Our Heroes: Young star heads for big city lights
AN ASPIRING actress is one step closer to her West End dream after being offered a place at a prestigious drama summer school.
Alishia-Rose Bould fought off competition from thousands of other applicants to secure a place on the two-week course at the National Youth Theatre in London.
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RISING STAR: Talke's Alishia-Rose Bould, aged 16, has won a place in the National Youth Theatre. Picture: Neil Hulse
The 16-year-old from Walton Way, Talke, said: "I never expected this because 4,000 people auditioned, it's a massive shock to get a place."
The talented student was encouraged to audition for one of 700 places by teaching staff at Alsager School where she has just completed her GCSE exams.
Mum Pam Bould, who adopted Alishia-Rose when she was three-years-old and works at the school as a midday assistant, said: "She has done us proud and we love her to bits."
Pam has now nominated Alishia-Rose for a Sentinel Our Heroes award in the Bright Young Things category.
The 64-year-old added: "This is such a big achievement for her and hopefully it will lead to bigger things."
Alishia-Rose is currently rehearsing for two stage shows, The Producers which is being put on by North Staffordshire Amateur Dramatics and Back to the 80s which is being performed by Liberty Amateurs.
Alishia-Rose said: "In the future I want to be on the West End and work with Kerry Ellis and Idina Menzel who have both performed in the musical Wicked."
The young actress has been involved with the theatre from an early age and got her first big break at the age of 13 when she starred as Pepper alongside Hi-de-Hi's Ruth Madoc in the musical Annie at the Regent Theatre.
Auditions for the National Youth Theatre's summer school were held across the country in February.
Alishia-Rose was one of the 16 young people that auditioned at Hanley's Victoria Hall.
Candidates were required to take part in a three-hour morning workshop that involved teamwork exercises before performing individual pieces for a panel of judges in the afternoon.
Alishia-Rose said: "My piece was called Raspberry and it was about a woman who had an abortion as a child.
"Now as a grown-up she tries to stop a girl in a similar situation from making the same mistake."
Winning a place at the summer school is not the first time that Alishia-Rose has overcome the odds.
Born three months prematurely she spent the first few months of her life on supplemental oxygen and later battled meningitis.
Pam added: "We had a fight on our hands when we adopted her because we are older parents, but it all worked out very well.
"We are very proud of her. She is a talented young lady."
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