On Friday, the principal cast of this year’s St John’s school production of Little Shop of Horrors had the fantastic opportunity to visit Sunderland University to watch their performance of the musical live on stage.
This visit offered our cast a valuable chance to see the show brought to life, helping them develop their own characterisation, vocals and performance skills ahead of our school production. Seeing the musical in a professional setting supported their understanding of staging, movement and comic timing, giving them fresh inspiration for their own roles.
Seeing a Familiar Face on Stage
A highlight of the day was seeing former St John’s student Zach, an alumnus and former A Level Drama student, performing as part of his Performing Arts degree. Watching someone who once stood on the same school stage now performing at university was both inspiring and motivating for our current cast.
As an added bonus, we were able to speak with Zach after the show, hearing about his journey in the performing arts. This was followed by an exciting invitation to step onto the stage ourselves, where students explored the set — and even got an up-close look at the iconic plant from the show.
Looking Ahead to Our July Performance
A huge thank you to Sunderland University for welcoming us, giving our cast such an invaluable learning experience, and supporting us with our set and props for our upcoming production in July.
Visits like this enrich our students’ understanding of theatre and performance, and we cannot wait to see how the inspiration from this trip shines through on stage in our own production of Little Shop of Horrors.