glee club - edin eve news - 6 march 2010
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/14/2019 Glee Club - Edin Eve News - 6 March 2010
1/2
EVENING NEWS SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2010 13www.edinburghnews.com
Turn to Page 14
theweekenderSHOPPINGFOODBOOKSGARDENINGNOSTALGIAPETSWEEKEND TV
FUN:Mary-BethMcFern,FionaDuncan,John Naples-Campbelland BenNesbet enjoythe Gleeclub, above.
MAKING A SONG
AND DANCE OF IT
We started with20members,butsince Glee came
onTV, its risen toaround100sonowweneed theschoolhall torehearseJOHN NAPLES-CAMPBELL
FINGERSare snapping,legsare popping, smiles are widening as arms reach
imploringly to the stars. Voicessingin unison:Just a small towngirl,livinginalonelyworld...shetook the midnight train goinganywhere... Come on yells a voice from the front. One, two,three, four . . . sexy salsa, nowreally cheesy . . .
Its not anactualscenefromanepisode of the surprise hit TVseriesGleedubbedHighSchool
Musical for adults but it couldbe taken straight from the script.Instead this is a Tuesday lunchhour at Haddingtons KnoxAcademy where for around 100
pupils, packed lunches are aban-doned for an hour of singing,dancing and the chance to forgetschool pressures and teenageangst by getting lost in music.
T i es h a v e b een lo o sen ed ,sleevesrolled up,and perspirationis formingon foreheads as dramateacher John Naples-Campbellexhorts his Glee students to com-mit themselves to the moves.
Gleeclubsarepartand parcelofthe American highschoolsystem,but this side of the pond, singingat school has generally beenrestricted to the school choir.
But ever since the US series hitour screens, exploding ratingsand taking the Golden Globe for best comedy series, interest insuch clubs has been rising.
Mr Naples-Campbell, a QueenMargaret drama graduate whoalsorunsthe RandomAct TheatreCompanyand still directs musicaltheatre, thinks his club might bethe first in Scotland. Andwhile he
ed to sing and dance. We startedthe club before Glee came onBritish TV, but I had a box set ofthe series on DVD and loved it. Itremindedmeof mytimeatQueen
Margaret. The drama studentswere withthe nursing,mediaandsports science students. We werethe weirdos who were singing incorridors.
Westartedasashowchoir,butthat was when we had about 20members. Since Glee came on TVt h e n umb er s h a v e r i sen t o
TurntoPage14
missesthe elementof competitionthat could result if there were oth-ers,hebelievesthatitsmore abouthaving fun and building young-sters confidence.
Thedifference between a Gleeclub and a school choir is that itsfor every year group, so we havekids aged 13 to 17 here. When Icame here I knew there was atradition of good school choirsand classical music and I wantedto offer something different. Theschool choirs are for junior andsenior girls, but there wasntmuchfor boysor thosewho want-
GINADAVIDSON
Picture:JULIEBULL
-
8/14/2019 Glee Club - Edin Eve News - 6 March 2010
2/2
14 SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2010 EVENING NEWSwww.edinburghnews.com
Its a real mixof pupils .. Itsall about fun
SUCCESS:Thecastof theTV showGleehave hadhitsinthe US
FromPage13round 100, so now we need thechool hallto rehearse andwerelanning a show in the Bruntonheatre at the end of the year.He adds: I thought it was bril-
liant whenpupils started coming and yes we probably have someGleeks, but its a real mix of
pupils.Itsall abouthaving fun,andits given the kids confidence.Certainly theres a good cross-
section of types at the Tuesdayrehearsal: the cool ones, theenthusiasts, the MORs. Eventhosenotinvolvedobviouslyknowwhat Glee is all about. As pho-tographs are being taken, onepupil opens a classroom window
nd a chant of glee, glee, gleearries across the internal court-ard, while an older male pupiloldshis fingersto hisforehead inn L shape. His thoughts on Gleeembers are obvious losers.
Thatisdefinitelyhowtheclubinhe TV show is regarded at first,iven that its members are madepofschoolmisfits:ahomosexual
ashionista, the nauseating nar-issist,adisabledguitarplayer,theeyonc-wannabe and a Goth
with a speech impediment. But atKnox, its a different scenario.
Wehavea lotofthecoolpeople who are members, insists 17-year-old Robert Edgar, the clubspianist, who it seems is too coolhimself to even watch the showthatoften.I gotinvolved becauseI was in the sixth year panto and
itsafunthingtodoeventhoughI cant sing or dance. I just movemy shoulders a bit.
Wealsogettochoosethemusicwhich is great. I chose RihannasDisturbia.
Fiona Duncan, 15, who is get-ting ready to sit her StandardGrades in May, including drama,adds: Its a place to come and beabitmental,letoffsteam.Ilovetheshow, though I wouldnt say Imlike any of the characters.
A younger enthusiast is BenNesbet, 14, one of the few malemembers. My parents think its
great theres something like thisfor me to come to because thechoirs atmy agearejustforgirls,he says. Im studying StandardGrade music, and this is so dif-ferentfromthat,butIlovesinging.Idontalwayslikethesongswedo,
though.Im not a big fan ofDont Stop
Believin which is what weredoing at the moment.
Oneof theyoungestmembersis13-year-oldMary-BethMcFern.I watch the show and think its
great, so when the club started Icame to see what it was all about,and its good fun, she says. Ithink more schools should take itup.It wouldbe greatif therewerecompetitions like in America.
So is there a wannabe-famous
factor in Glee? There are kids at
schoolwhowant tobe onX FactororBritainsGot Talent,butIwouldsay,thankfully,they dont seemtobeGlee clubmembers,saysJohn.People who want thatarentpartof a team, and the Glee club is ateam effort.
And as someone once said:
Fame costs, and right here iswhere you start paying.But Gleeisnt likethat, he laughs.Itsjustabout fun. Glee is on E4 on Mondays at9pm, repeated on Channel 4 onSundays at 5:30pm.
ENTHUSIASM:FionaDuncancomestothe club tolet offsteam
A GROWINGPHENOMENON
GLEE is the
brainchild of RyanMurphy, the GoldenGlobe-winningcreator ofNip/Tuck.
The gay 43-year-old Irish Catholicused his childhoodexperiences as alead actor in highschool musicals,while his co-creators IanBrennan and
producer Mike
Novick also sang intheir own schoolsGlee Clubs.
Set in thefictional WiliamMcKinley High inOhio, the club isrun by Spanishteacher WillSchuester, whotook over after theprevious Gleeteacher was sacked
for inappropriate
conduct. He istreated horribly byhis wife Terri, whois pretending to bepregnant.
The show is sucha success that theproducers havereleased a numberof recordings bythe cast which havebeen major hits inthe States.
Picture: JULIE BULL
T H E E D I N B U R G H P A P E R
Personalised messages
for a very special personSurprise your mum with a special message in The Edinburgh Evening News Feature on Saturday 13th March.
5x1 =MARY
WARD
Youre thebest Love
from Vhari
xx
5x2 =
LOVE YOU
MUMMY!Lots of love from Zach
Thompson xx
ADVERT EXAMPLES:
Please call 0131 620 8888or email [email protected] for further
details. You can also complete the coupon below and post itback to LOVE YOU MUM, Front Reception, The Scotsman
Publications Ltd, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS.
Booking deadline - Wednesday 10th March 2010.
10x2 =
JACQUELINECASEY
Mum youre special,
Mum youre a star, Of
all the mums in the
world, Youre the best
by far Love from
Stefan xxx
Name
Address
Postcode
Telephone number: Daytime Evening
Email
Payment options Please telephone me on.......... ............................................................ ............
for my payment method.
I enclose my cheque for ..............................................................................
payable to
The Scotsman Publications Ltd
Please accept my credit / debit card.
Card Details Type..Expiry .............................. ..
Choose from
Style 1- 5x1 (up to 25 words) Only 4
Style 2- 5x2 - (up to 50 words) Only 6
Style 3 - 10x2 - (up to 50 words and a photograph, if desired) - Only 10
ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT 1 word per box. Please fill in the coupon in BLOCK CAPITALS
Johnston Press plc, the publishers of The Edinburgh Evening News are constantly running great
offers. By giving us your email address and phone numbers, you agree that we may contact you
by these methods for marketing. If you are not interested in receiving details of them by email,
post, phone, SMS/MMS or fax from Johnston Press please tick here [ ] If you are not interested
in receiving details on offers run by our business partners please tick here [ ]. For your
information for quality and training purposes, we may monitor communications.
Love YouMumHappy Mothers Day