Meet Some Cast Members
The Black Box is now well and truly inhabited by Drama students as rehearsals for Strictly Ballroom progress with energy and enthusiasm, despite periodic interruptions to cast composition owing to COVID-19 isolation requirements.
We spoke to some of the lead cast members about their acting experience, their character in Strictly Ballroom, what they love about this particular production and advice they would give students in the future who are contemplating auditioning for a Girton Senior School Production.
Student: Kai Humphrey (10 Millward)
Character: Rico (Fran’s father)
Since graduating from primary school, I have been in a Girton Senior School Production every year, commencing with my first show Rock of Ages in Year 7 leading to other shows such as Macbeth, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and this year's Strictly Ballroom.
The character I am playing is Rico, the Spanish father of Fran. He plays an important role by teaching Scott how to dance the ‘Paso Doble’, a difficult Spanish dance that is performed multiple times throughout the show.
I love being able to play such a strong character, his attitude and the power he has is something I really enjoy. The challenging side to playing Rico is having to learn another language as the majority of his lines are in Spanish.
I have loved getting to know the people working alongside me and learning the blocking to the ‘Paso Doble’. I am looking forward to coming back on stage this year as well as developing my character Rico further! I highly recommend anybody to give a Senior School Production a go, even if you don’t have much experience, it is great way to make friends and find a new passion.
Student: Henry Livingstone (12 Frew)
Character: JJ Silvers
I have been involved in Girton productions since the Junior School Production of Seussical, in which I was an ensemble cast member, as well as playing the trumpet. I was also in the ensemble in the Year 8 Production of Guys and Dolls and last year, I played The Prosecutor in the Senior School Production of Ui. This year, as well as performing in Strictly, I am playing trumpet in the pit orchestra for Tribe’s performance of Cats.
I will be playing JJ Silvers in this year’s production. He is the charismatic and witty announcer at each ballroom competition and employee of Barry Fife. JJ is a source of energy and comedy throughout the musical and will be a lot of fun to play with. I love that JJ has the opportunity to interact with the audience and I enjoy playing a confident and enthusiastic character. It’ll be a great challenge for me to see where I can take this character and how I as an actor can add to the production.
My advice to students thinking about doing a Girton production is to just do it. It is a very rare opportunity to be a part of such a well-put together production in a school, and if you’re not sure, then there can be no harm in trying it and finding out if you like it.
Student: James Forbes (10 Aherne)
Character: Wayne Burns (the best friend of Scott Hastings)
Since commencing at Girton in Year 6. I’ve been involved in the ensemble for the Junior School Production of Alice in Wonderland and played many characters in last year’s production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.
In this year’s production of Strictly Ballroom, I’ll be playing Wayne Burns, the best friend of Scott Hastings, who will be played by Abe Geyer, and partner to Vanessa Cronin played by Lilly Harvey. Wayne is your average Australian bloke that also does competition dancing. He’s a quirky character who has a “boy-next door” feeling about him, but when it comes to dancing, he is there to win. He is supportive of Scott’s dancing but becomes perplexed when Scott begins improvising and making up his own steps.
I’ve been really enjoying getting into the “Aussie” character and I’m constantly refining my Australian accent to prepare for the show. Seeing I naturally have an American accent, it has been a challenging yet entertaining process to learn what it takes to put on a thick Australian accent.
It has been an amazing experience to learn how to perform a plethora of different dances and styles. Having an expert choreographer such as Kaddison Kearin who makes a room full of people dancing look fantastic is truly something you need to see for yourself. Meeting new people and making new friends is awesome. If anyone is considering joining a future school production, I ask you this… Why would you not join? It is such a fun time doing the production and you really don’t need to have done theatre before - everybody has to start somewhere. It really is a great time in rehearsals and being onstage with your newfound friends is such a rewarding feeling.