Directors note Since we performed our first show ‘Company’ in 2009, WWDN has been keen to produce theatre that is thought provoking and not afraid to deal with sensitive or controversial subjects. Tonight is no exception. You may find that some of the scenes are very dark in their interpretation but my aim is that these provide a platform from which the lighter scenes spring. You will also find that we are using the natural accents of our cast rather than a homogenised American one. This is not being disrespectful to Americans, merely that I think we can all speak in our own voices more believably than we can someone elses. I hope you feel that this is a different style of musical theatre, and most of all, I hope you enjoy it.
Producer Shaun Holdom-Eyles Having always been one for the spotlight, Shaun has been performing in Liverpool for 10 years in various productions at university and with What We Did Next. This is his first show producing and relishing the challenges that Spring Awakening has posed. He would like to thank all the production team for their input and help during the process. Above all he would like to congratulate Jamie on bringing his vision to the stage with a cast that still surprise daily and have been wonderful to work with.
Director Jamie Barfield Jamie takes on his second directorial role for WWDN with Spring Awakening following Company in 2009. It has been an interesting and entertaining 10 months in the planning (though at times a little stressful) and he is immensely proud of the cast and crew. When not directing, Jamie also takes on the role of chairman of WWDN and works as a doctor in Liverpool.
Sound Engineer Jamie Saye
Lighting Designer Tom Churchill
Costume Bex Crighton
Choreographer Dominique Shonzlee
Set Designer Robin Murphy
Technical Director KAsper Hunt
Wendla Elena Stephenson
Melchior David Shute
A veteran of Liverpool University Drama Society, Elena has not been accustomed to bursting into song at any given moment, more dripping blood in Medea or acting unhinged as a heroin addicted punk - but she has loved every minute, and, needless to say, playing Wendla has been a breath of fresh air with her innocence and naivety. Spring Awakening is her first lead in a musical, after a childhood spent in the chorus of Tynemouth Operatic Society back up North, it is something of a dream come true. Elena has loved every second of this process and the people involved, and hope you all enjoy the show as much as she has enjoyed being a part of it.
David has been working in amateur Musical Theatre for a number of years performing such roles as Joseph in ‘Joseph and His Technicolour Dreamcoat’ and Bill Sykes in ‘Oliver’ in his home town of Macclesfield. He has also been closely involved in the Macclesfield Amateur Dramatics Society and has been honoured by the Cheshire Theatre Guild for his role as Billy Keats in ‘Port’ with the award for Most Promising Young Actor in 2007. He is now thrilled to be studying for his degree in Acting at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. ‘Spring Awakening’ is David’s debut production in Liverpool and he looks forward to many more in the future!
Ilse Megan Key Megan has appeared in many productions since her arrival in Liverpool, and though this may be one of the last times she works with WWDN, she couldn’t have asked for a better show to be involved in. Not an actor by trade, Megan is in fact currently studying Journalism with the hope of one day flying the nest and working for those hacks on Fleet Street. For now, she is Ilse and is loving every minute of it, “the part of Ilse was a dream role for me and I can’t thank Jamie, Shaun and Mike enough for giving me this wonderful part. Spring Awakening is one of my favourite shows and to be a part of it with this superbly talented cast has been an absolute pleasure. 90s FREEZE!” Hoping to one day star in her favourite musical, Tsunanarama, a musical about the Tsunami tragedy set to the music of Bananarama, Megan will no doubt continue treading the amateur boards wherever her budding career takes her.
MORITZ Jason Guest Jason is currently a third year dance student at The Liverpool Institute Of Performing Arts. Musical Theatre is Jason’s passion and this is his second production with WWDN and loves it! Taking part in this show has helped him develop as a performer and has enabled him to work on being the character instead of playing the character which has taken him to a mature and believable performance. After graduation Jason would love to be on the West End in musical doing what he loves........PERFORMING!!
HANSCHEN / RUPERT Jack Malone
ERNST / REINHOLD Soloman Adams
Jack began acting at the age of 7 with Starlight Youth Theatre and has found a real passion for the industry. He attends Birkenhead Sixth Form College studying musical theatre and is currently What We Did Next’s youngest member. He has thoroughly enjoyed rehearsing with the cast and playing the disgusting yet loveable character of Hanschen. He would like to apologise in advance to his Nanny Joan for the content of this show and hopes she is still his biggest fan.
At 18 Soloman is one of the youngest members of the cast. He attends Hilbre High School where he studies Drama, Music, Music Technology and Graphic Design. He has already performed in several theatres around the country including the Liverpool Empire where he played the part of Nick Piazza in “FAME” (2010). He has been a member of the theatre company “CAST” for several years now; and they have toured around the UK and are currently preparing for their performance in the Liverpool Arts Festival. Soloman has enjoyed the challenge of being part of ‘Spring Awakening’ and wishes his fellow cast members good luck.
Thea - Abigail Marsh Anna - Kat Dadswell Kat has studied musical theatre and dance from a young age, and is now training at LIPA. During her time there she has appeared in ‘A Chorus Line’ and ‘Alice!’ She has also performed in ‘The Line’ with Collision Dance Company, as a dancer and singer at the ‘Juice FM Style Awards’ and in music videos for Untouched and Andy Coleman. Kat recently travelled to Mallorca to work as a singer in ‘Abba Girls’, a duo touring hotels around the island, with great success. Kat is very proud to be part of the ‘Spring Awakening’ cast.
Abigail is a first year Dance student at LIPA and studied dance at college. Performed Rent (Mimi understudy) and a Chorus Line (Cassie) with Bradford Youth Players. Danced for a year with the youth of Phoenix Dance Theatre and hopes to have a career in Musical Theatre professionally in the future.
Martha Liz Ford
Liz is a local doctor who has built up acting experience over the last 10 years with the Liverpool University Drama Society and Southport Dramatic Club. Credits include Measure for Measure (Isabella), Breezeblock Park, The Importance of Being Ernest, Under Milk Wood, Shakers Re-stirred, The Kitchen, How Love is Spelt, Black Comedy, The Real Inspector Hound and The Taming of the Shrew. She also directed ‘Wit’ by Margaret Edson in 2009 and recently performed in a musical for the first time playing Alexi Darling in Rent for WWDN. She has really enjoyed rehearsals and is looking forward to being part of a great show!
GEORG / DIETER Jack McGraa
OTTO / ULBRECHT Michael Baugh
Jack has recently graduated from The University of Central Lancashire receiving a BA (hons) in Acting; he is currently the acting teacher at Starlight Youth Theatre and LIPA 4:19. Whilst training Jack appeared in productions of: Beyond Therapy, The Hypochondriac, The Suicide and A Mid Summer Nights Dream. He also took part in a Sunday night Live Variety show as a principal vocalist at Her Majesty’s theatre in London’s West End. Jack was part of the audition process for the original West End production of Spring Awakening, getting down to the second recall. Jack is very much looking forward to being a part of What We Did Next’s production of Spring Awakening and looks forward to future productions.
Michael Baugh is from Boston, MA. He is 18 years old, a 1st year dance major at LIPA. Theatre has been an important part of his life. His favorite theatre credits include, Noah in “Oliver”. Also with the Boston Children’s Theatre, he has performed as the Tin-man in “The Wizard of Oz”, Ben in “The Secret Garden”, and Maurice in “Beauty and the Beast”. He also has three years of classical ballet and modern training with Tai Jimenez, Chris Ramsey, Sheryl Thomas, among others, along with the singing and acting training that LIPA provides. He wants to thank God for getting him to where he is today, and his family for the unconditional love and support they have provided for him, even from so far away.
Adult Woman Lucy Cattell
ADult MAn Andrew Abrahamson
Lucy has had an active interest in performing arts since an early age, and was a regular cast member in Liverpool University Student Theatre productions. There, she became a lifelong pal of Shaun Holdom-Eyles who thankfully introduced her to What We Did Next, so she could continue indulging her passion for ‘jazz hands’! This is Lucy’s second show with WWDN, as she also performed the role of dizzy air hostess April in the group’s inaugural production of Sondheim’s Company. In her ‘normal’ life, Lucy is a press officer working on the new Museum of Liverpool, which she urges you to visit when it opens this summer!
Andrew, (or AB as he is known to pretty much everyone) is very happy to put aside the huge demand of being in a production team to go back on stage. This is AB’s 3rd show with WWDN and he still can’t quite believe how much the group keeps developing. When not practising 7 different accents you can normally find AB behind his camera taking pictures of everything he sees. He is also busy writing a musical with Felix Hagan (Roger in WWDN’s production of Rent) which will be, hopefully, finished this year. Oh and sometimes he goes to work as well.
Musical Director - Michael Bourne Recent music graduate from the University of Liverpool in 2010, Michael studied Classical and Popular Composition and Orchestration, as well as studies for AV media. Having grown up in orchestras and trained as a multi-instrumentalist he is enjoying the challenge of being Musical Director for his second large show. Recently he has been involved as musician for Peter Pan (the Lowry), RENT (The Black-E) and A Chorus Line (The Lowry), as well as managing Liverpool Jazz Band, CJ’s, among other projects.
Vocal Coach - Elen Royles Elen has had a fantastic time being part of the Spring Awakening experience and has thoroughly enjoyed the light relief from her final year studies at Liverpool Medical School. She is often left dumbstruck and left in awe of every single member of the cast and has loved watching them come together with crew and band during the final weeks. Elen would like to thank them all for their hard work!
Harmonium Piano Guitar Drums Violin Viola Cello Bass
Michael Bournef Tom Sutherland Grant Josh Raven Lyam Kirkham Becky Cheminais James Warwick Amy Miller & Abby Best Steph Ling
Acknowledgements It has been a massive undertaking producing Spring Awakening, a task that we could not have done without the kind help of many people and organisations. Thanks to the University of Liverpool and in particular Andrew Abrahamson for letting us use the Victoria Building as a rehearsal space, the Guild of Students for the kind loan of staging deck, Liverpool Charities and Volunteer Service, LIPA, the Unity Theatre, Livewire Dance Studio, The Cambridge pub, Studio2 at Parr Street, BaaBar on Myrtle St, Chris Pusey for the loan of his van, Maddie Stones for her tireless efforts in sourcing props and general organisational skills, Mark Frost, Neil McKenna for some beautiful Victorian undergarments, the Pilgrim Pub, Franki Burke, Jenny Martyn, and the countless friends, relatives and housemates who have put up with the stresses, late nights and crises of the last 10 months. Spring Awakening in figures 2500 fliers printed 1500 man hours of rehearsals 634 lighting cues At least 500 pints of beer post rehearsal 500 man hours behind the scenes 58 people auditioning 50 posters 30 litres of grey paint 26 rehearsals 20 tracks pre-recorded 20 people involved each week 15 wooden palettes 9 band members 5 steel decks 4 superb performances 3 years taken off the producer’s life expectancy 2 solid days preparing the theatre 1 amazing experience to bring dozens of people together doing something we love