On Friday 25 August, the St George's Summer Stage School 2023 culminated in three performances of the popular musical, Annie, in the school's auditorium.
Around 130 spectators came to watch the three 30-minute performances, each with a different cast. A total of almost 40 students aged nine to sixteen years of age had enrolled for, and participated in, the Summer School, under the guidance of Claire Williams, Head of Drama, who is coordinating the Summer Stage School, and Merrin Bydder, Individual Music Teacher at St George's, with many others also behind the scenes. Just around half of those involved in the Summer Stage School are current pupils of St George's.
The productions followed the same script, choreography and score. Overall, the three separate casts did extremely well, considering that they had only been working with the material since the beginning of the week. Of course, some voices carried more than others, both in spoken dialogue and in song. But overall, all parents and supporting family members and friends must have been extremely proud of those on stage.
The productions included such well-known songs as "It's a Hard-Knock Life" and "Tomorrow", and those not on stage in one of the three performances were still involved throughout as they played ensemble cast members or provided backstage support in the two other shows. Arguably the best part of the evening came at the end, when all 36 students took to the stage and gave a rousing rendition of "It's a Hard-Knock Life", before the Director of St George's, Dr Christian Barkei, praised the performances and thanked all those involved.
St George's provided crémant receptions between the performances for those in the audience, as the changeovers took place behind the curtain.
In 2019, pre-COVID-19 pandemic, the St George's Summer School had put on both High School and The Jungle Book in one week.
The St George's Summer School provided continuity of learning in the arts and the opportunity to gain performance experience during the summer.
