Being A School Kid On & Off Stage

After winning Make Believe’s One Dream competition in 2018, Charis Tetteh joined Make Believe & MB Talent to take her first steps into the industry.

Unsurprisingly it didn’t take Charis long at all to land her first professional role, and it was an impressive one, as she joined Andrew Lloyd Webber’s cast of the School of Rock as Tomeka at the Gillian Lynne theatre.

We caught up with her to discuss how she enjoyed being a school kid on and off the stage, and how she balanced the two lives, all the way from the audition process to the final curtain call!

Being a School Kid On & Off Stage

Across the whole audition process, I had a long and very hard five different stages in order to get the role. In my first audition I had to sing my own choice of song and I had to read a poem in an American accent.

After the first round of the auditions, I got a call back and I was happy but nervous at the same time. Then after, I got another call back, and I was so surprised and shocked because this was only my second ever audition! Then I just started getting call back after call back and I started to loosen up and have fun with it all!

To prepare in order to do my best, I was practicing constantly. Memorising lines and lyrics by myself over and over again, making sure I was 100% ready. I also showed what I had practiced with family to see what I could do better!

When my mum told me I got the role as Tomika I instantly fell onto the floor with excitement and tears of joy were coming down my eyes. All that hard work finally paid off and then the real work began!

I rehearsed for 2 months altogether in order to be prepared for the whole show. What I enjoyed about rehearsals was interacting and working with people who love and enjoy the same thing I love to do. I made some amazing friends.

What I enjoyed the most about the performance was performing in front of people and doing what I love to do most which was acting, singing and dancing. It was very hard going to school and doing the show because I would come home late and go to school early the next morning, which was demanding, but I had to stay focused and that’s important! I balanced it all by being motivated and always remembering that I want to do my best and reach my ambitions.

Overall, it was an amazing experience and a once in a life-time opportunity.

I got to meet some amazing celebrities like Jennifer Hudson and the amazing Andrew Lloyd Webber. Just always remember, you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.

Make Believe+ will help you become a better all-round performer, improve your techniques and grow your confidence. Fill in the comments below and I will be able to write back to you soon.

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