Terrific talent was on show last Friday, when Y4 took to the stage in THE TEMPEST at Montpelier Primary School, Ealing. Here at FINDING THE WILL, we love helping small voices to get bigger and low confidence to get greater. That happened last week too of course, but what we were less prepared for was the raw talent on show!
“Oh You Wonder!”
Normally, when we ask an eight year old to play a teenager ‘in love’, we have to rely on a piece of music from our eclectic sound track to set the mood. Not so at Montpelier! Acker Bilk’s ‘Stranger on the Shore’ merely enhanced a terrific performance by young Miranda. From the moment she stepped on the stage, flicked her hair, and looked wistfully at the audience, we were caught up in her teenage love for the young Prince Ferdinand, newly arrived on the beach. Every movement she made was perfect – joyful to watch such unconscious talent!
“No more dams I’ll make for fish!”
Likewise, Stephano and Trinculo arriving on the island showed their skills, possibly as movie actors rather than stage actors. Immersive performances in which they were simply a drunken Butler and a reluctant Jester totally at ease with their characters. They completely forgot they were Y4. Incredible talent to witness in ones so young.
“Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes and groves”
If you’re familiar with THE TEMPEST you’ll know that towards the end of the play, Prospero decides to give up his magic. This is a huge decision which he relates to his sprite Ariel and all the other sprites on the island in a long speech. We shortened the speech, it’s true, but we didn’t update it. Our Prospero spoke the original Shakespeare text, with all the confidence, commitment and truthfulness that we would expect from an adult Prospero with days to prepare! Remember she (oh yes, gender-blind casting here at FTW) is only 9 at most. Undiscovered (until now) natural talent.
Unsung Heroes
Raw talent aside, there were some stand out performances from the all-important narrators and chorus of sprites too. If only we could have bottled last week, we would have the ‘Elixir of Performance’ – no matter how small your role, you can still make a huge impression.
90 actors in total and all of them gave their very best. Plus there were some truly brave performances. It takes a lot of courage to speak out loud in front of 150 parents. Sometimes, just standing on a stage is terrifying enough (and while we’re on the subject, standing still when you’re only 8 is also a challenge!). So HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to all of Y4 at Montpelier Primary. Every one of you pushed yourselves and you all gave us a show to remember. So take another bow!
And talking of UNSUNG HEROES – The Year 4 staff led by Mrs Connett (who also became our resident DJ) were indispensable! They did amazing work with the actors when we were not with them and we can’t thank them enough. Also, you may have noticed that the programme and posters were the work of James – he was encouraged by staff to channel his creativity in a really productive way, I’m sure you’ll agree. Thank you to all of you, and here’s hoping we can return same time next year!
And finally…..
I promised you an introduction to two new faces at FTW.
Izzy is an actor and workshop facilitator. She graduated from the Guildford School of Acting in 2022, where her love for Shakespeare rocketed. Since, she has worked for the Guildford Shakespeare Company and Petersfield Shakespeare Festival, as well as performing in touring theatre. Alongside this, she is the co-founder of Plumtree Theatre and a freelance scriptwriter for children’s holiday clubs.
Karen is an actor based in Wiltshire; she studied Drama at The University of Gloucestershire and has been working as a professional actor since 2012 in theatre, TV and Film. She teaches adults and young people helping them to build confidence through drama games, improvisation and devising. She works with Banardos Adoption Agency using drama as a communication tool for prospective adoptees and facilitates drama workshops with a refugee charity.
Welcome to both of them! They’ll be popping along to a couple of workshops in busy June to see how we roll and then, hopefully, they’ll be appearing in a school near you in the coming year!
Next month is bonkers for FINDING THE WILL so I’ll be back with you in early July to tell you all about the 500 children we will have worked with during flaming June – not to mention three performances in Cornwall of NAMING THE VIEW.
Bye for now!
