FORGET Albert Square and Ramsay Street – Dorchester is the latest setting for a new soap opera.
Students at Thomas Hardye School directed, filmed and acted out the show Queens Avenue, named after the school’s address.
The first instalment can be watched now on the Dorset Echo website at dorsetecho.co.uk Head of drama at the school, Kayleigh Ashton, created the project alongside a group of Year 10 students.
She said: “The idea behind Queens Avenue was to engage students with a fun and interesting project that centres around popular culture.
“It was also intended to use multimedia to provide the cast with a tangible result of their hard work and to promote the drama department in and out of school.
“What transpired has absolutely exceeded all expectations. “In the first sessions, student Coral Punchard expressed an interest in film direction and a desire to lead the project.
“Since then she and a hugely efficient Year 10 team have been responsible for producing all aspects of the soap opera including planning, filming, directing, promoting and editing. “She has even arranged for a sixth form musician to compose all the music.”
Miss Ashton added: “The outcome is a truly exciting and entertaining fortnightly soap that showcases the huge and varied talent of students at Thomas Hardye School.”
Coral, who put herself forward as the main director, said: “I’m so pleased with how this has gone.
“I hope the public will find it as enjoyable as we did.”
Pupil Robert Membury, who plays Eddie in the soap, said the experience gained from creating the soap opera would be useful for many students for their future career choices.
He said: “With many members of the drama club wishing to go on to a career related to the media or stage industry, the learning curve involved in this has been so useful.”
Another student actor, Beth Gunn, added: “We all get an equal say in what goes onto the scenes which is really good.”
Like the hit television show Outnumbered, Queens Avenue is almost entirely improvised and both the cast and crew provide the key story lines.
New episodes will regularly be uploaded to the Thomas Hardye School website www.thomas-hardye.dorset.sch.uk
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