Tuesday 9th April is a day that will live long in the memory for 70 children from Embark Federation, a trust of 7 schools across Derbyshire.
Two stars from the West End, Victoria Farley and Sophie Isaacs spent the day working with the children at Derby Grammar School who had kindly agreed to host the event in the wonderful Sir Michael Bishop Hall.
Victoria has had leading roles such as Cosette in Les Miserables and Glinda in Wicked whilst Sophie recently won the ‘Rising Star of the West End award’ for her leading role in Heathers the Musical. She has also had lead roles in Hairspray, Grease, Legally Blonde and The Rocky Horror Show to name a few.
The day started with the fabulous opportunity for the children to record the Federation Song, ‘I am a small part of the world’ alongside successful music producer Baby J, who is a trustee for Embark. This is now available on the Federations YouTube channel.
After a vigorous warm up when the ladies showed the children how they would prepare for a show, Victoria then led the children through a workshop of the song One Short Day from Wicked. It highlighted her stunning voice but was also an opportunity for the children to shine and showcase their talents. Victoria said of the day; “It is such a pleasure to work with such talented, well behaved children. I am really impressed by the Embark Award and the emphasis the trust places on the Arts. I have had a wonderful day and look forward to coming back to work with Embark very soon.”
In the afternoon, Sophie led the children through a workshop of ‘It’s a Hard Knock Life’ from the musical Annie. Her expressions were amazing but this was also matched by the children who were able to demonstrate their impressive acting skills. Sophie commented; “It has been such a fun day! The children have been amazing and a real credit to their schools and Embark. What wonderful opportunities the trust are providing for the children. I am looking forward to work with them in the summer holidays.
Throughout the day a photographer from Jane Stapleton in Heanor was there to capture every moment including the pictures in this article.
The ladies then performed a breath-taking duet ‘For Good’ from the musical Wicked. This was particularly poignant as the two are such good friends. The children and staff were all in awe of their voices.
A very interesting Question and Answer session followed and the children were able to find out all about the musical theatre industry. The key message from the session was to work hard, practice lots and follow your dreams.
Finally, the children were presented with a lovely certificate and goody bag courtesy of The Great British Children’s Challenge who had provided these for the occasion.
Chief Executive for the trust Matthew Crawford said “this was such a magical day for our children and staff. We value the Arts and know how much confidence singing and acting can give to children which they then apply in other areas of their work. The opportunity for our children to work with two stars in this way was brilliant and they have gained so much from the day. We are committed to working together as a family of schools and providing our children with a broad and exciting curriculum. It was great to see our children learning together, having fun and making new friends. I would like to say a huge thank you to Victoria and Sophie for making it such a special occasion and to everyone else who has supported the day.”
Victoria and Sophie will return in the summer for a week to work alongside the children and learn a number of songs from the musicals before presenting a show to parents at the end of the week.
