By Andrew Clarke

Published at 11:09, Thursday, 03 May 2012

AMY Roebuck-Smith’s dream of a career in musical theatre has moved a step closer after she secured a place at a prestigious theatre school.

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Amy, 18, has been offered a place on a two-week course with the National Youth Theatre (NYT), at the end of which she hopes to graduate and earn a much sought-after membership of the group.

“I was really pleased when I got the letter to say I’d been accepted,” said Amy, of Lonsdale Place, Whitehaven.

“I’d love to have a career in musical theatre, to work in the West End.”

Amy has performed extensively on the local stage, from a child in dance shows by Cowper’s and Starkey’s, to recent lead roles in Whitehaven Youth Theatre’s High School Musical and Copeland Amateur Theatrical Society’s Wizard of Oz.

She applied online for an audition for NYT and it took place in Manchester in February.

“We had a three-hour workshop which involved team-building and stimulus work and we had to devise a short play based on a picture we were given.

“We then had to deliver a 10-minute monologue we had prepared in advance, and I decided to do a scene from Lady Macbeth I had previously done for a college assessment and got a distinction for.”

The judges at NYT were impressed by Amy, who studies performing arts at Carlisle College and works part-time at Wetherspoons in Whitehaven, and offered her one of the 500 places chosen from over 4,600 applicants.

She now heads back to Manchester at the end of August for the two-week placement that will culminate in a performance on which her graduation will be decided.

So what is Amy’s dream role? “I would say the part of Cosette in Les Misérables. It’s one of my favourite musicals and I think the songs she sings suit my voice well.”

Amy and her family are inviting local businesses who wish to sponsor her NYT placement to contact them on 01946 590997 or kathsmith67@hotmail.com.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk