Backstage View, Christmas Showcase Spectacular 2009

At The Ockendon Academy we have a vibrant and thriving Performing Arts Area.  Music and Drama Departments co-operate freely and frequently both during the school day as well as out of hours.  We have a strong belief between the two subjects that the arts are not just a subject, they are a method of expression and can teach people (formally and informally) a number of transferrable skills, which can be used in all areas of life.

Shows and Concerts

Public performance returned to the then Ockendon School in 2008 with our first Christmas Showcase Spectacular which featured performers from across the whole school.  Music and Drama acts took place in the oldschool hall, as well as an eighty-strong Year 7 Choir accompanied by The Tilbury Band, who gave up their time free of charge.  The only complaints received about the performance were that there were simply not enough tickets for all the people who wanted to attend, even after adding extra seats into the plan and so, for 2009 an extra night was added to the performance schedule.

Christmas Showcase Spectacular 2008

A recent three-night run of Bugsy Malone (by arrangement with Warner-Chappell Music) was an unpresedented success.  With a number of local professionals helping out with scenery, technical and the pit orchestra the show was an excellent experience for all involved, staff and students alike.

Clubs and Activities

The Music Department runs a number of activities after school, including a “Glee Club”, which currently rehearses two nights a week as part of the Key Stage 3 Christmas Production “Totally Scrooged”.  In addition to this we operate a Recording Club where students get the opportunity to get hands-on with our state-of-the-art professional recording studio and associated equipment.

Performing Arts Ambassadors

Year 11 Band Records in "Studio 1"

Introduced in 2009 in a response to the original Christmas Showcase, Performing Arts Ambassadors or ‘PAAs’ were created to act as technical, backstage and front-of-house staff at Performing Arts events, as well as assist and support in the Performing Arts Area out of lesson times.  The Performing Arts Ambassadors were so successful in the School that the idea was taken up by the School’s Senior Leadership Team and rolled-out to other departments.  The concept is simple; students of prefect-status within the department but drawn from any year group of the school.  In Performing Arts, students interested in joining the PAA team complete a formal application, are called for interview, and successful interviewees receive a letter offering them a position, a certificate and pin badge to be worn on the lapel of their school blazer.