You can’t Stop the Beat!

“Arts education aids students in skills needed in the workplace: flexibility, the ability to solve problems and communicate, the ability to learn new skills, to be creative and innovative, and to strive for excellence.” Joseph M. Calahan (Director of Cooperate Communications, Xerox Corporation)

The end of term saw the Performing Arts department stage a show stopping production of award winning Broadway hit musical ‘Hairspray.’ The production ran for three consecutive nights boasting performances to a sellout audience each night.

‘Hairspray’ tells the story of a young 1960s Baltimore girl, Tracy (portrayed beautifully by Year 11 student Anna), who dreams of being the star on the famous all-singing, all-dancing Corny Collins show. Though Tracy’s dreams are eventually realised, she manages to achieve an even bigger accomplishment by highlighting and combatting the wider issue of racial non-segregation. Ultimately, the characters show us that with the right motivation anyone can succeed in life and be happy, regardless of colour, shape, or size! The show is packed full of music theatre smash hits such as ‘Good Morning Baltimore,’ ‘Welcome To The Sixties’ and ‘You Can’t Stop The Beat.’

The cast of forty plus students were carefully selected after a strict audition process and many were drawn from the college’s extended curricular groups such as Dance Scholarship, Chamber Choir and Concert Band. It was a great opportunity for students to practice being strong in the three areas of singing, dancing and acting – what is commonly known as “the triple threat.”

Each performance was given a standing ovation and the audience were treated to not one, but three encores on the final night! Susan Doherty, a national adjudicator for drama festivals and a former Head of Performing Arts wrote to Paul Dickinson, Headteacher of the College saying,

“Archbishop Beck’s production is one of the best I have seen…the standard of the performance skills of the cast was exceptional. It is both reassuring & inspiring to see a school that clearly recognises the value of the creative arts.”