Discover Creative Careers - Lizzie Bea

Lizzie Bea makes her professional Panto debut this season at Westlands Entertainment Venue. With this in mind, I caught up with Lizzie to talk about musical theatre and her thoughts on the industry.

You might have caught Lizzie playing roles including Sister Mary Robert in Sister Act (Dominion Theatre, Hammersmith Apollo and UK Tour), Martha Dunnstock in Heathers (The Other Palace), Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray (London Coliseum) or Pat in Kinky Boots (UK Tour) to name a few.

She tells me she didn’t go to Drama School and has not had ‘formal training’. This is an interesting point of discussion and a career pathway that many follow. Lizzie is proof that with hard work, you can develop your skills as an artist and with support, you can progress to a professional level.  

She was a member of NYT (National Youth Theatre), and NYMT (National Youth Musical Theatre) and was involved in NSDF (National Student Drama Festival). Lizzie tells me she took dance classes locally in Sussex where she grew up from the age of 2-18.  Her main passion was and still is singing, but she had and still has a love for the arts as a whole. She always loved musical theatre but only decided at 21 that she wanted to pursue musical theatre professionally.

Her first professional job in Musical Theatre was a week-long workshop of a musical called Becoming Nancy, directed by Jerry Mitchell with music by Stiles and Drewe.

“I only did one audition and then found out within a couple of days that I’d booked the job. At the time, I didn’t realise how unusual that was!” Auditioning for some of the larger shows Lizzie has been involved in can be a long process with multiple recalls. Post covid, a lot of the process has moved to self-tapes which can be even harder.  Lizzie says, “preparation is the most important part. Practice, practice, practice so that when the nerves come in the audition the material is in your muscle memory.” Her top tip is to “sing with the voice you have today.” “We are not robots, we’re human beings, and we can’t expect perfection.”

In January we will be hosting more masterclasses to support actors in audition preparation.

Our Panto this year, if you haven’t already heard, is Jack and the Beanstalk, so I asked Lizzie what will she’ll be doing backstage to prepare… Lizzie tells me that she will focus on doing a vocal warm-up pre-show. She uses a vocal straw to warm up as gently as possible, then some sirens to get her larynx moving, some air flow exercises and then she stretches the root of her tongue. 

Learning techniques is important. In December, Lizzie will host a series of Masterclass workshops at our venue, in Musical Theatre techniques for under-18s and Adults. You can find more via our website. “I love teaching the next generation about their vocal health - I think there should be much more of a focus on that than on ‘belting’, riffing or singing really high, which is what young people seem to think’“being a good singer’ is.”  “I also want to encourage them to discover what their USP as a performer is and be proud of it. It’s our uniqueness that makes us stand out and find where we fit in the industry.”

Our conversations turn to musicals and I ask what iconic shows Lizzie would like to be part of - Wicked and Les Mis are at the front of that list.

I then asked about the future of Musical Theatre. Is there a show that has not been written? she replies, “Chicken Run the Musical. It would be iconic!” Now that she has said this, it’s out there, and I think it will happen.

Moving away from the vision of singing chickens, “I want to see more shows where everyone who goes to watch it can see something of themselves on stage. I’m thrilled that some theatre seems to be heading in that direction, but there needs to be more of it.”

We finish our chat talking about Panto, a time for young audiences to engage with the theatre, possibly for the first time, a magical experience. We have just launched Accessible Ticket Scheme offering £3 tickets for low-income individuals looking to attend shows at The Octagon & Westlands.

“I loved going to watch Panto’s with my family and buying the flashing light toys. I also loved performing in amateur pantomimes as a child and vividly remember my Mum playing the Goose who laid a golden egg in Jack and the Beanstalk!” So Jack and the Beanstalk is in her family, a fitting full circle that she’ll be making her professional Panto debut in this show.

“I’m so excited to be doing my first professional Panto, and I know it’s going to be so much fun!”

We look forward to having Lizzie Bea with us this festive season and welcoming her, and her fellow Panto cast, to Somerset and Yeovil this Christmas.