Pupils from Bedford School and Bedford Girls’ School came together to take part in movement, singing and acting workshops as part of an Arts enrichment programme. The idea behind these workshops is to lay the groundwork for a very exciting joint musical taking place in November 2022, for teachers to start identifying the future cast.
The musical will be the first fully joint venture between the schools, bringing together staff from each of the drama, dance and music departments from both schools to direct and design a full-scale musical in The Quarry Theatre.
The programme began with a movement workshop in the Studio Theatre at Bedford Girls’ School, where the students were taught simple walking and turning sequences. As their confidence grew, this developed into more complex jumping and contemporary phrases; finally ending with the chance to produce some original choreography. Much fun was had, and the students impressed teachers with their willingness to try new styles, and stay focused and committed throughout the two hours.
Next, the students met at our Quarry Theatre to undertake an acting workshop led by Mrs Keylock and Mrs Howe, as well as a singing workshop led by Mr Keating-Roberts. The collaborative and encouraging atmosphere between the two sets of students, fostered in the movement workshop, was cemented here and was wonderful to see.
Mrs Keylock, Head of Academic Drama said, “The purpose of the workshops was to get the students together and see what talent we have across both schools and, of course, have some fun! It was great to see students come together from the two schools and different years groups, and enjoy working on a variety of different skills. I was delighted to work with Mrs Howe on the acting workshops; we loved seeing the students perform an extract from ‘Bugsy Malone’- there were some fantastic performances!”
