Child Cast of Toy Show The Musical Announced
As Toy Show The Musical comes to a close, lets take a look at the lucky young performers who are making up the child cast of Toy Show The Musical! We are so excited that four children from Betty Ann Norton Theatre School are performing in the children’s ensemble as part of Toy Show The Musical this December in the Convention Centre Dublin.
Children have been hard at work the last few weeks rehearsing up to five times a week! These are some seriously talented kids who have show off their skills through singing, dancing AND acting! Did someone say triple threat?
Meet the Child Cast of Toy Show The Musical
Below are four of the children cast in Toy Show The Musical. Get to know them and find out what they think of the process so far!
Gabriella Miley is playing the role of Gary.
Gary is a comedic child who has just lost their pet hamster. This is Gabriella’s professional debut. At only 7 years old, Gabriella is the youngest of our students performing in TYTM. Beginning speech and drama classes with Betty Ann Norton Theatre School at the age of 5, Ella has already sat her initial speech and drama exam with Trinity College London. When asked how she felt when she got the part, Gabriella said
‘I felt amazing, love, happy…really happy!’
Her best piece of advice to other children who are taking on their first role in a musical is to
‘Be very confident, […] and read your script…everwhere!’
Next up for Gabriella (after a well earned rest!) is preparing for the Speech and Drama Teachers of Ireland Feis where she will be entering the solo drama competition.
Eric Li is playing the role of Gary.
Eric has attended weekly speech and drama classes with Betty Ann Norton Theatre School for two years now. This was Eric’s first audition. When asked about the process, Eric said
‘The audition was amazing. There was lots of singing and dancing and it made me think that it would be good work to do this show. I felt amazing and unbelievable because there was so many brilliant people at the audition. The 8 Billion dance was hard to learn because there was a lot of difference dance moves and changes to keep in your head.’
‘My favourite part of the process has been the performances. When I performed for opening night there were lots of people! My favourite part of the show is 8 Billion – even though that was the hardest! I didn’t feel tired…but sometimes I did because its a really hard process.’
When asked if he would do it all over again, Eric said ‘Yes! Definitely!’
Leon Hannon is playing the role of Max.
Max is described as ‘A reincarnated 40 year old farmer’. Alongside his siblings, Leon has been taking speech and drama classes with Betty Ann Norton Theatre School since he was 6 years old. Leon won the gold medal in poetry speaking and a plaque for the same in the speech and drama teachers of Ireland national feis. Leon attended Rock Jam for two years where he performed on vocals. He studies piano and loves to rap and sing and play contemporary music. Next up, Leon will perform as the Queen in his school’s musical, ‘Aladdin’.
As well as being an accomplished performer, Leon is also passionate about sport and plays competitive tennis and soccer.
Leon says he “loved the excitement of the show performance , working with real actors, the rotating stage, the flying moons, the colourful costumes, the amazing set and all the cool props! ” He especially remembers the fun he had with the many friends he made and the thousands of people in the audience who held up their phone lights to shine in the dark as he performed….
“I loved it every time! I loved performing to the audience, I am sad it is over and will miss the pals who live far away but the journey was brilliant, I learnt so much and I am so happy it happened.”Leon says “it was an amazing journey and I feel so lucky to have been chosen as one of the 11 kids to perform and I can’t wait to do it again!”
Grace Lei is playing the role of Frankie.
Grace has studied speech and drama with Betty Ann Norton Theatre School since she was 4 years old. She received a distinction in her Grade 1 exam from Trinity College London last May. In early 2022, Grace recorded a pilot episode for a new Irish animation but that is top secret – so we can’t say more! Grace studies singing with Dublin School of Music where she loves learning musical theatre repetoire. Grace was a finalist in the national speech and drama teachers of Ireland musical theatre feis last February. In September, she was accepted into the Dublin Youth Junior Choir. Grace has also recently began piano lessons.
When asked about the musical, Grace said
‘My favourite part of the process was the dances because they are very hard but once I got them into my head, they’re very fun!’
‘My advice for other children would be to trust yourself, focus, just go for it – you know you got it all! And most importantly, have fun!’
Grace will next perform the role of Gretl in Sandford Park’s upcoming production of ‘The Sound of Music’.
Child Acting Agency
Gabriella, Eric, Leon and Grace are all part of the Betty Ann Norton Acting Agency. If you are looking to fill the roles for your child cast, or are interested in your child performing in similar projects to Toy Show The Musical, get in touch to find out more about our acting agency and the service we provide.
Speech and Drama Classes Janaury 2023
Booking is now open for speech and drama classes for children, teens and adults for January 2023. You can book directly through our website here. If your course of choice is fully booked, get in touch and we will add you to the waiting list.