The Stage

TV Dorothy - ‘I’ll audition for drama school after Oz’

Published Wednesday 26 May 2010 at 12:52 by Matthew Hemley

Over the Rainbow winner Danielle Hope has revealed that she plans to undertake formal training in musical theatre following her stint in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz.

Speaking to The Stage after winning the BBC1 talent show on Saturday night, the 18-year-old - who will perform the role of Dorothy in Lloyd Webber’s show next year - said she had been in the process of auditioning for drama schools prior to becoming a finalist in the programme.

“For me, there is nothing I want more than to get my degree in musical theatre - that is something that is important to me, and I think it’s important for the industry too. I don’t think you can ever have enough training and it makes you really employable. Also, with training, it means you have been through the same experience as all the performers in the West End,” she said.

Hope said she had been forced to pull out of her A level in dance after not being available for group assessments.

However, she said she would still be able to complete her theatre studies exams next month and had already secured a distinction for her BTEC in musical theatre.

The performer, from Greater Manchester, said prior to taking up the role of Dorothy that she would be seeking classes in dance and vocal technique, in order to learn “how to use [my] voice properly”.

She also expressed a desire to take up a role in another show prior to starring in The Wizard of Oz next year, which will run at the London Palladium, in order to experience the lifestyle while working in the West End.

When Jodie Prenger won the BBC’s search for a Nancy to star in Oliver! she was placed into the cast of Les Miserables first, in order to prepare her for the role she had won.

Hope said: “I don’t know what’s in store, but that would be really good, as obviously you get some idea, before becoming a leading lady, of what being in a show eight times a week is going to be like and the demands it has. I think Jodie really benefited from that.”

The 18-year-old also admitted that she had previously been sceptical about shows on television being used to cast theatre productions, but said she hoped other performers now saw the BBC1 programmes as a legitimate casting process.

She said Dorothy might not necessarily have been cast using someone out of drama school, because the role requires someone who is, “youthful and quite possibly inexperienced”, and added that the shows do the West End “a world of good”.

“It brings in a whole new audience and sells a lot of tickets,” she said.