The talented young performer from Coleraine who will be acting, singing and dancing during the show, is not the College’s only involvement in the Northern Ireland premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s award-winning musical. Husband and wife duo, Donal and Elaine MacAuley, who are both lecturers at the Ballymoney campus will be joining Conor on stage while ICT lecturer, William Thompson has been working feverishly behind the scenes as part of the production team.
Conor underwent a rigorous three-day audition process to secure roles in the award-winning show – he plays the porter in the auction scene, a slave and a tenor/dancer in the El Muto and Masquerade scenes respectively.
Although still in his teens, Conor is a seasoned performer with numerous stage appearances to his credit. He first tread the board when he was a youngster in Primary 2 and has since gone on to appear in many local productions, including Titanic, Oliver, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Grease, Shrek the Musical and Junior Frozen.
Although he already had a wealth of stage experience, Conor said the Performing Arts course at the College had helped boost his confidence which encouraged him try out for different parts in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ production. He said:
“Having completed the first year of the Level 3 Performing Arts course, I was able to use the skills I had developed during the course to audition successfully. My lecturers helped me prepare for the audition process and it was great to have the benefit of their experience to guide me.”
Conor added that the Performing Arts course and his involvement with Portrush Musical Society and other local groups had given him a greater insight into all aspects of musical production, both on and off stage.
When he completes the course, Conor hopes to do a HND in Performing Arts which will give him an opportunity to explore the various career opportunities in musical theatre.
“I used to think that if you worked in performing arts, you had to be a singer or actor, but I now realise that there are so many other avenues to explore. I plan to do a HND and then I’ll see where that takes me.”
Donal’s roles in the production include the Auctioneer in opening scene and then later in the show, he makes an appearance as Monsieur Lefèvre, the owner of the old theatre. Elaine, who has performed in many productions on the local musical theatre circuit, takes on the role of Madame Giry, the ballet mistress.
Having performed on stage for previous Society productions, William opted to work behind the scenes this year. As stage manager, he had the challenging task of sourcing lighting, sound and pyrotechnic suppliers, building the stage to transform the leisure centre so that the audience will be transporting to Paris Opera House for six spellbinding performances.
Donal, who is also chairman of Portrush Music Society, explained that prior to the pandemic, their annual production would have been in The Riverside Theatre but to recoup the cost of staging such a spectacular show, they needed somewhere that would accommodate a much larger audience.
“The Leisure Centre can accommodate up to 450 people and while it’s been a challenging process involving a lot of work by a lot of people to stage it there, when we see the audience’s reaction, it will all be worth it!”
‘The Phantom of the Opera’ will run in Coleraine Leisure Centre for five nights with the opening night on Tuesday November 7. Curtain up each evening at 7.30 pm with a matinee performance at 2 pm on Saturday November 11, ahead of the final performance at 7.30 pm.
There is still limited availability for some performances, but with the remaining tickets being snapped up, book now