Armidale High Year 11 student, Nicholas Kelly, is in Sydney for the Featured Artist Call and the beginning of six weeks intensive rehearsals for this year’s 29th Schools Spectacular.
Nicholas joins 58 other featured artists chosen from more than 350 talented student performers who auditioned to be in the iconic show.
“This is already a fantastic achievement,” Relieving Schools Spectacular Director, Sonja Benson, told the Featured Artist Call performers in Sydney last week.
“You don’t know how great you can be.
“Over the next six weeks you will grow as an artist and as a person.”
The Schools Spectacular will be staged at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Friday and Saturday, November 23 and 24, with four performances to audiences of up to 10,000 and televised Australia-wide, at times attracting over a million viewers.
An inspirational performing arts showcase — this year titled Our Time — the Schools Spectacular brings together the Featured Artists with a 1300-voice choir, 180 musicians, 2000 dancers and a marching band. It is a show like no other and gets better every year.
Good seats are now available through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com.au or 1300 883 622).
Nicholas Kelly is the Schools Spectacular ‘veteran’ of the New England.
This will be his fifth Schools Spectacular and his third as a Featured Artist.
“I keep coming back for the all-round experience,” Nicholas said.
“You are treated as a professional and given a chance to live your dream — all while you are at school.
“I just love the environment at Schools Spectacular because everyone shares a huge passion for the performing arts and wants to do what you are doing.”
This year Nicholas is singing four musical theatre numbers as well as joining in the country and western segment.
He sees his future in musical theatre and has his eyes set on a Bachelor of Musical Theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts Ballarat and his chances have “most definitely” progressed through Schools Spectacular.