DRAMA students have played their part in a new professional production set to wow audiences this month.
Eight students from Priestley College were given the opportunity to work with set designers, actors, stage managers and even the director of Not Too Tame’s eagerly-anticipated next production.
Jimmy Fairhurst, Artistic Director with the touring theatre company, said it had been a pleasure working with the talented young crew.
“They actively participated in helping us develop ideas for our new show whilst shadowing some the theatre industry’s most exciting talent in both on and off stage roles,” he said.
“It’s really important for Not Too Tame to create opportunities and route maps into the professional industry and with the talent we see coming out of Priestley, and our support, we hope to see an influx of numbers working professionally in the North West and across the UK.”
Among the Priestley students who shadowed the professionals was former Cardinal Newman RC High School pupil Megan Hollinshead.
She worked with the director, observing rehearsals in the hope of improving her own processes.
“I enjoyed observing the way in which the director and cast interacted and hope to add many of the leadership skills and also rehearsal techniques to my own theatre practices,” she said.
Not Too Tame had visited Priestley to answer questions from the college’s aspiring actors and back stage crew before running a workshop in the Costello Theatre.
They ran a second workshop which gave 24 students training in theatre school audition techniques and led to 19 of them auditioning for a casting director.
A selection of students were then invited to their Warrington studios to gain further experience.
Martha Podmore, who hopes to secure a career in film, worked with the director and was inspired by the creation of one particular scene that was developed from a single line of dialogue.
“Whilst watching the scene that was created in such a small amount of time I was amazed by how much meaning could be conveyed with such a simple idea,” said the former Birchwood Community High School pupil.
Priestley drama tutor Helen Lowe said the experience of working with a theatre company was invaluable for the students.
“You can’t put a price on the experiences our students have enjoyed thanks to our partnership with Not Too Tame,” she said.
