Lucy Best. Leaves after an amazing 13 years attendance today!
Tonight, we celebrate Lucy Best who leaves us after receiving her 13 year award! Incredible! We shall miss you Lucy but have enjoyed your story below.
"I started Stage School at a very young age but sadly I’m leaving now after thirteen amazing years. Over the years I’ve watched teachers and friends come and go but I wouldn’t change it for the world. With each teacher I had in singing, acting and dancing I learnt something new. Each individual gave the class a unique spin and taught us new skills. From monologues and improvs, to lifting a person over our heads and singing in latin, there was never a dull moment. Going to Stage School every Saturday was a break from schoolwork and exams, it was a time to have fun and learn new things. I’ve made so many great memories from my time there that I will remember for years to come and I will never forget the friends I’ve made along the way. Stage School wasn’t just a school but it was a family.
The weeks were spent in preparation for our performance at the end of term, each Saturday we would learn new songs, dances and scenes. We put on musicals, variety shows and charity galas, with no two shows being the same. We performed Oliver Twist, Hairspray, Into the Woods, Westside Story, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and countless more.
Show day was always an exciting time. We would arrive at the designated venue to get the last minute details sorted, rehearsing our lines, putting our costumes on and getting mic’d up. The few minutes before the curtains opened were full of frantic activity as people scurried around looking for missing props and double checking lines but all those nerves vanished when the curtains rose. To be onstage facing a sea of darkness and blinding lights is an experience like no other.
One of my favourite memories was doing Cats the musical. Recently Cats has gotten a bit of a bad rep since being made into a movie in 2019 but the musical was truly something else entirely. The costumes were amazing with each one of us dressed like different types of cats. There were bushy mains and long tails, stripes and spots. The teachers had spent many painstaking hours designing the set, transforming the school gym into am atmospheric alleyway perfect for a band of peculiar felines. A magical moment happened when the audience took their seats. Some of the performers, including myself, were hidden in the crowd and as the music played its first note we emerged from our hiding spots. Prowling out from between the aisles cats began flooding the stage and the show began.
To be able to get onstage and sing, dance and act your heart out is an invaluable skill. It inspires confidence, imagination, the ability to adapt to the unexpected and to think on your feet. There is a sense of accomplishment and pride as the curtain closes unlike any other. Drama opens up doors in life regardless of where you end up down the line and I greatly appreciate and value just how much it has given to me"
Lucy Best, (pictured far left from Cats, School Edition 2014)
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