Taunton School is celebrating the success of its recent student-led production of The Addams Family: A Musical Comedy.
Taking place at The Brewhouse in Taunton, the production ran from Wednesday 28th February until Saturday 2nd March 2024. Many performances were sold out, with 1,354 tickets sold across the four days. The production included students from Years 9 to 13 from Taunton School, Taunton School International Middle School (TSIMS) and Taunton School International (TSI), with casting and rehearsals starting in September 2023.
Janey Carden, Teacher of Drama at Taunton School and Director of the production, said: “While an enormous undertaking, this has been one of the proudest events of my teaching career. The response has been incredible, with multiple people commenting on it being akin to something seen on the West End.”
“Some of the students involved had never performed before and went on to give the performance of their lives in Taunton’s premiere professional theatre. I could not be prouder of everyone involved.”
The cast was made up of 51 student actors, dancers, and singers, with a further 17 students offering their assistance in roles including technical production, music, and hair and make-up.
Around 25 staff members supported the students with the production, with many giving up their lunch breaks and evenings to provide further tuition in singing, acting and technical production.
Feedback from audience members has been overwhelmingly positive, going on to inspire more students to get involved in the next Taunton School production.
Taunton School’s extensive Performing Arts Co-Curricular programme, which involves four major productions taking place each year in addition to a music performance schedule featuring over 100 events, runs in tandem with the school’s Creative Art GCSE, A-Level and International Baccalaureate subjects. In Music and Drama, all exam students secured 100% A-A* grades at GCSE and A-Level last year.
A five-minute video showcasing the ‘making of’ the Addams Family production can be viewed here: Taunton School | Making of the Addams Family: A Musical Comedy (youtube.com)
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