Author: Helen Steed

Legally Blonde – information afternoon

Legally Blonde information afternoon

A crowd of potential cast members attended the Legally Blonde information afternoon Sunday 7th November.

Held in Blyburgate Hall, Beccles, there was the opportunity to find out more about the show, meet the production team and get more details about the audition pieces.

Don’t worry if you couldn’t attend as you haven’t missed out on the chance of being in this exciting production.

All the Cast Information that was discussed at the meeting, plus the Application to Audition form can be obtained from our Downloads page.

There will be a pre-audition rehearsal on Friday evening (12th November) from 7-9.30pm in Blyburgate Hall, Beccles for anyone who would like to be in the cast of Legally Blonde as a principal and/or a company member.

Don’t panic if you can’t attend the pre-audition rehearsal as all the audition pieces and rehearsal backing tracks can be downloaded from the Rising Stars’ Google drive for you to practice at home. The link to the drive can be found in the Cast Information.

Completed Application to Audition forms must be returned by Friday 12th November.

Don’t miss this opportunity to perform with our friendly and talented group.

Open Auditions for Legally Blonde

Legally Blonde Open Auditions

Are you 12 to 19 years old and can sing, dance or act?
Now is your opportunity to join award-winning Rising Stars for –

Legally Blonde – the Musical

To be performed in Beccles Public Hall on the 17th – 19th March 2022

Rising Stars is looking for enthusiastic and talented singers, dancers and actors (especially boys!) to perform in this fabulously fun production. Based on the popular film, ‘Legally Blonde – The Musical’ follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes and scandal in pursuit of her dreams.

All existing members and anyone wishing to join Rising Stars are invited to an Information Afternoon at 2pm on Sunday 7th November in Blyburgate Hall, Beccles, where there will be the opportunity to find out more about the show, meet the production team and get more details about the audition pieces.

To become a Legally Blonde cast member, you will need to –

• Be a student at high school* or sixth form / college (max age 19)
• Book an audition slot by completing an Application to Audition form available here
• Attend the auditions on Sunday 14th November

These are open auditions. ALL roles and ensemble are available for casting.

If you can’t make it to the Information Afternoon but are still interested in being involved with the show, just let us know and we’ll make sure all the information given out at the event is emailed to you.

*Because Legally Blonde is strongly geared towards older teenagers and is a complex and difficult show with a PG13 rating, the cast is restricted to those of high school age or older (school years 7 to 13).

We appreciate that this may disappoint some new members who were looking forward to joining Rising Stars. To compensate, the show after Legally Blonde (to be performed in July 2021) will be much more suited to the younger cast members with many of the principal roles being in the 8 to 13 year age group.

Another successful show!

The curtain has closed on another successful Rising Stars show which was enjoyed by appreciative audiences across four nights.

Please visit the Curtain Up page to view the photo gallery

The Production Team - Jean, Stuart, Christine, Chris & Helen
Huge thanks to the Production Team – Jean, Stuart, Christine, Chris & Helen

Thanks also to the WLOG / Rising Stars members and volunteers who helped with costumes, publicity, tech and front of house. Your help in making this show a success was very much appreciated.

Rising Stars are back!!

Fantastic news … Rising Stars are back!

After months of not being able to do what we love best, we are super-excited about returning to the stage.

Rising Stars have teamed up with our sister group WLOG to create ‘Curtain Up’ – a fabulous compilation of songs and dances to celebrate the reopening of theatres and live performances. Featuring uplifting and upbeat numbers from across musical theatre, ‘Curtain Up’ will be staged nightly at 7:30pm from Wednesday 20th to Saturday 23rd October.

Tickets are on sale now and we are so looking forward to welcoming you back!

Buy your tickets here

Rising Stars Awards Winner – Most Memorable Moment

Miller Redpath Memorial Award for Most Memorable Moment

This award in presented in memory of one of our founder members, Miller Redpath, who sadly died in 2013. Miller’s personality, unique singing voice and head-banging style of dancing are always the first things we remember when thinking of that initial show.

The Memorable Moment Award is given to a person or group of people involved in an event or incident which springs instantly to mind when recalling a production in the last 12 months. This could be on or off stage, during rehearsals or as part of a show.

AND THE WINNER IS….. Francesca for ‘The French Raspberry’

This award will not come as a surprise to anyone who was lucky enough to see a rehearsal for ‘Spamalot’. Francesca’s portrayal of the French Guard had us in stitches every week. From the voice, to the funny walk, to the mannerisms, to the infamous raspberry, Fran tweaked and developed the role each time to keep it fresh and funny. Our only regret is that due to Covid-19, an audience never got to enjoy her memorable performance and laugh as much as we did.

Thank you Fran for a marvellous memory.

Rising Stars Awards Winner – Outstanding Personal Contribution

The Outstanding Personal Contribution award is given to a Rising Stars member who has made the biggest personal contribution to the success of Rising Stars in the previous 12 months. In a nutshell, someone who has gone above and beyond what is ordinarily expected of a member.

AND THE WINNER IS….. Helen

This is the first time the award has been given to an adult Rising Stars member, but we felt that the extra work that Helen has done over the last 12 months is the very definition of going above and beyond what is ordinarily expected of a member.
As well as being the stage director for both of the staged productions over the last 12 months, Helen wrote extra content for ‘The Evacuees’ and designed and made most of the costumes for ‘Spamalot’. She also did much of the publicity, design, membership admin and was Chair of the committee.

Thank you for all your hard work Helen.

Rising Stars Awards Winners – Most Improved Members

The first two awards are for the Most Improved Members.

It was very obvious to us right from the start that being in Rising Stars was more than just singing, dancing and putting on a show. We noticed that members grew in confidence, made new friends and developed all sorts of essential life skills, such as teamwork, interpersonal skills and management.

The Most Improved Member award is not given to the most talented cast member – although many of our previous winners have developed into great performers and taken principal roles. The award is given to the member who has shown the most improvement in some aspect of their performance skills or personality in the previous 12 months as a direct result of their involvement with Rising Stars.

There are two awards in this category – Under 13 Years & 13 years and over.

Most Improved Member – Under 13 years

AND THE WINNER IS….. Emily

When Emily joined Rising Stars last year, she was very shy and nervous and was most comfortable when melting into the background. Over the last 12 months, we have had great pleasure in watching her grow in both confidence and ability. She has become a confident performer with an assured stage presence and always happy to assist the younger members. Her enjoyment and commitment to rehearsals was self-evident – even attending choreography rehearsals on crutches.

Congratulations Emily. We look forward to seeing you perform in many more shows with us.

Most Improved Member – 13 years and over

AND THE WINNER IS….. Rose

Rose joined Rising Stars in 2015 and has always been a talented performer with a sunny personality. However, Rose would be the first to admit that she wasn’t always 100% focussed and sometimes had a little daydream during rehearsals. Over the last 12 months, we have noticed a massive change in Rose’s concentration and maturity. The effort that she put into learning particularly difficult dialogue and dance routines was phenomenal. Determined to get things right, she would frequently practice (and encourage others to rehearse with her) during the breaks. On top of all that, she is still a very talented performer and a delight to have in the Rising Stars family.

Congratulations Rose. A very worthy winner.

10th Rising Stars Awards – Sunday 6th September

We are very excited to announce that the 10th Annual Rising Stars Awards will take place on Sunday 6th September.

Originally planned for the last night of our production of ‘Spamalot’ in March, the Awards were cancelled along with everything else. Due to the current guidelines preventing us all gathering in one place, Sunday’s rescheduled version has a theatrical twist.
We have asked all Rising Stars members to be at their home address between 2pm & 3pm and we will turn up on the doorsteps of the winners to present them with their award.
Everyone will be able to follow the presentations and join in the congratulations via posts to this page.
The shields have been engraved since March and we are very much looking forward to finally presenting them to the worthy winners.
Good luck everyone!

All performances of Spamalot cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

Following the most recent advice issued by the government to avoid social gatherings, Rising Stars have made the difficult decision to cancel our performances of Monty Python’s ‘Spamalot’ scheduled for Wednesday to Saturday this week.

This is devastating news for all of us at Rising Stars – both emotionally and financially. We have worked so hard over the last six months to produce an absolutely fantastic show, reaching a high standard of performance that deserved an appreciative audience. No-one is more upset than us about having to cancel, but the health and safety of the public and our cast & crew has to be our main priority.

Ticket refunds will be handled by Beccles Public Hall, but please allow them time to get their procedures in place as this most recent government advice is still very new.
However, as a registered charity, we invite our patrons to consider donating the cost of their ticket to show support for youth theatre in Beccles.

Please visit our website and social media channels for the latest information on future productions.

In these rapidly changing and uncertain times, just remember the words of a song from ‘Spamalot’…

If life seems jolly rotten,
There’s something you’ve forgotten!
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing,
When you’re feeling in the dumps,
Don’t be silly chumps,
Just purse your lips and whistle — that’s the thing!
And…. always look on the bright side of life.

Stay safe everyone.

WLOG Rising Stars

Tickets on sale NOW for Spamalot

Tickets are now on sale for Rising Stars’ next fully-staged production – ‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ which will hit the Beccles Public Hall stage on 18th to 21st March.

‘Spamalot’ is lovingly ripped off from the classic film, ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’, but the musical diverts a bit from more traditional versions of the legend. Instead, Spamalot features shenanigans including the Lady of the Lake and her dancing girls, farting Frenchmen, killer rabbits and the Knights who say Ni. Join King Arthur as he travels with his hapless Knights of the Round Table on a divine mission to locate the illusive Holy Grail – with uproarious consequences. Funnier than the Black Death!

‘Spamalot’ is the next fully staged show in an ever growing line of successful musical productions by the Beccles-based youth musical theatre group, whose previous credits have included ‘Les Misérables’, ‘Romeo & Juliet – A Rock Musical’ and ‘The Evacuees’. Although the majority of the cast are under 18, they pride themselves on bringing the high quality and professionalism that you would expect of any theatre company to all of their performances.

Tickets for ‘Spamalot’ are priced at £12.50 for adults and £10 for Under 18s and can be purchased either by visiting Beccles Public Hall Box Office or by telephoning 01502 770060. The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm and accepts both debit and credit cards. Tickets can also be purchased online at any time from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/becclespublichall

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