STOKE YOUTH MUSICAL THEATRE COMPANY
singing and acting soon after. She performed in
several local productions before joining the
Newcastle-based Academy for Theatre Arts,
graduating in 2013. Jordan joined SYMTC soon
after and first appeared in last year’s youth
premiere of EVITA. She has always dreamed of
playing Maria since watching the Sound of
Music film as a young girl and is thrilled to have
successfully won the role. She is thoroughly
enjoying rehearsing with the cast.
Other local members of the company include
Patrick Bell from Stone as Uncle Max Detweiler
and Emma Sanders from Yarnfield as Baroness
Elsa Schrader.
The immortal music includes ‘Do Re Mi’,
‘Climb Every Mountain’, ‘Edelweiss’, ‘My
Favourite Things’, ‘Sixteen Going On Seventeen’
and ‘The Lonely Goatherd’, a song which, like
the film, will include a puppet sequence in the
musical staging. This too has a strong local
connection with the string marionettes having
been specially made for the SYMTC production
by David Leech.
Born and raised in Stone and a former pupil
of Alleyne’s High School David has been
involved with puppets and puppet theatre since
he received his first puppet at the age of nine
from Purton’s Toy Shop in Stone in the early
1960s. After a lifelong career in puppetry during
which he has produced and presented shows in
theatres and for television in the UK, Canada,
Spain and the USA, David is nowadays
responsible for the design and production of all
new Pelham Puppets which are available from
toy shops throughout the world.
The Sound of Music takes to the stage at the
Mitchell Arts Centre in Hanley from Tuesday
25th to Saturday 29th March, each evening at
7.15pm. There is also a matinee on Saturday
29th at 2.15pm.
Tickets can be reserved online at
www.ticketsource.co.uk/stokeyouth or by
calling the ticket hotline on Tel. 07854 878987.
February/March 2014 33