A S2 pupil stepped up at short notice to play a leading role in a musical when another pupil dropped out.
St John’s High School pupil, Evan Lyon, played Ryan in Dundee Schools Musical Theatre’s (DSMT) performance of High School Musical last month.
Evan took on the role just nine weeks before the show was due to hit the stage, meaning he had to rapidly learn an abundance of dialogue, moves, dances and songs.
The musical had been in rehearsal for 10 months prior to this with Evan in the chorus – a group dancing and singing role without spoken lines.
He rose to the challenge with enthusiasm and sheer hard work, so much so that those involved with producing the show said they ‘couldn’t imagine’ anyone else playing the part.
Evan’s efforts have now been rewarded with a Courier Gold Star in recognition of his achievement, having been nominated by DSMT‘s Phil McGregor.
Evan, 13, said: “I was shocked when I found out I’d got this, there’re so many great people out there.
“I’m going to place it in my room, out my window so that people know I’ve got an award, and wear the badge on my tie.
“It means a lot to me, especially coming from Mr McGregor – we have a joke and sometimes he gets me in trouble but he’s nice to me most of the time.”
Evan added that it’s nice to have his hard work recognised, after giving up judo classes and social engagements during the summer holidays to learn his lines.
All worth it, he says, as he loved being on stage so much that it’s inspired him to audition for bigger acting roles, on bigger stages.
He said: “I was nervous on the first night but as the nights went on, my nerves reduced.
“I felt butterflies in my stomach with all those eyes on me but when I started to perform I forgot about that and really enjoyed it.”
Phil says Evan was selected for the role after thriving in the chorus.
He said: “Evan jumped at the chance to fill the role and when we saw him in it, we couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it, he was brilliant.
“He was the second lead male and for a (then) S1 to take on that is massive but he rose to the challenge.
“At that late notice he would have had to give up a lot of his summer to learn all that dialogue, direction and singing.”
Want to nominate someone for a Gold Star?
Our Gold Star awards are aimed at recognising children and young people’s achievements, both in and out of school.
We are collecting nominations from the public through our online form. Winners of the award will receive one of our stunning badges and a certificate.
Full terms and conditions can be found here.
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