School Makes up 5 Acts out of Final 24
The Rhodes Talent Search grand finalists have been announced and Phoenix students make up 5 of the 24 acts that will be appearing. Two of these acts are actual group acts entered by the School, although 3 of the individual acts that will appear at the Grand Final on Saturday May 26th are Phoenix students. Following auditions there were 42 acts still in with a chance and the panel of 4 independent judges had to make the difficult decision of cutting this list down to just 24.
The 2 group acts are the Phoenix Clowns (Pictured top right) and Phoenix KBD (pictured bottom right). The Phoenix clowns, although originally formed several years ago, have been rejuvenated following a Jack Petchey funded Hip Hop workshop during the easter holidays and now consist of approximately 20 Phoenix drama students, mainly boys, who present an act based on physical theatre, mime, hip hop dance and beatboxing. The clowns were a huge hit when they made their first ever performance at the auditions for the Rhodes Talent Search in late April. Phoenix KBD, named after Phoenix dance tutor and group leader Katie Barker-Dale, are 6 Phoenix drama, dance and musical theatre students who have worked for the past few weeks on a version of Christina Perri’s hit song Jar of Hearts.
The 3 soloists to have made the final are Jake Poolman, Melissa Mountney and Sarinna Proudfoot Mathurin (pictured above left). All 3 students are testament to the importance of full commitment to training as they all study all 3 disciplines of drama, dance and musical theatre. Ten year old Jake, shortly to take a break from the national tour of Oliver!, sang Whistle Down The Wind from the musical of the same name whilst Melissa, 9, entertained with Wouldn’t it be Loverly? From My Fair Lady. Sarinna, just 7, stunned the judges and the audience at the auditions with a haunting version of At Last by Eta James.
The Grand Final takes place on Saturday May 26th at The Rhodes in Bishops Stortford and tickets, which are expected to be highly sought after, go on sale from May 1st and can be booked on 01279 651746. Pictures from the auditions can be seen on the Rhodes Facebook page.
Phoenix Students Audition for Top Talent Show!
Phoenix students were recently involved in auditioning for the first ever Rhodes Talent Search, held at the Rhodes Centre in Bishop Stortford. The auditions were held over 3 days where a variety of different acts auditioned in the hope of gaining a place in the Rhodes Talent Search Grand Final which takes place on Saturday 26th May. The winning acts will then get a chance to perform at The Bishop Stortford Carnival on Saturday 16th June at Sworders Field in Bishop Stortford.
Over the course of 3 days, (15th, 21st and 22nd of April) a total of 71 acts auditioned in front of a panel of four judges drawn from the entertainment industry. Following the auditions a total of 42 acts remain in the competition and the judges will now select the 22 finalists from this list. Phoenix Musical Theatre, Drama and Dance students participated in both group and solo performances including; The Phoenix Clowns (Directed by Vice Principle Jeanne Stacey following on from a recent ‘Clown Workshop’ created by Jody Schroeder, an internationally renowned hip-hop artist, and pictured above), a version of Christina Perry’s Jar of Hearts (choreographed by Phoenix Dance teacher Katie Barker-Dale, and pictured below), and a number of soloists including Primary students Jake Poolman, Sarinna Proudfoot-Mathurin, Elena Cotton and Melissa Mountney and Intermediate students Olivia Pritchard and Jessica Wolohan.
It was a very successful event and everyone that took part really enjoyed the experience and had a great day. Many of the above mentioned Phoenix acts are in the final 42 and we wish them the very best of luck in reaching the final and we’ll let you all know the outcome as soon as we do! More pictures taken throughout the auditions can be found on the Rhodes Facebook page.
‘Stupid Cupid’ a Big Hit with Parents and Children Alike
The first ever Phoenix Play in a Day was a huge success when 28 Primary aged children, most of whom had never met each other before, gathered together at 10.00am at The Rhodes in Bishops Stortford with the sole aim of putting on a performance for friends and family by 6.30pm that evening! The idea was the brainchild of Phoenix Principal Phil Dale, who was asked by The Rhodes to provide a drama based workshop for the half-term holiday. The day-long project cost just £35 per child and 2 tickets for friends or family to the final performance were included in the price.
The 28 participants were assisted throughout the day by Phil as well as Primary Drama Tutor Faye Linden and Musical Theatre Tutor Debbie Hannam. Jules Dale also provided invaluable support with props and costumes whilst the Rhodes technical team were on hand to ensure the finished performance had that professional touch!
The children had great fun but most importantly worked hard to achieve their goal and astounded their friends and family with a 35 minute performance. Entitled Stupid Cupid, it included song, poem and mime and told the story of how a miserable pop star learnt to appreciate the concept of love. The performers received a rousing response from an audience of 100 at the end and went home tired but thrilled, with new friends and a huge sense of achievement.
More pictures of the day can be found on our Facebook page and a DVD record of the final performance will be available soon. Blip, the week-long summer school for primary aged children will return in July at the start of the summer holidays, and Blast, it’s big brother for senior aged students will be back in August. Full details will be released soon, along with news of the next Play-In-A-Day.
Phoenix helm another Smash-Hit!
The Rhodes Pantomime Robin Hood and the Babes in The Wood broke box office records at the Bishops Stortford venue and became the biggest selling and highest grossing show in the history of the 300 seat venue. The production was produced by Phoenix Theatre Arts, the production company wing of the Phoenix group, which is run by Phoenix Principal Phil Dale, who also played the part of the Sheriff of Nottingham. The show was directed by Phoenix Head of Acting Jeanne Stacey and featured numerous Phoenix students of all ages in the cast of over 30 performers. Not only was the show a hit with audiences, but critics raved about it as well. The Stage Newspaper said the show filled the Rhodes ‘with fun and laughter’. What’s On Stage gave the show 4 stars saying it had ‘simple but ingenious elements’ that gave it ‘big show values’. Finally, the Herts and Essex Observer said the show was ‘a slick production which moved seamlessly from one scene to the next, whose entertainment values were matched by the sets, costumes, lighting and music. It’s got all the elements and constitutes a great night out locally.’
Our production pictures all feature Phoenix staff and students. Primary Drama tutor Faye Linden is Robin Hood with Senior Drama students Calum Landau and Connor O’Sullivan behind her. Senior Drama
student Kelly Middleton-Evans is Elfwand the Fairy. Senior Drama student Connor Linden is Will Scarlet. Principal Phil Dale threatens Primary Drama student Elle Nash whilst Senior students Grace Wheeler (Maid Marion) and Tom Brace look on.
Next years Rhodes Pantomime has been confirmed as Cinderella and will once again be produced by Phoenix Theatre Arts. Open auditions will be held in July and full details will be announced here on Phoenix News first!