THEATRE students at Barnsley College have entertained more than 1,200 local children with a recent show.
Staged in the college’s Electric Theatre, pantomime Aladdin starred performing arts students from levels one, two and three both on stage and off.
A total of more than 1,200 local children from Barnsley schools enjoyed the show.
Their success has earned them a Young Champions nomination.
All the college performing arts staff were involved and helped support the production, including dance tutor Devon Blood and curriculum support technician Tom Flanagan.
The show was directed by tutors Paul Atkins and Donna Turner.
Paul said: “It was a fabulous week of productions and a real success for all those involved. Our students had the opportunity to experience the real-life work demands of a professional performer and the visiting school children all left buzzing with excitement, with huge smiles on their faces.
“Most people think pantomime is just a bit of fun but, in reality, it is exceptionally hard work and our students were left exhausted by the number of performances.
“However they are the first to say that it was a brilliant experience and totally worth the effort. We are very proud of them.”
Course leader Donna Turner said: “We love to provide real industry work experience for our learners, we have a 19-year tradition of providing children’s theatre performances to local primary schools - for 17 of those years, our learners have toured and performed in a variety of school halls across the town.
“However in 2016 we decided to bring the production in-house to our wonderful Electric Theatre and take full advantage of the state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment, as well as utilising the skills and creativity of our production arts students, to create a magical experience for our youngest audiences.
“Cinderella was a huge success last year and this year’s panto, Aladdin, surpassed all expectations. We doubled our number of performances and were able to share the talents of Barnsley’s future professional actors, dancers and singers with a much bigger audience.
“The performing arts students have only been in college for ten weeks when they perform the panto, but they have to learn to become a professional performing theatre company: work together, support each other, and learn the particular skills and techniques associated with pantomime performance.
“To have a fully-formed production within such a short time of meeting each other and beginning to work together is testament to the passion, enthusiasm and magnificent work ethic of everyone involved.
“On the basis of the pantomime successes, Barnsley College is continuing its thriving performing arts tradition and providing the stage, film and TV industries with their next generation of creative talent.”
