INNISFAIL – Singing, dancing and acting bring the stage to life in musical theatre.
Since early February a group of 15 students from the Innisfail and Bowden areas have been part of a new musical theatre class, taught by Colleen Dyment-Begeman with Dyment Vocal Arts studio, just southeast of Innisfail.
Students range in age from five to 14.
“It’s about presenting the song just as you would see it in the show,” said Dyment-Begeman. “It involves singing, dancing and acting in the number.
“The description often used for musical theatre is a triple threat. It’s where they do singing, dancing and acting,” she added.
Dyment-Begeman has taught private voice and piano lessons for more than 20 years. She introduced the new musical theatre class in February after several inquiries from area residents.
“(Students) had expressed an interest in doing a group number together for the Kiwanis music festival,” she said, noting she wanted to open the class to the public.
“I was quite surprised at how much response I got,” said Dyment-Begeman. “I wanted to make sure that kids here had that opportunity.”
The musical theatre class recently participated in the Olds & District Kiwanis Music Festival. They performed a number called Revolting Children from the musical Matilda at the TransCanada Theatre in Olds at the end of March.
They also performed the same number at the studio’s annual spring recital at the Bowden Community Hall.
The six-week musical theatre class prepared students for their performance in the Kiwanis music festival, noted Dyment-Begeman.
“We had six rehearsals leading up to the festival,” she said. “We got first class honours for our performance on March 22 and we won the best musical theatre production number (at the festival).
“We were also invited to perform during the Musical Theatre Showcase concert in Olds. It was a big honour,” she added.
Dyment-Begeman noted how much students enjoyed learning all aspects of musical theatre, providing them with a mix of different art forms.
“It’s that combination of story, music and dance that helps to transport us to a different place,” said Dyment-Begeman. “It’s so magical and it creates such great memories.”
