After what seemed like an age of writing and development, Proscenium Productions - a group of talented students who met whilst studying performing arts at Lowestoft Sixth Form College - staged a workshop production of their musical, Spotlights in August 2022.
The original musical, which was completely self-funded, was performed at our Theatre - The Players Theatr. It dealt with tough issues such as mental health, bereavement, financial difficulties, LGBTQ+, self-discovery and finding love, plus there were some light hearted and funny moments too!
The Spotlights cast with Casey Divall, performer and musical director, wearing yellow.
Credit: Proscenium Productions
Despite having a marketing budget of zero, the group who are all under 20 years, managed to sell 70 percent of the tickets available. The audience loved the show and gave a standing ovation as the curtain came down.
“We absolutely loved putting Spotlights together” said Casey Divall who played the character of Luke, the remarkably insensitive boyfriend of ‘Paige’.
Casey is also exceptionally musically talented. He co-wrote the Spotlights music and lyrics, he arranged the music and took on the role of Musical Director for the production.
Casey explained “The audience gave us some really useful feedback to help develop Spotlights further, but to do this we desperately need funding.”
To raise the required funding Spotlights are running a Crowdfunder appeal which was launched earlier this month with an initial target of £650. Already over £550 has been raised which will help the group to stage a full length production in August 2023 with more songs and a custom made set.
However, it they can stretch their target to £1,200 the extra money raised will help towards the cost of hiring technical equipment to enhance the production even further.
A spokesperson from the Players Theatre said “We were honoured that the group choose our Theatre to stage their very first performance of this new musical. The dedication of the Spotlights team resulted in a highly polished performance. We are very much looking forward to seeing more from them in 2023.”
To read more about the Spotlights project, or to donate to the Spotlights Crowdfunder please visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/spotlights-2023
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