Embley Drama students spent four action-packed days in New York City. It was a unique trip, providing students with a unique opportunity to participate in workshops with leading industry professionals, see a Broadway show and explore the sights of the city! Below are accounts of each day written by four participants.
Day One
On our first day, we woke up bright and early to attend a Broadway Dance Workshop. During this workshop we learnt choreography from Hadestown, the Broadway show we were seeing the next night. We were taught by Tanner Ray-Wilson, a swing from the show! We also learnt the lyrics and melody to ‘Livin it up!’ that paired with the dance. After this amazing experience, we went and refuelled at a local Bagel shop. The large and delicious bagels kept us well fed for our Radio City Tour where we got and inside scoop on the history, location and performers who have previously graced the stage. During our tour, the Rockettes happened to be rehearsing for their Christmas Spectacular which is being performed at Radio City. This means we were lucky enough to meet one of the current Rockettes! To finish the exciting day off, we went up to floor 102 of the Empire State Building. The NYC skyline at night was just like the movies and we were all mesmerised before heading back to our hotel to get some well-deserved rest. Catlyn, Year 11
Day Two
We started the day by walking to a stage combat workshop, where we learnt how to find space on stage and how to show realism when doing stage combat. It was such a great learning experience. After that we went to the Hard Rock Café, where we were surrounded by music and small screens with music videos. I loved being able to enjoy this amazing atmosphere surrounded by all my friends. We walked over to the Walter Kerr theatre to watch Hadestown. It was fantastic to experience the acting and singing; we all really enjoyed it and we’re all hooked by this incredible musical. The day had been long but full of long-lasting memories and we took everything with us that we learnt and experienced. Ellie W, Year 9
Day Three
We embarked on a journey that seamlessly blended drama, American culture, and culinary delights. The statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were fascinating as we learnt about America’s rich immigrant heritage, evoking a sense of awe and appreciation. Our taste buds were treated to the iconic New York slice at Joe’s Pizza, a delicious stop on our itinerary. Visiting the 9/11 Memorial left a profound impact and opened us up to the solemn day. The Drama Bookshop became a haven for theatre enthusiasts and provided an exciting experience in the world of drama literature. Ellen’s Stardust Diner captivated us with its Broadway style performances, turning our dining experience into a lively and musical affair. Each location left a huge mark and I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to explore the most exciting city in the world! Freya, Year 13
Day Four
On our last day in New York, we went to Sephora and all the girls bought makeup (whilst the boys were found experimenting different makeup looks on each other). We were all getting a bit hungry after this and so we went to Bubba Gump Shrimp, a restaurant based on the famous film Forrest Gump. We had a trivia quiz after we had eaten all our delicious food. The trivia was based on the movie Forrest Gump one of the questions was: Who is Tom Hanks’ stunt double? and the answer was his brother Jim Hanks. We headed towards Grand Central Station, which is architecturally intricate and enormous compared to the other stations we had been to on previous day. We then headed off to explore Central Park and to see the natural beauty and the skyline of New York from the park. After we had a look around, we then headed to the American museum of Natural History to meet up and head down to the metro, where we headed back to Times Square, and we went on a shopping spree in a large number of shops including Crocs. To finish off the day we headed to Starbucks where Miss Stuart got us our drink of choice, the most popular choice was probably the Iced Vanilla Latte.’ Oliver, Year 10
