Success is like failure, it’s how you perceive it, it’s what you do with it, not how you achieve it.” This quote from Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along” is one of my favorite songs from the musicals and is so motivating for me, because in the entertainment industry you will get knocked down a lot and it helps me to keep thinking that you just need to keep going, keep trying and to never give up.
Musicals and performing are what I love, they’re why I chose college over sixth form; not because sixth form was bad or because I couldn’t get good grades, but because without the training at my local college, I would have never grown and improved so much in a short space of time. For example, I had never done improvisation in my life and since being at college I am part of the improvisation team, so that when we put on shows I am often chosen to be one of the performers. After being in all the school plays during primary and middle school, I continued my love of theatre at high school and again participated in all the productions such as ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Cabaret’ which involved various singing and acting roles. Since being at college I have been involved in many performances to the general public including a promenade theatre piece around the centre of historical Bury St Edmunds as part of the Bury Festival and I am currently rehearsing a play/musical named Lilies On The Land. I was so fortunate to get a part in this production as there are only ten parts and 43 girls who auditioned. I am currently studying Musical Theatre as a UAL extended diploma; I’ve learned so many things already, like Tap and Jazz as well as learning about practitioners like Uta Hagen and Meisner and emotional recall.
Although I haven’t had much experience participating in local theatre companies, I do have 1-1 singing lessons every week and I have been told I have a good voice I just need to give it more strength. I have developed so far in my training I am able to hear the difference and feel I have improved a lot in only a year. I also attend Voice Squad which is a youth choir group based in Bury St Edmunds. I consider myself to have a large knowledge of plays and musicals even without much experience, and especially of musicals, as this is my big love and I have seen many shows, both in London and locally. Although the majority of my experience is acting and singing and has been based primarily around school and college productions, I have tried many different genres of dance including Irish, Ballroom, Ballet and I also performed at the Playhouse Theatre in the West End for a dance show called ‘West End Week’, which incorporated Contemporary dance in a Musical Style.
This pathway is so focused and dedicated to creating the new performers of the world and without new things in the world how would anything in the arts evolve and carry on. The lessons that are taught are just so specific and balanced to help you understand everything about performing arts and show business and I love that you really care about helping your students become 100% prepared for the real world and to help them realise the difficulties of the arts world, but if you try to strive anything is possible and you will go far in your career. It’s not surprising you have many successful people, because you help them become the best performers they can be, by stretching them and exposing them to new ideas and experiences all the time. I don’t want to stop performing and I will do this for the rest of my life.
Sophia Lerigo - Year 2 Musical Theatre 