One of the great things about being a Stagedoor student is the opportunity to work with professionals – not just in workshops, but as a performer. We’re very much in the right place at the right time, which means we get more opportunities than Performing Arts students in other schools or colleges.

At the moment, four of our students – second years Macie Timms, Saskia Clifton and Sean Kilty, and first year Becky Joint,  are working alongside three professional actors in the Everyman Theatre’s production of On The Mend. On The Mend is written and directed by Bryn Holding, and the Musical Director is Tamsin Kennard, who make up 2/3 of the creative team of Hammerpuzzle Theatre. Hammerpuzzle were responsible for the stunning A Gloucestershire Midwinter in the Everyman Studio last Christmas and will also be staging two productions – The Velveteen Rabbit, and The Old Curiosity Shop, this Christmas. On The Mend is about Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) hospitals in Cheltenham during World War 1, and focuses on the story of Grace Atwood, a VAD nurse, and her boyfriend William Davy, a soldier. Whilst Grace and William were not real people, their stories are based on the real experiences of a large number of men and women in Cheltenham during the Great War. On The Mend will be performed in venues across Cheltenham between Tuesday 23rd and Saturday 27th October. Each of the venues is close to, or, in some cases, the actual location of, a VAD hospital. The play is a lovely, moving story, with songs, funny moments and beautifully observed characters. It’s really exciting for the Stagedoor students to be working alongside professional performers as well as the hugely talented creative team. Tickets were available from the Everyman Box Office, but have completely sold out!

 

Another opportunity came our way this week, which led to two of our students – second year Mary Dunsby and first year Ella Bettis, performing for a week as part of the touring production of An Inspector Calls. The production features a group of citizens who help to link the play, which is set in 1912, to the time it was written – 1945. This group of supernumeraries are from 1945, and represent the impact that the actions of upper class characters such as the Birlings – the family in the play, had on ordinary people later in the 20th Century. The critically acclaimed production was originally produced by the National Theatre in 1992, and has toured the country regularly since. Mary and Ella got a real experience of working in a professional production – between Tuesday and Saturday, they performed in 8 shows – but were still fully committed to rehearsals and workshops at Stagedoor HQ during the day! We were very proud of them.