ASPIRING Evesham actors have scored success in a prestigious examination of their stage skills as the countdown to curtain up on a new show continues.
Alex McCullouch, Archie Verhoest, Connor Hill, Ben Morris, Harry Stanley, Owen Gaden, Lauren Cooper and Bella Martyr-Icke studied characters and speeches, background and acting skills to be able to take the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) solo acting exams.
Alex and Archie were entered for grade 8, the gold level exam while Harry, Ben and Connor took the silver medal exam at grade 7. Lauren, Bella and Owen completed the set with the grade 6 bronze medal exam.
All eight passed with flying colours, much to the delight of Evesham tutor Eric Jones who paid tribute to his young charges.
“Ben and Harry gained a merit and all the other six candidates gained distinctions with marks from 80 per cent rising to 92 per cent,” he said.
“This was Connor’s second distinction grade in two years and Archie’s third year in a row. They have had to learn a lot and practice a lot, not to mention paying for their own exam entries, of course, but it has proved very worthwhile.”
The eight youngsters have worked with Mr Jones since September and combined lessons with school work and other activites including music, sport and life as a young army cadet in Alex’s case.
Bella, Owen and Lauren had to learn and perform one Shakespeare monologue speech from a play of their choice, plus one modern piece of drama also as a monologue.
All the others also had an extra piece to learn, from a play written between 1800 and 1980. Alex and Archie also had to learn about the early 20th century theatrical practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski.
So between them they chose pieces from Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, Richard III, each one at least three minutes long, plus pieces from The Importance of Being Earnest, Blithe Spirit, Our Country’s Good, DNA and The Crucible.
“So apart from learning their LAMDA pieces and going to school every day they have had to learn their share of 20,000 words for our upcoming production,” he said.
“The busiest young people are always the most successful. Congratulations to them on their hard work and commitment as well as their success in gaining these qualifications at so young an age.”
All of the aspiring actors will take to the stage for a production of Agatha Christie’s most famous murder mystery And Then There Were None this summer. The tour of the Vale kicks off at Broadway’s Lifford Hall on July 18 before moving on to Bidford at the Crawford Memorial Hall the following evening.
A show at Evesham Arts Centre will be on offer on Wednesday, July 24 before the curtain comes down at Pershore Number 8 Community Arts Centre on Friday, July 26. All shows begin at 7.30pm.
E-mail [email protected] or call 01386 48788 for more.
