Creative students tell a tale as old as time for on-stage production of Beauty and the Beast

A team of talented students at the University of Northampton have enchanted theatre-goers after delivering the family-favourite on-stage looks for a local production of a fairytale classic.

Second-year student of Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen, Amy Schofield secured the role of Show Hair and Makeup Designer for Northampton Music Theatre Company’s (NMTC) recent production of Beauty and the Beast, leading a full support team of six fellow students from UON.

On the process of delivering the iconic looks of the classic characters including Beast, Cogsworth and Lumiere, Amy said: “Delivering the final on-stage looks for the four nightly productions was actually the final step in a long line of hard work and attention to detail.

“Before I even picked up a makeup brush, I researched the characters to understand their personalities and key traits (from both the animation and the musical production, to ensure the looks reflected elements of both family favourites). I focused my attention on the finer details, including telltale feathers or gold detailing on the household objects and, once we received the sign-off from NMTC, we were away!”

Performed from 20-22 February at a local venue, NMTC’s production of Beauty and the Beast offered a magical opportunity to step into the enchanted world of this classic fairy tale story. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version included original songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, along with new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice.

“The overall process of designing was really fun,” reflects Amy. “The most challenging part was only having 12 minutes to get the beast into makeup before he had to go back on stage – hair, horns, and all! The makeup had to be applied quickly but still keep-up the illusion on stage, so we really had to work as a team with the wardrobe team. It was a real ‘slice of the industry’.

“Overall, I am very pleased with the results and proud of how well we all worked as a team to deliver the looks (which kindly received lots of positive feedback from the audience and NMTC). Everyone on the team did an amazing job at bringing my designs to life and the cast looked brilliant!”

Students of Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen at UON – like Amy – are offered a wealth of opportunities to get involved with local cultural partnership projects and theatre productions to elevate the skills they learn as part of their studies.

Most recently, students have delivered faultless looks for the title actors on The Royal and Derngate’s Kinky Boots production as well as Rutland Musical Theatre’s on-stage adaptation of The Addams Family, which both leant on priceless advice and coaching delivered by multi-award winning artist, Ve Neill who visited UON’s Waterside Campus.

Programme Leader for Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen, Laura Cotterill celebrated the students’ success: “We’re incredibly proud of Amy and her fellow UON students for the work they delivered in such an articulate, professional and striking way.

“It has been truly special to see our students work together to create some of these iconic looks from Beauty and the Beast. A vital part of this industry requires our students to work robustly, reliably and as excellent team players. The skills learnt during this project will mean so much more than just a note on their CV – it takes them one step closer to graduating as our future generation of resilient, professional artists.”

Find out more about studying Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen at the University of Northampton.