Btec performing arts students at Woolston have spent the last term preparing for their  ‘Magic of the Musicals’ production, which took place on 23rd and 24th June 2010. The students performed to a full house on both evenings.  From South Pacific to 'We will rock you', the students and staff captured their interpretation of a variety of well-known musicals.  Students were assessed on their ability to combine the three main disciplines of Singing, Acting and Dance through musical theatre.

All students worked exceptionally hard, attending rehearsals and contributing to the direction of their work.  They demonstrated their commitment and dedication to their roles.  The progress was evident to students, staff and parents alike.  Ruth Gee commented,“I observed Miss Crane teaching this class at the start of year 10 and I am amazed at how much they have improved in confidence as performers.  They are extremely professional and work really well as a team”
From the show we can see that there has been a dramatic improvement in Dance across the curriculum.  Extracts from Fame, Chicago and Grease highlighted the excellent awareness of different dance genres within musical theatre.  A number of students including Cayla Amos, Ellie Eyres, Becky Moss, Gabriella Moores, Gemma Mason, Jack Smalley and Daniel Halliwell have become lead learners in dance.  Miss Gough has lead the students in their dance success.

Some surprise performances of the evening came from Holly Fry with her convincing portrayal of Mary Poppins, josh Ditchfield as Vince Vontaine, Jayne Harnick as Annie and Jodie Talbot in a couple of smaller acting roles.  Ryan Allen stepped up to the challenge of working with the more experienced Year 11 pupils in grease lightening, Becky Coates in her realistic portrayal of a murderess in Cell block Tango and Megan Clague as a puppet in Both reached for the gun to name a few.   

Ryan Baldwin showed his versatility as he switched from a unique comic role in our snippet of the lion King, to the intense character of the Phantom in our dramatic remake of the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic ‘Phantom of the Opera’.   Also in the spotlight was Rachel Sutton with her outstanding vocal performances throughout the evening.
With the help of our exceptional technical team, the btec students were able to create a memorable evening filled with passion, fun and excitement to celebrate their performance skills and learning.