I have finished working with TIP Youth for this season. I always learn a lot working with different groups of singers. They don't all like to warm-up in the same way, they find different ways to get the right sort of energy required for a musical, and each voice is beautiful in a different way. I also get the opportunity to learn new musicals in detail and it always surprises me which songs I learn to love by the time the shows are in production.
When working with children their development is incredibly important. Some people come to hear the children and don't understand our choices of casting or think that a particular voice is not very good. But each child goes through a journey during the rehearsal process and every child improves substantially. We are not trying to achieve the perfect musical theatre sound, we are trying to tell a story and to give the children the opportunity to tell it in their way.
I was so proud of the work that the children produced. They shone on stage and I hope to have the privilege to work with some of them again in the future.
