Sister Act confirms young talent’s quest for bold and high quality shows
Exceptional performances at Tring Youth Theatre Project’s musical comedy, Sister Act confirmed its reputation of nurturing young talent to bold and high quality shows, writes Lyn Drummond.
The cast’s outstanding team, aged from 15-21 years, drew ovations from an audience swept along with the music, dancing, and sheer enthusiasm at the opening night on 18 February at the Centenary Theatre, Berkhamsted, with more shows to follow on 19, 20 and 21 February.
The musical director and chair of TYTP, Emma Brown said: ‘There are a lot of people in Sister Act who have never done one of our shows before, so watching them all become such good friends has been a lovely thing to see. We have a full age range of 15-20 years and they are all getting along like a family.
‘As usual in these shows, the hardest part has probably been the choreography and as we’ve gone gender blind for the nuns, we have quite a few boys struggling with their ‘habits’. Skye Jones (our choreographer) has done an excellent job at keeping them in line.’
The show is based on the 1992 American musical comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg as a singer, Deloris Van Cartier, who is forced to hide in a convent after being placed in a witness protection program when she witnesses a murder. She finds a surprising new act when she takes over the convent’s choir and turns them into a singing sensation.
Becca Salinger plays Deloris with barely a pause from her range of emotions and growing exuberance of training a nuns’ choir like no other. A perfect foil to Laura Hardy’s cautious Mother Superior who along with Toby Killick’s Monsignor O’Hara are ultimately influenced by Deloris’ spell.
‘TYTP exists to nurture young talent, encourage performance, build confidence and stimulate an interest in the magic of theatre,’ says Emma.
‘Based at The David Evans Court Theatre at Pendley, we stage musicals and plays for young performers aged 8 to 22, as well as host an annual live music festival, TringFest, showcasing local youth bands,’ she said.
Formerly the youth division of Tring Festival Company, TYTP debuted in 2017 with an acclaimed youth production of the rock musical Spring Awakening.
‘We have since become known for our bold and high quality shows. There have been so many great moments since 2017. Spring Awakening was my first musical working with Jo-Ann Wright as director. We were one of the first companies in the country to get the rights and it’s a tough show. We went on to win a National Operatic and Dramatic Association Award for Best Youth Production in 2017.’
Emma had worked as an musical director for Tring Festival Company (which is the company before TYTP) for about eight years before becoming chair and performed in some of TFC’s productions.
Emma added: ‘There are lots of amateur dramatic societies up and down the country, but many of them are adult groups. We are all volunteers and the company is run as a not-for-profit.
‘We are passionate about giving children the full stage and theatre experience – recruits are from 8-22 years – at a time when arts budgets are being cut, it is important to us that children still get the chance to perform at an affordable rate. A lot of the franchised stage schools are at a price point that it is impossible for many families. We want to give everyone the opportunity to gain experience and make lifelong friendships in a safe, creative environment.’
For tickets, visit eventsatberkhamsted.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173668132.
Find out more about TYTP at www.tytp.co.uk.
Image credit: Rosalind White Photography