Written by Jen R (Year 13).jpg)
For months, AKS has been awaiting the news for the announcement of the school musical. Theories and rumours were tossed around, and it was an avid conversation topic amongst students. Returning in September, still having no clue, I was excited to start preparations for the ‘Stardust diner’ - there, the musical would be revealed. Along with amazing performances from students, there was a collective buzz backstage. The curiosity was overwhelming, trying to gather hints from the decorations to the songs performed. Still, no clue. Finally, the moment came. At the end of the night, Miss Worthington gave a wonderful speech about the selection process that led the team into making their choice. Dropping hints throughout, we all caught on when Miss Worthington exclaimed, “one day more...”. A collective cheer echoed throughout the hall as she announced the 2026 musical – ‘Les Misérables: School Edition’!
Initially, I was unsure. I was nervous about auditioning as this was such a ‘singing heavy’ musical. Coming from an acting background, I had never done solo performances in singing before – I felt more comfortable in choirs, singing as a collective. Despite these nerves, I knew, from being involved in the musical last year, that being a part of the process is magical and decided to just go for it and see what happens. Audition songs were sent out, and preparations for auditions began.
Across the course of three days, auditionees brought their all – singing and acting their hearts out. To start the process, we were led in warmups – both vocal and physical. This also helped with nerves, as we were distracted by the energetic music and began to recognise that we were all in the same boat, here for the same reason. The talent in that room was incredible, every single person wanted to be there – you could see their passion. When it came to my audition, I was visibly shaking. Having never really sung in front of people before, performing something on my own was beyond my comfort zone. And to be totally honest, I can’t remember what happened. I was so lost in the moment that I had completely forgotten what I had performed. Relief overcame as the song finished. Not the fact that it was over, more the fact that I had done something that I never thought I would be able to achieve – that was an achievement. Later that evening, I received an email. I received a call back.
Onto the callbacks, auditionees had been given roles that the casting panel would like them to see perform. This could be for any role, not just the ones you auditioned for. I was called back for 3 roles, 2 I hadn’t auditioned for initially. All were vocally challenging for me. I had listened to the songs on loop the day before, familiarising myself with the words. We had rehearsal time, singing and blocking with the casting team before performing. Nerves overcame me in the room, and again, I don’t remember what happened. Everyone
was so wrapped up in the moment, singing song after song. It was a difficult process to go through, and everyone collectively agreed that we were proud for getting this far.
The next day, the cast was announced. All cramming into the studio, students nervous with anticipation. Miss Worthington announced the cast part by part, all followed by a round of applause. It was scary, definitely. But no one in the room showed any bitterness towards others – everyone was genuinely happy for each other. I must praise the casting team, it was such a hard decision – I would have no idea who to cast for which part, everyone was incredible. Hearing your name called for a part you thought you had no chance of getting is a surreal moment, and I think I just stared open mouthed in shock for about 2 minutes.
Jen R – Éponine.
“I didn’t expect that.” were the first words that left my mouth.
I auditioned online last year as I was an external student, so I truly had no idea what to expect. I’m glad I’ve experienced such a difficult process. It’s hard, no doubt about it, but it taught me resilience and strengthend my ability to think fast on my feet. Not only this, but this has also given me a taster for what the auditioning process is like in the real world – you may not even have a day to prepare, maybe not even hours. As I want to study acting at university, this has really helped me ‘rehearse’ for the processes to come.
My advice? Don’t let your self-doubt get in the way of going for any part. Don’t get in your head, the audition process is all about trial and error – not only for the audition panel, but you as the actor. If you don’t get the part you want, it doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough. It just means you aren’t ready yet. This is my first ever principal part. I have worked my way up slowly; I have been in the ensemble, supporting roles and a lot of male characters. It’s a process, it’s practice and it’s about learning about yourself.
Don’t let yourself get in the way. It’s taken me too long to recognise that.
See you in January!