21 February 2024
Sixth Form drama students enjoyed a fabulous trip to New York in the half term break, which included a workshop led by a cast member from the musical Chicago, who they later saw perform on Broadway. Drama Ribbon Izzy shares the full story below.
Izzy M, Drama Ribbon
After checking into the hotel, our first stop in New York on February 8 was Ellen’s Stardust Diner, where the serving staff are also singers. Despite everyone being very tired, we had so much fun. The singers in the restaurant were amazing and we warmed up our voices for the trip by joining in the singing, before heading back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep.
The next morning, we were up and out nice and early, ready for the exciting day ahead. Our first workshop was led by Drew Nellessen, an ensemble performer in the New York production of Chicago, who taught us a small section of the song All that Jazz (from Chicago, of course) and a dance routine. It was fantastic to learn from a real Broadway performer and have the opportunity to ask him lots of questions.
Our second workshop of the day was at AMDA (American Musical and Dramatic Academy), where musical theatre specialist Andy Leech taught us how to really ‘sell’ a song in an audition, encouraging us to think hard about the lyrics and how to convey their meaning. We were also given a tour of the college.
In the evening we dressed in sparkly clothes to celebrate two 18th birthdays at Bubba Gump restaurant in Times Square, before heading to Broadway to watch Chicago – and, of course, Drew (pictured with us outside the theatre). The show was absolutely amazing!
On Saturday morning we went on a tour of Radio City Music Hall, meeting a member of the famous Rockettes dance company, which was very cool. Later, we went up the Empire State Building, enjoying stunning views of the city as the sun started to set.
On our last day, we took the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, and another for a good view of Brooklyn Bridge. Our bus trip to the airport began with a tour of some of New York’s many locations that feature in famous movies, which was fascinating.
Thank you to Mr O’Gorman, Miss Williams and Mrs Nasskau for organising a trip full of laughter and wonderful experiences that I know we will never forget.
