Spotlight

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Exclusive interview with the cast of Legally Blonde and take a look at show night photos

Get the inside previews about next term's amazing middle school production Hear what our tech crew have to say about all our recent productions, including some backstage secrets from George and the Dragon

AND MUCH MORE...

EDITOR'S NOTE PA Soc standing by... GO! Welcome to 'Spotlight' - NLCS's first performing arts newsletter. I'm Tammy, chair of Performing Arts Society. Theatre and the arts in general mean so much to me. I recently played Paulette in Legally Blonde, after co-writing and directing 'Seven Minutes and a Dolphin', and both of these productions have given me such a love of theatre and performance, but have also made me realise how much of a love there is across the whole of the school! I think it's safe to say anyone who has been in an NLCS production will agree that being part of a cast is one of the most amazing things. You meet so many new, like-minded people, have so much fun, and become like a family. Hence why the post-show blues from Legally Blonde are still hitting hard at the moment, but fear not! PA Soc has you covered.

This year we are launching PA Soc in a whole new way, to help bring you your theatre fix. With weekly meetups open to all students in Year 10-13 and mini lunchtime productions across the year (not just the big Senior School Production), we will be looking at all your favourite genres - musical theatre, comedy, Shakespeare, and much much more. We are already planning our first session (featuring Mischief Theatre's 'Play That Goes Wrong'). More info on this to come, so keep an eye on your emails!

NOTICES North London Theatre Company To kick us off, next term we will be having our first 'Scripts and Snacks' session where we will be reading the script of the hilarious 'Play That Goes Wrong' by Mischief Theatre and getting the comedy up on its feet with some slapstick acting. Bring your lunch and join us for an hour of acting, directing, chandeliers falling from the ceiling, and people getting hit in the face by doors (although, not literally because Mr Boase hasn’t done a risk assessment)! Open to everyone Y9-13!

Macbeth The Year 7s and 8s have been working hard, rehearsing their production of Macbeth, directed

by Mrs Wettreich, and we can't wait to see them perform on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th May. Tickets will be released soon!

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MR HENNELLY’S TOP 5 MUSICALS Mr Hennelly tells us about his top 5 musicals and why they have a special place in his heart.

1. Rent Rent is one of the first musicals I watched and thought, 'that captures real life'! Although it is sung through there is a rawness to every character. It’s a sad yet beautiful story about human connection. And the lyrics are fantastic!

2. Our House Jukebox musicals can sometimes just be loads of good songs thrown together with an awful story. But Our House has a great plot, settings that spread across London, and one of the most energised ensembles ever seen. I was once in a production of it in the ensemble, playing 17 characters! It was the most fun I have ever had in a show.

3. Come From Away Set against the backdrop of one of the most harrowing events the world has ever seen, this musical is about a small community that accepted over 9,000 strangers into their towns in the face of disaster. It is so uplifting and has the most captivating sense of community.

With just 3 tables and 12 chairs, the cast creates a variety of settings with style and ease. A great show for any keen designers.

4. Jesus Christ Superstar A famous biblical story but from a new perspective and with rock music! When this show premiered, it created a whole new style of musical theatre and the character depth that comes across from every song is something very rare in musical theatre. It’s an old but gold type of show.

5. Les Miserables It's a very long musical yet somehow never gets boring.

The way it transports you through Revolutionary France through the eyes of so many characters is captivating. The music itself is beautiful. It was the first musical that made me go “WOW!”

EXCLUSIVE: INTERVIEW WITH STUDENT DIRECTORS Tammy and Zarah are the writers and directors of their original show, 'Seven Minutes and a Dolphin', which premiered in the PAC last term on Thursday 6th October. We interviewed them about the process.

What made you want to write this play?

Zarah saw an advert for a playwriting competition at Hampstead Theatre and asked me in a random philosophy lesson if I wanted to write a play with her. I messaged her a few weeks later asking if she was still up for it, we called to brainstorm and started writing. We were immediately on the same wavelength and just had so much fun writing together.

And the rest, as they say, is history. - Tammy What was it like taking the show from paper to the PAC? As we started writing we realised that it would be amazing to perform the play at school. It would be something new and different: a comedy written and directed by students for students. So we took the idea to Miss May and, after much planning and deliberation, we were able to secure the PAC for a one-night wonder. - Zarah Any top tips for working well as a creative duo?

Coffee dates! We spent hours in Costa writing and discussing. The name was actually devised on a napkin in West Hampstead Costa. But, apart from coffee, the best thing is to be each other’s motivation. When you know each other well enough that you can tell when it's all getting a bit too much, and a great thing about co-directing is that there's always someone to have your back if you need a break, a hug, or just some chocolate. - Zarah Finally, what was the best thing about Seven Minutes for you?

The cast. No question. Our cast and crew poured their hearts and souls into this production to make our dream come true. We couldn't have asked for a more supported, dedicated and loving group of people to spend three weeks rehearsing, laughing, crying, singing and dancing with to put this show on. It was an incredible journey, resulting in an unforgettable show and an even better reaction from the audience. We learned so much and made amazing friends throughout the process and are so grateful to everyone involved, staff and fellow students who made this show possible. - Tammy

CAST INTERVIEW: LEGALLY BLONDE The senior production of Legally Blonde graced the PAC stage this half-term with four nights of pink pompoms and positive performances. Mr West interviewed some of the core cast about their experiences. Look out for this term's Canons Life video for the full interview, but here is a sneak preview! And remember: 'being true to yourself never goes out of style'!

Who were your favourite characters in Legally Blonde?

Paulette. She's just a crazy, quirky, funny character!

Elle. On the outside, she's very bubbly and full of life, but inside she's got so much more to her.

She's very intuitive, intelligent and self-determined. She's really amazing. She's very pink all the time. She sticks out like a bit of a sore thumb but she uses that to her advantage and owns what it means to be different.

Warner. He's quite tacky at first glance, like Elle. Quite Malibu to begin with, but he's kind of misunderstood.

Emmett. He has quite a drastic character progression because he starts quite snooty and then Elle brings out this other side of him which is so much better! He learns so much from his relationship with Elle.

Which was the best number?

Bend and snap was the absolute favourite.

The Irish dance. That's the best song.

Blood in the water. The choreography they did was absolutely amazing. Shout out to the year 12s!

Describe the show in three words.

Pink. Vibrant. Good-chaotic.

Glittery. Empowering. Wow. OH. MY. GOD.

TECH REVIEW: GEORGE AND THE DRAGON George and the Dragon was the Year 8 and 9 play performed last term in November 2022.

Directed by Mr Hennelly, it told the story of a young knight, George, travelling through different periods of time to fight a dragon.

From a technical perspective, this was one of the most challenging shows we have put on at school, with new challenges for every member of the tech team. For those who didn’t watch the show, we made a human-sized dragon. We sat down together one week at tech club and brainstormed all the ways we could build a performanceworthy dragon in just a few weeks. Eventually, we had a plan. We crafted a giant dragon puppet out of poles, hoops and lots of fabric. Two people were able to stand inside, one of whom held a hand-crafted and painted puppet head to give life to the dragon and the other who controlled the huge wings. Many lunchtimes later, we had each completed our designated role, from sewing what became known as the ‘dragon skin’ to working out how we’d be able to see… And we had a dragon.

But this wasn’t the only obstacle we faced. Mr Hennelly had requested a shadow sequence of one of the fights between George and the Dragon. We needed to find a way for the shadows to be seen without being seen ourselves. A few sheets of gauze and some clever lighting later, we had choreographed a successful fight scene for the production.

We were working with younger students in the middle school, so we didn’t use microphones, encouraging them to project, which had varying degrees of success. It also meant we couldn't give them as much freedom with hair and makeup as we would for older students.

Influenced also by our director’s vision, which had three different casts representing the same characters across different time periods, we did matching hairstyles on students from each of the three acts. This proved a challenge, due to time constraints, but also working with students prone to undoing their carefully done hair halfway through the act. Similarly, we had to put the same makeup on each character, another difficult task.

Often the favourite part of a show for the tech team is building the set and dressing the stage. For this particular show, we had to paint the floor to mimic cobbled streets, a slow and laborious task. We also had to create a clocktower which proved difficult design-wise. Mr Hennelly's vision involved three dolls houses, turned around in each act to reveal kitchens from different periods of history. This required Mr Boase to teach us how to solder, a dangerous but fun skill, and also needed a lot of intricate design work.

Overall, teching George and the Dragon was a really rewarding experience, as despite the numerous challenges, the show was really successful and taught us so many new and amazing skills. - Amy

BEHIND THE SCENES: DSM The role of the Deputy Stage Manager (DSM) is not often recognised by those who do not know about theatre tech, but it is one of the most important jobs in the production team. In addition to calling the cues for everything happening onstage from lights to pyrotechnics, the DSM also has to coordinate all the different departments and, most importantly, keep everyone’s spirits up during arduous tech rehearsals.

I have had the pleasure of DSM-ing two very different shows: 'George and the Dragon' and 'Legally Blonde'. With my first show, I learned a lot from 'George and the Dragon', not only tricks of the trade but also how to keep a cool head and plough on whatever happens. This was useful for the next, bigger challenge of Legally Blonde. Before the set was even built, I spent weeks preparing by attending rehearsals and practising calling the cues for the YouTube version until I knew the soundtrack almost better than the cast. Despite the many complications of tech week, we managed to make it through 4 nights with minimal noticeable hiccups. It was an absolutely unforgettable experience, and I will cherish my heavily annotated script forever.

If you are thinking about being a DSM one day or doing any other role in the tech team, I would highly recommend it. There is always the inevitable moment of panic during tech week when it seems that there might not even be a show, but when it all comes together, the feeling of achievement is absolutely second to none. - Arushi

COMING SOON MIDDLE SCHOOL PRODUCTION OF MACBETH Wednesday 10th, Thursday 11th May, in the PAC!!!

The Scottish Play The cast of Macbeth have been very busy rehearsing this term, getting ready for their performance in May. In our version of the Scottish play, Mrs Wettreich's vision has the witches at the centre of the play, onstage all the time, controlling the flow of the show with their possessed dances and echoes: the puppet-masters that possess the protagonists, leading Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to 'do the deed'. With hooded cloaks, eerie music and chilling movement sequences, Shakespeare's play comes to life on the PAC stage. Three Macbeths and two Lady Macbeths work as one to present the conflicting emotions in these infamous characters, with the addition of some much-loved physical theatre techniques, bringing the sense of unease, tragedy and a dramatic element of surprise.

Come and see Macbeth fight, fail and fall on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th May in the PAC! Tickets will be available soon, so keep an eye on your inbox! - Tammy

SCRIPTS AND SNACKS