vocal Archives ⋆

The very first Centre Stage Virtual Performing Arts Competition was a huge success with more than 300 video entries emailed to us. Congratulations to all who took part in the classes for speech and drama; dance and vocal.

Each entry will receive an adjudicator’s report and certificate with trophies and medals for the highest marks.

Entries were submitted by video and watched and assessed by four professional adjudicators ahead of a live Zoom bursary final held on August 29. Twelve entrants from across the classes were invited to perform again by the adjudicators.

Virtual performing arts festival bursary finalists

Our 12 bursary finalists

Head adjudicator, and founder of StageScreen, Heather Gallagher said: “Wow! What a treat the Bursary final was! Well done to every single performer- we could have chosen any of the 12 as very worthy winners!”

After a difficult deliberation our junior bursary winner, who won £50, was seven-year-old dancer Bronte Ashmore for her entry to the lyrical class.

The senior bursary winner, who won £100, was 16-year-old singer Isabelle Byrne for her entry in the CCM pop solo class.

Our £25 StageScreen Musical Theatre Associates Vouchers (to be used against any of our workshop or fees) were awarded to: Laila Parry (modern dance class) and Amelia Nixon (musical theatre vocal).

The other eight bursary finalists were: Rose Dawson (contemporary monologue); Freddie Dawson (Shakespeare monologue); Kiya Sanwalka (ballet); Jenna Stephenson (contemporary comedy monologue); Aimee Rowe (own choreography); Ethan Shimwell (unaccompanied vocal); Effie Lennon Ballard (unaccompanied vocal) and Maisie Axton (lyrical).

The virtual award winners in the three sections are listed below.

Speech and Drama

Overall Junior Aggregate Winner – Libby Falkingham

Overall Inter Aggregate Winner – Rose Dawson/Jenna Stephenson

Overall Senior Aggregate Winner – Freddie Dawson

Overall Open Aggregate Winner – Jo Kingman

Endeavour Award – Maia Violet Holmes

Vocal

Overall Junior Aggregate Winner – Ethan Shimwell

Overall Inter Aggregate Winner – Georgia Barley

Overall Senior Aggregate Winner – Isabelle Byrne

Highest mark Junior – Ethan Shimwell

Highest mark Inter – Ruby Stewart/Amelia Nixon

Highest mark Senior – Isabelle Byrne

Endeavour Award – Hannah Minness

Dance

Overall Junior Aggregate Winner – Kiya Sanwalka

Overall Inter Aggregate Winner – Aimee Rowe

Overall Senior Aggregate Winner – Maisie Axton

Highest mark Junior – Bronte Ashmore

Highest mark Inter – Aimee Rowe

Highest mark Senior – Maisie Axton

Highest mark Lyrical – Maisie Axton

Highest mark Contemporary – Aimee Rowe

Highest mark Ballet – Kiya Sanwalka

Highest mark Modern – Maisie Axton/Aimee Rowe

Highest mark Tap – Emily Stebbeds

Highest mark Musical Theatre (with or without song) – Eleni Bott

Endeavour Award – Lily Cockram

Centre Stage Virtual Performing Arts Festival trophies and medals

Some of the awards that will be posted out to winners

Winners of each class were as follows:

Speech and Drama

Screen Acting

Junior – Libby Falkingham

Inter – Hazel Proud

Senior – Dan O’Neil

Own Humorous Verse

Open – Logan Powell

Harry Potter Prose

Junior – Libby Falkingham

Open – Jo Kingman

David Walliams Prose

Inter – Brandon Lawson

Open – Jo Kingman

Contemporary Comedy Monologue

Junior – Zoe Cross

Inter – Jenna Stephenson

Shakespeare Monologue

Inter – Amelia May Jones

Senior – Freddie Dawson

Open – Jo Kingman

Acting, Contemporary Monologue

Junior – Grace Rees

Inter – Rose Dawson/Jenna Stephenson

Senior – Isabelle Byrne

Open – Jo Kingman

Speech Solo

Junior – Lily Sharples

Inter – Maia Violet Holmes

Vocal

CCM Pop Solo

Junior 1 – Lucie Anna Ward

Junior 2 – Ethan Shimwell

Inter 1 – Imogen Burton

Inter 2 – Georgia Barley

Senior – Isabelle Byrne

Musical Theatre (post-1960)

Junior 1 – Lucie Anna Ward

Junior 2 – Ethan Shimwell

Inter 1 – Amelia Nixon

Inter 2 – Ruby Stewart

Senior – Isabelle Byrne

Open – Leah Springham

Musical Theatre (pre-1960)

Junior – Ethan Shimwell

Inter 1 – Caitlin Cole

Inter 2 – Olivia Carroll-Walsh

Senior – Georgia King

Open – Emily Hyde

Unaccompanied Vocal

Junior – Ethan Shimwell

Inter 1 – Effie Lennon Ballard

Senior – Hannah Minness

Musical Theatre Duet

Senior – Anna Milne and Emily Haywood

Vocal Solo

Junior 1 – Lucie Anna Ward

Junior 2 – Sophia Affleck

Inter 1 – Amelia Nixon

Inter 2 – Liberty Skye Woodhead

Senior – Isabelle Byrne

Dance

Lyrical

Junior 1 – Sophia Reid

Junior 2 – Bronte Ashmore

Inter 1 – Zahara Monfries

Inter 2 – Lily Wheeler

Senior – Maisie Axton

Contemporary

Junior – Lily Clarke

Inter 1 – Keeley Byrne

Inter 2 – Aimee Rowe

Senior – Kira Caple

Ballet

Junior 1 – Sophia Reid

Junior 2 – Kiya Sanwalka

Inter 1 – Isobel Hanson

Inter 2 – Ellie Preston

Senior – Katie Dale

Modern

Junior 1 – Sophia Reid

Junior 2 – Laila Parry

Inter 1 – Keeley Byrne

Inter 2 – Aimee Rowe

Senior – Maisie Axton

Musical Theatre Dance only

Junior 1 – Lilly Hendrick

Inter – Rebecca Harrison

Tap

Junior 1 – Emma Willey

Junior 2 – Bronte Ashmore

Inter 1 – Maria Bott

Inter 2 – Emily Stebbeds

Senior – Reece Lilley

Musical Theatre Song with Dance

Junior 1 – Emma Willey

Junior 2 – Eleni Bott

Inter 1 – Lily Cockram

Inter 2 – Liberty Skye Woodhead/Isabel Mead

Senior – Hannah Minness

Classical Duet

Inter – Natasha Harper & Hannah Stephenson

Classical Duet With or Without Song

Junior – Olivia Crawford & Nicola King

Inter – Jodie Thorpe & Scarlett Pratt

Senior – Lilly Griffiths & Melissa James

Own Choreography

Junior 1 – Molly Bowes

Junior 2 – Florence Burt

Inter 1 – Isabella Hammond

Inter 2 – Aimee Rowe

Senior – Nicola Freeman

We are proud to introduce our first Virtual Performing Arts Competition with sections in speech and drama, vocal and dance.

Entries must be submitted by video and will be watched and assessed by four professional adjudicators ahead of a LIVE Zoom bursary final on August 29, 2020.

Please email for an entry or teachers pack now on centrestagevirtual@gmail.com. Each entry costs £3 and the deadline for entries is Saturday, August 15 at 9pm.

There are more than 25 sections and a £100 cash prize for the winner. Each entry will receive a report and certificates with trophies for the highest marks and the adjudicator’s choice.

There is no upper age limit. Age groups are:

Solos

Junior 1 – Four to six years
Junior 2 – Seven to nine years
Inter 1 – 10 to 12 years
Inter 2 – 13 to 14 years
Senior – 15 to 18 years
Open – 18+ years

Duets ( for vocal and dance classes – must be from the same household or recorded socially distant)

Junior – Four to nine years
Inter – 10 to 14 years
Senior – 15+ years

Speech and drama categories

Six age categories are available from Junior to Open, which has NO upper age limit. Junior entrants can read from paper or books.

The categories are:

Speech solo

Extract from any David Walliams book
Extract from any Harry Potter book
Contemporary monologue (post-1950)
Shakespeare monologue
Screen acting
Contemporary comedy monologue
Classical comedy monologue (pre-1900)
Own humorous verse

Speech and drama adjudicator

Jack Broughton BA (Hons, PGCE Theatre, DipLCM

Jack is a teacher of acting at a specialist performing arts school in the Midlands. He trained at the University of Winchester and has a BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre.

Jack has been performing since an early age and enjoys both musical theatre and straight acting. As well as training in musical theatre and acting, Jack has also worked closely with different disciplines in performing arts such as physical theatre, puppetry & object manipulation, immersive theatre and acting through song.

Over 10 years, Jack and has appeared in shows such as Half a Sixpence, Guys and Dolls, Honk and many more.

Jack was the first person in the UK to originate the role of The Prime Minister in the amateur version of Made in Dagenham. He recently played the role of gangster boss Curtis in Sister Act and the Rhino in Just So.

Jack’s directing credits include Anything Goes, Jungle Book, Aristocats and The Gruffalo. He has worked on many comedy and straight plays such as John Godber’s Bouncers & Shakers and also played the part of Salty in Teechers and Eddie in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers.

Vocal categories

Six age categories are available from Junior to Open, which has NO upper age limit. Duets must be from the same household or recorded socially distant.

The categories are:

Own choice vocal
Musical theatre performance (pre-1960)
Musical theatre performance (post-1960)
CCM (pop music) solo
Unaccompanied vocal
Musical theatre performance duet

Vocal adjudicator

Anne Leatherland – Specialist Vocal Trainer, BSc PGCE ALCM LGSM

Anne is a specialist singing and voice teacher, based in the Midlands, with more than 20 years’ experience in vocal troubleshooting and teaching multiple genres.

Coming from a musical family, Anne has sung all her life. She was educated in Manchester and initially opted for a science degree at Lancaster University. Following a PGCE at UEA, she spent 11 years teaching science and chemistry to A level in Burton-on -rent. During this time she rekindled her interest in music and staged numerous musicals for young people.

Anne studied singing with Coral Gould MBE obtaining an LGSM teachers diploma in 1997 and left school teaching behind to follow her passion for helping others to sing well.

She has worked with singers of all ages and genres over the years and has a particular knowledge of the developing voice. Anne began further training with Vocal Process in 2008, eventually gaining accreditation. She now works alongside International trainers and authors Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher on a regular basis and is their first Associate Teacher. She teaches on Vocal Process courses and on the Vocal Process Teacher Accreditation Programme.

Anne was a finalist for the BVA Van Lawrence Award (2014) for research into the differences between classical and musical theatre singing. At Liverpool Theatre School (LTS) Anne has trained singers for the musical theatre profession and delivered spoken voice sessions on the level 6 acting course. She has also worked with actors at LIPA, and as part of the Developed with the Lowry programme.

Anne is proud to be the owner of VocAL Intuition, which offers mentoring and support for singing teachers and other professional voice users. Her most recent course, an online mentoring programme for new singing teachers, has proved to be very successful. Anne has written published resources, including a best-selling ebook, lesson plans and app reviews. She also loves using technology in teaching and has given both public presentations and individual training on this.

Dance categories

Six age categories are available from Junior to Open, which has NO upper age limit. Duets must be from the same household or recorded socially distant.

The categories are:

Lyrical
Contemporary
Classical ballet
Modern
Tap
Own choreography
Musical theatre song with dance
Musical theatre, dance only
Classical duet
Cabaret duet (with or without song)

Dance adjudicator

Jill Chapman RAD, Dance Coach and Choreographer

Jill has studied dance and drama from an early age. She is a qualified dance teacher and member of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD).

During her years of professional teaching she was also Licentiate of both the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) and the International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA).

Jill has been teaching dance for more than 20 years, much of that time spent as principal of her own dance centre. She has continued to enjoy choreography and has worked on productions for various schools, societies and theatre groups.

Poster for the 2020 Centre Stage Virtual Performing Arts competition