Pamela Rudge

Pamela studied at The Royal College of Music and until recently combined her duties at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School with a busy singing life.

She has a wide repertoire from early to contemporary music, singing opera, light opera, oratorio, recitals and concert work, performing in concert halls, theatres and cathedrals throughout the UK and also in France, Germany, Holland, Zimbabwe and Mali.  Pamela sings as a soloist with UK orchestras in works such as Elgar’s Sea Pictures.  Pamela is equally at home on the operatic stage, playing roles ranging from Mrs Herring in Britten’s Albert Herring to Suzuki in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly.  In recent years she has become more involved in chamber opera, playing roles such as Madame Popova in Walton’s setting of Chekhov’s The Bear, and most recently creating the role of Marie Coulette (a formidable pipe-smoking granny) in the World premiere of A Foreign Field, an opera by Eric Wetherell, for which she achieved much critical acclaim.  Pamela has worked as a soloist on Radio 3 and 4 and on TV.

She adjudicates for festivals and runs vocal workshops and singing courses for theatre companies and singing groups in Switzerland, Cyprus, Glasgow, Norwich, Warwick, Whitby, Wiltshire, Cornwall and Bristol.  In 2015 Pamela was invited to lead a Development Day for AOTOS (Association of Teachers of Singing) South West on “The Singer Speaks, the Actor Sings” with Lynette Erving, former Head of Voice at BOVTS.  Pamela has conducted many musical theatre shows, most notably London Road for BOVTS at Bristol Old Vic, which was nominated for “Best Theatre Production in the South West”, and the world premiere of Mrs Beeton Says, a new musical by Eamonn O’Dwyer & Helen Watts, commissioned by BOVTS and now published by Samuel French. This summer she was musical director for two shows: Catastrophe Bay, another new musical this time by Jim Barnes and Kit Buchan, staged at Bristol Old Vic in June, and Calendar Girls, which ran from May to September in St Ives, Cornwall.

In the course of her work at BOVTS she has had much success training actors in singing, having two winners, three runners-up and twelve finalists in eight years in the prestigious Stephen Sondheim Student Performer of the Year competition, as well as training four members of the Royal Family in The Crown! 

 

Session: Acting through Song

This course will empower students to explore and develop a practical knowledge of the skills, techniques and approaches to acting through song.  There will be the opportunity to work with a rich and wide range of musical theatre material in both solo and ensemble work throughout the course.

During the week you will:

• look at vocal techniques and best practices in singing preparation and performance
• delve into the detail of the text and bring lyrics to life in order to enhance realism in story-telling
• look at characterisation and style
• find ways to create the atmosphere and mood of the piece through singing performances

This course is for more experienced singers who are looking for an opportunity to develop their vocal technique through a practical approach.