A former Musical Theatre student from Stratford-upon-Avon College is living her dream after being cast in a new West End show.
Olivia O’Connor who studied Musical Theatre at the college from 2016-2018 has just been announced as part of the cast for original musical Why Am I So Single, written by the makers of smash hit musical SIX, which will play at The Garrick Theatre from August this year.
Olivia has always loved to sing and dance and was encouraged at school to pursue it further. She was advised to go to Stratford-upon-Avon College to train and she found it to be the perfect place to develop her skills: “This course made it clear that if you wanted to be in this industry, then you 100% have to go for it. They gave me a reality check of what goes into preparing for the industry and upon completion, I couldn’t have felt more prepared. The staff were amazing!”
She continued: “I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone at the College, I couldn’t hype Stratford College enough and would go back if I could!”
Upon completing her course, Olivia then attended Urdang Academy before striking out into the world of performing arts and is currently represented by Bartlett Walford.
This is her professional debut on the West End and she is ecstatic to be working on the new show and to be part of the original cast: “I’m genuinely looking forward to it! I’m so excited to be there, fulfilling my training and meeting and learning from new people. Also, I love the musical SIX so to be working on a show by the same creators and be in the original cast is really incredible – this opportunity has changed my life.”
Programme Manager for the Creative Arts, Phil Watson-Smith, is incredibly proud of Olivia’s achievement: “Olivia worked so hard while at Stratford and always had that drive to succeed in the industry. We are so delighted that her hard work and dedication has paid off and we can’t wait to see Olivia in the original cast of a West End musical. Such a huge achievement.”
Congratulations Olivia!
