West End musical star Danielle Hope gave an inspirational workshop to 40 St Swithun’s pupils at the Winchester school last week. The event was organised by the St Swithun’s drama department with the help of sixth form drama officers Robyn Webb from Alton and Steph Pett from Chippenham.
Ms Hope’s professional debut was in the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium in February 2011, having won the role through the BBC’s Over the Rainbow competition. She has recently finished a successful year as Eponine in Cameron Mackintosh’s Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre.
The workshop began with warm-up exercises which prompted the girls to think about the characterisation of their individually selected songs and to focus on the emotions experienced within the song. Each girl then went on to perform a solo or duet in front of the audience, whilst receiving feedback from Ms Hope.
Sixth form pupil and participant Jodie Russell from Winchester said “Danielle Hope was brilliant; she not only gave us tips on how to really sell the stories we were telling through song, she also helped boost our confidence to help us all become better performers. I can’t wait for another workshop”.