8/14/2019 Glee Club - Edin Eve News - 6 March 2010

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EVENING NEWS SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2010 13www.edinburghnews.com

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theweekenderSHOPPINGFOODBOOKSGARDENINGNOSTALGIAPETSWEEKEND TV

FUN:Mary-BethMcFern,FionaDuncan,John Naples-Campbelland BenNesbet enjoythe Gleeclub, above.

MAKING A SONG

AND DANCE OF IT

We started with20members,butsince Glee came

onTV, its risen toaround100sonowweneed theschoolhall torehearseJOHN NAPLES-CAMPBELL

FINGERSare snapping,legsare popping, smiles are widening as arms reach

imploringly to the stars. Voicessingin unison:Just a small towngirl,livinginalonelyworld...shetook the midnight train goinganywhere... Come on yells a voice from the front. One, two,three, four . . . sexy salsa, nowreally cheesy . . .

Its not anactualscenefromanepisode of the surprise hit TVseriesGleedubbedHighSchool

Musical for adults but it couldbe taken straight from the script.Instead this is a Tuesday lunchhour at Haddingtons KnoxAcademy where for around 100

pupils, packed lunches are aban-doned for an hour of singing,dancing and the chance to forgetschool pressures and teenageangst by getting lost in music.

T i es h a v e b een lo o sen ed ,sleevesrolled up,and perspirationis formingon foreheads as dramateacher John Naples-Campbellexhorts his Glee students to com-mit themselves to the moves.

Gleeclubsarepartand parcelofthe American highschoolsystem,but this side of the pond, singingat school has generally beenrestricted to the school choir.

But ever since the US series hitour screens, exploding ratingsand taking the Golden Globe for best comedy series, interest insuch clubs has been rising.

Mr Naples-Campbell, a QueenMargaret drama graduate whoalsorunsthe RandomAct TheatreCompanyand still directs musicaltheatre, thinks his club might bethe first in Scotland. Andwhile he

ed to sing and dance. We startedthe club before Glee came onBritish TV, but I had a box set ofthe series on DVD and loved it. Itremindedmeof mytimeatQueen

Margaret. The drama studentswere withthe nursing,mediaandsports science students. We werethe weirdos who were singing incorridors.

Westartedasashowchoir,butthat was when we had about 20members. Since Glee came on TVt h e n umb er s h a v e r i sen t o

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missesthe elementof competitionthat could result if there were oth-ers,hebelievesthatitsmore abouthaving fun and building young-sters confidence.

Thedifference between a Gleeclub and a school choir is that itsfor every year group, so we havekids aged 13 to 17 here. When Icame here I knew there was atradition of good school choirsand classical music and I wantedto offer something different. Theschool choirs are for junior andsenior girls, but there wasntmuchfor boysor thosewho want-

GINADAVIDSON

Picture:JULIEBULL

8/14/2019 Glee Club - Edin Eve News - 6 March 2010

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14 SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2010 EVENING NEWSwww.edinburghnews.com

Its a real mixof pupils .. Itsall about fun

SUCCESS:Thecastof theTV showGleehave hadhitsinthe US

FromPage13round 100, so now we need thechool hallto rehearse andwerelanning a show in the Bruntonheatre at the end of the year.He adds: I thought it was bril-

liant whenpupils started coming and yes we probably have someGleeks, but its a real mix of

pupils.Itsall abouthaving fun,andits given the kids confidence.Certainly theres a good cross-

section of types at the Tuesdayrehearsal: the cool ones, theenthusiasts, the MORs. Eventhosenotinvolvedobviouslyknowwhat Glee is all about. As pho-tographs are being taken, onepupil opens a classroom window

nd a chant of glee, glee, gleearries across the internal court-ard, while an older male pupiloldshis fingersto hisforehead inn L shape. His thoughts on Gleeembers are obvious losers.

Thatisdefinitelyhowtheclubinhe TV show is regarded at first,iven that its members are madepofschoolmisfits:ahomosexual

ashionista, the nauseating nar-issist,adisabledguitarplayer,theeyonc-wannabe and a Goth

with a speech impediment. But atKnox, its a different scenario.

Wehavea lotofthecoolpeople who are members, insists 17-year-old Robert Edgar, the clubspianist, who it seems is too coolhimself to even watch the showthatoften.I gotinvolved becauseI was in the sixth year panto and

itsafunthingtodoeventhoughI cant sing or dance. I just movemy shoulders a bit.

Wealsogettochoosethemusicwhich is great. I chose RihannasDisturbia.

Fiona Duncan, 15, who is get-ting ready to sit her StandardGrades in May, including drama,adds: Its a place to come and beabitmental,letoffsteam.Ilovetheshow, though I wouldnt say Imlike any of the characters.

A younger enthusiast is BenNesbet, 14, one of the few malemembers. My parents think its

great theres something like thisfor me to come to because thechoirs atmy agearejustforgirls,he says. Im studying StandardGrade music, and this is so dif-ferentfromthat,butIlovesinging.Idontalwayslikethesongswedo,

though.Im not a big fan ofDont Stop

Believin which is what weredoing at the moment.

Oneof theyoungestmembersis13-year-oldMary-BethMcFern.I watch the show and think its

great, so when the club started Icame to see what it was all about,and its good fun, she says. Ithink more schools should take itup.It wouldbe greatif therewerecompetitions like in America.

So is there a wannabe-famous

factor in Glee? There are kids at

schoolwhowant tobe onX FactororBritainsGot Talent,butIwouldsay,thankfully,they dont seemtobeGlee clubmembers,saysJohn.People who want thatarentpartof a team, and the Glee club is ateam effort.

And as someone once said:

Fame costs, and right here iswhere you start paying.But Gleeisnt likethat, he laughs.Itsjustabout fun. Glee is on E4 on Mondays at9pm, repeated on Channel 4 onSundays at 5:30pm.

ENTHUSIASM:FionaDuncancomestothe club tolet offsteam

A GROWINGPHENOMENON

GLEE is the

brainchild of RyanMurphy, the GoldenGlobe-winningcreator ofNip/Tuck.

The gay 43-year-old Irish Catholicused his childhoodexperiences as alead actor in highschool musicals,while his co-creators IanBrennan and

producer Mike

Novick also sang intheir own schoolsGlee Clubs.

Set in thefictional WiliamMcKinley High inOhio, the club isrun by Spanishteacher WillSchuester, whotook over after theprevious Gleeteacher was sacked

for inappropriate

conduct. He istreated horribly byhis wife Terri, whois pretending to bepregnant.

The show is sucha success that theproducers havereleased a numberof recordings bythe cast which havebeen major hits inthe States.

Picture: JULIE BULL

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