Last term LAMDA students performed in special mini-Showcases. Classes were brought together into double lessons so the 68 students could perform their monologues and duologues to a wider, peer audience.

With 3 lessons left before the public Showcases and Examinations, this medium-stakes sharing of ‘work in progress’ helps students to learn to harness nervous energy to enhance their performance – and build muscle memory in the process. Also, getting feedback from people unfamiliar with the scene helps performers clarify their intentions and develop their interpretations further. There is a kind of magic alchemy that happens when formally saying lines in front of an audience – one hears them anew – and many made exciting discoveries about their characters.

At Channing, the LAMDA teachers support candidates in choosing scenes for themselves, and so the audience saw a wonderful array of challenging repertoire, both comic and tragic with 66 monologues and 34 duologues being presented. They ranged from Ancient Theatre, such as Antigone and Women of Troy by Euripides, to Classic scenes, from the likes of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Pygmalion and Androcles and the Lion by G B Shaw and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare, to contemporary modern dramas, such as Vicky Angel by Jacqueline Wilson, Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, Bird by Katherine Chandler, Journey to X by Nancy Harris, Will you be my Nemesis? by Katherine Funkhouser and The Beauty Manifesto by Nell Leyshon – to name but a few! As well as the fun of watching this live theatre, performers learn so much from watching others perform.

Our LAMDA teachers, Ms Penglase and Ms Gordon, were proud and excited to see how much progress these fantastically talented thespians have made since September. It is testament to their sustained commitment to the weekly lessons, rehearsals and homework and their creativity in applying feedback. Bravo!