Contributors
As established this documentary follows 2 different stage schools. Prima, in the UK, and Jute in Australia. Each schools runs several different classes and is home to students of various ages. This series would focus on 4 contributors per episode, 2 from the UK, and 2 in Australia. This pattern would continue up until episode 5, as in the final episode we would catch up with all of the contributors we’ve been introduced to to see how they handle the big show. In preparation for this series I have actually been in contact with both drama schools, I have explained the concept of the series and they have informed me about some of their stand out students, and after emailing there teachers and looking at their stories on the schools website I have chosen the selection that I think will provide the best content. (Note: These contributors are real people who’s real stories have been slightly adapted/expanded upon, for this reason they have consented to the use of their photos from the schools website provided I change some of their names.
UK
Rosa Wool is a senior student at Prima. She is one of the most successful and highly decorated students at the school having taken three grade 8’s and achieving a distinction in all of them. Aged 19 she is now a senior student currently studying for her diploma in drama. This exam will be her first major step in to becoming a drama teacher (which is what she aspires to be). She has already begun to assist July and Katie as a teaching assistant in some classes giving one to one support to younger students.
Rosa is a very determined and driven young woman who knows where she wants to be and how to get there. She is said to be very selfless which can be both a positive thing and something which is detrimental to her since she will often spend so much time helping others that she leaves little time to focus on herself. I chose to look at her over a different contributor due to her senior status at the school and the fact that her selfless personality could lead to some tense moments in some of the later episodes of the series. Her long history with the school will also be useful to the audience a she will form a gateway in to the life of a serious performing arts student.
Julie Hatchings teacher and founder of Prima, Julie has loved being on stage ever since she was little. After graduating from Middlesex university Julie set up her own stage school at Larkfield in Kent so that other young people could explore their passion for performing arts from a young age and be able to achieve a more direct path (through exams, shows and structured classes) in to the world of performing arts jobs. Julie does her best every day to ensure that young people get trained intensively to gain the skills they need to become successful actors, dancers, teachers etc.
But she also aspires to make sure that Prima is a fun and inclusive environment, she seeks to change some of the perceptions and stereotypes associated with performing arts (particularly dance).
Her goals and backstory will make a nice introduction to our series and is something we will likely explore in the first episode. As the founder of the school this in its self makes her an excellent choice for a contributor as she can provide story and insight not available from other contributors. There is also potential for dilemma in her story as putting on a large scale show is an expensive feat, so if Prima doesn’t get enough funding this year there could be a large knock on effect that we would follow in later episodes.
Katie Hatchingsis a teacher at Prima and is the daughter of Julie. Katie inherited her mothers love for performing arts and was a student at Prima when her mother first started it over 10 years ago. Since then Katie has followed in her mothers footsteps taking all her exams at Prima, before going off to study dance at university and subsequently graduating and returning to teach dance at Prima.
Katie’s success is particularly inspiring for Rosa and Katie almost acts as a role model towards Rosa, or at least someone she looks up to. Since Katie is just a teacher and is not involved with the running of the school she has a lot more time than Julie to get to know some of the students. In this series we have several potential avenues that we could take in relation to Katie's story. Early on (likely in the second episode) we would be introduced to her and her story, then later on in the series we could revisit her to get sit down interviews regarding some of the students she teaches, or we could look at how her guidance of Rosa develops. Her role as a teacher also makes her a contributor that will have different interactions than anyone else, and her relationship with Julie will drive home the family/community theme that this documentary will embody.
At age 10 Oliver Kain is one of Primasyounger students. Being the younger brother to Joseph Appleby he is one of the reasons Joe joined the school. Despite his age Oliver has already taken two more drama exams (all be it at a much lower grade) than his brother.
Although him and Joseph are siblings they have considerably different personalities. Oliver is a lot more confident and outgoing than his older brother. At the moment Oliver has no clear goals and just enjoys attending the classes and being a part of the Prima family.
In the series we could look in to Oliver's relationship with Joe which would likely make for heart warming content. Mid way through the series Oliver will likely end up giving Joe a confidence boost. In the series Oliver will also provide a source of positive energy and an insight in to the minds and activities of younger performing arts students, something few other contributors can offer.
Dancer Felix Jones has been attending Prima since he was a toddler. Joining Prima at a young age means that Felix is very friendly and familiar with both the staff and students at Prima. Because of this he often gets paired up with newer students so that he can help them feel welcomed and more comfortable in a new environment.
His interactions with both students and staff will play a key part in this series, and regularly seeing him will reward viewers who watch every episode. Learning Jazz, street and tap Felix is a talented and ambitious dancer. Last year he was instrumental in leading a campaign for Prima to teach modern contemporary dance. Having succeeded Felix now sets his sights on learning a routine from each of his classes to perform in the end of year show. But with his GCSE’s fast approaching there are concerns as to weather he’s making too much work for himself.
In this show we will be able to follow Felix in his different classes as well as obtaining additional footage outside of the school to see how he copes with the pressure of GCSE exams. In the final episode we will be able to see how realistic hos goals were and find out how all his exams went. His stress could also be represented by some of his performances.
Alex “Lexie” Carter is a happy go lucky girl. She has been a drama student at the school for a number of years and has always been a source of optimism at the school. She is self motivated and has a lot of potential. However she is also a bit of a chatterbox and can get easily distracted.
Surprisingly despite her glowing persona, she actually doesn’t have very much confidence in herself and her abilities. Often she will change her mind or back out of decisions last minuet because she looses her nerve. Due to this she missed her last exam and despite expressing a desire to be more involved in the shows she has never had the confidence to audition for a lead role.
Her story will be a very interesting one to follow as we can see if she is able to audition for a bigger role in this years show, and follow her through rehursals to see if she conquers her nerves or backs out again.
I believe she will be a good contributor, her happy go lucky personality will be a friendly face for the audience to follow and connect with. And her history with nerves will make her more relatable to an audience I feel.
Joseph Kain was initially hesitant to join the school. After leaving karate because he didn’t like the environment or the people, Jospehneeded a new extra curricular activity to fill his time. His younger brother had already belonged to the school for almost a year and was desperate for Joe to join too. Eventually being persuaded to try out an acting class Joe entered the school very apprehensive as he wasn’t sure if performing arts was something he would enjoy. However after his first week he soon found the classes to be a lot of fun and fulfilling. He soon fell in love with the people at the school and its inclusive family ethos.
Joe took his first acting exam earlier this year, but when he got in the exam room he allowed his nerves to get the better of him and as a result he didn’t do as well as he wanted and nearly dropped out. But after encouragement from his brother and classmates Joe is back this year determined to do better. Joe’s relationship with his brother and his backstory will make for powerful episode and is definitely something we will introduce early on in the series and return to later down the line. This family theme is also why I think Joe will make an effective contributor as there is no one else at the school that has a connection like this, so will provide a unique story.
Jade Droppole is one of Primas biggest success stories. Having played the lead in the last three of Primasshows Jade is an incredibly outgoing individual, who has a burning passion for performing arts. She knows exactly what she wants and often will stop at nothing to get it. Jade has very high goals and one day hopes to perform on London's west end.
As well as attending acting classes Jade has also started attending some of Primassinging classes in order to better her voice and make her more appealing as a performer.
Being one of five siblings Jade is used to fighting for attention, and often if she is not the center of attention she will find a way to bring the focus of a room back to her.
Jade clearly has a very big personality that to me makes her stand out from other contributors. This as well as her goals are definitely something our audience will find interesting and relatable. Her personality will help carry an episode alone but it will also be interesting to see weather her success and desire for attention cause relationships to sour with other classmates.
Charlie Maltop aged 9 is also one of Primasyounger students. He attends some of the junior dance classes put on by Prima. According to staff Charlie is a little ball of energy, even when he is not performing he finds it hard to keep still. Charlie came to the school after expressing a clear interest in dance from a young age. He’s apparently always dancing around the house and his parents thought that Prima would be a good outlet. Charlie initially expressed interest in ballet classes at prima but his parents were apprehensive due to concerns over bullying and that kids at school might make fun of him. Instead they signed Charlie up for kids street dance lessons.
Although Charlie is reportedly enjoying the lessons he hasn’t lost interest in learning/performing ballet, and Katie plans to speak to his parents after Christmas to encourage them to let him try ballet lessons (since all of Primasclasses are mixed and not gender exclusive, in keeping with t=its ethos).
In one episode of the series Charlie will make a great mini story and will likely become a favorite among audiences. We can follow him for an episode if he gets to try out ballet, and once the main filming is over we will likely interview his parents to aid to his story arc.
Lucy Gear is one of Primasbest singers, but she would never admit that herself. Before coming to Prima Lucy hardly spoke to anyone, and although still very shy Lucy has come out of her shell considerably since coming to Prima. Although she was nervous at first Lucy came to Prima to get better and more confident at singing and was encouraged to stay and develop her talent thanks to the feeling of family and belonging she gets from Prima.
Lucy has a wonderful voice but often lacks the confidence to show it. This year her teachers want to change this and are giving her a solo, where she will have to perform at the front of the stage during the end of year show.
This will make a great story arc that we can use in our series. It will likely play out mostly towards the end of the series with the climax of her story taking place in the final episode. Many audience members will become empathetic towards her relatable struggle and be keen to see if she can overcome her shyness. Lucy will be another good candidate for a second interview so that viewers can see if her self confidence has improved after her bog performance.
Australia
Founder Suellen Mauderset up Jute over 10 years ago, being passionate about the arts ever since her teenage years and meeting her husband at through performing arts Suellen has always believed in the power performing arts has to bring people together. Sullen moved to Cairns in 2006 with her husband with a dream of bringing the power of performing arts to rural Australia. After a lot of campaigning, fund raising and hard work Suellen was instrumental in getting an Arts center built in Carnis, where she later set up her stage school.
With the help of some friends and local parents they began to run acting workshops for local schools, before eventually raising enough interest to offer full classes.
Her story and sense of community generated by are school will be essential to outline early on in this series. Her story can be set up in the first episode and compared with that of Julies in the UK, both I am confident will resonate with audiences.
Chair Gill Townsend is the woman responsible for the day to day running of the school. She handles the administrative side of the school, processing applications, term times, buying costumes and props, writing for the shows etc. When not working at the school Gill is a social worker, and has been for the last 35 years. She came to work for the school because she has seen first hand the positive effects that performing arts can have on young people. Having worked in the past with children who have learning disabilities and mental health problems she an advocate for the ways in which acting, signing, and dancing can make positive change in the minds of troubled young people.
She is always keen for an opportunity to show how the school is a supportive network that reaches out to kids in rural areas. Offering them not only a hobby but a form of escapism. This powerful story and reasoning will make Gill an excellent contributor and I am keen to establish her story early on.
Dean Frankling has been a student at Jute for two years now. Up until recently Dean had solely focused on acting, seeing himself with a career in acting Dean has dedicated most of his focus to refining his skills in the area. However although he doesn’t like to admit it Dean has a not so secret passion for singing. But due to feeling embarrassed about it and afraid that some of his school friends would tease him, Dean refuses to sing in any of Jutes shows.
Suellen is keen to change his mind on this matter as although Jute does not have dedicated singing classes, the school strives to be a supportive environment.
Towards the later end of the series we will focus on Dean and his relationship with singing. His story could be aided by interviews with friends or family members who can talk about hearing Dean sing. In the lead up to the big show we can look out to see if Dean finds the courage to put aside any concerns he has and join in with some of the singing parts of the show. Although it is unlikely that he will be performing a solo, his story can still be compared with Lucy’s in the UK.
Hector Narcia was brought to the school by Gill earlier in the year. Hector suffers from ADHD and struggled to fit in at the local school, after an incident earlier in the year Hector was put on temporary suspension, his parents weren’t sure what they could do to help Hector feel more comfortable at school since there were no specialist schools in the area. When Gill got wind his parents concern she recommended that he try out a few sessions at Jute, since many of the exercises and lessons they have there are structured to help students control there emotions and use any built up emotion they have in their performances.
Thanks to the supportive environment of Jute Hector has begun to really fit in at Jute, taking both dance and acting classes. Since joining the school his parents have also said that his concentration levels at school are better. For these reasons it is clear that Hectors story will be a fantastic addition to this documentary, we will be able to watch him at different weeks in his classes as well as gain sit down interviews with him and his parents that I have no doubt will hook an audience.
Sapphire Davies and Tilly Mendenning are best friends. They go to school together and attend multiple classes at Jute together. They have always worked together and taken three acting exams paired with one another. They’re always laughing and often mess around during lessons which some of the teachers get a little frustrated with sometimes.
The pair have always been inseparable and even though Tilly recently started dating another class mate the pair remain close and plan to star in the upcoming show together.
According to their teacher the two are both significantly talented and stand an equal chance of being cast as the lead in the upcoming show.
These two contributors will be very interesting to follow. Not only are they close friends which is something we haven’t properly seen with other contributors. But there is opportunity for dilemma as the series develops as they both may go up against each other for the lead.
But at the same time Tilly’s relationship could cause trouble. It is entirely possible that Sapphire may be harboring some hidden jealousy about this. Which added to the pressure of audition could lead to a fallout between the two. From an audiences perspective such a development would make for an interesting and engaging viewing experience as well.
Tom Houson is a member of Jutes recently created script writing classes. At age 13 he is on the younger end of Jute’s age range, but has been a keen writer for some time.
Although initially hesitant about joining the school, Tom eventually decided that it would be a good way to make friends as he is still quite new to the area only moving there a few months ago. Despite taking drama lessons at school Tom wasn’t sure if he would be a good fit for the environment as he has always preferred the writing side more than being in the spotlight. But having discovered the script writing classes that Jute offer Tom now couldn’t be happier as he gets to practice his writing in a more structured environment whilst also being around likeminded people.
Tom will be a good contributor to follow since he is attending a class that is different to any of our other contributors. It is likely that because of this he will have a different personality and different interactions that our audience can become connected to, offering a new insight and showing that not all performing arts has to happen on a stage.
Debbi Hawes is described as being one of Jutes most driven students. Debbi is in her final year of study at Jute. Having taken almost all of her acting exams Debbi now sees herself wanting to peruse a career in stage management. This year Debbi will also be taking her SSCE exams (the Australian equivalent to A-Levels) alongside her final acting exam and preparing for the big show. Although Debbi isn’t usually the type of person to let such things phase her, some of her teachers are concerned that the pressure she has put on herself to do well, achieve good grades and get in to the university that she has her heart set on, may get a bit much.
The fact that Debbi wants to peruse stage management gives her a unique story that we haven’t seen with any of her other contributors, and is something our audience wouldn’t know much about without her contribution. We will follow her in an episode mid way through the series to see how she copes with the pressure. Her story also gives us opportunity to revisit her in the final episode and contrast it with some of our UK contributors. We also have an excuse to bring back in one of her teachers for a sit down interview that would aid her story and the script.
Grace Thomas is a keen ballet dancer at Jute. However having found her passion for dance quite late in her life at 17, she is considerably behind some of the other dancer at Jute who are a similar age to her. To combat this her teachers are putting her through a rushed training/exam schedule. She is attending her regular dance lessons and coming in to some of the Junior classes so that she can spend extra time practicing with her teachers. In order to make sure she leaves the school with the same qualifications as her peers, she has accepted the challenge of taking two ballet exams this year (most students only do one exam per subject a year).
It will likely be tough, however Grace is very determined and is confident in her abilities. Her story will be one that I am sure our audience will be interested in, since although she is not the only contributor to be facing increased pressure, she is the only one taking two full exams (at an advanced level) in such a short space of time. As such she will be a great contributor to follow around the same time as Felix in the UK.