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The curtains are closed, the stage is empty. In their fourth entry, after A "Glee-ful" ARAS Revue, ARAS Today, Broadway Tomorrow, and Big Push Time, we hear about the final performance of Avenue Road Arts School's Glee-inspired revue "Believe" from two of the young performers.

From Tristen: Grade 9, Etobicoke School of the Arts

A big success! That's all I have to say! "Believe" was so much fun to do and everyone did a fantastic job! The lines were memorized, the music was amazing and everyone had a blast! It was so much fun doing a Glee-themed revue! It was fun to play any character I wanted and I got to do whatever I wanted with that character!

One hard thing about the musical was the open script. Almost the whole musical started out as improv: making our own characters, making our own script, and even some of the blocking was ours! It was an original musical never done before which made it that much cooler. And I'd have to say, it couldn't have gone better! Everyone sounded and acted terrifically and, with the help of Jacqueline the music director and Allison the director, the show was perfect! Jacqueline did an amazing job with teaching us how to sing, what to sing, and when to sing, and the songs were fantastic! I was especially impressed that she got 14 kids with no auto-tuners or voice-overs or any of that fancy stuff to sound as good as the Glee actors themselves! I'd also like to talk about our director Allison. I know I said this in the last blog but she's fantastic! She turned 14 awesome kids and an undeveloped script into an amazing musical! Her blocking was absolutely spectacular and all throughout the rehearsals she pushed us and pushed us because she knew how good we were. Without the help of her and Jacqueline, there wouldn't have been a show. Other than the adults, the kids were awesome as well. It was so much fun working with them and doing the musical! It was really nerve-racking but we pulled it off! But it's far from over yet. I don't think anyone plans on leaving anytime soon and we already have new people for our next musical that I won't talk about (that's for another blog!). I can't wait for this next musical because it will be as good, if not better, than "Believe"!

From Kayley: Grade 9, St. Clements School

We had our show a little while ago and it was AMAZING. I'm a performer. I love the tension and the nerves, I thrive on it. When we were doing the dress rehearsal, there were a few tiny glitches backstage... in our dress rehearsal someone didn't bring out enough chairs for Lauren and me to both sit, so we had to make something up to get a chair! Thank goodness it wasn't the real show! But waiting backstage for your big number is incredibly nerve-wracking. If you're not 2 000% confident in yourself and your abilities, waiting is the hardest part. Personally, I just hope and pray it all goes well. The show was fabulous and I cannot WAIT to do another! "Believe" was one of my favourite shows ever. Believe in yourself, believe in your talents and believe everything will go well!

Congrats to everyone involved with "Believe"! Go here for more information on arts schools and arts camps.