Where are they now?

This week, we hear from more ex-Spotlighters who have been kind enough to get in touch: Aimee Pink, Amy Hamilton, Rebecca Harrington, Alex Fryer, James Bell and Polly Smith. It is lovely to hear how people are doing and how Spotlight has helped everyone, whether or not they have remained in the business.

Aimee Pink

“This is my first year in a while without Spotlight and I can honestly say that it feels like a piece of me is missing without it! I took part in six Spotlight shows , starting in 2012 with We Will Rock You, and finishing in 2017 with Legally Blonde.

Leaving Spotlight meant lots of tears and emotions, but I know I’ve made a family for life there and couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities it gave me. Not only did I meet some of my best, most theatrical, friends ever, but my confidence grew so much and made me who I am today, no matter how cheesy that sounds! I went from being a bundle of nerves, walking into my first rehearsal in 2012, to having a Principal role in 2017 and having the confidence to sing alone on stage.

I am now at the University of Leeds studying Paediatric Nursing. I love my course and can’t wait to be a nurse and I will always carry on popping back to rehearsals whenever I’m home. Even though I haven’t chosen to do a theatrical degree at University, everything I learnt at Spotlight has been invaluable to me, helping me talk to new people and interacting confidently with everyone I meet.

Watching my younger sister now going on with the shows, with all my other friends, makes me so proud and happy. I’m so glad they get to make all the same memories I did. I’ll never be able to thank Sarah, Graham and the team enough!”

Amy Hamilton

“I began dancing at the age of three, starting with ballet like most young girls, but then my interest spread to all styles of dance. At the age of seven, I joined a local theatre group performing musical shows once a year. Unfortunately, they closed when I was about 12. Luckily, a friend introduced me to Spotlight!

I began rehearsals in 2007 for 42nd street at the age of 12 and I was lucky enough to gain the role of Lorraine Fleming. I loved my first year with Spotlight so I continued with their shows for another four years! In my time with them, I managed to play some very exciting roles including Carmen Diaz in Fame and Killer Queen in Schools Will Rock You.

Not only did I love Spotlight for the performance aspect of things but it really is like a family. I made some amazing friends while rehearsing and the team putting the shows together are incredible.

Sarah and Graham really did so much for me in and out of rehearsals, becoming close friends and people I could really trust. They even had me helping at the costume barn where I learnt a lot and which I really loved. The costumes they own are amazing! Paul Sweeney also made a very strong impact and helped me a lot with my acting, which I shall forever be grateful for.

I left Spotlight because I moved to London to study performing arts for three years – the hardest, but most rewarding, three years of my life,  learning from some of the best in the industry. I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to train at the place I did. Big thanks to my parents for funding that, which I know wasn’t easy but definitely worth it!

I graduated in 2015 and spent some time auditioning in London. I finally decided to move to Spain and started a job as an entertainer in hotels, working with clients in the day and performing at night. Last year, I was approached by a company asking me to join their show team, which rotates around four hotels based in the same area performing musical shows every night, including Mamma Mia, Dirty Dancing, Grease and even a Disney show.

I love my job and my life in Spain. What could be better than doing something you love every night as a job? Spotlight will always have a place in my heart and I thank them for the experiences I shared with everyone.”

Rebecca Harrington

“Like many other Spotlight members, I went to my first rehearsal in 2012 with a friend. By the end of the evening, I was a member of the Spotlight family and, as the saying goes, “the rest is history”. We Will Rock You, Some Like It Hot, Les Misérables, Singin’ In The Rain and Disco Inferno soon followed and I loved every show.

In 2016, I began a three-year Level 6 diploma course in Dance Performance with teaching qualifications at Kate Simmons Dance in Cheshire, studying ballet, pointe work, Spanish dance, contemporary, tap, modern jazz, hip-hop and singing. As well as preparing for assessments and examinations, I am rehearsing for our annual tour “Allegrodance” and show in April. Thank you to Sarah, Graham and the Spotlight team for their continued love and support.”

Alex Fryer

“I started Spotlight when I was 13 and had the great pleasure of being part of A Whitechapel Tale, Bugsy Malone, Disco Inferno and 42nd Street. I have particularly fond memories of playing Jack in Disco Inferno, alongside some of my best friends, and I especially enjoyed wearing some amazing costumes, including a great of pair silver platform shoes!

After school, I studied music at University and then a postgraduate degree in Oboe Performance at the Royal College of Music, London. I’m now freelancing in London and have a mixed portfolio career, which includes oboe playing, singing, conducting and arts administration. I also own a small music business which I’m hoping to expand in the next few years.

The performance skills I learnt at Spotlight have no doubt helped me in my career as a musician and I still enjoy working on musical theatre projects when I can, including Sweeney Todd recently with past colleagues from the Royal College of Music Students’ Union.

Spotlight was an incredibly special part of my teenage years. I didn’t really fit in at school (before moving for Sixth Form) and meeting likeminded people at Spotlight provided a real haven for me, letting me be myself and gain confidence .

I hope Sarah and Graham realise that all the work they put in to the company and productions not only pays off because they create amazing quality shows but also that they are creating a lifeline and validation for kids who sorely need it, and a place to thrive for those who don’t fit in elsewhere.

It’s fantastic to see Spotlight’s amazing work is still going from strength to strength and that so many young people are being given the opportunity to make memories as wonderful as mine!”

James Bell

“I was in the cast of Bugsy Malone in 2006 and Disco Inferno in 2007. Spotlight was a really fantastic experience. Outside the odd school play, Spotlight was the first amateur theatre I ever took part in. It was great fun to get out of my comfort zone and do something completely different. The biggest things I got from my time with Spotlight were great friends, loads of laughs and the unparalleled rush you get from performing on stage.

I now work as Head of Campaigns in the Prime Minister’s Office, so I’m a long way from the theatre, but the confidence I got from performing with Spotlight has stood me in good stead throughout my career. I’ll always be thankful for the opportunities and unforgettable memories Spotlight gave me.”

Polly Smith

“During my time in Spotlight, I was in the chorus of two shows, We Will Rock You in 2011 and Les Misérables in 2013, as well as taking part in a few other Spotlight concerts. I really enjoyed my time at Spotlight. I made really good friends and had loads of fun every week. Performing in the shows themselves was especially exciting. Being so young and having the opportunity to be part of something so professional looking was incredible!

Since leaving and after Sixth Form, I’ve had a gap year in which I was in Annie in the Cambridge Arts Theatre and an opera with Cambridge University College. I was in an a cappella group, which got to perform in Cambridge May Balls. I sang in a Cambridge choir in the Colosseum and the Vatican, and I was the lead girl in the Cambridge College’s choral play, which we performed in the Dubai Opera House and in Jordan last summer. I also sang with a small choir for a week in a church in the Southern French countryside.

I’ve now started studying Arts and Sciences with my major in Science and Engineering at UCL. I’ve joined the University of London chamber choir and am looking at a career in the RAF.

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I caught up recently with four ex-members of the Spotlight cast: Michael Jean-Marain, Lorna Waters, Hannah Perry and Oliver Scott. I asked them about what they are doing now and their Spotlight experiences.

Michael Jean-Marain

“I played Eugene in the very first Spotlight production of Grease. Joining the cast was a huge thing for me as I had only just moved to Brampton from London to start at the Sixth Form at Hinchingbrooke School. I was taking Theatre Studies A-Level and thought it would be a good chance to make some new friends and extend my studies outside of class. I had an amazing time and continued with Spotlight for the next few years.”

“Eventually, I joined the Foundation Course at Stageworks, where I auditioned for London drama schools. I ended up attending The Urdang Academy with a full scholarship to study musical theatre.”

“That was eight years ago. Since graduating five years ago, I’ve been quite lucky with work and am about to start rehearsals for the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. I’m very fortunate that I get paid to do what I love and I never forget that. I have taken many understudy/Assistant Stage Manager roles with the hope that it would pay off one day and, fortunately, it did.”

“You have to be prepared to work hard at everything you do and, maybe more importantly, work smart. Oh and listen to every note the Director/Choreographer/ Musical Director gives out. Even if you don’t think it applies to you, just listen to them. It will help confirm or question your own performance. Never be vague.”

“Just one more thing, I’m a firm believer in ‘wrong and strong’. If the MD can’t hear you sing that wrong note, then they can’t correct you.”

“If you are thinking of a career in theatre, feel free to get Sarah to put you in contact with me. I would be more than happy to talk to you.”

Lorna Waters

“I was with Spotlight from 2007 with the show Disco Inferno to 2009 when we performed 42nd Street and Back to the 80’s.”

“Spotlight to me was a lovely little family. Everyone turned up every week to rehearse but we also had a laugh and a catch-up with lovely theatrical friends.”

“I loved the excitement that built, leading up to a show. One of my favourite parts was everyone heading round to Marion’s house on the day of the first show for hair and make-up preparations. We could all be excited and get ready together.”

“The costumes were always amazing. Getting to go and try on multiple costumes to find the right one from Spotlight’s vast array of clothes was so much fun.”

“All the shows were professional and taught me a lot about the industry I am now in today.”

“Since leaving Spotlight, I have worked in most fields of the industry, from short films, TV, to theatre and pantomime.”

“My main interest now is TV. I have been very lucky to be a part of Private Lives of Monarchs for UKTV playing Young Queen Victoria. That has just recently aired.”

“I also continue with the theatre and panto circuit and am currently on a UK tour with Dick Whittington, playing Fairy Bowbells and Alice Fitzwarren.”

“Spotlight has been a wonderful help to my career and has developed the knowledge and interest I have in the industry I am in today.”

Hannah Perry

“I first joined Spotlight back in 2010 in their production of Fame. From there, I went on to do many other productions, including We Will Rock You, Some Like It Hot and also the Christmas Cracker production.”

“Spotlight was a place that sparked my love for musical theatre. While being part of Spotlight, I was finishing my GCSEs and moving on to training full-time at Stageworks Performing Arts on their two-year Foundation Course.”

“After auditioning for universities, I gained a place at the Institute of the Arts in Barcelona to study a degree in musical theatre. I spent three glorious years in this Spanish city and would happily call this my second home.”

“After graduating back in June, I have been lucky enough to gain my first contract working as a dancer/singer abroad on the island of Tenerife. I am now half way through my contract and look forward to January to see where my next adventure takes me!”

Oliver Scott

“The year was 1999. The show was Alice in Wonderland; the venue, Huntingdon’s Commemoration Hall. I was 12, and this is where my long association with Graham and Sarah begun.”

“I have been addicted to theatre from a young age. Growing up, I used to dodge between rugby matches and rehearsals, but it’s been the theatre that has always been my biggest love. Graham and Sarah encouraged my love for musical theatre, with shows such as Bugsy Malone, Sugar, Return to the Forbidden Planet and, one of my favourite musicals of all time, Godspell. They gave me confidence to create bold and colourful characters and they were the first creatives to push me towards playing the comedy leads (some things never change).”

“When change was in the air and Graham and Sarah decided to launch Spotlight based out of the Hinchingbrooke Performing Arts Centre in 2004, I had to follow them to become part of the team. I was ever present on stage from the first production of Grease, with my most recent appearance being Hairspray in 2010; I say most recent as I never technically left or retired from Spotlight, but I suppose now, at the grand age of 30, I suppose that even I – the old boomerang ‘I always come back’ King – am now too old for a comeback.”

“Spotlight gave me more than I could ever give Spotlight: great friends, social skills, the experience of being in high-class shows that felt professional, the knowledge of musicals and even the odd high kick, which made even me feel like a dancer! It also taught me the importance of respecting everyone who was part of our group. Everyone played their part whether it was on stage or off but, without that cog in the wheel, the show would never have been ready for opening night.”

“Eight years on from the last time I crossed the line with Spotlight, I still have the memories, which still make me smile and warm my heart, especially the 2007 production of Disco Inferno. That show was spectacular. The cast was great, the set and colours were out of this world, and Marion’s costumes for that particular production were amazing.”

“In 2017, I’m lucky enough to say that theatre is now where I make my money. After training at the Guildford School of Acting, I’m now an actor, theatre director and teacher. I work all around the UK in a variety of formats. A lot of my work is with students and I now believe it’s my job to encourage the future performers with the same wisdom, passion and energy that Graham and Sarah showed me all those years ago.”

“The one thing I’ve learnt is that theatre is about people. It’s not the music, text or choreography that really stands out in your memory; it’s the people that went on the journey with you. It’s the great bunch of people that makes Spotlight shine.” 

Thank you Michael, Lorna, Hannah and Oliver. It’s wonderful to know where you are now and the impact that Spotlight has made!

To get in touch, please contact us.

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