BODENS SPRING 2018 MAGAZINE

THE PLACE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
BODENS
AWARDS
NIGHT 2017
All the award winners, as we celebrate
the incredible achievements of our young
people throughout the last year.
RETURN TO
THE CENTRE
OF THE EARTH
BLOOD BROTHERS
TOO FAST
DRAMA SCHOOL
A GRAND DON’T
COME FOR FREE
MUSICAL THEATRE
Paige tells us all about the process and
performance of our new full time first
year students’ very first performance.
BRAINSTORM
Our Repertory Company performed a
unique theatrical investigation into how
teenagers’ brains work, and why they’re
designed by evolution to be that way.
www.bodens.co.uk
FEBRUARY 2018

BODENS PERFORMING ARTS
MESSAGE FROM
THE PRINCIPAL
We hope you enjoy our Spring Term issue
of Bodens Magazine. Everything here
is written by young people at Bodens
Performing Arts, all about their experiences
on and off the stage. This issue features
productions of Brainstorm, Too Fast, Centre
of the Earth, A Grand Don’t Come For Free,
Blood Brothers, and our 2017 Awards Night,
as we look back on an incredible term at
Bodens Performing Arts
Adam Boden, MA Applied Theatre.
SPRING 2018
AWARDS NIGHT
Edie Ireton
DRAMA SCHOOL AUDITIONS
Susannah Cann
TOO FAST
Yasemin Mutlu
BRAINSTORM
Sophia Chrysanthou
THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH
Paige Wilson
BLOOD BROTHERS
Olivia Peter
GRAND DON’T COME FOR FREE
Jessica Johns Parsons
MUSICAL THEATRE EXAMS
Erin Boden
BODENS PERFORMING ARTS
99 East Barnet Road
Barnet, Herts. EN4 8RF
020 8447 0909
07545 696 888
info@bodens.co.uk
www.bodens.co.uk
www.performingartscollege.co.uk
www.instagram.com/bodensperformingarts
www.facebook.com/bodensperformingarts
www.twitter.com/bodens
www.facebook.com/bodenscollege
www.instagram.com/bodenscollege
www.twitter.com/bodenscollege
AWARDS NIGHT
Once a year we celebrate all the achievements
of our young people, on and off the stage
throughout the year, at an annual presentation
Every January, Bodens comes
together to look back over the
achievements of the past year,
with great performances in
between awards being given to
students who had performed
really well.
This year we had medleys from
the musical theatre classes,
doing Dear Evan Hansen and
School of Rock and the college
performing Hamilton. There
were also scenes from the
range of shows put on in 2017
and some students displaying
their talent that got them high
marks in their musical theatre
and dance exams. I always look
forward to awards night because
of the friendly atmosphere that
highlights how supportive
everyone is at Bodens.
One of the classes I do at
Bodens is musical theatre, so
before awards night we were
rehearsing for the Dear Evan
Hansen medley. Doing this was
a lot of fun as we worked on it
together, helping each other
with the harmonies. It was clear
to see that everyone who was
performing had worked hard
as the performances all went
without a hitch, except for
one…
Everyone had expected the
performance of Agony to be
a duet, but it ended up being
sung by what looked like a
competitive boyband. Just as
Jack and George were surprised
by Scott and Harry joining
in, they were all even more
surprised when Lyud and Ben
also joined in - everyone was
laughing as the song developed
into one hilarious mess!
THE PLACE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
As you would expect from
an Awards Night, students
are given awards for their
contribution over the past
year. Last year, Bodens lost a
well-liked, aspiring student,
Madeleine Latham Fox who
very sadly passed away. In her
memory, a new award was added
for Examination Achievement.
Isabel Peter was very happy to
be the first student to receive it.
WWW.BODENS.CO.UK

BODENS PERFORMING ARTS
THE PLACE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
Other winners included Angeli
Ramdin for Best Newcomer;
Isabel Nash won Most Improved;
Asmida Hyseni won the Livia
Galli Atkinson Dance award;
Lydia French won the Junior
award and Zoe Mcgillicuddy
won the Senior award. From the
college, Beth McCowen won the
Best New College Student, Carlie
Diamond won most Improved
College Student and Liz Hoare
won Best Overall College
Student. When the night finally
ended, everyone was ready to
get on with the rehearsals for
the projects of 2018.
This year, I was very happy to
receive the rare Award of a
Generation alongside my best
friend, Zoe Jones, in our last
year at Bodens, after 15 years. I
was so surprised when I realised
what Adam and Katie had
arranged, as we were asked to
present the awards to each other
while clips from our illustrious
time at Bodens played on the
screen. I am so glad that I now
have something to remind me
of the wonderful years I’ve had
here.
I loved being able to see
everyone get their awards and
see the future generation doing
so well. When the night finally
ended, everyone was ready to
get on with the rehearsals for
the projects of 2018.
FULL LIST OF 2017 WINNERS
BEST COLLEGE NEWCOMER
Beth McCowen
BEST OVERALL COLLEGE
Elizabeth Hoare
MOST IMPROVED COLLEGE
Carlie Diamond
AWARDS OF A GENERATION
Zoe Jones
& Edie Ireton
TONY BODEN SENIOR AWARD
Zoe McGillicuddy
TONY BODEN JUNIOR AWARD
Lydia French
SUE LEVEN AWARD
MOST IMPROVED STUDENT
Isabelle Nash
BEST NEWCOMER STUDENT
Angeli Ramdin
At Awards Night we show
highlight videos showcasing
courses and performances from
throughout the year. You can
watch these videos on-line.
SUMMER COURSES
https://vimeo.com/bodens/
summer2017
BODENS HIGHLIGHTS
https://vimeo.com/bodens/2017
MATILDA
https://vimeo.com/bodens/
matildahighlights
INTO THE WOODS
https://vimeo.com/bodens/
woods
JUNGLE BOOK
https://vimeo.com/bodens/
jungle
LIVIA GALLI-ATKINSON
DANCE AWARD 2017
Asmida Hyseni
MADELEINE LATHAM-FOX
EXAMINATION ACHIEVEMENT
Isabel Peter
SPRING 2018
WWW.BODENS.CO.UK

DRAMA SCHOOL
Third Year College student Susannah talks all about the process of a
young actor auditioning for a place at a top Drama School
Sam Frenchum,
Bodens student
and RADA Grad.
As January
arrives, or even as
December passes
for some of the
brave few, audition
season for those
hoping to gain
a place at drama
school officially
begins. From
aged 17 upwards
you are allowed
to audition for a
place on many of
the performance
courses that
prestigious schools
such RADA, Arts
Educational,
Mountview Theatre
Arts and Royal
Central School
of Speech and
Drama offer, with
their graduates
filling the stage
and screen we see
today.
SPRING 2018
Joe Gatt, Star Trek & Game of Thrones
The audition process for the
selection of the intake can be
vigorous and gruelling, as each
school, all providing different
styles of auditions, thoroughly
assess those wanting a place. In
my three years of auditioning
for a variety of schools and
courses, I can honestly say
that the said ‘assessment’
process the schools put you
through is a mystery. Each
school has slightly different
requirements for their ideal
student but many follow a
similar pattern; a willingness
to learn, trainability, a mature
approach and of course, talent.
For each audition you may
be required to learn slightly
different monologues of
varying lengths or from
specific time periods but most
stick to the one Shakespeare,
one modern (post 1960)
approach, with musical theatre
courses asking for two songs,
one Up-Tempo and the other
a Ballad. If there were to be
a key to getting in, I would
say that most of it lies in the
choice of material you choose
to present. A beyond stressful
task, choosing something that
fits these guidelines, suits
you as an actor, isn’t over
done, doesn’t swear too much,
doesn’t make you out to be a
victim (Am I right, Ladies?),
doesn’t use any obvious
props and isn’t Agnes of God
or Lea’s speech from DNA.
It’s a minefield of Stephens,
Shakespeare and Sondheim
and you have to make sure you
don’t blow up in the process,
because you haven’t even got
to the audition room yet.
Jonathan Andrew Hume, The Lion King
After finally settling with your material, you take your work that
you have spent hours upon hours working on to perform it to a
panel who will listen to you do so for 2 minutes, tell you to have
a nice day and two weeks later tell you thanks, but no thanks.
Unfortunately, that can be the harsh reality, £50+ on an audition
fee and train fare, no feedback or even better ifs, but just a’ try
again next year’ (if you’re lucky). Those who take the panel’s
fancy will be invited back to recall rounds, which usually tend
to be longer sessions giving you a taste of what they do there.
It’s at these auditions, that your precious work is pulled apart
and you are tested as the panel ask you to do some weird and
wonderful things with your speeches and songs. So you have to
know them, inside and out, know the play or musical they are
from, because although they aren’t trying to trick you, having
confidence in your material gives you one less thing to worry
about in front of that panel. These auditions are completely
alien and probably the only time as actors we’ll audition as
ourselves and not for a role. So be you and let yourself come
through at all points of the auditions, whether it be in your
speeches, interviews or even as you tell them thank you as you
leave the room (massive free tip there). Don’t look at others
around you, at some auditions there will be hundreds of you
and its difficult not to second guess what you’re doing because
you’ve seen someone do something different and you think the
panel may like it. You have what you have to offer and nobody
else in the room has that advantage, it’s difficult to learn this
but the quicker you do, the less nervous you’ll be.
Fiona Wade, Emmerdale
Lizzie Ottley, Dirty Dancing & Evita
Aamira Mynett,
Bodens student
and Central Grad.
Auditioning
is tough. It’s
difficult to sum
up because it’s
different for each
individual, people
like different
schools, notice
different things
in auditions,
prepare material
in different ways,
listen to different
dos and don’ts.
However if there
are three tips
I could give to
ensure a positive
and relatively
stress-free drama
school audition
experience it
would be:
1. Well prepare
your audition
material
2 Be yourself
3 Be nice
WWW.BODENS.CO.UK

BODENS PERFORMING ARTS
THE PLACE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
Our senior weekend performing
arts students were allocated the
play ‘Too Fast’ which offered a cast
of mixed ability the opportunity to
play their own age group but within
the imagined circumstances of the
Douglas Maxwell Play originally
written for the National Theatre
Connections programme.
The storyline follows Sensation
Nation, a vocal group founded
and led by the unstoppable DD.
Her grand plan is for the group
to storm next year’s Britain’s
Got Talent. But first they need
a gig, and more importantly a
heartbreaking backstory that
will win them votes later on
down the line. So she’s booked
them in to sing at a funeral.
And not just any funeral either.
Sensation Nation is to sing at
the funeral of Ali Monroe, an
older girl from their school
who was killed in a car crash.
Here Yasemin tells us about the
process.
Too Fast was an ensemble
comedy performance put on
by Bodens Performing Arts
for all the part-time students
who take the combined
performing arts classes on the
weekends. The cast was split
equally amongst all which gave
everyone the opportunity
to excel, and resulted in
varied performances in the
four show run. The play,
written by Douglas Maxwell
YO U
CAN SEE
MANY MORE
PHOTOS FROM
ALL OUR SHOWS
BODENS.CO.UK
/GALLERY
is naturalistic for the most part
(except the appearance of a
ghost at the end of the play),
so in the rehearsal process
we learnt to create memories
as our characters to help us
further understand what sort of
relationships each character had
with one another. For example,
playing the manipulative
group leader DD, I created the
memory of a hectic auditioning
process when forming DDs
group Sensation Nation, which
helped me to bring truth to my
performance and explain where
her controlling qualities come
from and begin to understand
the complexity behind her as
a character. This technique is
definitely valuable to me as
I will be able to reapply it to
future Bodens performances.
I believe the choice in casting
allowed each and every one of
us to be paired with a character
that is unlike our normal selves,
making it more challenging to
play them convincingly and
stretch us further as actors.
The most valuable lesson I
learnt from this production was
the ability to adapt and learn
quickly in the rehearsal space,
as two others played the role
of DD, which meant there were
many times where I had to take
note on their blocking and
intentions in their rehearsals,
to then later apply it to my
own performance. This in turn
helped improve my focus, which
was something I previously
struggled with. My class and I
also got to meet and work with
new people from the other
combined classes through this
production, which helped build
a sense of community and made
the pre-show nerves a little less
frightening.
SPRING 2018
WWW.BODENS.CO.UK

BODENS PERFORMING ARTS
THE PLACE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
BRAINSTORM
Sophia took part in the process and
performances of the play ‘Brainstorm’
Inside every adolescent
brain, 86 billion neurons
connect and collide
to produce the most
frustrating, chaotic and
exhilarating changes
that will ever happen to
us. Brainstorm is a unique
theatrical investigation
into how teenagers’
brains work, and why
they’re designed by
evolution to be the way
they are.
When Bodens Repertory Company
found out that we were going to
do a play focusing on the teenage
brain, we knew how important it was
going to be. For both us, teenagers,
and our parents that were going to
come and watch it. To begin with,
we started our explorative process
in class by playing games such as
‘Never Have I Ever’ where we all
stand up and say things that we
have done and we see who else
has as well, for example ‘Never
have I ever eaten snails’. This was
a really clever and informative way
of understanding other people in
the company as we all learnt a lot
about each other as well as a lot
about ourselves.
In our final performance, this
game was again played but
with the audience this time
as well as ourselves as Scott
playing the Limbic System led
the game. He asked personal
and impersonal questions to
outline the similarities between
our parents and ourselves
that not all of us knew were
there. The Limbic system is a
complex set of structures in
the brain which is primarily
responsible for our emotional
life, and has a lot to do with
the formation of memories.
During the development of
the adolescent brain, the
limbic system is responsible
for reward seeking and is
stimulated by social (peers)
and emotional variables. We
used this idea while exploring
the teenage brain, interpreting
how it is more easily influenced
by peers and emotions in our
rehearsal stage as well as our
performance when the Limbic
System provokes the rest of the
cast, influencing them to drink
red bulls and eat sweets that
have the same effect on us like
the limbic system does to the
teenage brain.
Another great part in the
show was the use of a phone
projected onto the wall that
had a whatsapp group chat
with all the cast members in.
During the show the audience
could watch the play as well as
read our thoughts as they were
constantly being projected (as
we were on our phones most of
the time). This was a fantastic
way of showing the audience
that teenagers have minds of
their own, even though people
may forget that sometimes.
We may be thinking crazy and
weird things (a.k.a what memes
and vines are best to use in a
serious situation) but they
are our thoughts, and that’s
important. We’re a different
generation and our thoughts
and beliefs are also different
but that doesn’t make them
less valid.
‘Brainstorm’ exemplifies the
idea that the teenage brain isn’t
finished yet and that’s okay. It’s
still trying to figure everything
out - it needs time and it
needs to make bad decisions.
Overall, it was a privilege to
work on this production with
a lot of incredible people,
who have shown both me and
the audience how this new
generation, with all this new
knowledge will influence the
new world greatly.
SPRING 2018
WWW.BODENS.CO.UK

RETURN TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH
A First Year College
Student Performance
In her very first
term at Bodens
College, full
time performing
arts student
P a i g e t a l k s
about bringing
this challenging
story to the
stage. This
performance
was part of a
qualification
unit for her
course, entitled
‘Movement in
Performance’;
devising a
performance
piece primarily
consisting of
physical theatre.
SPRING 2018
This production came at the
end of our first term at Bodens.
We told the story of ‘Return
to the Centre of the Earth’,
which is an album that was
produced by Rick Wakeman,
narrated by Patrick Stewart
and was released in 1999.
The performance lasted thirty
minutes and was performed
in the Scaffold Theatre on the
2nd and 3rd of December. We
only performed two shows. The
audio is a sequel to an album
from 1974 called ‘Journey to
the Centre of the Earth’ which
was based on an 1864 science
fiction novel by Jules Verne.
The original story is about
three explorers in the 19th
century who went on exciting
adventures underground.
The sequel is set two
centuries later with another
three travellers. We created
a movement piece to the
story of the journey and set
to the album, creating the
world around the travellers
as they progressed. This was
exciting for all of us as it was
our first movement piece and
performance at Bodens to an
audience.
Our first step was to learn
about the four components
of movement; relationships,
actions, dynamics and space.
We used all these elements
in order to keep the piece
interesting throughout.
We also experimented with
different stimuli for different
sections as a way to keep our
ideas new and fresh. Listening
to the album helped us to
create our internal thoughts about the soundtrack. When experimenting with ideas we, at first, did
not consider the sections chronologically as we worked on developing a few sections concurrently.
We began with a section from the middle of the piece, where we improvised with our hands to
create sequences of movement to represent fireflies, for the show the whole theatre was in complete
darkness and we used red flashing thumb-lights, which was a really effective image for the audience.
We simultaneously worked with Adam, our director, on the beginning of the piece where the travellers
were preparing to embark on their adventures
During the rehearsal process we were all telling each other our individual thoughts and creative ideas
to find different ways of showing important moments in the story. We researched how to demonstrate
objects and actions with characteristics such as weight, position and direction. There was a section
where the travellers stumble upon a herd of creatures so we created the creatures in groups with our
bodies bending in different ways, this was difficult as we had to make it look realistic and natural
like they are real. When experimenting, some ideas were taken away and changed as they were not
as effective as we envisaged they would be.
As we became familiar with directions and our choreography the performance began to grow, paying
attention to detail such as the dynamics of an object or architecture of the travellers surroundings
and transforming from one section into the next section slickly and smoothly. The travellers used
props such as torches to be able to emphasise the shapes of the ensembles bodies.
WWW.BODENS.CO.UK

BODENS PERFORMING ARTS
THE PLACE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
During rehearsals I was cast as a traveller, I then had to consider
who my character within the story was and how the character
interacted with the changing environment throughout the
journey. As travellers we had to not only show the physical
journey to the centre of the Earth but also the characters’
personal journey their change in reactions, relationships and
their personal development. Relationships were shown between
the travellers with actions such as holding hands. When we
got into tech rehearsals, spotlights were used to remind the
audience not to get emotionally attached, but also to keep
focus on the travellers. We made facial expressions as natural
as possible. We wore simple all-black costumes to highlight the
ensembles’ body shapes.
A couple of hours before the show we had to edit the audio
piece to make the show shorter. And during one of our runthroughs,
an audio glitch occurred but we remained professional
throughout. As the rehearsals went on the more trust we had for
each other as an ensemble, we all had more confidence in each
other to be able to perfect lifts and jumps. The rehearsal process
lasted two months. As with every show we were all nervous and
excited at the same time with a fizz of butterflies fluttering in
our stomach which, in turn, gave us all the energy needed to do
such a physically demanding show. When performing everything
went to plan and we all worked together as a team to make the
piece work and interesting to watch.
You can view more photos and footage of all our performances
at at the bottom of the first page of our college website.
Visit http://www.performingartscollege.co.uk
Our Full Time
College Course
We offer a fully funded
performing arts
course, equivalent
to 3 A-Levels, and
recognised by
Univeristies, with over
30 hours a week tutorled
training in acting,
singing and dancing.
Training includes
private singing and
acting lessons for
all our students and
several opportunities
to perform throughout
the year. We are now
holding auditions for
our 2018 intake for
talented young people
aged 16-18 years. Full
details can be found
on our websites.
Taking part in Bodens
Advanced Performing
arts classes has been
one of the best decisions
I have made. I learn
something new every
week from the expertise
of my teachers and I
am surrounded by likeminded
people who have
a love for performing
arts. I was so excited
when we were told by
Adam, our director, that
we would be performing
‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy
Russell.
BLOOD BROTHERS
Olivia talks about Blood Brothers, a musical about
a woman called Mrs Johnston who cannot afford
to keep both of her twins and decides to give one
away to Mrs Lyons her employer.
SPRING 2018
WWW.BODENS.CO.UK

BODENS PERFORMING ARTS
THE PLACE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
Mrs Johnston swears on the
bible to never tell the boys that
they are twins as Mrs Lyons
claims that twins separated at
birth who grow up to know the
truth will die instantly. Both
boys Eddie and Mickey grow
up to have separate lives and
become defined by their social
class. Although separated
at birth, the twins meet as
children and discover they have
the same birthday and instantly
become ‘Blood Brothers’. Eddie
and Mickey befriend Linda and
the three become best friends.
As they grow up they learn the
hardships of adult life from
love to unemployment and
depression. It is ultimately
their social class differences
that become their downfall
as Mickey becomes jealous of
Eddie’s ‘high status’ in life with
university and work and even
accuses him of having an affair
with Linda. In a standoff, the
two are told by Mrs Johnstone
that they are twins and are
both shot.
The casting process began with
our class learning the songs
from the musical, discovering
different vocal techniques such
as creating harmonies and
understanding the emotive
quality of the songs. After
learning the songs, we were
to audition in front of our
teachers and peers for parts.
I auditioned with the solo
‘Marilyn Monroe’ and was
surprised and elated to be cast
in the role of Mrs Johnstone. I
knew this part came with big
responsibility and I was excited
to pursue this character as
I knew she was a pivotal
character in the musical.
Once we were cast I began to
explore the characterisation
of Mrs Johnstone. I started to
learn more of the solos that
Mrs Johnston had, and I was
taught many singing exercises
such as breathing, rhythm
and visualisation, exploring
the emotional range of my
voice while singing. I also had
to learn to sing in a scouse
accent which also took time
and precision. These lessons
and coaching enabled me to
become a stronger singer and
more confident in myself. The
biggest challenge was learning
a scouse accent as the musical
is set in 1980s Liverpool. This
was a challenge for everybody
as it took months to perfect.
I was provided with coaching
from my teacher’s Adam and
Rodney who chose some vocal
exercises which helped me use
different tones and dynamics
of my voice and learning
specific phrases that would get
me into character and perfect
the accent.
The accent really helped with
my characterisation of Mrs
Johnstone and allowed me to
engage with the role and the
background of my character.
I viewed Mrs Johnston as a
strong, hard working character
who is also caring and loving
towards her children. From
exploring the character of
Mrs Johnstone, I learnt her
journey through the musical is
full of ups and downs and I had
to make sure I presented
this journey to the audience
through using physical
techniques such as facial
expressions and emotional
range of voice to express
emotional parts of the play such
as the hardship of giving up a
baby. I was also taught to put
much of my emotion into the
solos in songs such as ‘Tell Me
Its Not True’ after Mickey and
Edward had both been shot. I
had to convey to the audience
how traumatic this was for Mrs
Johnstone and I was brought
to tears having experienced
the emotional journey the
character had gone through.
Once we had learnt our lines
and explored our characters, we
began to block scenes and work
as a group together. During
rehearsals we needed to work
together on scenes that had
songs/solos to bring the story
to life. This was the most fun
part of the experience as I was
able to work with my peers and
enjoy the process of finishing
the production.
As the musical grew nearer
and nearer we began to
start dress rehearsals which
included blocking, lighting
and set. This took hard work
and concentration from all
members of the team as
we had to remember where
our characters were during
blocking for the production
to come together. I was really
nervous before my performance
as I was trying to remember all
the techniques I was taught to
convey the emotional journey
of my character. As a group we
put on a fantastic performance
and once we had finished the
play I wanted to perform it
all over again! Blood Brothers
was an experience I will never
forget as I have become much
more confident as a performer,
made many new friends and
gained performing experience
and techniques which will help
me in future productions.
SPRING 2018
WWW.BODENS.CO.UK

BODENS PERFORMING ARTS
THE PLACE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
In 2004, hip hop act ‘The
Streets’ released a ‘rap
opera’ album entitled
‘A Grand Don’t Come
For Free’. Our Year Two
college students were
given this critically
acclaimed album as
the source material for
a devised movement
piece, resulting in a
performance in The
Scaffold Theatre.
A GRAND DON’T
COME FOR FREE
Second Year student Jess took part
in creating this movement piece.
Bodens College of Performing Arts
are renowned for their innovative
and versatile performances,
challenging students in many
ways throughout each professional
performance they produce, with
this terms production continuing
this high standard. At the start
of the winter term, the second
year students were given the
immense opportunity to create an
imaginative production of narrative
through movement inspired by the
album ‘A Grand Don’t Come For
Free‘ written by The Streets.
We began the process by looking
deeply into the works of Laban
whose work was also influenced
within our production. We learnt
new techniques and the underlying
various ways in creating movement,
focusing on how this can be inspired
by absolutely anything, leaving
students to feel limitless in
their approach to creating
movement through exploration
of using elements such
as stimulus. We combined
this with the techniques of
Grotowski’s ‘Poor Theatre’ to
create a stylised piece. This
allowed students to further
their learning and comprehend
how movement can be justified
in many ways in preparation for
our performance.
We furthered our development
by participating in many
dance lessons to produce
choreography contributing
to our performance in which
the exploration of using props
such as tables and chairs
to dance with were set in
place. We also worked hard,
learning dance work from
a technical approach, with
students’ individual creation
of movement often included
within the content of the show.
This added to the unique feel
of the performance and gave
each student an opportunity
to choreograph ideas of their
own.
The album in particular was
fantastic in allowing different
characters to be formed
within each song as this was
an ensemble heavy based
performance which left much
room for characterisation.
This allowed students to take
creative risks in developing
their characters throughout
the piece, which enhanced the
narrative greatly and allowed
each person to have a set
journey and purpose within
each song. In particular, the
classic ‘Fit But You Know It’
played a significant part within
the show, being the most fun
and energetic number to
perform, its upbeat tempo
and quirky lyrics provided
much viewing pleasure as
they watched the boys leap
and backflip across the
stage endlessly in hopes of
impressing a girl while, two
bubbly waitresses serve a
rowdy crowd in a chicken shop.
The chaotic scene uplifted the
the performance in a new light
by giving the audience much
to look out for along with a
consistent flow which never
stood still.
The show ended with its
optimistic ’Empty Cans’ where
confetti was thrown into the
air, adding the feel of liberation
and most of all enjoyment to
the end of a fantastic show. The
song itself is based on hopes of
a bright future, similar to the
aspirations we have towards
the tremendous up and coming
productions of 2018.
‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’
is sure to be one of the most
memorable and successful
productions of the year, with
its constant change in events
and scenarios throughout, from
comedic to sad and uplifting to
serious, this remarkable show
had its own individual flare and
was a thrill to be a part of.
SPRING 2018
WWW.BODENS.CO.UK

BODENS PERFORMING ARTS
Throughout the course of this term,
part time musical theatre students
have been preparing for their long
awaited exams!
In musical theatre, as well as learning
new songs, dances, monologues
and techniques, I have enjoyed
developing my skills and learning
new techniques such as playing the
air, frontloading and backloading,
frontphrasing, backphrasing and
many more. Not only have these
techniques helped me in my exam,
I have also really enjoyed applying
them to my other classes at Bodens.
I keep a journal in which I record the
things that I have done in all my classes.
I glue in lyrics of my songs, section
them into units, write my intentions,
subtext and blocking, and then I use
this as a guide to help me in my next
exam and to help me apply the skills to
future songs and pieces.
MUSICAL THEATRE EXAMS
Erin talks about our Trinity Musical Theatre Examination
Classes: rehearsing material and preparing for the big day.
In preparation for my exam,
I have to perform different
pieces depending on what
grade I am in. As I was doing
grade four, I had to perform
two contrasting songs, a
monologue, a dance, and I also
had to have a discussion with
the examiner about my pieces
and how I prepared for them.
I performed ‘I Just Can’t Wait
to be King’ from The Lion King,
‘This Little Girl’ from Matilda, a
monologue from Whistle Down
the Wind, and a tap dance to
‘You’re Never Fully Dressed
Without a Smile’ from the
musical Annie.
We have already begun
working on our next project, a
group exam, where we will be
working towards our exam as a
class. This is really exciting as I
already know that I will pick up
lots of new techniques along
the way!
Trinity
Examinations
OUR EXAM CLASSES ARE
FOR CAPABLE STUDENTS
ALREADY ATTENDING AT
LEAST ONE OTHER CLASS AT
BODENS.
ACTING
MONDAYS AND THURSDAYS
MUSICAL THEATRE
TUESDAY, SATURDAY
AND SUNDAY
In Musical theatre, I am always
marked out of 100. In grade 4
you get marked out of 40 for
your two songs, 20 each for
your dance and monologue
and 20 for your discussion.One
hundred percent of musical
theatre students at Bodens
achieved well deserved merits
and distinctions in their exams!
Ask Your
Class Tutor If
These Classes
Are Suitable
For YOU!
SPRING 2018
WWW.BODENS.CO.UK