Episode 5 School for Stars

'Many people dream of fame and life in the spotlight.

-'Few realise it takes hard work.'

-Motivation, commitment, let's do it!

'We're behind the scenes of one of Britain's most famous stage schools,

where pupils learn to cope with rivalry, sacrifice,

-'and rejection, every day.'

-It's got to be sharp, guys!

'Russell Brand, Pixie Lott and Leona Lewis all studied here.

'But this series is about the talent of tomorrow.

'This...

'is the School for Stars!'

'Coming up...

'tears for Lindsay as she finds exam stress too much.'

My mind went blank.

'Ella finds dancing in the street isn't easy.'

I do a kick, then the splits. I don't want to fall over.

'And performing at school assembly,

'will Tyler hold it all together?'

# Stop ly-y-y-ing, stop lying. #

It's harder to perform for friends, than normal people.

'The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, in London,

is halfway through its summer term.

'The school teaches singing, dancing and acting to professional standard,

'encouraging students to experience the real world of performing.'

# Na, na, na, na, na, na. #

'To do this, the school has its own casting agency, run by Nina.'

-OK, thanks.

-'Casting directors from films, TV and theatre,

'come to Nina for their stars. And find them.

'Ex-pupils here include pop star Lee Ryan, and model Naomi Campbell.

'Jordan is on his way to see Nina.'

(It's so annoying, going at recess.) Oh!

'Ever since Jordan lost out on the Sinatra role to best friend, Max,

'he's auditioned for productions outside school, set up by Nina.

'He recently auditioned for The Sound Of Music,

'and he's come to see if he's been successful.

Look, it's not great news.

They're not taking two boys, which is a shame.

I spoke to the casting director. She said you did a fabulous job,

If it was in the West End, you would have been used.

You were their second choice.

When I find out, like, I haven't got the parts,

I feel quite sad because I really want it.

But...it's life!

'It's not all bad news. Nina has another audition for him.'

It's for the role of Gustave in Love Never Dies.

-Have you heard of that?

-Yeah.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

-Good!

-Thank you.

-Speak later.

'Love Never Dies is a big West End production.

For Jordan, this is massive.'

It would be big to get into the West End.

I've always dreamed of being on stage,

Hopefully, I'll get it.

'Jordan's in central London, with his mum,

'to audition for Love Never Dies, a musical by

'Andrew Lloyd Webber.'

All right, then?

'Auditions can be scary, as you perform

'in front of professionals you've never met before.

There we go. Good luck.

All right, see you later. Bye!

'And as Jordan performs inside,

'there's a nervous wait for Mum.'

When I take Jordan to an audition,

I'm nervous for him, very proud, but feel

he will do the best he can, and he's got to go and enjoy it.

-'Finally Mum's wait is over, and Jordan comes out.'

-Hello!

'But it's not good news.'

-How did you get on?

-Too tall.

-You're too tall?

They should have done measurements before.

-They picked a boy who's, like...

-Really?

-He was small.

-Oh, well!

-OK, well, it's an experience.

-Uh-huh.

'Jordan's too tall for the part.

'For a performer, auditioning is part of life.

'"No" is something Jordan must get used to.'

I get quite used to going to auditions,

and sometimes suspect a no, and sometimes a yes.

-That's hard!

-I'm a person who gets on with it,

and enjoys what I do,

because a lot of people can't afford to have an agency,

or even go to a school like this. So I'm just glad.

'Even famous actors have to audition.

'For every role they get, there's lots they don't.

'So Jordan must stay positive and hope there's "yes" around the corner.

'Whatever age, if they're dedicated to making it

'in theatre, films or music, every student at the school

'has to prepare hard for auditions.

'And year 8 Ella is more than certain what she wants,

'is to perform.'

I love doing all three -

singing, dancing and acting.

It's what I want to do,

so, getting that chance to perform in front of people,

is just amazing.

'She's been on the stage, in West End shows,

'and featured in TV dance show Got To Dance.

'Ella has a reputation in school,

'for being good.'

Ella's amazing at dancing,

she's really sharp, gets every move right.

She's one of the best dancers in school, I imagine.

She's just wicked, a good performer.

I can't believe how young she is

for how well she performs.

'But to follow her dream,

'Ella's already making massive sacrifices.

'She's from Cornwall, a 5.5-hour drive away.

'So to attend this school, she's moved to London,

'and lives with her mum and dad, in a hotel.

When I moved to school in London, we had to live somewhere,

so we live in this hotel.

Here's Mum and Dad, making some coffee!

Mum and Dad's bed, my bed, my teddy,

my suitcase with all my school stuff.

It's fun, different, weird, but it's...

life!

'Ella's mum and dad believe she's so gifted,

they devote lots of time to support her talent.

It means everything to have parents like mine. They've given up

living the life they used to, to come and stay with me, here.

'Ella hopes she'll be able to repay the belief

'they've shown, and make them proud.'

I can't really thank them enough, and I can't repay them,

so it's just giving them everything I've got, out of what I have.

'Ella's not the only one who doesn't live in London.

'It seems many students here are prepared to travel far

'to follow their dream.'

On Monday morning I get up at four. My train's 2 hours 40 minutes.

I'm from the middle of nowhere, in Devon.

My journey takes about two hours, each way.

I miss my dogs,

I miss my family, friends, but I see them on the weekend.

'Some students travel

'from far and wide,

'and year 10 Morgi is prepared to put in the miles.'

I get up on Monday at 4am,

and then I get a train at five,

and I get into school for nine.

Morgi lives over 100 miles away from London.

She stays with classmate and best friend, Steph,

and even with her journey, never doubts why she does it.

It's definitely worth it,

because at the end of the year, when you have the show,

you see how much it's worth, the travelling, the tiredness,

it's all worth it.

'Morgi wants nothing more than to be a singer,

'and has teamed up with Tyler to write and perform songs.'

My ambition is to be a singer,

to get any music, and put it out there. I'd love to.

'Tyler not only wants to become a dancer, stuntman and actor...'

Recently, I've done a TV series called Camelot.

'..he also wants to be a pop star,

'and he and Morgi have been songwriting for over a year.'

-It's like that.

-What, what key was it in?

-What chord were you playing to start with?

-It goes A, A minor.

'I heard her sing, and that she'd done lyrics,

'which by that time, I wrote myself a song.

'That was how it started, really.

'We've written about five songs together now.

'We just love writing together, ballads, acoustic songs,

'not like, heavy-beat songs, mellow songs with deep lyrics.'

# You helped me open my eyes So I could see in the dark... #

'They give up breaks to work on their songs,

'and have a big gig coming up -

'a performance in front of all the juniors at school assembly.

'But it's just in a few days,

'and with practice still needed, will they be ready,

'especially if they keep disagreeing?'

-I don't like it.

-The beginning..?

-I like the chorus.

Wow, OK!

'Whether doing it on their own, or in class,

'students are expected to do their best.

'And dancer Ella, along with her classmates,

'is being put through her paces in rehearsal,

-by Head of Musical Theatre, Karen.

-One, two, three.

THEY SING

ARMS STRETCH!

All the juniors, including Jordan, Rhianna and Jade,

will perform songs from Charles Dickens' musicals,

to mark the anniversary of the author's death.

Ira, timing is everything.

It's a tough routine,

and performing a special split move, Ella feels pressure.

THEY SING

This kind of role can be hard.

The dancing gets your blood pumping, plus the singing,

so sometimes your singing can go wrong.

I've done things like this before,

but not anything this high a standard before.

'It's not just the difficult routine to worry about,

'but also where she's performing it.

We have three performance areas.

'Rather than singing and dancing in a theatre,

'they'll be outside performing among the public,

'and at a very famous venue.'

Guys! Exciting news. It's where they film Diagon Alley!

THEY GASP

They'll perform in Leadenhall Market,

famous as being the film set for Harry Potter.

The stage we're performing on is outside.

It's going to be amazing.

'But before they perform,

'there is a lot to practise.

'And with rehearsal time running out,

'Karen is piling on the pressure.'

Guys! We only have a short time now,

to rehearse for Dickens. Motivation, commitment, let's do it!

Em!

All right, guys!

Come on, focus!

-Can I fix this?

-Yes!

'This has to be spot-on

'for the big performance. Will Ella and the juniors

sort out their routine in time?

'In central London at Pineapple Studios,

'Jordan's waiting for yet another audition.

'He's had a run of bad luck recently, missing out on roles

'including The Sound Of Music.'

-It's not great news.

-'And in his last audition

'for Love Never Dies,

'it was no because he was too tall.'

-How did you get on?

-Too tall.

-You're too tall?

'And his height may be a problem

'for his next audition. It's for a role in

The Wizard Of Oz, as a munchkin!

I'm feeling a bit nervous, But at the end of the day

I've just got to do it. So, I'll manage.

'Jordan's double nervous,

'because on the panel is a very special casting agent.'

Arlene Phillips is in there. And I'm a bit worried,

but hopefully it'll be fine.

'Arlene is a famous choreographer and judge

'on TV's So You Think You Can Dance.

'Jordan's every move is going to be scrutinised.

'It's time for his audition.'

-Hello!

-Hello!

'Can Jordan impress the panel enough to get the part?'

# We represent The Lollipop Guild

# The Lollipop Guild The Lollipop Guild

# And in the name of The Lollipop Guild

# We wish to welcome you To Munchkinland. #

Jordan, can you toughen it up? Yeah?

Like a barrow boy, a street kid, yeah?

Do it again.

'Arlene's asked Jordan to sing again, but she wants him to sound tougher.'

# We represent the Lollipop Guild

# The Lollipop Guild The Lollipop Guild

# And in the name of the Lollipop Guild

# We wish to welcome you to Munchkinland. #

Well done.

'The audition's over

'and, although he put in a strong performance,

'Jordan's not sure if being asked to sing twice

-'is a good thing or bad.'

-Thank you, Jordan.

Thank you. Bye!

Arlene told me to be a bit stronger, so I did, then she smiled, so...

I thought it went really well, but you never know.

'The panel have other actors to see for the Munchkin role,

'so Jordan will now have to wait to see if he's got the part.

'The School's not all about auditions and performing though.

'Like any other secondary school, exams have to be done

'and Lyndsey's right in the middle of her GCSEs. What's more,

'today is the exam every pupil dreads - maths.'

I am really stressed because

I've always had a mental block with maths. I can't do it.

'Having already turned down a night of pizza and a movie

'to cram for her French exam,

'Lyndsey's also been doing extra revision in maths

'as her ultimate goal is to run her own business.

I'm not really sure what road I want to go down - West End

or TV and film - but in the end I want to have my own dance school.

Maths is important for me, for business and money and things.

'With the maths exam just hours away,

'Mr T's holding a last-minute revision session...

'..but Lyndsey's nowhere to be seen.

'Even her friend Layton hasn't got a clue where she is.'

Well, I'm not quite sure where Lyndsey is at the moment.

We've got about an hour to go,

but hopefully everyone will be here in time and, erm...

Sorry, you've done it wrong.

And I did it wrong! Why did I do it wrong?

'With just minutes to go before the exam,

'Lyndsey finally turns up, but why so late?'

'I decided to revise at home

'because I feel like I'm better off doing it independently'

-and I really want to do well.

-'The worries are setting in.'

'Everyone's getting really stressed out at the moment,

'everyone's just hoping for the best.'

'Has Lyndsey done enough revision to pass her maths exam?

'An hour and a half later and Lyndsey's exam is over...

'but it's not gone well.

'She needs consoling by her friend Tate.

'I don't know if I did well in that paper cos it was really difficult.'

My mind went blank and I didn't know what I was doing.

'But maths GCSE is in two parts,

'so hope is not lost for Lyndsey just yet.'

'I still need to do well on Paper Two as well

'and the marks get put together,'

so I've just got to try and pick myself up on that.

'It's not exams that are stressing Morgi and Tyler out.

'At this morning's assembly, they're performing

'one of their songs in front of all of the juniors.'

We've got to do the performance in, like, five minutes, ten minutes.

'It's big pressure.

'Everyone's seen videos of their performances

'and can't wait to see them sing live.'

Morgi's voice is lovely. She's got quite a strong voice.

It's really exciting just to have something different,

other than just normal assembly.

'With just a few minutes till they're about to perform,

'Morgi and Tyler grab a piano in a spare studio.

'They're both anxious and use every second they can.'

# Feel my heart... #

'But running through the song, there's a problem.'

# ..And just forget about everything. #

I've just realised, that's not the same song.

-I completely forgot.

-'Morgie can't remember the words to her own song.'

I'm just really worried now. What if I get the words wrong?

I think it's much harder to perform for your friends

than it is to normal people.

-I don't know the words. I would if I knew the words.

-Make them up.

I tried to make them up then!

'Laughing nervously now,

'Morgi just has to go with it cos the school is waiting.'

-Good morning, everybody.

-ALL: Good morning, sir.

'They're about to sing and play where

'Pixie Lott and Leona Lewis have performed.

'Who knows? One day Morgi and Tyler could be just as well known.

'But first they have to make it through this song.'

-Hope you enjoy The Greatest Liar.

-APPLAUSE

# You helped me open my eyes so I could see in the dark

# You were the star I followed

# I tried to believe that you'd be good for me

# You were the strength I needed

# Now it's time to say my goodbyes to the greatest liar

# Stop lying Stop lying

-# Stop lying to me.

-#

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'It's a strong performance and Morgi remembered all her words.'

-When you hear the applause, it's just amazing.

-It's a good feeling.

I thought I was going to mess up, but the reaction said it went well.

Nice to hear something they've done themselves,

not copied from someone else.

I can't believe they did it themselves.

And they're only in year ten and they've made that

and it's, like, amazing!

Hopefully we'll get bigger crowds or bigger audiences in the near future.

'Morgie and Tyler have taken a first step towards their pop career.

'Where they go from here is up to them.

'Dreaming of a career in music is one thing,

'but right now for Lyndsey, things are a bit more down to earth.

'Unhappy with the way her first GCSE maths exam went,

'she's anxious to make up the marks on her second paper

'and knows there's just one person that can help her out -

-'maths teacher Mr T.'

-It's just annoying,

like I know how to do things, like really simple things.

I'd go to do it and be like, "What?" My mind would go blank.

I think that's the pressure kicking in.

As long as you've done some part of it

and written the method as I keep on telling you to do,

then that's what you must do.

'Maths GCSE is a very important qualification to have

'and Lyndsey knows it's essential for her future.'

I really want to do well in maths because I feel like

I've earned it almost with all the work me and Mr T have put in.

'Her final result will be a combined mark of Paper One and Paper Two,

'so the pressure is really on Lyndsey in this second exam.

'The exam is over.'

That was awful! And I really need a wee!

'She won't get the result for two months,

'but Lyndsey has a feeling about how well she's done.'

My second paper went really well, which I'm really happy about

considering my first paper might not have gone as well,

so, yeah, I'm really happy.

'She doesn't know if she's passed,

'but Lyndsey's confident she's done all right.'

'Leadenhall Market in the city of London.

'It's the place where Diagon Alley in Harry Potter was filmed.

'In just a few hours, Ella and all the juniors

'will be performing their Dickens extravaganza here

'and they have no idea what to expect.'

-I thought it'd be more open.

-Yeah, I thought it's be wider as well.

-Nervous.

-Nervous!

I'm a bit nervous because of how the audience react.

And we've got to dance in heels on this floor.

'As well as everyday shoppers, they'll be

'performing to members of the Dickens Society

'in their full costume, but already, things aren't going to plan.'

Guys, I need your attention.

This is serious. The stage is not how we thought it was going to be.

It's in a different space, but we do exactly the same as we have set it.

'The stage is in a different place.

'This last-minute change could throw even experienced performers

-'and any mistake could ruin the whole routine.'

-Six, seven, eight.

Guys, concentrate!

'And it's not only the change

'of stage position that's making Ella anxious.'

When I got here I was worried about the floor because at one bit

I do a kick and then splits and I don't want to fall over.

'They're dancing on hard stone

'and in the high heels that all the juniors are wearing,

'the special move Ella has to do could be very tricky.'

I'm most nervous about the splits.

Karen said a minute ago that they're putting a floor down for us,

but I don't think that's... I don't know.

'But there's nothing she can do. The time has now come to perform.'

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

# You asked me what everything's about

# And what on earth we're doing here

# I've news for you I'm looking too

# The answer isn't clear. #

# Food, glorious food

# Hot sausage and mustard

# While we're in the mood

# Cold jelly and custard. #

THEY SING

'Amazingly, they all seem to have adapted to the new stage position,

'but the trickiest move in the entire show is still to come.

'It's time for Ella's special split move.'

THEY SING

# Man you've got to see her when she hits that jive

# Oh, yeah. # 'She's done it perfectly.'

'The whole performance has gone brilliantly and everyone's ecstatic.'

-That was amazing!

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Go, Charles Dickens!

'And, of course, that includes Ella.'

That was absolutely amazing, so good!

I really enjoyed that, it was really good fun.

-Whoo!

-Whoo!

'It may be success for Ella,

'but for Jordan, he's yet to hear back about his last audition.

'Talent agency manager Nina has got news.

'She needs to tell him

'whether he has or hasn't got the part in The Wizard Of Oz.

'Jordan's had bad luck in auditions recently.

'He didn't get the Sinatra role for the end-of-term gala

'and was turned down for The Sound Of Music and Love Never Dies.

'So does Nina have good news or bad news?'

You have got...

the role of a Munchkin!

Whoo! How good is that?!

You got it, they just phoned.

'He's done it - he's finally landed a role

'and it's in a major West End production,

'and Jordan is a very happy Munchkin.'

-Jordan, what did you get?

-Munchkin.

I'm pretty excited. Yeah, I really want to do it

and I'll be REALLY excited when I get there.

Oh, my God! I'm so proud of you!

'When you want something bad enough,

'you need to be prepared to work hard to get it

'and even when you give it everything you've got,

'things may not always go your way.

'But if at first you don't succeed, try, try again

'and you'll make it in the end.'

'Next time on School For Stars...

'Jordan gets access all areas as he prepares for his West End debut

'and emotions run high as best friends go for the same role.'

I feel awful and she must feel terrible.

'This is life at the School For Stars.'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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