The School’s Production of e a on e he s a

Our four-night run in January 2023 represented the cul ination of nearly five onths’ work to bring egally londe The usical off the page into its high kicking, hip swivelling reality on stage - and it has been such a joy. It has, needless to say, been a lot of work (I made the mistake of dismissing this pink, camp musical as being something straightforward to put on - how wrong I was) but it has been a pleasure to direct a play that genuinely makes our students laugh. They have been incredible all the way through, and if you came to watch the production, I know you saw thisthey showed their commitment and hard work and passion to every audience every night, we were privileged to see their energy, their friendship, their care of each other, their joy manifested through their performances.

A huge number of students have been rehearsing extremely hard all through last term, from First Form to pper Si th. There have been five rehearsals a week since week three of the Christmas term, sometimes six, latterly seven. We currently have 30 students in the full ensemble cast fro si different countries we have a nu ber of students who are leading on technical elements like lighting and choreography ore have co e on board to support with backstage and makeup and props. It is a source of real pride to me how many students get involved to make the productions work at Ackworth. Everyone plays their part, and everyone is important and valued, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

From a personal perspective, there has to be a reason, a purpose, to devoting five onths and longer to a single project. And for me, this play is so important - far more important than you might have initially presumed given its generic early-90s high school ditzy sorority story. Indeed, that is the point: this is a play about breaking past the prejudice of presumption, about female empowerment and about personal betterment. Indeed, scratch beneath its glit y, uffy surface and you’ll see a play about to ic relationships, body image, underestimation, sexual harassment, sexism” and more - critical issues we all need to be addressing right now, and this play shows us how to strive towards a better, more inclusive, more honest, literally brighter future where we can all be accepted

Charlotte

This was y first play at Ackworth School and most definitely not y last have learnt so much from the amazing teachers and cast members. Everyone has worked extremely hard and there is lots of fabulous talent. It’s been great to be part of such a supportive group of people where everyone has the same interests as you.

Alara

Being a part of Legally Blonde was an absolutely amazing experience. The performances were so worth all of the effort and ti e we’ve put into it and it was so great to hear our audience enjoying and laughing at scenes. Dra a and theatre really lets you build up your confidence and e press yourself and your creative i agination eing a cast member of Legally Blonde really allowed me to explore the beauty of being on stage and enjoying every single moment of what I was doing for nearly three hours on that stage. It challenged how we think and encouraged us to fantasise about the world we aspire to. Being a part of such a massive musical was one of the best choices I’ve made in my life. If there’s anything this musical made me realise, it’s that you have to be true to yourself and you should always embrace who you are. I can’t thank enough all of the a a ing staff and all the members of the cast for making this play such an indescribable experience. Thank you to everyone for making this musical such an unforgettable one and adding such great memories into my life. These memories will definitely last a lifeti e for who we are. I will leave the last words to the writer Isabella Perrone: Legally Blonde is “a simple yet important reminder for women in a world where it seems like the main narrative girls grow up with is that they need to be so eone else to succeed in their careers, or to find love. Something that runs that deep in how our world functions can’t be resolved by a two-and-a-half-hour musical, but hey, it’s a start that’ll load you up with endorphins. And endorphins make you happy. And leaving a show happier than you were coming in is a wonderful thing.” So many people left happier, and that is testament to a wonderful play, to a wonderful cast, and to a wonderful production team - in particular Georgina Crowther and Oliver McCarthy-Bell - without whom there would not have been a musical. Thank you to them, and thank you to you for coming and showing us your support - it is hugely appreciated.

To say I initially found Legally Blonde the most challenging role I’ve ever taken on, this has been the best production I have ever taken part in, ever. We got it so right, and the reward of four sold out nights to brilliant - and some of the loudestaudiences every day was just perfect.

When I initially auditioned for Emmett, I didn’t really like the show, I just did it because I audition for the shows every year. I thought it was a pink, annoying waste of time and that showed when I couldn’t get the character right. But in my frustrated state, I then watched the broadway version fro start to finish and laughed and cried for two hours straight, the actual story was so beautifully told, and the music was so mood-lifting.

So, after learning y lines by watching the broadway fil religiously, I went into it fully immersed in the world. I truly believe in living and breathing the character because its the only way to get people to believe in the story you’re trying to tell, so I grew my hair out, told even worse dad jokes than normal and tried to become like Emmett, and who wouldn’t want to be like Emmett?

The cast this year really stepped up. To say we were in theatrical quicksand on the Monday dress and were Broadway-standard by Tuesday night shows the energy, commitment and love that went into it. You are all amazing, and every year it’s like a family reunion, and some of the family will leave for elsewhere this year, but they will always be part of the family, because that bond never breaks. Like the ornament on my kitchen table says: “Family are like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one”. And our root is in drama, and our love for the arts, and we will always be a family.

Emmett Forrest. It’s been so fun to be you, and I hope that to anyone who saw it, I did the character justice. Thank you for coming to watch. Thank you to everyone who helped out backstage, Miss Clark on sound, George on lights, Miss Crowther for her choreo, and Mr McCarthy-Bell and the band for the music. And lastly, Grace, for being the best leading lady, and the best role model, and the best friend all these years. I’ll miss you so much next year. And Mr Boucher, for always believing in people like me, who didn’t have the confidence to act in the beginning, but sir showed me how I could be myself through being on stage, and it’s my life now, my passion. You’re one in a trillion sir, thank you.

On to the next one.

Lucy

Legally Blonde became a massive part of me right from the very first audition, knew I wanted to be part of it. For countless weeks on end, we would rehearse tirelessly. It didn’t start to hit us until after the Christmas holidays how soon the production was. Although many of us were in denial it would happen when it was originally scheduled, we thrived off the pressure and put on an a a ing production. veryone in the cast bounced off one another’s energy each night to keep the energy on stage alive and it definitely showed. During show week, there was a sense of chemistry in the cast, which made the production even better. Legally Blonde was the most amazing experience ever and I am so grateful for all the friendships I have made from doing it. A massive shoutout has to go to Mr Boucher, Mr McCarthy-Bell and Miss Crowther for guiding us the whole way and without them, we wouldn’t have had a show in the first place. All three instilled confidence in us that we could do it, they were truly the backbone to Legally Blonde. For those who are considering doing any future productions at Ackworth, this is your sign to do it as it is the most incredible thing to ever do.

Tommy

Legally Blonde: what a play we were able to put on for everyone who was so kind as to come and watch it. I’m sure we made it worthwhile for you. It was a fantastic e perience for y first ever musical. I hope to carry this onwards and do it again next year. It was a long long four months or so of pure joy - a lot of stress, but joy prevailed. We had an amazing cast of extremely supportive, kind and energetic people who all helped everyone to do their best. We all got came out of this experience much better than we went in.

Alex

I really enjoyed being in Legally Blonde and learning a lot of new techniques and ways of acting, singing and dancing. I’ve made so many new friends and would definitely recommend to everyone to try the play next year as it was so uch fun Thanks to sir and all the other teachers who helped us make this wonderful play