With a whole host of postponed youth theatre projects to take to stage, it’s safe to say that we’ve been more than a little busy here at the Artz Centre since the beginning of the Autumn term.
In fact, since the lockdown measures lifted on 16th August, our biggest commitment to our students has been to ensure that each of their postponed production projects made it to stage by the end of the year; ensuring the last 18 months worth of hard work from our young people could eventually be celebrated. With this in mind, in August, we released a new Autumn Calendar, featuring no less than 12 community-led creative performance projects to be delivered between late-summer and Christmas 2021, phew!
So, we set to work.
The Artz Creative team, alongside our talented students, have worked non-stop over the past 6 weeks to ensure that the productions of Once on this Island (Birch Green Seniors) Winnie the Pooh & The Gruffalo (Birch Green & Up Holland Infants) and now Seussical: The Musical (Up Holland Juniors & Seniors) could take their rightful places in front of an audience; overcoming many challenges along the way, and making memories for over 109 young people across the 3 different performance weekends.
The third show of this busy season, the brilliant Seussical: The Musical took to the stage in the Hope Theatre at West Lancashire College just last weekend, and will be remembered in Artz history for a multitude of different reasons. Performed by our Junior and Senior cohorts from our newly established Up Holland Musical Theatre Academy, the production saw performances from cast members as young as 8; with 47 brave young people treading the boards to tell the story of the Horton the Elephant, and the stories of a plethora of his Seussian friends.
The hit broadway comedy musical, written by Ahrens & Flaherty, saw our cast visit the fantasy worlds of the Jungle of Nool, Whoville, Solla Sollew and the Circus McGurkus, but to name a few; and the entire piece was led by two brilliant Artz role models, Joe Lucas as Horton the Elephant, and Ben Chane as the Cat in the Hat, both of whom led a very inexperienced cast through an incredibly complex production.
In fact, with so many outstanding performances littered throughout the show this weekend, you’d be forgiven for not knowing that this project was actually the Up Holland Artz Academy’s debut Musical Theatre performance; with 13 young people stepping on stage for the very first time during this project, and making their Artz debut, or their ‘Chapter 1’ as we like to call it.
Opening its doors in just October 2019, our all new theatre school situated on Hall Green was open just 4 months when its doors then closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. Fast forward 11 months of on-and-off closures, and almost 2 years of life changing disruptions, and here we are, with a group of brilliant young people standing in the spotlight for their much overdue debut production.
About the production, director, Mark Ashton commented:
“This production showed the value of experience and the immense power of persistence. We continued to focus on the end goal rather than the constant disruptions and obstacles, and as a result we got the chance to taste the fruits of our labour. This has to be one of the biggest challenges of my career so far; but one I will look back on with a huge sense of pride. I would like to pay tribute to the team that helped provide the platform for these young people to shine. Once again we created something truly remarkable”.
Joseph Howard, our brilliant assistant Director, who recently moved away to London to embark on his drama school journey, made the trip home for the weekend to support the show, and commented:
“I remember at the start of lockdown, maybe a week in. Wondering if I’d ever get the chance to work with this [Up Holland cohort] again. Somehow, and massively thanks to pure graft from everyone involved, the people that make the Upholland Artz Centre what it is, did reunite and have gone on to produce a belter of a show. But the show isn’t my favourite thing that the [cast photos] represent. My favourite thing is that this is a photo of people who 2 years ago mostly didn’t know one another. But two years later they’re a family. I was so honoured to come back and watch on-stage magic this weekend. I cannot wait to come and see the next one!”
The Artz Team would like to extend a huge thank you to both the Hope Theatre at West Lancashire College, and the Performing Arts Department of Our Lady Queen of Peace High School for providing the venues where these young people could thrive. In a post-Covid climate, where the mental health of our young people is in crisis; having positive, creative, and inspiring opportunities, that raise our young people’s aspirations, are more important than ever.
The Artz tribe will next take to the stage for the Birch Green Junior production of The Little Mermaid from 11th-13th of November at Lathom High School. Tickets are available now, be sure not to miss out!
Photos by Bryan Fowler and Beacon Photography Club.