.
With the conflict between the classes highlighted in the piece, the cast had
to be split into the haves and the have-nots. So, ladies armed with fans or
lorgnettes wafted alongside be-suited gentlemen and looked down their noses
at the scruffy, louse-ridden urchins who swarmed the streets of London. Always
suspected of thievery, which certainly seemed the easiest option, with the
opening of the Ragged Schools these waifs were shown a way out of extreme
poverty and squalor and many took the opportunities that a rudimentary
education could bring.
Ragged or rich, the performances were vibrant and compelling and each student
revelled in the spotlight. Dialogue was clear and decisive and every song
made an impact.
As impressive as any of the acting was the level of discipline maintained on
stage throughout, especially as they all had to cope with the revolve, used
for ease of scene changing. The stage crew worked unimpeded and the cast
dealt professionally with furniture moves and props, allowing the action to
flow. (A lesson for all performers, young or old, there.)
It was a pleasure to watch so many actors (44 students, in all) performing so
generously together. Not a moment was wasted lingering inappropriately
centre-stage, everyone could be seen and heard; each had their moment to shine.
And the audience? They loved every second, of course.
Let’s do it all again next year…
Click here for some photos from the
2006 Summer School.
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