We were delighted to welcome West End star Sophie Evans to the Mitre Theatre this week to run a workshop with the cast of our upcoming musical extravaganza Wizard of Oz.
Sophie originally got her break after competing for the role of Dorothy on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BBC TV show Over the Rainbow when she was 17. Since then, she has had an illustrious concert, stage and screen career including starring as Dorothy in Wizard of Oz and Glinda in Wicked.
Sophie led students through a vocal warm-up and then they performed a series of the big numbers from the production for her, including Merry Old Land of Oz. Sophie was hugely positive about the students’ performances, praising the characterisations, singing and dancing. She provided constructive feedback, working through parts of the scenes with our leading actors and challenging them to think differently about aspects of their character, the way they moved or reacted to others in the scene.
She also spent time working with our Dorothy, Lower Sixth student Mimi Collins, on her stunning performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Upper Sixth student Barney Sayburn also gave it everything in a special (top secret) performance featuring his larger-than-life Wicked Witch of the West…which will undoubtedly be an audience favourite.
Sophie then allowed the students to ask her questions about her career, getting into musical theatre, what advice she would give for those auditioning and what her next dream role would be (Jenna in Waitress). The students all enjoyed and greatly benefitted from the workshop and were buzzing with new ideas for the scenes discussed.
Trinity Drama will present the RSC version of the Wizard of Oz in the Trinity Concert Hall from Thursday 7 December – Saturday 9 December. It will be transformed with the installation of a revolving yellow brick road, a 28-piece orchestra and a wealth of projections and special effects. Tickets are available now from here.
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