The adjudicator at Chichester Drama Festival judged one Lamont pupil as producing the ‘finest performance he had had even seen in all his years of adjudicating!’

High praise indeed for Serafina Campolucci-Bordi who was awarded 1^st place for both her verse speaking and her prose reading. Serafina received 92 marks for verse (the highest mark in the festival) and her report said:

“Many congratulations!.  This is as good as it gets! You had excellent presentation, quality of vocal tonality and interpretation. It was highly expressive and mature in thought and delivery, commanding total audience involvement.  I cannot praise you too highly as this was outstanding!”

Her brother, Orlando also wowed the adjudicator. Orlando received a 1st for his verse speaking with 90 marks.

Gabriel Osborne  gained two 2^nd places for prose speaking and verse speaking. 

Said Mrs Lamont, “ Gabriel did particularly well in the verse speaking gaining 90 marks – there were 17 in the section, so he did extremely well to come 2^nd!

“I was very proud of all my pupils who entered. It’s lovely to see that through entering these on-line festivals, pupils are continuing to hone their craft whilst enjoying performing”.

Congratulations to 9-year-old Isla Gie on her latest professional film role starring opposite the Worst Witch’s Bella Ramsey.

Isla plays the character of Sabra is in Cowboy FunfaIr Productions latest film Villain. It is currently in post-production and is due for release next year.

Said Isla, “Filming Villain was a lot of fun. My character of Sabra is half-girl and half-dragon, so I needed scales along my arms. It took quite a long time for the makeup team to do but it was worth it because it looked amazing! It was also lovely acting with Bella.”

Following Isla’s latest film role, the rising star has also signed to appear in a new BBC Television/Amazon series which will start filming in the New Year and will be aired worldwide, including the UK, America and Australia.

Said Mrs Lamont: “2020 has been an exciting year for Isla and she is now looking forward to her new project in 2021. Isla is represented by top talent agency Curtis Brown but she still has her drama lessons with Lamont Drama and is currently working towards her Grade 4 LAMDA exam. Whatever she does, she always gives it 150%, so I’m looking forward to her getting a great result in January.”

Well done, Isla!

Lamont Drama Pupils achieved a FIRST recently – taking part in the first-ever remote Fleetwood Festival of Speech and Drama.

All Lamont pupils gained a place in every class and we won every class we entered.

Said Mrs Lamont: “It was really great to get into the ‘festival’ spirit again. So many festivals have had to cancel but Fleetwood Festival proved that enjoyment can still be had by competitors and the adjudicator in a ‘remote’ way”.

Gabriel Osborne celebrates his win!

The results were as follows and congratulations to all:-

FLEETWOOD FESTIVAL 2020

VERSE SPEAKING (SET PIECE)

7 and under

1st          Joseph Edwards

2nd        Campbell Gie

8 & 9 years

1st          April Humphreys

2nd        Martha Last

3rd         Emilia guy and Grace Hayes

4th         Gadowl Oyedeji

10 & 11 years

1st          Amelie Henderson

2nd        Gabriel Osborne

3rd         Verity Clark

4th         Pip Charnley

12 & 13 years

1st          Evie Clark

VERSE SPEAKING (OWN CHOICE)

8 & 9 years

1st          April Humphreys

2nd        Emilia Guy

10 & 11 years

1st          Gabriel Osborne

2nd        Amelie Henderson

3rd         Verity Clark, Pip Charnley and Serafina Campolucci-Bordi

12-16 years

1st          Orlando Campolucci-Bordi

2nd        Ellie Edwards

3rd         Evie Clark

SOLO ACT

8 & 9 years

1st          Martha Last

10 & 11 years

1st          Serafina Campolucci-Bordi

2nd        Amelie Henderson and Gabriel Osborne

3rd         Verity Clark

12 & Over

1st          Orlando Campolucci-Bordi

2nd        Evie Clark

PROSE SPEAKING

8 & 9

1st          April Humphreys

Lamont School of Drama is once again celebrating with another exceptional set of LAMDA Examination results.

In the late Summer 2020 session, 31 took an exam resulting in 27 Distinctions and 4 high merits! Thirteen gained 90+. Special mention goes to goes to Verity Clark who gained her Grade 7 exam with Distinction at the age of 11 and Evie Clark who gained her Grade 8 exam with Distinction at the age of 12!  Also, congratulations to siblings Megan (15) and Drew Hutchinson (13) who worked alongside each other on their Grade 8 exams and both gained the fantastic mark of 96!

Trophies for exam excellence are presented to the highest performing students.  The Junior Excellence Trophy was presented to Campbell Gie and Gadowl Oyedeji. The Intermediate Excellence Trophy was presented to Isla Gie. The Senior Excellence Trophy was jointly won by siblings Megan Hutchinson and Drew Hutchinson.

Lamont Drama Principal, Diane Lamont, said: “Our LAMDA results remain exceptionally high and that’s down to  pupils working extremely hard to achieve these spectacularoutcomes. I am very proud of them all.”

Megan and Drew Hutchinson both gained the incredible mark of 96 for Grade 8! This photo epitomises everything Lamont Drama is about. Working together with amazing work ethic and huge talent. Result: Both shining off the page! Well done guys!

Sensationsal Sisters Evie and Verity Clark

Pupils Gaining Distinctions :-

ENTRY

Campbell Gie

GRADE 1

Gadowl Oyedeji, Emilia Guy

GRADE 2

Freddie Thomason, Aakash Muraleetharan, Charlie Geldart,Kisaan Vigneswaran

GRADE 3

Chayil Oyedeji, Olivia Hall,Isla Gie, Martha Last, Emily Rimmer

GRADE 4

Anishiha, Vigneswaran, Gabriel Osborne,Akshaara Muraleetharan, Hugh Tatler

GRADE 5

Lori-Jo Quinney, Ifeoluwa Oyedeji, Anushka Choudhary

GRADE 6

Vaishali Ilanko, Matilda Brookes-Jones

GRADE 7

Orlando Campolucci-Bordi, Verity Clark

GRADE 8

Evie Clark, Itsoghena Oyedeji, Drew Hutchinson, Megan Hutchinson

Congratulations to Lamont pupil David Coyne on receiving 4 A*s in his A Levels in Physics, Maths, Further Maths and Religious Studies.

David is off to the prestigious Bath University to do a Master’s in Civil Engineering for 5 years, hopefully spending a year abroad. Talented David also heard he’d passed his Grade 8 Violin and Grade 8 Flute which will sit alongside his LAMDA exams he achieved previously.

Says proud Mum Bernie: “ He’s had quite a year! There’s not been much of an opportunity for him to ‘perform’ although he did come first in the North West round of the Oxford Schools Debating Competition held in Manchester. He had been all set to travel down to Oxford University to compete in the Finals in March but unfortunately the event was cancelled at the last minute. He’s hoping there will be opportunities for debating at university as it’s something he’s really enjoyed.

“We’ve really been enjoying hearing about how well everyone else from Lamont Drama is doing. It’s lovely to see how those in David’s Speech and Drama group are growing into such accomplished young adults; I’m sure your guidance and hard work has played a significant part in their success. We’re looking forward to hearing more success stories of both your current talented pupils as well as all your former pupils. Thank-you for being a part of David’s formative years.”

Mrs Lamont, said: “Lovely to hear David’s exciting news. He has done so well! I REALLY enjoyed teaching David as he had such enthusiasm and was so creative with his ideas.  All the other pupils enjoyed working with him so much when he was in their group for a certain activity. He could have gone down so many routes, so it is interesting that he is doing Civil Engineering! I’m delighted that he now has Grade 8 in flute and violin as well as his speech and drama – quite a hattrick! But more importantly – David is a really lovely boy!  You both did a great job!  I’m sure you will both miss him a lot when he goes off to Bath!”

The invincible Lamont Drama School is….back!

When we all put our lives on hold, Lamont Drama also took a pause to comply with Government guidelines. During lockdown, we continued to nurture all our talented pupils via skype lessons and were rewarded this week with some of the best LAMDA exam results EVER (see our recent news story about the superb achievements of our last exam cohort)! Many more pupils are also sitting their exams at the end of August and September – so good luck to them!

But there is nothing like getting together – albeit in safe, socially distanced classes – to develop confidence, creativity and imagination as well as learning new skills, making new friends and above all, having fun!

SO, to all existing pupils who have waited so patiently for classes to resume – and to any new young people who would like to join us….we have fantastic news!

From September 5, 2020, Lamont Drama Saturday Morning Classes will return – in a fantastic new venue!

The DRAMA STUDIO at FORMBY HIGH SCHOOL – will be our new home on Saturday mornings!

Lights, Camera, Action! at Formby High

What can everyone expect:-

• Tried and tested brilliant fun classes to bring out the best in everyone
• Fully risked assessed centre for socially distanced activities – just like at school!
• Great parking
• New friendships
• Enjoying fun together

Says Principal Diane Lamont, who has more than 30 years teaching experience: “I’m very excited to resume classes as I have missed seeing in person all my pupils so much. The time is now right to allow pupils to come together again – albeit in a socially-distanced, responsible way. Our skype classes have been great but there’s nothing like bouncing ideas off each other in one space.

“Thank you to all the many pupils who have been asking when we will be back and for all your lovely supportive messages. Anyone new who wishes to join us, please give drop me an email and I will arrange for you to be welcomed on September 5^th in our new venue at The Drama Studio at Formby High School in Freshfield Road.”

The email to contact Mrs. Lamont is diane@lamontcasting.co.uk

Activities will be more socially-distanced than previously – but just as much fun!

Lamont School of Drama is celebrating this week with an exceptional set of LAMDA Examination results.

All pupils who sat their exams in July were awarded Distinctions, with 14 pupils gaining the exceptional results of 90+ marks.

Trophies for exam excellence are presented to the highest performing students.  The Junior Excellence Trophy was presented to Joseph Edwards, who achieved 94 marks. The Intermediate Excellence Trophy was presented to Serafina Campolucci-Bordi  who achieved 98 marks. The Senior Excellence Trophy was jointly won by sisters Evie and Verity Clark who both achieved 94 marks.

Lamont Drama Principal, Diane Lamont, said: “I am absolutely delighted for all my pupils who worked extremely hard to achieve these spectacular results. Many are already moving on to their next grades for further exam sessions later in the year and I look forward to equally excellent results then”.

The results are below:-

Speaking of Verse and Prose

Introductory Stage 2

Joseph Edwards

Entry

Emilia Guy

Grade 1

Freddie Thomason, Sujaani Mathanraj

Grade 2

Martha Last, Zara Murray-Cakar, Lois Cringle, Pip Charnley

Grade 3

Jesikka Rajkumar, Gabriel Osborne, Adyan Absar,  Anishiha Vigneswaran

Grade 4

Serafina Campolucci-Bordi

Grade 5

Danish Rajkumar

Grade 6

Orlando Campolucci-Bordi, Verity Clark, Isabel Chan, Louisa Whorton

Grade 7

Evie Clark

Grade 8

Varshaa Premakantha,  Joseph Bigley, Ellie Edwards

Joseph Bigley celebrates his superb achievement of achieving with Distinction Grade 8 – Gold Medal.

Solo Acting

Grade 8

Grace Wingate

The absolutely gorgeous Charlotte Russell – a very long-term Lamont pupil – has smashed her ‘A’ levels and secured a place to study law at Cambridge University.

Charlotte, who along with her younger sister Lydia took all her LAMDA exams at Lamont and successfully entered festivals for many years, achieved A* A* A in her exams.

Well done Charlotte!

Said proud mum Julie: “We wanted to share some exciting news with you. Charlotte got amazing results and will be starting at Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge University this October. It was an anxious wait, but she did really well at her interviews and was then offered a place. I still believe she is getting so much from her drama training and I’m sure it will help her in Law”.

A delighted Mrs. Lamont said: “I am so pleased for Charlotte as this is her whole dream come true!  Cambridge WOW!  Yes –  I think the LAMDA exam training will definitely have helped in the interviews.  Such a lovely unassuming girl and hard worker!  Also, so cool under pressure and such a great sense of humour.  We were always having a laugh about something!  She is really a one-off!  I will so miss teaching her but her fantastic achievement has made my day!”

Former pupil Josh Reais has been accepted to study at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York!

The accolade means he can follow in the footsteps of such acting greats as Robert Redford, Lauren Bacall, Grace Kelly, Danny Devito, Anne Hathaway and Paul Rudd who all trained at the Academy.

Josh Reais

Josh has been offered a full-time place on the Academy’s Conservatoire Programme starting this Autumn. The course is movement-focused with a strong emphasis on physical theatre-based study.

New York Campus

Set in Madison Avenue’s landmark Colony Club building in Midtown Manhattan, the campus encompasses six full floors of classrooms, rehearsal halls, dance studios, dressing rooms, costume and prop departments, a production workshop, a student lounge, and an expansive library designed to serve the specific needs of acting students. Plus, its media studios are equipped with the latest video, lighting and editing systems—everything needed for exceptional on-camera training.

Another notable feature is its collection of impressive theatres that offer a variety of training and performance opportunities. Its 152-seat proscenium theatre, 164-seat thrust theatre and 103-seat arena-style theatre are all used for classes, rehearsals and full-scale productions.

Says Josh says: “I’m over the moon and I would really like to thank you for all your help over the years. The cost of the school is really expensive but they gave me a merited $7000 based on my skills from the remote video audition I did! It’s still not certain if I’ll be able to travel to America by September but I am doing my best to secure a bursary or scholarship now.”

Says Mrs Lamont; “What fantastic news! I am thrilled that your dream could happen if you can get funding! The pupils you helped teach as an Assistant Lamont Teacher will be so excited to hear of your success!

Always adorable – those curls won over the strictest of adjudicators and examiners!

“You came to me at a young age and developed so much over the years into a splendid actor. If things work out for you as well as they did for Robert Redford and Danny Devito I will be beyond proud – although not that suprised! Always a star in the making in my eyes!”

Congratulations to Lucas Frost for securing a place at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Drama in London to study for a BA Hons Degree in Musical Theatre.

The very talented Lucas Frost

Lucas has produced some incredible work whilst at Lamont Drama. Said Mrs. Lamont: “Lucas is a truly instinctive actor who is absolutely brimming with great ideas.

“He won lots of awards for his roles in local musical theatre productions and was always a force to be reckoned with when performing improvisations in the Saturday Speech and Drama classes with Lamont. I am still getting people mentioning to me how amazing he was as Miss Trunchball from Matilda. It was certainly one of my favourite acting pieces from the last few years. So, Lucas bring all the energy you displayed as Miss Trunchball to your new adventure! You will knock ‘em dead with your talent – but above all, enjoy!”