St Helens Theatre Royal Celebrates Youth Group RTDA's Award-Winning GREASE

Members of St Helens Theatre Royal's youth group are celebrating in style after winning two awards and receiving nine nominations for its smash-hit production of Grease.

Representatives from the Royal Theatre Drama Academy (RTDA) attended a glittering gala dinner at the Southport Theatre - Floral Hall on Saturday evening when the nominations were announced for the prestigious District 6 NODA Awards.

NODA (the National Operatic and Dramatic Association) represents amateur theatre companies and has thousands of members throughout the UK so the RTDA were over the moon to receive so many nominations for its production of Grease which was staged at St Helens Theatre Royal last summer.

Alicia Stroud who playEd Frenchy in Grease won the Most Entertaining/Comedy Female Actor- Youth Award and is delighted after receiving one of the highest scores for her performance placing her in the top 5%. She will now go through to the North West NODA Awards which will be held in Manchester in April.

RTDA also received an award for Best Ensemble Cast/Chorus and were nominated for:

• Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role Both Musical -Youth - Charley Webster who played Rizzo
• Best Male Actors in a Lead Role Both Musical & Play - Mark Porter who played Danny
• Best Female Actor in a Lead Role Musical - Lucy Moran who played Sandy
• Best Choreographer- Youth Production - Laura Gregory
• Best Musical Director -Youth Production - Tom Loughlin
• Best Artistic Director Youth Production - Si Foster, Benjamin Engelen and Harry Moore
• Best Production- Youth- RTDA - Grease

Chantelle Nolan, St Helens Theatre Royal Manager said: "We were so proud of our youth theatre group RTDA to win two NODA awards. We have been running our drama workshops on a Saturday morning for the last 18 years but this is the first time we have entered the NODA Awards and we are thrilled to have received so many nominations. Well done to Alicia for being placed in the top 5% - we wish her all the luck for the North West finals in April.

"I feel extremely proud of everyone who's has been involved in the RTDA past and present. We have built up a marvellous youth theatre with many members having been with us from babes to adults and are very excited about the future of RTDA!"

Formed in 1998, the RTDA is a group of talented youngsters from St Helens who meet once a week to create amazing pieces of theatre which are staged at St Helens Theatre Royal.

Over the past 18 years, the group has put on many incredible shows - from musicals to Shakespeare. Recent productions include sell-out spectaculars Oliver! and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

RTDA workshops are taught by professional actors with experience in TV, film, and theatre. Classes take place on Saturday mornings and are suitable for a range of age groups from 7-18 years, providing unparalleled training in all aspects of performing arts from screen acting and musical theatre to improvisation, movement, voice work and confidence building.

If you'd like to get involved, visit www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com/get-involved/rtda-performance-workshops. Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/St-Helens-Theatre-Royal, follow us on Twitter: @TheatreRoyalStH, or visit www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com.

Built by Matcham in the 19th Century the Theatre Royal is the principal theatre in St Helens. Recently renovated internally and externally with a modern glass exterior, St Helens Theatre Royal has a large capacity and stages many performances, including comedy, music, drama and excellent Christmas pantomime. The theatre provides a wide variety of entertainment from top class comedians to musical shows.

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