Musical goes from stage to the screen
Chichester’s musical theatre course has gone from the stage to the screen.
The University of Chichester Conservatoire Triple Threat programme was poised to open its annual autumn double bill at the Alexandra Theatre in Bognor Regis last October.
This year it was Rodgers and Hart’s Pal Joey and Babes in Arms which quickly sold out the socially-distanced auditorium.
Then the circuit-breaker lockdown was announced.
However, the students decided that ‘the show must go on’.
With regulations allowing education to continue, they decided to turn one of their little campus theatres into a film studio, modified and installed the sets and filmed it so that they could at least see for themselves what they had achieved and take away some high-quality showreel film to support their industry progression.
Lecturer Paul Ackerley said: “Our shows have come to be loved by our local audiences for their exuberance and high production values.
“But they are first and foremost a crucial training experience.
“By taking this step with the co-operation of the rights holders, we were able to ensure that none of the work achieved up till that point was lost.
“We’d also been working closely with the staff at the Alexandra Theatre on detailed risk assessments so all the distancing precautions for what took place on and off stage was in place.”
Cast member Eva Kandri: “The set was originally designed for The Regis Centre so it had to be modified and fitted into our Assembly Theatre, which was achieved by our top-notch university tech team.
“The casts were blown away by the production values.”
Harris Skinner, also one of the students, added: “If anything, the difficulty of bringing the shows to life seemed to brighten the cast’s spirits and invigorate them to produce the best work possible.”
Shannon Croker, a member of the Pal Joey company, added: “It was tough, but we had help at every turn from the creative teams and were encouraged to work closer as a company.
“In the end it turned out to be a very enjoyable experience.”
Aiofe Dardis, from the Babes in Arms company, added: “The creative teams took every precaution possible to enable everyone to stay safe and to fulfil the roles within the show, whether as a performer or working backstage.”